Consumer Law

One Woman's Story of Student Loan Debt

By Brian Wolfman

Last Friday, the New York Times reported on the $100,000 in student loan debt incurred by Cortney Munna to attend New York University. The story raises the question whether schools like NYU and lenders (like Citibank, which lent Ms. Munna some of her tuition money) should be criticized for the same reason that subprime mortgage lenders have been criticized: for not giving a darn about whether the borrower can pay back the loan. (And, remember, in the student loan context, it is nearly impossible to wipe out the debt in bankruptcy.)  Today, the Times prints Ms. Munna's response to the 600 or so reader comments on the article. These two comments caught my eye:

Don't worry, hun. You'll pay it off eventually. While you are young a second job or income generating hobby would be a good thing to do. Also, if you are sexually active, invest in good birth control, as having children in the next 5-10 years will seriously impede your ability to pay your debt off, which you must do.

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It would be one thing to borrow $100K to go to an ivy league school, or even to go to NYU to get a degree in something marketable. But to borrow $100,000 K to go to NYU to get a degree in women's studies -- a field in which jobs are going to be scarce and low-paying in good time -- I'm sorry, but that is simple stupidity.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on June 02, 2010 (boomark / email).