This past week, students in my Social Inequality course were asked to read and think about causes and consequences of various types of debt. Given the audience, it’s no surprise that student loans kept coming to the fore. Well over three-quarters of the students indicated that they would graduate with loans–many of them well over $20,000 owed on a Bachelor’s degree in the social sciences, majors that are vital for our society but not notorious for their high salaries. They described an increasingly common pickle–there was no way that they could have attended college without the loans, and they are frightened that they will not be able to repay them, but they knew that without the college degree, their futures were beyond bleak. To say they feel between a rock and a hard place would be an understatement.
I am very concerned about these kids’ futures because I know what they face. In order for me and my husband to get through graduate school, we took out well over $40,000 in student loans. My retirement is going to be postponed because the money that should be going into my 401K is instead going to Sallie Mae. I don’t regret my education, however, I am discouraged and disgusted by the amount of student loan debt with which so many of our young people must graduate college. The student assistance that used to come in the form of grants has been replaced with loans. I would argue that these student loans are the modern day version of indentured servitude. Sallie Mae (or whomever carries the loan) has become the company store. Do I have the answers? No. But I do have the question: Is this the kind of society that we want to be–A society that burdens so many of our young people with decades of debt in exchange for higher education? If the answer is yes, it doesn’t paint a very pretty picture of America.
Comments
37 responses to “Student Loans: A Modern-day Form of Slavery?”
Two thoughts.
Student loan shackles are much heavier and harder to break than ordinary debt shackles, because student loan debt is generally not dischargeable in bankruptcy. But anyone on this blog knows that.
Aggregate student loan debt trends upward because students must borrow more to meet escalating tuition charges. Colleges and universities can raise tuition with impunity because of all the free money in the form of student loan proceeds available to pay that tuition. Tuition is going up much the way home prices went up these past five years. Inflation is an inflating of the money supply. When the money supply is inflated in a targeted way to encourage the purchase of a particuar consumption item, like homes or higher education, the prices of those items rise faster than prices in the overall economy. It is a self-reinforcing phenomenon.
I believe that we *are* headed for such a society. Where the pressures are to buy! buy! BUY! along with collapsing safety nets for the public.
The bankruptcy “reform” is intended to bail out the finance industry, and I expect that in another decade, we’ll have bankruptcies essentially eliminated for non-businesses. And I expect debt will be inheritable before I die of old age.
I see the US heading the way of Mexico, with an extremely wealthy upper class, an extremely poor lower class and a miniscule middle class.
I want to highlight the differences between student loan debt and other commercial loans. Beyond the non-dischargability in bk, the interest rates can be ridiculous. When I applied for my $15,000 in student loans I was without a credit history. The interest rate changed by Sallie Mae is 11.5%. Sallie Mae has indicated that these loans “can not be consolidated, refinanced or reconsidered”. I recently tried to seek a change in my interest rate to correspond to current credit history and score. I have 6 years without a late payment or other black mark and a FICO score of 790. Why should I be subject to the same high rate that was evaluated when I had no credit history? Sallie Mae wouldn’t budge. I recently took out a personal loan from my local bank at 4.25% and used it to pay Sallie Mae. Of course, I lose the tax deduction for the student loan interest. But if a commercial bank is willing to loan me the same money at 4.25%, why does Sallie Mae insist on sticking to 11.5%?
I took out a student loan for a career change with Sallie Mae 4 years ago, being led to believe that it was a federally-subsidized loan. It was misstated by my school and I actually have a ‘career training’ loan which is not eligible for any consolidation programs. My interest is 16.25% interest with them and it is KILLING me. I’ve tried everything to reduce my monthly payments to an amount so I can manage my other expenses (rent, car payment and insurance) and they refuse to budge. I WANT to make my payments but it is a constant struggle. Why do they not realize that making it more difficult for borrowers to repay them is absurd?
