Day 178 - "Oh. My. God, Becky. Look at her -"

Student loans!  You thought I was going to finish the song lyrics, weren't you?

I was reading through Yahoo! News this evening and I stumbled across this article.  All I can say is that I'm glad I'm not this woman - or going to medical school or into default on my loans.

This makes me think twice about deferring my loans when and if I start graduate school.  I already have a loan that, when I took it out, was $4,300.  Now, with interest compounding on it for three years of college and the nine months since I've graduated, it's now almost a $9,000 loan.  I have made some large payments on it since November, and I have yet to pay anything towards the original principle. 

Not good, my friends.  If this article isn't evidence of what is wrong with educational funding, then I would love to throw the expandafile of paperwork I have related to loans and how many ridiculous payments I am making every month but not sure where they go at someone who has the power to do something about it.  My loans keep getting sold, sometimes to two different companies in a 24 hour time span.

Cripes.  If I have learned anything, it's that I am not taking out any private or non-federal student loans.  Ever.  Again.  It's not worth it - I'll live on generic macaroni and cheese while I finish my master's if it means not taking out loans.

-AA