Students Across the Nation are Planning Something Unprecedented to End Student Debt Forever

[U of M Dem]

110. This just makes sense.

Tuition has consistently increased and the ability to pay tuition as a student or graduate has not budged.

I am lucky to have received a $8,500 per year merit based tuition scholarship in undergrad and lucky that I have parents that covered cost of living. Despite this, I left undergrad with $40,000 in debt, only to add on another $80,000 in graduate school.

I know I could have chosen a "cheaper school" or not gone to graduate school, however then I would sacrifice in my ability to find meaningful employment as a social worker (you need a masters degree in this field to do much of anything).

I carry over $120,000 in debt that I cannot pay off as a social worker.

My partner additionally has higher debt than me (did 1 year in law school and decided to become a social worker instead) which she cannot pay off as a social worker.

There are some loan forgiveness programs for social workers that we do not qualify due to the type of employer we work for (we work for the same organization).

The other loan forgiveness programs require you to pay the full loan payment, which is impossible (1/2 of monthly pay).

We both are using income based repayments which will burden us for the next 20 years.

We are both very frugal, have made sacrifices, and have leaned heavily on my relatives for support.

It makes no sense to me that school is this expensive, especially when you just want to find a way to channel your talents and intelligence into a meaningful way to give back to your community.