I agree with all of you. I graduated in 1999 with 99K in loans (at the time thinking I’d never get a loan at such a great interest rate of 7.5%). I also consolidated my loans at that time, so I’ve been ineligible for reconsolidation rates. For over 4-5 years I paid at income sensitive rates and during this time my loan increased over $40,000. Now my payments are over 1,000 a month and I now owe $150,000. I’m now in deferment…even if I could pay the 1,000 a month fee I would never get out of debt (it merely would pretty much stay where it is). I work as a professor, I certainly don’t make enough money to pay 1,000 a month. Further, last year I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and I deferred again last year and this year….even sending in 500.00 a month when I can, why bother anymore when every month, the loan increases almost 1,000 a month. I’ve tried everything to reconsolidate at a lower rate or get lower payments. Ironically when I tried to reconsolidate at a lower rate I was told by student loan reps that the only way to do that would be to go back to school and take out another loan. Just based on principle I couldnt do that. I was just recently (before I deferred again) told that income sensitive payments would be almost $900 a month. Now, I’m painted in a corner, and a part of me thinks that my cancer is a symptom of the stress caused by these loans. Athletic teams can pay 51 Million dollars just to talk to someone to recruit them to a ball team, and there are those of us that work to educate our future and we get nothing but taken to the poor house. Where are our values in life?
ALL CREDIT IS A FORM OF SLAVERY.
More like indentured servitude. Since we somewhat willingly enter into it, hoping there is an end in site.
It starts with school, then a home loan, a car loan, etc… then you need a bigger hhouse, a bigger car, before you know it, you spend all your “free” time worrying about it, and your “work” time trying to earn enough to pay it off.
Question, I have a SLM Financial career training loan (it is a private career traing loan)
I filed chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2003 (before the law change of 2005). The bakruptcy is about to be discharged is this private career law dischargable?
I too have a “Career Training Loan” from SLM. Oddly enough, both my culinary school and SLM categorize it as an “educational” loan, even though there is no federal subsidization whatsoever! Very misleading and I think it is intentional. Anyway, I also filed Chapter 13 in 2004 and was told by SLM that my “educational” loan was not dischargable. Therefore I requested that my bankruptcy attorney not include it in the filing (I also have a co-signer on the loan and did not want them hurt by my bankruptcy). However, I received a letter out-of-the-blue in January 2006 from SLM telling me that they had been notified of my bankruptcy discharge in 2004 (not by me, so I don’t know “who” notified them). As a result they were “obligated under law” to remove me from the loan and now it rests solely on my co-signer (not at ALL what I wanted!). They gave me the option of resuming the debt but my attorney advised me that I should just continue payments on my co-signer’s behalf – which I have. My attorney believes that resuming the loan will not allow me to bounce back from my bankruptcy as quickly.
Also note: now that the loan is no longer in my name, for some reason it is no longer eligible for any of SLM’s debt consolidation, forbearance or hardship requests. Another one of their many unwritten and unrevealed rules that they applied without any notice whatsoever.
I was reviewing info on how to handle my husband’s loans that are over $200,000 and increasing by thousands each month. It is increasing so rapidly that at this point we have given up on repayment. They take the minimum that they can get and we pay no extra because we will never be able to repay. He has been graduated for 10 years and during that period he was never in a financial position to pay much. Now the debt with interest is so out of control we figure he will just have the minimun taken until he dies. It’s really sad but there is absolutely no recourse for him. My best advise, never answer the phone.
To Anonymous From Feb 14,2007. I would really like to have the contact for you lawyer. We are having the opposite happen to us. SML is still trying to collect from us, and our lawyer says that it is questionable if the loans where discharged (they were listed in the bankruptcy as unsecured loans). He want us to pay again to sue SLM and reopen the bankruptcy to determine if the loans were discharged. Any help would be great.
lslentz@tampabay.rr.com
To Linda from Feb 18, 2007: I am located in NJ so the law is probably different. Also, my loan was NOT included in my bankruptcy and I’ll never know how SLM found out about it. I am still making payments on the loan, probably until I die, under my co-borrower’s name because they solely attached it to him.
You should probably follow your attorney’s advice as your situation is different. You DID include your loan under your bankruptcy and since these “career training” loans are private loans, I don’t see why it would not be dischargable. I hope something can be done to stop this company from ruining so many lives some day!
I too am struggling under overwhelming student loan debt. The interest is accumulating much faster than I am able to pay. I feel like I am trying to drain the ocean with a teacup.
Is there some sort of debtors prison that I can go to in exchange for my freedom? I feel like I am in prison every day anyway. The stress caused by my debt is beginning to take it’s toll on my health and my attitude toward life. My poor family even suffers because of the stress.
