School loan

[epapa217]

I have about $7000 left of my school loan. It is the ONLY debt I have. It’s been 20 years and I never actually finished the schooling the loan was for. How can I get this off my report

[loupokami]

Was the account in default at any point, and is it a federal loan? If it is federally backed student loan, it will stay with you for the rest of your life until you pay it off. No exceptions. If the account is in collections, and you aren't paying it, it will go into default. This could take 7 years to over a decade to get off of your credit, especially if the status of the loan keeps changing. Student loans aren't like credit card debt where if it goes into collections, it will eventually reach a statute of limitations and fall of your report if it isn't paid off after a long period of time. These things will stay with you until you die, and if it is federally backed, bankruptcy won't even save you.

[epapa217]

Yes it’s a federal loan, never was in default. I did have to place on deferment at one point but other than that I’ve stayed current. I’ve paid off everything but the last remaining few thousand. It is the only debt I have on my credit report. I never finished school because I started a family sooner than I planned & just never went back. I have been paying this off for 21 years. I guess I will be paying it off until I die like you said. I really want to go back to school now that I’m older and my kids are grown, but I’m terrified of adding to my already current debt. I honestly would have never gone to college if I knew I would be stuck with this as long as I have been. I don’t know if I’m eligible for some type of student loan forgiveness or how that even even works, but I guess unless I win the lottery I will be stuck paying for education I never even received

[epapa217]

Yes it’s a federal loan, never was in default. I did have to place on deferment at one point but other than that I’ve stayed current. I’ve paid off everything but the last remaining few thousand. It is the only debt I have on my credit report. I never finished school because I started a family sooner than I planned & just never went back. I have been paying this off for 21 years. I guess I will be paying it off until I die like you said. I really want to go back to school now that I’m older and my kids are grown, but I’m terrified of adding to my already current debt. I honestly would have never gone to college if I knew I would be stuck with this as long as I have been. I don’t know if I’m eligible for some type of student loan forgiveness or how that even even works, but I guess unless I win the lottery I will be stuck paying for education I never even received.

[loupokami]

Just be lucky you only owe $7k. I was in a similar situation to you. I never got to finish school because I had to basically quit my job and school to take care of my father who had a massive stroke and had no insurance or finances for in-home care, and then my mother got very ill shortly after. It was just hell. So I owed 16k in student loans and never even got my full degree. I'm currently down to 8k which is reasonable, but I basically paid for nothing. The funny thing is, even though I do not have a degree in computer science, I still work for a company as a software developer because I am learning what I need to with the help of my co-workers and free web courses. College is a waste of money nowadays for a lot of things. I feel like you get much better training and experience with apprenticeships, if you are already apt in the line of work you choose.