New and trying to figure out whether to file

[MajorMike]

please see below for the annual costs for one year of college:

The cost of tuition, fees, room, and board at public four-year universities has increased 52 percent, from $8,439 in 2000-2001 to $12,796 in 2006-2007 (in current dollars); and

The cost of tuition, fees, room, and board at private four-year universities has increased 37 percent, from $22,240 in 2000-2001 to $30,367 in 2006-2007 (in current dollars).

I'm sorry but not that many people need to pay room board etc...I'm just talking about tuition...not a place to live.

[MajorMike]

I don't see how BKing 13.7 is going to help you at all. You could get a better job or get 2 jobs and pay the CC's off.

Mike, I want to know what school offers a Medical or Law degree for 70k?

http://www.llmprogram.org/tuition.html

JSD Doctorate Degree - Annual Fees & Tuition
Tuition: $15,000 per year

[MajorMike]

please see below for the annual costs for one year of college:

The cost of tuition, fees, room, and board at public four-year universities has increased 52 percent, from $8,439 in 2000-2001 to $12,796 in 2006-2007 (in current dollars); and

The cost of tuition, fees, room, and board at private four-year universities has increased 37 percent, from $22,240 in 2000-2001 to $30,367 in 2006-2007 (in current dollars).

You're looking at a PRIVATE school....as you can see....high end is $12,796 per year

[MajorMike]

Hey, I teach at a small "affordable" public college. The tuition/books/board/incidental fees run $15K per year. This only for an undergraduate degree!! Students typically have $40K - $50K in unsecured student loans after 4-5 years. I have friends that are attorneys and doctors who have $125K - $180K in student loans. $50k-$70K will barely buy you a bachelor's degree at a Tier 2 public institution these days. Welcome to the new world! You get what you vote for...

I go to school online and pay only about $9K a year for tuition, fees and books. It's doable. You don't have to go to a brick and mortar and if you do, then it's on you to pay back those high student loans. Most kids use the money for way more then school anyway...

[Phillymanhere]

Smeechai,

Here's the thing. Most of us on this board have a LOT more than $13K in dischargeable debt. For example, I have 46K to 50K of credit card debt; others have much more.

The thinking here is that it's not good to file bankruptcy if you don't have a clear path of financial progress. If you file now and your underlying situation hasn't changed, it's quite likely that you'll run up more debt in the future. Yes, this is possible even with bad credit.

Once you file for bk, you can't file again for 8 years or so. So if your job situation doesn't change, you may accumulate more debt after filing and this time you won't be able to get it discharged. I can't think of anything more demoralizing than going through the bankruptcy process and then later falling into more debt. Harvard Law professor, Elizabeth Warren found that about a third of the people who file for bk fall into financial trouble not long afterwards. Why? Because their underlying economic condition hasn't changed.

I am not all that fond of consumer credit counseling, but in your case, I would consider visiting them. I had much lower interest rates than you have and the consumer credit folks couldn't lower my rates, but they probably can lower yours. Plus, just in meeting a credit counselor, you might get some ideas on how to approach things.

Are your loans in forbearance? Can you put them there for a while? I delayed my graduate school loans forever it seemed. Can you possibly stretch out the terms of the student loans? That may give you a little breathing room for a time while you deal with your stress. This is key because when our thinking seems to narrow when we are deeply distressed.

[Cali]

This is a 3 yr program for a Doctor of the Science of Law Degree. That means you are researching and then submitting a dissertation at the end. In order to get the JSD, you have to have some sort of legal degree(JD, LL.B, LL.M, etc)from a Law School.

http://www.llmprogram.org/tuition.html
JSD Doctorate Degree - Annual Fees & Tuition
Tuition: $15,000 per year