Private College Student Loan

The economy is getting worst by the day and I have student loans growing interest? How can I pay them now?

I have $25,000 in student loans, all from Direct Loans. My problem is that I am currently defaulting my loans and interest is growing like the monster it is. I'm going to graduate this fall semester in a degree in Information Systems. How is the job market for IS/IT positions today? Are there any alternate fields I can go into with a BS degree in Business with a concentration in Information Systems? Sorry, I mean deferring not defaulting. Sorry for any confusion.

Public Comments

1. Ragin! This is why you shouldn't get into debt!
2. So you have $25k in loans and you are still in school. You are actually in great shape. When you take out Federal student loans, you typically don't have to pay them until you have been out of school for six months. It sounds like you took a break at some point and your loans have gone into repayment status. If your loans are in repayment then you have the option of putting them in forbearance, during which the unsubsidized portions of your loans will accrue interest, or an in school deferment. You have three years of deferment and three years of forbearance during which you don't have to make any payments. That gives you six years. Then, you can consolidate your student loans. When you consolidate your loans, deferment and forbearance reset. That gives you another six years so if you can't find a well paying job, you have a total of twelve years to get things together, and even then, if you take out at least $500 more in loans, you can consolidate again which gives you another six years. From what I have heard, the IS/IT sector is as hard hit as much of the rest of the economy. Last month IT layoffs were around 125,000. Luckily, the government is hiring like mad. If you were to have good grades then you would start out as a GS-7 if you worked for the federal government, which pays very well. In addition, I believe there are some loan assistance repayment programs which help pay back your loans if you work for the government or a non-profit. (Oops, I just saw your additional details, oh well) Your worst case scenario - go to grad school!