I currently owe HESAA over $134,000, over the course of 30 years, at an interest rate of 8.3%. I’m currently paying $1,012.22 a month, and this is after consolidating my loans (through HESAA unfortunately).
I’d love to get my loans consolidated through another lender who might offer better interest rates, but just about all of them don’t offer consolidation for loans over $125,000.
I also have somewhere around $30,000 in federal loans, but I was able to get that deferred for now.
I attended —- University, and greatly enjoyed my time there. I landed a job at a marketing firm in —– , where I’m making $30,000 a year, but with taxes I’m paying more than half of my earnings to HESAA!. I don’t understand why they can’t offer IBR to students. I thought their purpose was to help us; not take advantage of college students who don’t know what they’re getting themselves into.
10 Comments
Anonymous · March 20, 2014 at 7:26 pm
You are the one who borrowed the money…
Anonymous · March 24, 2014 at 4:33 am
Yeah cocksucker, and I also borrowed money from a federal lender, who is allowing me to repay my loans based on my current income. Why can't HESAA offer repayment options like that? Is it because HESAA couldn't give a fuck about NJ students achieving college degrees, and would rather just make money off them? It sure as hell seems that way.
Anonymous · June 20, 2014 at 1:43 am
Your lucky to have HESAA. My Sallie Mae loans are at 14%. Want to switch? My parents didn't save a dime for my college, so they financed it for me.I only wish they got approved for HESAA. Salliie charges $35 a late payment. My friend told me he makes late payments every month to HESAA and they never charged him a late fee -ever! Hesaa is a gift from god. You are the lucky one. Thank your parents for choosing HEsaa.
Mark Hesaa · July 7, 2014 at 7:02 pm
It's true HESAA doesn't have late payments but did you realize that really we are all in the same boat. Instead of criticizing a fellow sufferer we need to unite around a common principle – student loans no matter what the interest rates are all complete rip offs! Let's agree on that. There is far too much money that we have to pay back to government agencies for a measly college education, be they state or federal. Don't blame the victim look at the causes – the colleges who keep raising tuition, the government who keeps cutting back on grants and scholarships and last but not least the loan companies and their political hacks who serve them.
Anonymous · August 27, 2014 at 2:26 pm
Private student loans are an entirely different ball of wax. IBR will be impossible – even illegal – to obtain with New Jersey Class loans.
Because the source of funds are derived from the sale of bonds, there is no way an IBR can ever be offered. HESAA is legally bound to enforce the terms of the loans. Not even the government can compel them to offer it because that would violate federal regulations that govern the bond market. No one would ever buy another bond
if the government could come in and change the risk/performance parameters after purchase. It would be an international financial catastrophe to the tune of $35 trillion plus (that's just the US market share). I wouldn't hold my breath that government is going to come and rescue you.
You're stuck. You can't convert them to federal loans and, as you already found out, you can't even convert them to bank loans because the amount you owe is too high.
The only escape route that exists is if you have someone in your life that owns a home, that trusts you enough to make the payments, and is willing to take out a home equity loan to pay off your student loans. Then you just pay them the monthly payment on their equity loan. The upside is the interest rate will be a lot lower. The downside is someone could lose their house if you don't pay your loan.
Of course, you could consider enlisting in the military to take advantage of their tuition assistance. That's a real lifestyle change in the short-term, but if they significantly knock down this debt, then it might be worth it if you have the stomach for it. Try the Air Force. The chances of you seeing combat are almost zero. Also, with a degree, you'd be an officer and they make good money and lead a good life. You'd get experience, leadership training, and the respect inherent with a military background.
BTW – Consolidation was a terrible mistake. Obviously, I don't know your situation, but I bet you consolidated almost immediately upon graduating which is the worst time to consolidate. The additional interest you will pay is astronomical. I've seen New Jersey Class borrowers end up paying an additional $80K in interest just because of the consolidation compared to not consolidating.
This is a tough, but not impossible, situation. I hope it works out for you.
Anonymous · August 27, 2014 at 2:38 pm
@Mark,
If it's a "measly education" then why did you borrow so much in the first place to finance it?
I agree, it is a measly education. Why did you agree to pay so much for it?
From where I sit, you come off as someone who wants his cake and want to eat it, too.
