No More Sallie Mae
Submitted by Vanessa on Tue, 11/03/2009 - 12:28
The economy has crashed. What I often hear when I’m out and about is: “It’s such a good time to be in school.” It’s a good time to be in school if you have a rich uncle, or you can live with your sister for free. A steady paycheck and benefits would be really convenient right now. The economic meltdown has touched just about everyone, and for me it directly affected my ability to pay rent.
It’s my last semester in the Master’s of Publishing program at NYU. Between finishing my Bachelor’s and starting this program, I lived in South Korea teaching English for two years. My mother raised me to value higher education, and I perceive it as the road to what will make me happy in the long run. I started classes three weeks after I got home to New York City. That was January of last year. I filled out the FAFSA, and the federal aid afforded me a small refund, but not enough money to live on for six months. I had to take out a private loan. I filled out the Sallie Mae application online and the funds came through in two weeks. Just like that. No problem.
That was the last time I was able to do that. Then the economy crashed, the credit crunch set in, and not only was my credit subpar, but no one I know had credit good enough to be approved as a co-signer for a private loan. Things got more and more desperate. I’ve struggled to pay my bills for the past 9 months. There may be people who can work full time and do a master’s full time without ending up hospitalized, but I’m not one of them. There have been days when I didn’t have enough to eat. There were days my landlord yelled at me on the phone, telling me it’s not her problem I didn’t have cash to take the subway to class.
There were times when I wondered why I’m not the heir to the Hilton fortune. In the face of global financial woes and rising unemployment, I’ve questioned what I’m going to get out of this degree and whether it will outweigh what I’ve put into it. Had I known the economy was about to crash (and it would be like pulling teeth to get funds) I probably would not have started school with no money to pay for it.
On the positive side, this experience has taught me how to do more, with less, made me more hungry to find fulfillment, given me the skill of self-encouragement and on top of it all I’ve lost a few pounds. My friends and family have come through for me just when I needed it the most. My faith has shown me how strong I can be. Our big picture is pretty ugly right now, but because of this degree I am in a position to change things in my industry and contribute to the repair of our economy. There’s no victory without a struggle. My outlook remains optimistic.
Related Links
Colleges are Pushed to Convert Loan System, New York Times
College Tuition Cost Rising Again This Fall, Time.com
The Three Year Solution, Newsweek.com
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Comments
Feeling your pain.
I totally understand how you feel man. I wrote a blog about this very same thing -- the credit crunch and the unemployment crisis. How if credit scores are lower now, can people get jobs? Everyone checks credit scores now, but they dropped because people lost their jobs and couldn't pay their bills. As a result the credit scores are lower. One vicious cycle. Anyway, I re-enrolled in grad school and did not bat one eyelash at borrowing the maximum amount through FAFSA. Most people don't want to borrow money because you have to pay it back, but in the long run...an education will grant you better opportunities to make more money and be able to pay it back. At any rate, the ends definitely justify the means in my opinion. Keep your head up! This was encouraging I thought I was the only one in this mess.
---Kelle
Pointless Education?
Great piece Vanessa. Reading this article makes me even more convinced that there needs to be a massive overhaul of the way further education is financed in this country. Financial hardship should not be a reality for so many students. The fact that the same quality of education (and it some cases, better) can now be obtained overseas for a fraction of what we pay stateside should say something. If higher education continues to be priced outside the realm of possibility for so many we will fail to invest in some of our brightest minds and we will inevitably fall behind as other countries educate more students for less money
I KNOW WAT U MEAN
I feel the same exact way.. College for me is hard trying to pay off everything.. at times..i feel so overwhelmed..and the truth is has been the root of my depression as of late. Constantly i feel as if im drowning, and there is no way out. Im trying to keep the faith.. Im glad im not the only one.... thanks vanessa!