Submitted by Anonymous231 (not verified) on April 21, 2008 - 4:51pm.
I am a blind-sided borrower. I attended Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 2001 and thought everything was going to be great. I'd go to school and be able to be a real chef when I graduated and found a job paying at least $40,000 a year because of my "Le Cordon Bleu" diploma... at least that's what the recruiters told me. I signed all the paperwork to get my loans, good thing my mom refused to sign as they tried to force her to cosign even though I was 22 when I went. My loans looked good until about half way through the program when the chefs started laughing at us for thinking we'd graduate and make more than $10.00 an hour, let alone become an executive chef or even a sous chef right out of school. Then Sallie Mae decided to buy out my loans but it was already too late to do anything about it. They took the bulk of my loan of $18,000 and stuck it in their private loan which was at an alarming rate of 18% interest. I was told I couldn't do anything about it while I was in school and would have to wait until after I graduated. After I graduated, I was told too bad, Sallie Mae has your loan and you can't refinance or consolidate for any reason ever because Sallie Mae would refuse to release the loan no matter what I did. So here I am 5 years later and my balance is now $60,000 and their collectors are telling me they will take me to court and garnish my wages because I can't force any of my friends to cosign a loan for me. I'd get a loan on my own to settle with Sallie Mae if I didn't have a bogus $60,000 defaulted debt on there... from Sallie Mae. They said they wanted to settle but in the end refused it and then told me I wasn't even trying to work with them if i can't force someone I know to hand me the cash or at least sign a loan for me. You've got to be kidding me. Sallie Mae I really hope you get what you all deserve and I will be on the front line of whatever that may be.
I am a blind-sided borrower.
I am a blind-sided borrower. I attended Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 2001 and thought everything was going to be great. I'd go to school and be able to be a real chef when I graduated and found a job paying at least $40,000 a year because of my "Le Cordon Bleu" diploma... at least that's what the recruiters told me. I signed all the paperwork to get my loans, good thing my mom refused to sign as they tried to force her to cosign even though I was 22 when I went. My loans looked good until about half way through the program when the chefs started laughing at us for thinking we'd graduate and make more than $10.00 an hour, let alone become an executive chef or even a sous chef right out of school. Then Sallie Mae decided to buy out my loans but it was already too late to do anything about it. They took the bulk of my loan of $18,000 and stuck it in their private loan which was at an alarming rate of 18% interest. I was told I couldn't do anything about it while I was in school and would have to wait until after I graduated. After I graduated, I was told too bad, Sallie Mae has your loan and you can't refinance or consolidate for any reason ever because Sallie Mae would refuse to release the loan no matter what I did. So here I am 5 years later and my balance is now $60,000 and their collectors are telling me they will take me to court and garnish my wages because I can't force any of my friends to cosign a loan for me. I'd get a loan on my own to settle with Sallie Mae if I didn't have a bogus $60,000 defaulted debt on there... from Sallie Mae. They said they wanted to settle but in the end refused it and then told me I wasn't even trying to work with them if i can't force someone I know to hand me the cash or at least sign a loan for me. You've got to be kidding me. Sallie Mae I really hope you get what you all deserve and I will be on the front line of whatever that may be.