Sallie Mae Private Loan Question ! :(

mariebailey, MSN, RN · Feb 7, 2013

I have several private loans with Sallie Mae, but only one of them has a co-signer. The loan is a little under $9000, & the interest rate is 2.75%. The amount you ultimately pay depends on how long you need to take to pay it off. Remember the interest accrues daily on your loans. Also, most of your monthly payment goes to interest and not principal if you are only making minimum payments, as with any other debt payment. Good luck deciding.

OCNRN63, RN · Feb 7, 2013

Make sure you pay strict attention to your statements with them. They repeatedly told me I had missed payments when I had proof. Then, years later I started getting phone calls from a collection agency. Apparently someone with my name decided to become a nurse but skipped out on her loans, so of course, the called me, even though my loan had nothing to do with hers and had been paid off early 5 years ago. Idiots.

netglow, ASN, RN · Feb 7, 2013

Reading this stuff scares me for people like you OP. You will most likely have a tough time finding employment as a nurse. Have you considered trying to find any kind of work with your previous degree and then work on your ADN? Yikes, nobody should be doing the kind of thing you are embarking on. If you default on those loans you will be hounded for ever, and, at least in my state you won't be allowed to renew your nursing license if you have defaulted. Renewal is every 2 years. Thousands of nurses are still unemployed after that two year mark. How will you pay your loans if you don't get a nursing job ASAP? Do you have a for sure plan in place?

roser13, ASN, RN · Feb 7, 2013

The payment in full amount depends completely on your interest rate (the worse your credit history, the higher the interest rate) and the length of time over which you choose to pay off the loan. These days, an 8+ percentage rate sounds like highway robbery. Perhaps student loans are their own animal and have no correlation to the going rates?

I too worry about your ability to repay $75,000 + interest on a nursing salary. Have you looked long and hard at this forum to see how difficult it can be (not always, but most of the time) to obtain a position as a new grad? I recently learned that student loans cannot be resolved even under bankruptcy - they will be with you for all time until repaid.

Kelly185891 · Feb 7, 2013

Thank you for all of your quick responses and great advice. I have decided to CANCEL that Sallie Mae loan and find a private loan else where. You guys really scared me, I have heard about how hard it is for new graduates to find a job, especially ones with a Associates Degree. Also I heard about this story of a mother cosigning for her son on the news. Her 25 year old son died and the federal loan people decided to leave her alone, but the private loans she cosigned for were not! Private loan people were hounding her that they want there money. She had to come out of retirement and pay them and its was very hard on her until she started a petition for them to drop the loan. Anyway I am going to cancel the Sallie Mae private loan. ANYONE KNOW ANY GOOD STUDENT PRIVATE LOANERS??

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Feb 7, 2013

I don't think this is an issue of Sallie Mae versus another company and more about total educational debt you're taking on plus having to go private loan versus federal. DH and I both have private loans through Sallie Mae and I have two private loans through two other companies, and honestly, it's all been about the same. With long loan terms and loan interest, it's not unusual to be paying twice the original borrowed amount amount in the end.

Do you live in an area that has a tough job market for new grad nurses? Is there a preference where you live for BSN prepared new grads or do ADN nurses do alright? Are you looking in to all options to become a nurse (including cheaper options) or is this just convenient and fast?

As far as the mother getting stuck with her dead son's loans, yes that's sad, but when you cosign for a loan, you aren't just saying "hey, they're good for it, don't worry" you are saying "this is MY debt and I am 100% responsible for it too."

Kelly185891 · Feb 7, 2013

I live in Montgomery, AL and am still researching the job market for new graduates. I decided to become a nurse because I want to help people, I am compassionate and want to say I made a difference in the world before I leave it. I realized in my last semester of school how hard it is for people the BS degrees to find jobs. I have looked at Master's degree programs around my area and they all don't interest me. I don't want a useless Master's degree that I don't know what to do with, and I don't want to leave town. My mom has been trying to tell me to become a nurse and how great a job it is since my freshmen year and I wish I had listened to her. Looks like the only way for me to become a nurse is to get an associates degree, I tried looking at BS programs, I went to South University in Montgomery and their BS program would have had me taking pre-reqs for a year and a half. The tuition was $5000 for the pre-reqs and the actual nursing program's tuition was $7200 each semester. I don't think I can afford a BS in nursing, and I capped out on my federal loans at $55,000. So I have to find a way to obtain and Associates in Nursing!

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Feb 7, 2013

I really suggest you spend some time reading new grad threads, and some time in the Alabama local forum here to see what your local market is like.

Also, have you run your federal loans through a calculator to see what you'll end up paying in total when you're done with them? Depending on your interest and the term of the loan, your interest paid will drive up the total cost of your loan significantly. That has nothing to do with having bad credit- that's just how interest over time works.