[from occupied ga]

I’m not sure if bankruptcy can wipe out student loan debts, but if it can then that’s the legal way for these people to go. Otherwise the lender should sue the crap out of them. The lender wasn’t the one who decided to go to a POS degree mill.

[grania]

$100,000 in college loan debt? That’s debt slavery. It shouldn’t be allowed. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t pay up.

[econjack]

As I understand it, the loans are through a bank, but guaranteed by the Federal gov’t. Personally, I think there should be some blowback to the banks for making loans to Donald Duck University (or whatever) in the first place. Why should we taxpayers subsidize a student who wants to get a Ph.D. in Saving the Loblolly Pine Tree? I’d like to see the banks eat 90% of the loan’s cost and the rest fall on us, but only for those students who have declared bankruptcy.

[Drew68]

I'm not sure this case is so cut and dry. This isn't like someone with a degree from Harvard refusing to pay back student loans. Degrees from Corinthian Colleges, Inc.are absolutely worthless. Employers aren't accepting them as legitimate college degrees. The schools were under federal investigations for various improprieties while at the same time the government was handing out loans to students to attend them.

There's a lot more to this story than just a "repayment strike".

[pepsionice]

I worked as a GS in the Pentagon a few years ago and one of my side deals was to supervise over the janitor cleared for the work area (he had a clearance).

We were talking one day and he brought up his off-hours education deal. He was one of the dopes who’d bought off on the for-profit-education school in the DC area. He was going for a IT-certification and bought into the hype of $50,000-$60,000 career opportunities when he finished.

Well...the school had gone bankrupt the month prior. He was probably seventy-percent through their program. They weren’t coming back and he needed advice. I researched the whole thing...because he just didn’t have anyone to provide reasonable and ethical advice.

None of the classes he took were acceptable by any community college (Maryland, Virginia or DC). That was problem number one.

The college was permanently shut, but would allow a request via some lawyer for a print-out of your progress. I asked around for other-for-profit schools...if they’d take what he’d done. They all basically wanted him to start fresh and pay the full deal over.

Getting money back? Zero chance.

There might be one or two decent for-profit schools out there....but you really need to avoid all of them and stick with state community colleges. I felt sorry for the kid and it was obvious that he really was counting some type of advancement for the time and money wasted. Other than resume filler....there was nothing else he could do.

The problem here is you need real people giving advice and helping folks avoid the advertisements and sells gimmicks. These community organizers who ought to something positive for their communities...like leading kids away from rip-offs...instead are just frauds and do little to nothing for their community or the kids who do need help.

[VanDeKoik]

Have fun in court.

Loan are to be paid back. If you dont on purpose, you have engaged in theft.

[LostInBayport]

Sarah Dieffenbacher is on a debt strike. She's refusing to make payments on the more than $100,000 in federal and private loans

Dieffenbacher, who works in collections for a property management company

[Right Brother]

Dieffenbacher said she received an associate's degree in paralegal studies from Everest College in Ontario, California, and later went back for a bachelor's in criminal justice before later dropping out. She said she left school with about $80,000 in federal loans and $30,000 in private loans, but when she went to apply for jobs at law firms she was told her studies didn't count for anything.

Why would someone take out $110,000 in loans to get a degree that can be easily obtained at virtually any community college? Why did she drop out before obtaining her Bachelor's?

[Boiler Plate]

I have been telling every college kid I know and the parents of college kids this one thing for years now.

If you are NOT either interning or Co-Opping you are wasting your time.

There is an axiom to that and it is

If you cannot get an internship or Co-op position in your current course of studies from the college you are attending, you are Completely wasting your time and Money.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

studies at a for-profit college that she now considers so worthless

While I agree that many of the curricula at for-profit colleges are indeed worthless, I'd venture to say the same about many degrees from so-called non-profit institutions as well.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

She spent approx 7 years at this college and racked up $100K ??

[TomGuy]

Sarah Dieffenbacher is ... refusing to make payments on the more than $100,000 in federal and private loans

No sympathy here. After I graduated, I had to repay loans and grants over a 4 year period. Initially, those amounts exceeded a full year's income The first three years in the real world were difficult, financially, but I managed to pay back every loan and grant ON TIME or ahead of time. I drove junker cars, ate TV diners, and delayed purchases of 'luxury' items, such as a first color TV, etc.

Sarah Dieffenbacher ... owes for studies at a for-profit college that she now considers so worthless she doesn't include it on her resume.

That is her fault. She should have investigated the employability of various fields of study. Is her Google finger broken?

[molson209]

sure put their student loans on everyone’s taxes

[IronJack]

I screwed up and chose a fly-by-night college. Check.
I majored in something useless. Check.
I borrowed thousands to secure this worthless degree. Check.
I signed contracts agreeing to repay the money I borrowed. Check.
I entered into these agreements willingly and with full knowledge of their legal consequences. Check.

But it's someone else's fault and their obligation to eat the debt.

Got it.

[who knows what evil?]

My wife’s niece decided she wasn’t going to pay back her student loans. Guess who squealed like a pig when her tax refund was seized?

[Kickass Conservative]

Outlaw Student Loans, problem solved.

[SgtHooper]

Too dam bad. Stupid is as stupid does.