# Would you blow off your student loan, if you thought you could? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565 "2010-06-26T05:08:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/41 "2010-06-30T16:47:56Z")
> [@nicole1912](#): > > The UK Student Loans Company now require you to declare your overseas income to them, and you don’t pay anything if you earn less than the threshold they set as the minimum (around £15k a year) - if you don’t declare it, or lie about it, I can’t imagine there’s much they can do. If you never earn more than 15k, I think they wipe off your debt when you hit retirement age, or if you die, but not if you live abroad for more than a certain number of years, though it’s a common enough misconception that I wonder if it didn’t used to be the case in the early days of student loans. I don’t know whether or not it used to be the case, but the above was correct when I took out my student loans, and I am almost sure it is still correct today. I suspect the character described in the OP is working on the assumption that if he never returns to the UK (to work, at least) and does not declare any income to the Student Loans Company, they really have no way of pursuing him for the money. This does not mean it is legal, of course - I strongly suspect that it isn’t, but on the other hand it’s not likely to be something that the SLC can spend resources tracking down. To answer the OP, no, I wouldn’t, for all the reasons mentioned by those of a similar mind. Having said that, currently the interest on the loan is higher than what I pay off each year, so it could well be that I never pay it off in full. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/42 "2010-06-30T20:53:34Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > No offense intended at all, but that’s just foolish. A home mortgage is a business deal, nothing more. The bank doesn’t care about integrity, word of honor, or anything else and will not hesitate to dump your property if it becomes beneficial to them to do so. Choosing to take the moral high road in a truly terrible situation will lead to financial ruin and poverty; the bank won’t care or lose one wink of sleep. Look out for yourself first in that aspect of your life, save the integrity for where it counts. I have to disagree. Integrity is not about the other party, it is about the person. Agreed that the bank and most businesses would walk away from a debt or screw over the other party for 10 cents. But just because they are low-lifes doesn’t mean one has to join them. I understand that upholding your end of the bargain might be disadvantagous to the individual. That is something one has to think about when one enters into an agreement. Making a decision to stay or walk away is about how the person views him/herself, not whether there is an extra dollar in it. I admit I have never been in that situation so I can’t say for sure what I would do. But I have been in the situation where I had to think about the consequences. Didn’t like the possibilities and didn’t go there. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/43 "2010-07-01T11:43:11Z")
Would I blow off my student loan if I could? Yes. I did, and it was legal. People, you have to catch your breaks where you can find them. In fact you should be actively seeking them out, no one else will do it for you (except maybe your family). ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/44 "2010-07-01T11:53:40Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > I have to disagree. Integrity is not about the other party, it is about the person. Agreed that the bank and most businesses would walk away from a debt or screw over the other party for 10 cents. But just because they are low-lifes doesn’t mean one has to join them. I understand that upholding your end of the bargain might be disadvantagous to the individual. That is something one has to think about when one enters into an agreement. Making a decision to stay or walk away is about how the person views him/herself, not whether there is an extra dollar in it. That’s exactly what I mean. It isn’t a word of honor situation, you’ve just been duped into thinking it is. You aren’t borrowing from a friend, or an investor as a business partner who has a real interest in your success. You are borrowing from an institution that will not hesitate to throw you out of your home, take everything you own, and leave you on the street to collect on your debt. It is a business deal and should be treated as such. A good faith arrangement is only ethically binding if both parties are in it in the same manner. As others mentioned up thread, the bank isn’t getting screwed really, they get the house back and will sell it. They probably lose out in the long run, but at least as the power partner, they can absorb the loss, while damn near everybody else cannot personally do the same. