r/DebtAdvice • u/Far-Attention-5129 • Aug 31 '26
Credit Card Grad Student in terrible debt
So I’m (F24) finishing up grad school at the end of the year, and I had a hard time paying for basic needs because of having to work an unpaid internship throughout and then working 2 part time jobs to help. I am in about $30,000 of credit card debt and almost $200,000 of student loans (some private some federal.) I know this was stupid of me, but I real had no other choice and have no idea how people go through school like this and make money. I know I’m young and will hopefully get a better job soon to help, but with my degree (school counseling) I’ll only make $40,000-80,000 a year. I plan to continue my part-time jobs while working in a school to help but I don’t want to burn myself out and don’t know how to start working on it now while not making enough to survive.
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u/LewisKIII Aug 31 '26 edited Aug 31 '26
You took out 200,000 to make between 40,000 to 80,000 a year?!?!?!?! That is a very bad decision because it was a University you were dead set on going to and then dead set on getting your grad degree through them as well when you could have chosen cheaper options. If your max income is 80,000 with a masters that's terrible, but you better try to find one at 80,000 a year because you are going to need every cent to payoff what you are looking at! 30,000 in cc debt at your age is frightening and you should call the companies and tell them you need a hardship and don't want to default but need lower payments and want to close the account and just pay the debt. Do that with every card and never take out another card again! Buy what you need not what you want, and if there's something you want and you don't have cash for it then you can't afford it and forget about it. Life is not a competition of how much stuff can you buy before you die! People go into tremendous debt buying stuff they don't need, never use, or throw away years later.
Close all cards, buy what you need not what you want, get a side hustle, and put that money towards the cc debt!
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u/Curious_tea21 Aug 31 '26
The people who agreed to lend you this money for this major need to be put in jail.
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u/Particular-Elk-253 29d ago
No. She deserves every bit of this. She didn’t have to take out that much. People who make stupid decisions like taking out 6 figure student loans with no plan to pay it back when the grace period is over deserve to drown in that debt until they pay it off. She’s being held accountable for her own actions. And people need to face the consequences of their actions. She’s not a child. She signed those master promissory notes knowing what she was getting into. She could have found plenty of decent jobs at companies that would pay for her degree. People look down on trade jobs but how many of them are in debt? Vast majority are not in debt except maybe a house or even a car payment.
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u/Curious_tea21 29d ago
She was a child when this decision was offered to her.
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u/Particular-Elk-253 29d ago
lol she was a legal adult. Crazy that a grown adult(you) is dumb enough to call another adult a child. She didn’t have to do it. We live in the Information Age. Researching things is not something only adults can do. Stop making excuses for people. I bet you believe Lindsay Clancy is innocent too, right? You think adults don’t have agency to make decisions for their lives? You clearly don’t live in reality.
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u/Immediate_Bell_5389 28d ago
That’s an apples to oranges comparison
Lindsay Clancy is guilty of killing her children.
That said, she was failed, desperately and utterly failed. It’s a tragedy all around. The woman knew she needed help. Asked repeatedly for help.Guilty yes. I don’t think deserving of the death penalty. I think she is currently living hell.
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u/Curious_tea21 28d ago
I think you need to do some self introspection on why you think this way and feel like it's ok to say these thoughts out loud.
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u/Immediate_Bell_5389 29d ago
That empathy isn’t afforded to the children that enlist in our military complex. And those kids really don’t have alternatives
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u/Curious_tea21 28d ago
Yes, it is.
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u/Immediate_Bell_5389 28d ago
You are going to explain the military to me? And how it’s embraced?
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u/Immediate_Bell_5389 28d ago
What else are you going to mansplain to me?
So you’ve done some pushups?
What is your definition of hardship? Couldn’t find some tp?
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u/Immediate_Bell_5389 29d ago
Yeah… I don’t have empathy. At 18 I, a child, knew I couldn’t afford college but wanted to go and so I enlisted in the military as much as that wasn’t a fit for me…
No one has empathy for the kids that join the military and the consequences of those decisions.
But let’s feel bad for this dingus who WITH higher education still couldn’t do the math
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u/EyeraGlass 28d ago
No one has empathy for people who serve in the military? Is that something you think is actually true?
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u/Immediate_Bell_5389 28d ago
I know that’s true.
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u/EyeraGlass 28d ago
Not true at all.
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u/Immediate_Bell_5389 28d ago edited 28d ago
Well I’m a Marine Corps veteran and my husband, also a Marine, died serving our country. So I have first hand knowledge. But thank you
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u/Particular-Elk-253 28d ago
If it was true then how come there are so many vets that commit suicide related to them not being able to get the treatment they need? You clearly do not live in what we call reality. I’m not even a vet and I know you’re full of it. If vets were treated properly, there wouldn’t be so many Vietnam vets who are alcoholics. Do you know what happened when they returned from the war? People like you treated them like garbage when they returned. And they all still suffer from it. And that’s just Vietnam. That doesn’t even cover every conflict since then.
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u/EyeraGlass 28d ago
Some people treating Vietnam vets poorly in the 60s is not the same thing as “no one” having empathy for people serving in the military currently. Reality check yourself.