Student loan officers at schools of higher education don’t help the situation – they paint a blissful financial picture of the future for people who get a college degree. At least the ones at the schools I attended did that. “Don’t worry”, they said. “You will be making so much money after graduation that you will easily be able to repay your debt”. What a lie!
I have often wondered if students suffering under overwhelming debt could put together a class-action lawsuit against schools that promote the lie that higher education equals financial prosperity. The only thing higher education has done for me is get me into insurmountable debt that I cannot escape from.
It’s sad, but sometimes I wish that I did have a permanent disability just to escape the burden of my education debt. Instead, I do as anonymous said and just refuse to answer the phone. I still live in constant fear that I will be in trouble for ignoring the debt-collectors. Oh well, it has to come to a head someday, because I just can’t keep going on like this.
BTW, I started out with student loan debt totaling $115,000 after graduation and now it is close to $200,000. How’s that for depressing?
Tough Situations call for tough solutions….Move to Canada…No one deserves to live without hope
I also have a Career Training loan with SLM for my daughter’s attendance at Sylvan. I am looking into bankruptcy to try to get out from under the debt that I have accumulated being a single parent. I just want to make sure that I am reading everyone’s postings correctly. Is the career training loan considered a “private loan”? I would think that the interest rate issue would be enough to prove that it is not an education loan because I was always under the impression that the interest on student loans was regulated and capped.
I am the co-signer on my son’s career training loan from Sallie Mae. I am filing for bankruptcy in WIS and my lawyer lists the loan as a student loan even though I told him it is a “career training” loan. Any suggestions?
The Trustee may end up reclassifying your SLM Career Training Loan into the correct unsecured category. I recommend reading it and making sure your attorney has a copy of the agreement. The website for SLM also states: “The Career Training Loan is a private, credit-based loan and is not
federally sponsored or guaranteed.”
I am looking to do a documentary exposing this scam. Anyone interested in being interviewed or helping out, please feel free to contact me at vji@vfemail.net
I thought I was the only one being “put to financial death” with a Sallie Mae “Career Training Loan”! My payments are over $400 a month. I only borrowed $22,000 in 2004 and now I owe almost $28,000! They faithfully call my home at least six times a day, seven days a week, starting at 8am until 9pm. I hate it most that I had to have my parents be co-signers…because they have financial struggles of their own & now I added this to their burdens.
If someone knows of a class action suit against loans like this, count me in!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree, Im currently filing for bankruptcy with my wife because of a career training loan recieved through computertraining.com, my loan started a year ago at 24,500 and is now up to 30,109 with interest, in one year, Im wondering if thiscan be written off, the lawyer added to the discharge papers but says the judge will most likely dismiss and we will be stuck with our over 400 a month repayment….if anyone knows of any class-action suits against sallie mae, count me in too.
I am trying to determine if I should consult with an attorney over a student loan payment with Sallie Mae. I have been making payments to them for over a year now but they continue report to the credit report agencies that the account is closed and that I have made no payments at all although I have bank records proving that I have been making payments and that the checks to them have been cashed. I spoke with a Sallie Mae representative a week ago and initially he said that they didn’t have any records of my payments to them and that if I didn’t make the full payment it would show up as no payment through the credit bureaus. Is this right? I got laid off my full time job in 2001 and lost all of my belongings and became homeless for about 6 months in 2002 so I do not have my original signed agreement with Sallie Mae. The Sallie Mae representative told me that if I didn’t make the full payment it would show as no payment made at all. What’s up with that? I have tried my darnedest to show good faith in paying these people. The training center I enrolled in (Silicon Valley Institute) went belly up also so I am unable to use the original contract with them for contining education. I am not sure what to do at this point. If the loan has been closed who is receiving and cashing these checks? I need some answers. Please help!
I too have a loan through Sallie Mae for computertraining.com.. please if anyone knows of a company that is willing to consolidate this loan please contact me. And or if this class action suit transpires.
I also have a loan for 26,000 for computertraining.com through SLM and was iniitially led to believe my payment every month would be 200 dollars but now know there were two loans for 12,500 and i owe a total of 400 dollars 200 for each loan for the next 15 years. I do not know what to do the job i was placed with through the program pays 30,000 a year before taxes and the 400 dollars a month is more than 25% of my take home pay i do not know what to do and now with a girlfriend of 4 years who thought are life was only going to get better after i completed this training is left on this loan with me as the co-signer look forward to debt how can we possibly afford to buy a home get married or start a life with this iver our heads somebody just e-mail and talk to me i really do not know what to do.