If your lender had told you to shove off because they didn't want to finance your education, we both know you would have complained vociferously about that.
Well, they delivered the exact product you requested. You selected the school, you accepted the school's rate of tuition, you contacted HESAA, you filled out their form, you accepted their terms, you accepted their loan offer, you allowed the school to retain the funds through the reimbursement period, you went back and repeated the process multiple times. Clearly, it is what you wanted, pursued and obtained.
Like anything else, every action has a consequence. Regardless of how onerous the consequences are, they are yours to bear. You benefitted from the loans, you received your degree, no one can ever take it away from you. But you do have to pay for it. And the price is exactly what you agreed to, and no more.
Yes, the price is outlandish, it's unjustifiable, ridiculous – any combination of adjectives and adverbs you want to insert here – however, it's also legal. You can't argue you were ripped off, bamboozled, or anything else because you were provided with all information (principle, interest rate, total interest over term, monthly payment, etc.) before you accepted the loan. And then you even had time after that to return the funds at no cost because that's the law. You agreed anyway.
It's on you, bud. You're not a victim, you're a willing participant. You know who the victims are? The taxpayers who didn't get the degrees that they pay for in the form of grants, loan guarantees, and federal loan forgiveness.
Mark Hesaa · August 29, 2014 at 1:59 am
Wow you are really a very optimistic person! So it would be a terrible catastrophe to actually do right by borrowers, forgive student loan debt and start funding college education with grants and scholarships. I don't think so. It would be the best possible move for the economy because it would free up educated consumers who could have a shot at joining the middle class. Remember the middle class? haha Because of these types of loans they are a thing of the past! But in your logic it's tough shit because "your're stuck."
We are building a movement of borrowers who will help to change public opinion about this ridiculous way to fund education. It's a loan sharking scam pure and simple. No "bond holder" should have the right to profit off a kid's future.
Mark Hesaa · August 29, 2014 at 2:11 am
Your slavish fealty to legality is not a good enough argument to continue to accept the terrible terms of loans with fine print most students are not informed about. This is supposed to be someone's job right? They are called "financial aid counselors," I believe and most of them are worthless when it comes to HESAA/NJCLASS.
Are you missing the fact that many young people aren't as financially literate as people like yourself who seem to be paying close attention to the language of unjust laws that facilitate usurious behavior?
I think you are the true victim, or rather it's your conscience that has been somehow slaughtered. I'm just someone who is willing to tell the truth about this kind of legalized scamming of young people whose only crime is a desire to better their lives. Simply agreeing to getting screwed doesn't mean it should be legal pal, besides what choice do we have if we want a degree? Earning a college education demonstrably does translate to better wages over the long haul.
So you got to ask yourself, because you bothered to come here and write all this crap, don't you think we can do better than this as a society? Especially when there are so many countries around the world who are already way ahead of us on this and simply provide people with a college education free of charge?
Anonymous · August 30, 2014 at 6:03 am
Yes it would be a catastrophe because debt forgiveness (of government guaranteed loans) doesn't dissolve the debt, it simply shifts the burden of repayment off the borrowers and co-signers who agreed and benefitted from the loan to taxpayers who benefitted nothing. It's called moral hazard: The beneficiaries enjoy all the benefits, but bear none of the risk.
Grants and scholarships from private institutions are perfect. I'm all for that. Government funded grants and scholarships are akin to loan forgiveness. Someone other than the student is paying for that education. Someone who maybe can't afford shoes, or gas to go to work, or to save for their own child's education. That's not right no matter how you spin it.
It would be the worst possible move because it reward the insane actions of the hopelessly uninformed who will no doubt continue to live beyond their means, habitually seeking and expecting handouts largely obtained from the government through coercion of taxpayers to fund this movement of educated consumers who prefer largesse to self-control and personal accountability.
It's not my logic that you're stuck, it's an observation of an obvious fact. You borrowed money you can't repay = you're stuck.
Face it. You and anyone who agrees with your movement are nothing more than a group of takers who have no think that by taking other people's money and spending it means you're adding something to the economy. You consume more than you produce and your answer to the problem you cause is to take more from people who actually produce.
Economically, the middle class would be better off without you.
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