Question:
Dear Steve,
I graduated from ITT 4 year program (2007-2011). I Had about 60k in debt which I have brought down to just under 50k. I am not behind on my loans but the loans and my mortgage are really taking a toll. My loans were through Sallie Mae (now Navient) and are broken up into 14 different smaller loans. They are a mix of Stafford unsubsidized, Stafford subsidized, Direct loan unsubsidized, Direct Loan subsidized, and something called College Advantage.
I make an ok living, in the neighborhood of 50K/year. What can I do to get rid of these loans? I keep seeing ITT is getting sued this and that, but never instructions how to join the lawsuit or how to get the loans released.
Brad
Answer:
Dear Brad,
The College Advantage is a private student loan I believe but the rest sound federal. There may be some action coming to deal with ITT student loans. The Department of Education has been going after them recently.
You could wait out whatever the Department may do or you could consolidate all your federal student loans into a Direct Consolidation loan and then opt for an income driven repayment plan. While this may lower your payment, the overall balance you owe may grow if the required monthly payment is not sufficient to cover all of the interest.
If you qualify for the income driven repayment, each year, for the next 25 years, at that time the balance owed may be forgiven.
The best possible outcome here is that the Department of Education finds ITT engaged in fraudulent activities that would eventually make you eligible for total loan forgiveness under the Borrower Defense program.
Until then, I would suggest you look at other posts on ITT Tech.
Steve