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Fuji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/45 "2010-07-01T15:11:45Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > That’s exactly what I mean. It isn’t a word of honor situation, you’ve just been duped into thinking it is. You aren’t borrowing from a friend, or an investor as a business partner who has a real interest in your success. You are borrowing from an institution that will not hesitate to throw you out of your home, take everything you own, and leave you on the street to collect on your debt. It is a business deal and should be treated as such. A good faith arrangement is only ethically binding if both parties are in it in the same manner. As others mentioned up thread, the bank isn’t getting screwed really, they get the house back and will sell it. They probably lose out in the long run, but at least as the power partner, they can absorb the loss, while damn near everybody else cannot personally do the same. Well said. I’d also add that, at least when I was paying them off 10 years ago, the college loan industry had managed to influence Congress to include a stipulation that you can only re-finance the debt once. Found this one out the hard way, as I was locked in around 8% as interest-rates plummeted to near-zero levels. Fuck those assholes. > [@Isamu](#): > > Would I blow off my student loan if I could? > > Yes. I did, and it was legal. > > People, you have to catch your breaks where you can find them. In fact you should be actively seeking them out, no one else will do it for you (except maybe your family). I can’t believe I’m the first to ask, but: How did you do it in your case? ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/46 "2010-07-02T00:55:37Z")
A bunch of old farts who didn’t incur a tenth of the student loan debt that today’s students have to incur are wagging their fingers. Hilarious. I find it incredible that I could get gambling debts discharged in bankruptcy, but not student loans. With the loans guaranteed and non-dischargeable, is it any wonder that the price of higher education has skyrocketed? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/47 "2010-07-02T01:21:25Z")
If I could get away with it, no penalties, no questions asked? Does the Pope wear a funny hat? Will I? Absolutely not. Will I even attempt to do so. Hell no. But I’m not going to lie. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/48 "2010-07-02T05:07:15Z")
> [@Fuji](#): > > I can’t believe I’m the first to ask, but: How did you do it in your case? Sorry but I don’t want to go into details. The loophole has been closed in any case, so my explanation wouldn’t benefit anyone anymore. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/49 "2010-07-02T15:08:45Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > My father defaulted on his student loans. I don’t want to turn into him. I don’t know how he lives with himself. You don’t know how he lives with himself? For defaulting on a student loan, or because he beat you guys or something? ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/50 "2010-07-02T16:10:11Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/51 "2010-07-02T17:22:34Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > A bunch of old farts who didn’t incur a tenth of the student loan debt that today’s students have to incur are wagging their fingers. Hilarious. My total was around $30,000 and now that I’m 50 years old they are finally paid off. At the time I began paying them I was making $24,000 a year and the payment was $260 a month. I also was paying about $450 a month for child care. Speaking of higher education costs, state schools, especially community colleges, are still a fine bargain. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/52 "2010-07-02T18:24:48Z")
Now now, don’t get in the way of **MOIDALIZE** ’s self righteous finger pointing and broad brush painting. It’s an art, **NinetyWt.** It’s an art. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/53 "2010-07-02T22:43:54Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > A bunch of old farts who didn’t incur a tenth of the student loan debt that today’s students have to incur are wagging their fingers. Hilarious. > > I find it incredible that I could get gambling debts discharged in bankruptcy, but not student loans. With the loans guaranteed and non-dischargeable, is it any wonder that the price of higher education has skyrocketed? I’m not sure what the cost of education has to do with it - when you take out the loan, you know how much it’s for, and you know you’re going to have to pay it back. You can choose to use them to pay for your education, or choose to fund it some other way, or choose not to go to school at all. I’m still not convinced that just shirking the debt seems like a valid choice. Part of the reason this irks me is that I have worked really hard to get scholarships and worked full time all summer to pay for 75% my education (my parents paid the other 25%, if they had not I would have had to take out a small loan for that bit). It annoys me to think that other people are treating the student loan as a free ride - tuition is paid for you, then you just skip out on paying them back. I admit that this is my problem, but it is irritating. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/54 "2010-07-02T23:19:05Z")
It’s supply and demand. In a country where blue collar jobs have been shipped overseas and even the most basic of jobs requires a college degree, college has become a necessity. The demand for a college education has increased. The higher education industry, being an industry just like any other industry, has raised their prices in response to the increase in demand. And why not? Student loan financing has been virtually assured for anyone who wants to attend college, and non-dischargeability is a significant factor that explains the easy access to credit. Thus, there’s little downward pressure on tuition prices, and little recourse against schools and graduate programs that misrepresent the true costs of attending (not to mention the employment probabilities). The government is guilty too, because they’ve consistently punted on the question of what kind of economy is actually best for the citizens of the US; it’s far easier to endlessly claim that higher education alone is the answer, and leave individuals with the burden of trying to figure out how they’re supposed to fit into a constantly shifting economy. That wouldn’t be so bad if there was a way to get out from under the cost of figuring this out, but it’s easier to call the individuals irresponsible or lazy, or blame them for studying the “wrong” subjects. Many people (not all, but many) don’t have a problem with homeowners taking a steely-eyed realist’s view of the financial logic of continuing to pay their mortgage when they’re upside-down on the loan, so why would you have a problem with a student borrower doing the same? ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/55 "2010-07-03T00:28:07Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > A bunch of old farts who didn’t incur a tenth of the student loan debt that today’s students have to incur are wagging their fingers. Hilarious. > > I find it incredible that I could get gambling debts discharged in bankruptcy, but not student loans. With the loans guaranteed and non-dischargeable, is it any wonder that the price of higher education has skyrocketed? Sorry to skew your data, but I’m a 23-year-old who graduated in 2009 with roughly 40k in loans. Per your later post - how are these schools misrepresenting the “true cost” of attending? I know I received an itemized bill, every semester, along with a specific breakdown of what aid I had (ie, _x_ amount from a work-study job, _y_ amount in loans, _z_ in grants), as did most of my friends at other institutions. And if you’re foolish enough to attend a school on the basis of a promise of guaranteed employment - well, perhaps college isn’t for you in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/56 "2010-07-03T00:41:36Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > Sorry to skew your data, but I’m a 23-year-old who graduated in 2009 with roughly 40k in loans. Are you still working as a cashier? I’m not attempting to denigrate your employment situation at all, but if you incurred $40k in student loan debt only to end up a cashier, then you’re not nearly as angry as you should be. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/57 "2010-07-03T00:54:40Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > It’s supply and demand. In a country where blue collar jobs have been shipped overseas and even the most basic of jobs requires a college degree, college has become a necessity. The demand for a college education has increased. I disagree with this. There are are still jobs in the trades that pay well. A plumber or an electrician can earn more than most office workers. How much does a mechanic earn? A generation has been led to believe that college is a necessity but that really isn’t the case. How much does it cost to get an AA from a community college? ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/58 "2010-07-03T03:40:45Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > It’s supply and demand. In a country where blue collar jobs have been shipped overseas and even the most basic of jobs requires a college degree, college has become a necessity. The demand for a college education has increased. The higher education industry, being an industry just like any other industry, has raised their prices in response to the increase in demand. As **Caffeine.addict** points out, there are still many jobs out there that don’t require higher education. In 2007, only 27% of Americans had a bachelors degree (per the [US census](http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2010/tables/10s0228.pdf)), and the others must being doing something, so college is hardly a necessity. Anyways, I’m not sure that ‘everyone needs a college education these days’ equals ‘they forced me to go to college, why should I pay!’. I agree that tuition is high at some schools, but it’s not like you don’t know what the tuition is going to be before you go - you should have a clear idea of how much your education will cost and what the repayment plan will involve. I’ve been in school almost 10 years, and there was never a time when I was not getting an itemized breakdown of the costs of everything. > [@](#): > > Many people (not all, but many) don’t have a problem with homeowners taking a steely-eyed realist’s view of the financial logic of continuing to pay their mortgage when they’re upside-down on the loan, so why would you have a problem with a student borrower doing the same? I’m not an American, so I’m not sure of the details of this, but weren’t mortgage problems one of the causes of the recent US recession? In that case I’m thinking people maybe \*should \*have more of a problem with this attitude. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/59 "2010-07-03T04:17:36Z")
I’m in no mood to get into a long discussion of the many ways America is being turned into a banana republic, least of all with someone whose parents made up the difference in paying his tuition, but I will comment on this: > [@Meyer6](#): > > I’m not an American, so I’m not sure of the details of this, but weren’t mortgage problems one of the causes of the recent US recession? In that case I’m thinking people maybe \*should \*have more of a problem with this attitude. That’s exactly the wrong view. To grossly summarize, the financial industry has booked a paper profit much larger than reality would indicate that they are entitled to. Nonetheless, they are doing everything in their power to realize that profit, and people are fighting back. ---
**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565/60 "2010-07-03T17:27:59Z")
> [@Caffeine.addict](#): > > How much does it cost to get an AA from a community college? Where I work, $2,700 for in-district students, or $5,760 for out-of-district students. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-blow-off-your-student-loan-if-you-thought-you-could/544565.md?page=4)