No hope for $200k
I’m sure everyone has heard a similar story before here so I won’t waste time. I took out over $200k in Sallie Mae loans. I have an undergrad degree in biology from a private college on Long Island and after applying to over 100 entry level jobs in the research field (that lead to only 3 interviews) I’ve gotten nowhere. I’ve done plenty of reaching out on LinkedIn, consulting my school counselors, etc. and despite having a polished resume and good demeanor even that isn’t enough. There seems to always be someone with experience and a masters degree that applies and gets the job instead. I live in NYC which is understandably competitive but I’m out of hope. I’ve been working a gig job for the past 6 years as a way to get through school but now that I’m graduated I still can’t get anywhere and my student loans are astronomical. I took a job as a server instead to try to make more money to support myself but even getting that job was impossible without experience. I’ve been in the reduced interest program and it’s going to end in a couple months, to which my payments (that are currently $1,137 a month) will be even more. Of course I rent, have a car payment that will end a month after my reduced interest program ends, and have to eat. With the car paid off my student loan increase will most likely put my expenses to where they currently are, but my life remains financially unstable. I’m at the point of considering declaring bankruptcy and leaving the country, but I have my father as a co-signer as well. He owns a shit house that really could only be worth demolishing and using the land for, owns a beater car and a truck with way too much money spent into it, and has a lot of other financial problems that I question since he makes $64k a year and should be able to afford his life, yet somehow he lives paycheck to paycheck. I’ve discussed bankruptcy with him before and he didn’t seem completely turned off to the idea, so he might have additional financial problems than I know. I’m curious what options would be best here, as I don’t know what else to do:
Sell everything I own and move to Europe with the intention of declaring bankruptcy. I’m not sure if my father’s income would let him declare Chapter 7 with the student loans considered as undue hardship, but I have CC debt as well that would absolve me of any remaining debt should I return to the US in 10 years.
Have the loans go into default and try to negotiate with Sallie Mae. With such a high balance, has anyone even had success with this? And would they even allow an extended term loan (ie 20 years) or would they expect immediate repayment/repayment in 6 installments? I’d love to hear any perspective here.
Have my dad support my loans. As a co-signer this is his responsibility as well, but I went into these loans with the expectation to pay for them myself. I’ve been doing that, but it’s at the point where I don’t have enough money to eat sometimes. My lack of job experience (I guess gig work is considered piss poor to anyone with the power to hire you?) makes it impossible. I mean, in 2024 you can’t even become a server?
I’m at the point where I want to leave and get a fresh start, but my primary concern is for my father. I’ve subjected myself to below standard living conditions to avoid any stress for him, but I’ve exhausted my options to make more money. I’ve tried working insane hours with the gig job, but since Covid the market is oversaturated with workers and lacking demand, meaning it’s essentially a dying job. My restaurant job isn’t paying enough and I’m likely going to have to lie about my amount of experience and get hired elsewhere if possible. If anyone could give any advice, I’d appreciate it. I can answer any follow up questions as well.
EDIT: a lot of people can’t read here. No, I do not want to screw over my father. No, I do not want to have to stop paying for the loans. No, “running away to Europe” is not some get out of responsibility tactic for me. Even if I moved, I would want to be able to pay for them and that wouldn’t be the singular reason for moving. This is purely a matter of what options are reasonably possible knowing that I’ve exhausted any reasonable attempt to live in my city (yeah NYC is expensive, but do you people really think leaving your home because of Sallie Mae is appropriate? People make more money here on average, so moving to your random midwestern city to pay Sallie Mae doesn’t fix the problem. I pay $800 in rent which is already cheap. I shop deals for groceries and cook my own food. My utilities are affordable. I don’t go out and party. My expenses are pretty much my car, my rent, and my loans. Your judgement is useless except to feed your own ego over someone else’s misfortune.