My husband was laid off his job recently. We were already struggling to pay our monthly Sallie Mae career training loan and had already fallen behind. Once he was laid off there was no way we could pay $250.00 a month. We called Sallie Mae and ask for a forbearance and they said No because our payments have to be current first.
We will probably have to file Chapter 7 now since my husband has been laid off. Sallie Mae told us we could not include it in the bankruptcy. Has anyone successfully include a Sallie Mae career training loan in a bankruptcy and had the loan discharged?
I too have the god awful loan for computertraining.com. Who got a job out of school making upwards of $50k/year? I was told that CT.com was being sued. Does anyone have any more information about possible litigation?
I read an article in Business Journal that indicated the State of New York is inquiring into Sallie Mae’s “Tuition Action” loans. Perhaps it’s the beginning of a much needed class action suit. I would contact your Congress person and complain LOUDLY. We sold our house to pay off a SLM loan to avoid the massive accumulation of interest and still paid an additional 47% of the loan amount in interest.
Where to start with the utter frustrations I have towards the Sallie Mae Corp, I too wanted to try and claim bankruptcy to get rid of my hellish loan. I was told by Sallie Mae at one time that I could claim it because it’s a private loan, then was repeatedly told I could not. I talked with a lawyer about it and basically ended up deciding that I couldn’t stick it to them and that it wasn’t worth risking it for my parents, the cosigners. Anyway, this is what I can’t stand: the fact that the career training loan is unable to be consolidated, that the loan is unable to be ‘bankrupted’ (a word?) because it IS a ‘career/educational’ training loan, and ironically that it doesn’t qualify for annual tax credit when filing because it’s “NOT” an ‘educational’ loan and is PRIVATE. This is all the crap they have told me. With the variable interest and all the things this loan is and isn’t, I’m convinced it’s the nastiest little loan out there. And what gets me the most is that Sallie Mae just laughs all the way to the bank. It’s so infuriating isn’t it, folks? If only I had understood more fully what I was signing up for. Maybe the schools are just as much to blame for hooking up the loans so quickly and happily???? Good luck everyone…
Please don’t sign up for ComputerTraining.com. They all feed you lies and now I am stuck with a 25k loan which I am slowly paying for. I never did get a job and I applied to so many places. You don’t even need that type of school to get started in the IT field. I guess I am paying for my mistake now. I would love to know if they are getting sued. If anyone that reads this is considering CT.com I urge to stay very far away from anything they tell you.
Please don’t sign up for ComputerTraining.com. They all feed you lies and now I am stuck with a 25k loan which I am slowly paying for. I never did get a job and I applied to so many places. You don’t even need that type of school to get started in the IT field. I guess I am paying for my mistake now. I would love to know if they are getting sued. If anyone that reads this is considering CT.com I urge to stay very far away from anything they tell you.
Heads up: anytime that Sallie Mae says that loans cannot be consolidated, they are LYING. ANY student loan can be consolidated, regardless of status. If you are going Federal and you are in default, the William D. Ford program can consolidate under Income Contingent (you DO have to allow an IRS records release) and provided you are able to prove financial hardship (which is generally not hard) they will forebear the loan as many times as needed (the Ford Program is underwritten by the Federal Government directly, so they figure if you croak before you pay it off, they will collect the funds from the treasury).
Another FYI: Sallie Mae is in HOT WATER for the recent student loan bribery scandal involving it paying spiffs to F.A. officers at colleges. They, along with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, have been told by the government to get their house of cards in order immediately. My suggestion to anyone who is suffering loan abuse from Sallie Mae or its subsidiaries (General Revenue, et al) should notify their congressional representative and remind them that in this election year, college students are finally starting to vote and we have LOOOOOOOOOONNNG memories. As for the financial industry, with a lame-duck president and political favors exposed, they no it’s “game over” and are trying to get as much cash into their coffers (and in some cases, flee the country) as they can before it’s lights out in 2009.
When the institution of slavery was abolished in the U.S., there was a political answer to a political issue. What was not fully addressed at the time was, was how the economic void would be filled.
