Student Loan Nightmare

Putting myself through 4 degrees with a kid was not easy, and even though I had some scholarships, I still came out of everything owing 133,733.

I started paying back my loans in 2007. When I got near the 10-year mark, I contacted my servicer about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. They said none of my payments were eligible, since I was on the wrong plan. They moved me to a different plan, one in which I was paying less somehow, and my 10-year clock started again.

As of a few months ago, I have paid back over 88,744.

With interest, what I owed in March: $154,213.

I was getting nowhere, due to interest.

A colleague was recently on the phone with DOE, and they told her about a new form they had for people like me–people who had paid the same or more on a plan that arbitrarily didn’t count. They were letting some of those payments count in the 10 years, since they admitted the system had been confusing.

So I went to the DOE website for people like me. Step 1: They wanted me to consolidate my loans. I had a small Parent Loan. I didn’t see how that could count for forgiveness, so I tried to submit the form without consolidating.

A giant red box told me I really shouldn’t skip that step.

I called and asked. The man said the Parent Loan could be forgiven if I consolidated.

So I did.

I got encouraging paperwork from the DOE, saying it looked like I had indeed made payments that should be considered. They just needed Mohela, the loan servicer, to tell them exactly how much I’d paid and when.

But then I was talking to Mohela today, and they thought I was a brand-new customer with a brand new loan.

By consolidating, my old loans disappeared, along with the 14 years of monthly payments I’d made.

By consolidating, which the PSLF program told me to do, I effectively erased 100% of the progress I’d made toward forgiveness.

The woman at DOE said I should have read everything more closely.

And I will always admit that we should read things more closely.

But it also seems to me that on a page specifically designed for people who believe they have made qualifying payments toward forgiveness, you should not encourage people to consolidate, unless you’re trying to screw them over.

Maybe what needed to be in big red letters was: hey, if you consolidate, we won’t consider any of your loan history at all, and you’ll be fucked, so skip Step 1.

Today, I owe 158,569.

If I’m on the “right” kind of payment plan for PSLF for the foreseeable future, they want me to pay almost 1,800 a month for the next ten years.

I can’t really afford that, especially since my health demands that I stop working more than one job. That’s more than my rent.

Also, since it will be 10 years, I will not be eligible for any loan forgiveness, ever.

I will pay 222,108 in those 10 years, meaning that by the time this is all done, on the plan they have in mind for me, I will have paid 310,852 since 2007, for taking out 133,733 for myself and about 4000 for Dante. The government will receive 172,119 in interest.

I managed to stop crying today long enough to hold office hours, but I know I’m not done yet.

Mohela, the loan servicer, was at least sympathetic when I talked to them today. They are filing a petition to decouple the loans, now that I have a full understanding of what coupling did.

That petition may be turned down.

I’m not feeling optimistic. Instead, I’m beating myself up for not understanding their terms. I’m nauseated, angry, and exhausted.