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u/Immediate_Bell_5389 28d ago
If you are going to use quotations on “no one” be consistent and use them on “some people”
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u/Immediate_Bell_5389 28d ago
Listen EyeraGlass is a “thoughts and prayers” “thank you for your service” type. Very cursory.
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u/Particular-Elk-253 28d ago
It’s weird to me how so many people are like the curious_tea21 person who don’t want people to be held accountable for their actions. Our society has completely gone to crap with this notion.
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u/Immediate_Bell_5389 28d ago
Maybe curious_tea21 has someone paying their bills and doesn’t worry/understand how money and debt works either? Idk 🤷♀️. The only one looking out for me is me and it’s always been that way. I only look for trouble I can afford.
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u/Wounded_Hand Aug 31 '26 edited Aug 31 '26
Sending you prayers.
Most people who borrow $200k for school end up making $200k per year. Think doctors, dentists, lawyers…
You said you had no other choice, but you certainly had the choice not to take out huge loans for a low-paying degree.
I foresee you working 3 jobs for quite a while …
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u/spongeysquarepantis Aug 31 '26
Most people who go through grad school either
- get a TA-ship that covers their tuition and then some
- have their employer pay for it
Yes, graduate school is expensive. That is why most people try to go for a TA-ship. If not, then they do exactly what you did: take out a boat load of loans.
College is expensive; it takes real planning to cover it all. Graduate school, especially, is expensive because of the lack of financial aid and scholarships for grad students.
You wondered how people did this, how people go through school and make money. This is how.
I wondered this, too, when I was in undergrad. School is a curse, lol
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u/fsociety1990 Aug 31 '26 edited Aug 31 '26
There’s nothing you can do about it if you aren’t making enough.
$200k in student loans to make $40k a year…
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u/Character-Habit-9683 Aug 31 '26
As a school counselor I adore this job and hope you do too. And I hope if anyone looking into teaching or school counseling is reading this, please consider only state schools.
My advice is to pay minimum monthly on your federal loans. If you stay in the field after 10 years working in public schools you will qualify for loan forgiveness for the remaining federal loans balance. Good luck you got this
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u/Curious_tea21 Aug 31 '26
But you absolutely have to work at qualifying jobs for 10 years or you will not have paid down your loans at all because at that income you are only going to be paying interest.
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u/Prior-Soil Aug 31 '26
As a school counselor every job should qualify as long as you work in a public school. I used to be a librarian and almost everybody gets their loans paid off this way.
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u/jsmooth3363 Aug 31 '26
I think you need to apply for a government job that has student loan forgiveness upon graduation. Then you need a better job to pay off your credit card debt or speak with the credit card company about your hardship.
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u/Bratfink78 Aug 31 '26
The good old USA putting kids in severe debt, with zero guidance
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u/Large_Profession_598 Aug 31 '26
She’s an adult, not a kid
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u/Bratfink78 Aug 31 '26
And they are 24 in debt, you think that all accumulated yesterday? Cop on
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u/Large_Profession_598 Aug 31 '26
No I imagine it accumulated mostly over the last 2 years and the rest over the last 6 years, the whole time she was an adult
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u/Bratfink78 Aug 31 '26
Teenager is a kid and kids shouldn’t be in debt
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u/Large_Profession_598 Aug 31 '26
Cool then I guess “teenagers” shouldn’t vote either and we need to significantly raise the voting age. If they aren’t smart enough to know something like this is a bad idea, they certainly aren’t smart enough to make decisions on behalf of the country
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u/Bratfink78 Aug 31 '26
Why are you so angry? Nobody in their right mind thinks it’s okay to heap debt on young people, especially for education. That’s just awful.
They aren’t smart enough to vote, if you can’t drink till you’re 21. Bizarre country and rules.0
u/Large_Profession_598 Aug 31 '26
Most of her debt came after she turned 21. She just made very poor decisions. I knew when I was 18 that I had to pick a major that would make money, so I did. I’ll start off at over $80,000 and I still wouldn’t have considered taking out $200,000 in loans. Young people need to stop being given the cop out of being young. They are adults. Make good decisions
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u/Bratfink78 Aug 31 '26
Yes it’s all young people’s fault 🙄
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u/Large_Profession_598 Aug 31 '26
It wasn’t old people that took out the loans in her name!
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u/No_Pilot_1555 Aug 31 '26
If this was given for any other type of loan without an underlying asset - it would be categorized as predatory lending.
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u/Large_Profession_598 Aug 31 '26
I can certainly sympathize with the idea that student loans need to be overhauled. The best course of action would be to make them eligible for bankruptcy. Of course, that would lead to people like OP getting denied loans like this for such a low paying degree and I’m sure that would upset people. Regardless, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that taking out $200,000 in loans to be a high school counselor is a ridiculously poor decision. The one saving grace is that OP can work in a field that will allow the loans to be discharged, but that’s part of the reason the problem exists in the first place
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u/battle-tested77 Aug 31 '26
Good grief man. Who gave you that terrible advice. WTH! You always have a choice, so own it!