Because we (as a society) could no longer legally force people to do our dirty work for nothing, we had to find ways to have them agree to do it “voluntarily.” Indentured servitude did well for awhile, but in a sense, fell out of favor. It fell out of favor, because while some “compensation” was paid, the amount of service require to discharge the obligation was disproportionately large. Moreover, the servent was still teathered to his master. The distinction between slavery and indentured servitude became untenable.
In the great scheme of the world, however, the fortunes of powerful men rely on their ability to get people to do things for them, that they otherwise would not do, for as little as possible. So, a new complex scheme was devised that, on its face was much more palatable. Now the servant would not be teathered to a master. Not directly anyway. The servant, desperate to provide for himself and his family, is given a “choice.” The servant may make better than meager wages for his efforts, and even chose whatever master he would serve, but advanced “training” will be required. After all, the servant is no longer trained as an apprentice to his master, so, presumably some one else must assume that role, and be compensated accordingly.
A powerful partnership was developed to achieve this goal. Indeed, the parnership involves many players; industry, financial institutions and government. As further described below, a system is developed where the servant is teathered to one entity while serving another. This way, the appearance of the master-slave relationship is hopelessly obfuscated.
Now industry enters the equation. No longer to directly bind it’s workforce to indefinite periods of servtitude at low wages, a new approach is required. Industry sets a new standard and require training for what once learned by apprenticeship (i.e. on-the-job learning). Credentials are now required to provide the master with adequate assurance of a suitable servant.
Now the American institution of lower learning (i.e. colleges, universities, etc.)enters the equation. The instituitions of lower learning are esentially a pay-for-license system. Rather than exerting effort in providing meaningful education (i.e. training), these institutions realized that they could realize substantial revenues, while doing very little other than providing credentials with speculative and variable values. But how is the lowely servant ever to satisfy such an obligation?
Now the financial instituions enter the equation. With vast amounts of capital, they can lend the servant whatever monies he needs. But the servant does not have adequate money, nor resources, nor meaningful collateral. Moreover, what of the vocations that are not profitable? Or the risk that the servant suffers some misfortune? What sane lender would ever make such an investment in such a decidedly unsound enterprise? None, really. Except a loan of such a nature suddenly makes sense when the government enters the equation.
Now the government enters the equation. With the high cost of education, government is pressured to provide some sort of financial relief for the masses. At first, a grant program seems like the logical answer. However, with budgetary concerns, the government realizes that there is no good purpose in giving away money when they can give with one hand and take with another. Instead, the government guarantees educational loans. What this does is make the loan make sense for financial instituions to make. Now the lender doesn’t care it the servant stiffs them, because the government will make sure they are covered. Guaranteed cash flow for the bank.. easy money. So now, not only do questionable loans make sense, but otherwise hopeless ones do too! And now the government, rather than paying aid straight out to give the servant a fresh start, pays much less and gets to retain the joy of tracking down non-paying servants to the ends of the earth (and beyond). They outsource the collection effort, and with fees, penalties, collection costs, etc. the government actually takes a windfall. So rather than spending money on aid, they make money! What a country. Also, to absolutely insure there is no way out, they pass a law that says that the student loans don’t get discharged in bankruptcy. Industry supports this practice, because it keeps servants working rather than face the full brunt of Uncle Sam’s wrath.
So, everyone makes money.. except the poor servant. He pays the tab with life-long labor.
I have 37000 in SLM student loans which are mostly federal based loans except for one which is a career training student loan co-signed by my dad. I have filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy & included them in my filing even though they will not be discharged at the end of my chapter 13 but will be able to pay them through my plan without problems or issues. My career training loan will be paid as well & my dad will not be responsible for it since I have it in my plan & will not be affected by it or aware of it. If you file chapter 7, they still are not dischargeable but the career loan will be placed in the cosigners name b/c of the chapter 7. Chapter 13 will alleviate putting anything on your cosigner or their credit.
I borrowed a total of $21,095 and graduated in 1993. Since I did not get a decent job right away, I went in to default. I have been on “Income Contingent Repayment” for 10 years and recently filed a chapter 7 bancruptcy. I just got a notice in the mail that my loan has been transferred to another collector. The principal is stated as still being $27,000 with over $8,000 in interest and fees, for a total of over $35,000 of debt. Over the last ten years I have ALREADY paid almost $29,000 on the loans. Can somebody tell me ……where does this end? You can interview me, grd386, think of the tens of thousands of people out there that have these same horror stories..
