Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sallie Mae's False Promises
The road with Sallie Mae has been a long and rocky road. It all began when I was 19 years old. I had just graduated High School and wanted something better for myself. At the time I believed that I had to do anything to get out of the shit town I was living in. I lived in a town on the outskirts of Bakersfield otherwise known as Lamont. It is here in this small town where only farmers lived that I suffered from many years of poverty. My family was so poor that we often had to give our last top ramen to my little sister. For a few months we lived without light, a telephone, and gas. My destiny was to work the farm land (picking onions) for 6.5o an hour. I refused to do this as I knew that there was something else out there for me. That is when Sallie Mae was introduced to me.
Sallie Mae was going to solve my proble
ms. I had to borrow 12k to finish my degree as a Graphic Designer at Brooks College. According to the financial counselor I would only have to pay Sallie Mae 100 dollars a month to earn 32k a year. My mother and I though that I had nothing to loose since the payment was smaller than my earning potential. In addition, Brooks College promised that I would get a job with their job placement
program. It was a done deal and I sign my contract with this devious corporation in the year 2000.
ms. I had to borrow 12k to finish my degree as a Graphic Designer at Brooks College. According to the financial counselor I would only have to pay Sallie Mae 100 dollars a month to earn 32k a year. My mother and I though that I had nothing to loose since the payment was smaller than my earning potential. In addition, Brooks College promised that I would get a job with their job placementprogram. It was a done deal and I sign my contract with this devious corporation in the year 2000.
Two years later, Brooks College did not find a job for me and I called Sallie Mae to defer my loan. They told me that I had to pay the loan even if I was suffering financial problems. They would not cooperate with me and 6 months later after I was deliquent they finally agreed that I should enter deferment status. By the time I entered repayment status I was earning $7.5o and hour and could not pay the minimum payment of $338.oo.
Long story short, my 12k loan has now turned into a 70k loan with a minimum payment of $807 . By the year 2016 i am going to finish off paying Sallie Mae and their profit will be roughly 120k on a 17k loan. My credit is ruined. I cannot qualify to rent an apartment. I am a 27 year old Graphic Designer, earn $2096 after taxes, and have $47 dollars left in my bank after I pay for my car, rent, and bills. I cannot even afford to drive to
work for two weeks and let alone afford food. I am still dirt poor and feel stuck in a rut. Sallie Mae wants it’s minimum payment and is happy to defer as long as they keep on capitalizing interest on my loan. So this is my so called life and I want to figure out how to get out of this rut in half the time. I will blog here about my struggles and my relationship with Sallie Mae. I pray that I can get rid of this monster and make others aware of
how this company can make you poorer than you started.
Long story short, my 12k loan has now turned into a 70k loan with a minimum payment of $807 . By the year 2016 i am going to finish off paying Sallie Mae and their profit will be roughly 120k on a 17k loan. My credit is ruined. I cannot qualify to rent an apartment. I am a 27 year old Graphic Designer, earn $2096 after taxes, and have $47 dollars left in my bank after I pay for my car, rent, and bills. I cannot even afford to drive to
work for two weeks and let alone afford food. I am still dirt poor and feel stuck in a rut. Sallie Mae wants it’s minimum payment and is happy to defer as long as they keep on capitalizing interest on my loan. So this is my so called life and I want to figure out how to get out of this rut in half the time. I will blog here about my struggles and my relationship with Sallie Mae. I pray that I can get rid of this monster and make others aware ofhow this company can make you poorer than you started.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)