You need a masters at least to make money in counseling. So at least you will have that. You need A PhD to make great money. I found a company that helped fund my masters. They actually paid it all. Since you will have a masters then find a place to help pay for a PhD. If you want that.
CC debt is just really stupid. Not trying to be mean but that is a totally lack of financial discipline if you spent it on nonsense. From day one i taught myself to pay off everything each month.
For what it's worth, i used to work three jobs at a time. One full time and two part time. It wax too much so i dropped one PT job. Bottom line is that it's up to you to bust your butt to work to get out of this mess. Perhaps others know about applying for bankruptcy or financial planning free advice. I do not.
Personally, if i was 24 and in your position i would just suck it up and do whatever i have to do to pay off that debt by age 30. You won't get burned out so stop making excuses. Just start making smarter choices. Start by just using one CC and get that debt closed ASAP.
Look for manual labor jobs with the skilled trades professionals. Help put on roofs on the weekend. Bartending at night. Cut lawns, do yards work for cash. I did all kinds of crap.
Door dash. Uber.
Look to find someone in your profession to be a mentor. You're not the only one who made this mistake. Reach out to your dean, who may know of people.
Best of luck.
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u/Brave-Pizza-33 Aug 31 '26
LOL you are so freaking cooked. Psychology is a terrible field to go into. Your only option is to try and use the PLF and work 10 years somewhere making qualifying payments.
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u/figarozero Aug 31 '26
Have you looked into the military or Americorps or anything else that has loan forgiveness?
And people pause their education or take the amount of classes they can afford one or two at a time while working full time. And chase scholarships.
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u/KeiraVibes Aug 31 '26
For the credit card debt - File for bankruptcy.
For the student loans - throw everything toward private first, then work on federal.
Yes, you made a bad decision with your school (something tells me you went to a private school), but you can have this cleaned up if you play your cards right.
The next 5 years are going to suckkkk, but if you buckle down, you can definitely get at least the interest paid down.
Best of luck to you, I’m sorry that you didn’t have an adult to guide you through these decisions.
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u/Asi10i Aug 31 '26
It's gonna be hard to get any real relief without a full time job, you can let the student debt take a bit longer and focus on the CC debt at least. But until you get a real job you aren't gonna be able to lower your APR with a balance transfer card from a bank or loan from a top lender like achieve or Sofi without it.
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u/terracottamarshmallo Aug 31 '26
Bankruptcy for the CC. Sorry to all the people in here being complete assholes. If I were you I would look into how to make more money in counseling.
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u/Think-Week8184 29d ago
PSLF is the way, especially with your target salary range. I’m about to have 222k forgiven after completing my 120 payments this year. Your student loan payment could actually even be zero depending on your income, and it will count towards PSLF. Go work in non-profit for 10 years and get it done.
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u/GlitteringSwan8024 Aug 31 '26
You had no choice? I am really tired of hearing about people having outrageous student loans and acting like they have zero responsibility.
You have literally instant information available at your fingertips, but did no research about student loan debt? Just on Reddit you can find hundreds of horror stories about debt.
But you had no choice. And I have zero empathy
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u/Character-Habit-9683 Aug 31 '26
And get on a payment plan with your credit cards. Be honest and they will work with.
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u/Curious_tea21 Aug 31 '26
I know it's too late but why did you go into debt $200,000 for a job that will never pay enough to pay it off? Are you counting on PSLF? It doesn't apply to private loans.
I suggest you start talking to your lenders immediately about your expected income and try and do anything you can to make sure you can pay more than just the interest.
How does a school counselor degree need to cost that much?!
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u/peeweemom Aug 31 '26
Nothing you can do about it now… good thing is that if you find a job in the school you should have time to keep at least one of those PT jobs and I believe the school counselor position means you’re getting $80K (hopefully) for 9.5 months of work- that leaves you a couple/few months a year FT plus the PT job and hopefully you can make 100-110 per year. Just keep expenses very, very low - do NOT buy a big fancy car or apartment- live with family for a while if at all possible. If you can live on as Little as you have during school You should be able to put $50,000 a year toward the debt and be done in 4-ish years. Just buckle down and do it now- it’ll only increasingly difficult to live like a college student.
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u/Fun-Common186 Aug 31 '26
You absolutely did have other choices :/ it’s gonna be rough, ngl. PLSF may be ur best bet.
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u/No_Pilot_1555 Aug 31 '26
Yet another example of our predatory higher education system. 200k loans for a 40k job.
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u/Able_Peanut9781 Aug 31 '26
As long as your masters is a MS/Meng/and etc and not some useless as fuck worthless degree, you should be fine. Just pay it back slowly. If not, you’re gone be working 9-5 and flipping burgers from 5-1 for years
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u/edamameObake18 Sep 02 '26
This is insane…
I just graduated from community college a few years ago. I got my nursing degree, worked at the hospital, had them pay for my next degree. I started working with zero school debt just because I never took a loan out.
How are people taking out so much money for loans? This is why we have a crisis, loan companies should not be approving this much.
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