You know I live within spitting distance of the callers of Sallie May. I do their local newspaper ad, they are actively hiring for their customer service staff. It’s weird when they call me for collections. We too are stuck with a 50k student loan that will ay off for more than 120K when all is said and done, “if” we can ever afford it.
I think there should be something to be said for plain english when they present us with a contract. And I mean plain english, “you will be paying $800+ a month for 15 years” if they had said it like that I would of stopped right then and there. Culinary arts pays, but not that well. They gave me and my husband a list of percentages and current options they offered on payback but nothing simple. With a real basic number they wouldn’t be able to get away with any of the sales tricks and slogans. Also the resources departments of the school would then actually have to do their job and find affordable options, not just the first loan company that says yes.
Before the school loan I was able to pay for both of us on my income, after the school loan hit both of us can’t pay with a total of three jobs.
Here is something else that is really bad. Say you stopped paying on your loan due to illness and it went into default. You get better and start working again and contact the lender to work something out. Now the lender won’t talk to you and your only option is to deal with any number of collection companies that have been given access to your loan. The only way to reform the loan is to let the lucky collections company IMMEDIATELY add 25% on top of the total amount you already owe, in order to allow you the privilage of getting out of default. So, if you currently owe $50,000, your total amount is now $62,500. That is the only remedy, besides payment in full, or suicide, or find some way out of the country, that you have. Currently, if you want to pay your defaulted loan, the 25% on the top IS THE ONLY OPTION AVAILABLE.
I have heard of problems in the 1990s with institutions of higher education steering students toward certain loans (which were not necessarily in the student’s best interest). Does anyone know anything about this. I have been trying to find a way of paying my student loans back for years without success. I initially borrowed about $90K in student loans for my doctorate and I know (with compounded interest) owe over $275K (9% interest rate). Even now, with a good job more than 10 years after graduate school, I am unable to pay these loans and pay for a meager existence. I guess that students with wealthy parents who paid for their educations (I worked my way through undergraduate school waitressing and I also worked 20-30 hours per week in graduate school to help with living expenses) are not reading this blog. The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor…I guess that is the way of the world. American is less and less like the “land of the free.” I am not against hard work–but, what about it “paying off” eventually?? Any information about student loans and ways to discharge them or to restructure interest on them are welcome. I did hear 2 things that I will pass on (from an attorney in Massachusetts–I can’t confirm the accuracy of theses thoughts…) 1) “interest on student loans is not a student loan and should be discharge eligible in a bankruptcy. 2) In Massachusetts, one needs to have an “original” promissory note to collect a debt from someone. If not, the debt is not subject to be collected. I doubt that Sallie Mae and some of these companies have the original documents from the 1990’s for those of us who have tried and tried to pay this debt off for years…
I have heard of problems in the 1990s with institutions of higher education steering students toward certain loans (which were not necessarily in the student’s best interest). Does anyone know anything about this. I have been trying to find a way of paying my student loans back for years without success. I initially borrowed about $90K in student loans for my doctorate and I know (with compounded interest) owe over $275K (9% interest rate). Even now, with a good job more than 10 years after graduate school, I am unable to pay these loans and pay for a meager existence. I guess that students with wealthy parents who paid for their educations (I worked my way through undergraduate school waitressing and I also worked 20-30 hours per week in graduate school to help with living expenses) are not reading this blog. The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor…I guess that is the way of the world. American is less and less like the “land of the free.” I am not against hard work–but, what about it “paying off” eventually?? Any information about student loans and ways to discharge them or to restructure interest on them are welcome. I did hear 2 things that I will pass on (from an attorney in Massachusetts–I can’t confirm the accuracy of theses thoughts…) 1) “interest on student loans is not a student loan and should be discharge eligible in a bankruptcy. 2) In Massachusetts, one needs to have an “original” promissory note to collect a debt from someone. If not, the debt is not subject to be collected. I doubt that Sallie Mae and some of these companies have the original documents from the 1990’s for those of us who have tried and tried to pay this debt off for years…
If anyone wants to read up more on the Sallie Mae rip off, go to StudentLoanJustice.org