Request for Reader Responses: Did you pay off your student loan debt?

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I have interacted with thousands and thousands of student loan debtors, and have spoken to hundreds of them by phone. We all know that a majority of people who have college degrees, professional degrees, etc., etc. are stuck with a great deal of student loan debt. It's likely that most of these student loan debtors will never pay off their debt. The student loan debt clock is now at $907 billion. With the passing of each minute, that number increases dramatically. That provides us with some pretty concrete evidence that there are millions of student debtors (not to mention their co-signers).

I only know of a few people who have paid off their student loans. One person is the President of the U.S. He has admitted that he would still owe student loans if he hadn't written two successful books. The other person is also an author, but that's not how he paid off his debt! Nope. He had to get a movie deal to do that. So, a successful book ain't gonna cut it. You'll need that successful book to be turned into a movie. Then you'll be able to pay off your debt.

Since this site is dedicated to research on the student lending crisis and sharing testimonials from student debtors, I would like to hear from those of you who have paid off your loans. If you are willing to share, I'd like you to answer the following questions:

(a) How much debt did you owe?
(b) What sort of loans did you have? Federal? Private? Both?
(c) How would you describe your economic background?
(d) Where did you go to school? (If you went to more than one, please list all the schools you attended)?
(e) Are you the first person in your family to graduate?
(f) What did you major in?
(g) What professional degree(s) did you obtain (if applicable)?
(h) When did you graduate?
(i) What were the interest rates on your loan(s)?
(j) How were you able to pay off your loans, i.e., did you inherit money, did your family help you, etc., etc.?
(k) What advice would you give to someone asking you about paying off their student loans?

For-Profit Funding: Rep. George Miller Wins The Shameful Prize - He's The Recipient Of Over $110K

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Who's receiving money from the for-profit industry? Lookie here. Shame on all of them. The damned Democrats have received more money from this disgusting industry than the Republicans. And these politicians wonder why people are disgusted and angry? Really? It's all about: Money, Money, Money. F--k the students. F--k the citizens. 


Source: For-Profit Colleges Mount Unprecedented Battle For Influence in Washington

 

[UPDATE] Dean James Thelen from Thomas M. Cooley Law School Responds With A Threatening Letter

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Dean James Thelen, Associate Dean for Legal Affairs and General Counsel at the Thomas M Cooley School of Law, sent me a threatening letter about an hour ago. At his request, I have posted his letter in its entirety. However, I refuse to take down my previous posts (and that is what he is demanding). I have a right to raise these questions, and nothing about my posts are defamatory. They have no right preventing me from sharing this information. The public can reach its own conclusion. I hung up this response on advise of counsel, and will not be threatened by the implied slap shot suit that Dean Thelen mentions.

April 28, 2011

Ms. Johannsen:

I write to address your April 27, 2011 blog posting on http://alleducationmatters.blogspot.com.  I note that you have just updated your posting today.

Your report regarding Thomas M. Cooley Law School is, at best, false and misleading; at worst, it is defamatory and actionable.  A simple Google search would have demonstrated that the defamatory material passed off as truth – admittedly by your own “hunch” – is nothing but a regurgitated Internet rumor circulated and discredited months ago.  (I’ve reviewed too your Twitter feed regarding these allegations, which is stated as fact and is thus defamatory as well.)

Thomas M. Cooley Law School is not, and never has been, under any investigation for its Title IV student loan programs or any other reason.  Thomas M. Cooley Law School is a Michigan non-profit private educational corporation—not a for-profit entity that you assert to be the subject of a rumored government “crackdown.”

You should immediately remove these defamatory postings from your “All Education Matters” blog page, as well as from your Twitter feed and any other site that you control.  I also expect that you will post an appropriate statement of the reason for your retractions.

Thomas M. Cooley Law School is accredited by the American Bar Association and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.  We have in place a Program Participation Agreement with the United States Department of Education, as required by the Higher Education Authority Act and its implementing regulations, and we dutifully meet our obligations under federal and state law, as well as our PPA agreement, to maintain the integrity of our Title IV program and funding.  There have not been, to the best of our knowledge and information, any complaints of inappropriate activity regarding our Title IV programs to the DOE’s Office of Inspector General.

We at Thomas M. Cooley Law School are proud of our mission to provide one of the most affordable and accessible private legal educations in the country.

(You have my permission to post this statement, but only on the condition that it is posted in its entirety.)

**************************
James B. Thelen, Esq.
Associate Dean for Legal Affairs and General Counsel
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
300 S. Capitol Avenue
P.O. Box 13038
Lansing, MI  48901
(517) 371-5140 ext. 2003
fax: (517) 334-5752

Part II: Thomas M Cooley Law School

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Yesterday I quoted a 'little bird' who claims that things are more than just sordid at the Thomas M Cooley Law School. As much as I would like to investigate the claim and confirm that there is an investigation underway, I do not have the resources to do so. Therefore I sent the post to some contacts at IHE, Education Sector, the Department of Education  (if even put a call into a contact there), etc., etc. to see if they might be interested in pursuing the assertion or confirming it. Moreover, and as I stated on the updated version of that post, a scamblogger received the same 'tip' a few months ago. It might very well be a hoax.

I have written a piece based upon evidence from a whistleblower in the past. But in that case I learned the identity of the individual, and posted their real name (we also spoke by phone).  That story was about Kaplan's sordid relationship to WAPO. It's a shame that this piece didn't spark more outrage, because it really shows what a mess things are, especially when it comes to the way in which these institutions are entangled. In addition, there is no doubt that the lenders have, for lack of a better term, infiltrated the Department of Education. This allows them to influence policy and the flow of money. As we all know, money is never directly distributed to students. It is tightly controlled by the lenders, the universities, etc. There are a number of individuals who go back and forth from working for the lenders and the Department. But that is the case with all the departments, and that is why these bureaucracies have been sullied. On a political note, that is what President Obama promised to clean up. And as we know, that really isn't going so well, but I digress.

If this individual does not provide me with a specific name, this story is over for the time being. I am happy to keep their identity confidential, but I will not engage with someone who does not tell me (a) who they are and (b) what they do.

My sources are trustworthy and I know who they are - that matters, particularly when you're talking about corruption on these levels. My work is based upon solid research and evidence, and that will not change.

That said, if anything does come up about Thomas M. Cooley Law School, I'll be the first to post the reporter's news story about it.

[UPDATED] MUST READ: Thomas M Cooley Law School Under Investigation For Serious Title IV Violations

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UPDATED: This 'tipster' got in touch with one of the scambloggers a few months ago, claiming the same thing about Thomas M. Cooley Law School. So it might be a hoax.

Is it true? Where are the documents to back up this claim?

A little bird wrote to me today and said:

Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan is under investigation for serious Title IV violations and helping student loan companies bilk students, taxpayers, and the government out of billions of dollars. 

According to a person involved in the multi-agen­cy investigat­­ion who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the probe is part of the Dept of Ed's for profit crackdown and the feds crackdown on the 9.5 percent student loan scheme that's causing graduates student loan debt to double and triple to astronomic­al rates. Cooley has been secretly operating their state’s student secondary market program and helping lenders grow their 9.5 percent loan portfolios­. Investigat­ors discovered that the school has been purchasing the college loans of their incoming students then using their students' personal informatio­­n to execute federal consolidat­­ion loans for the loans they purchased and the federal loans the students' take out to pay Cooley’s tuition. Cooley, then changes those students' graduation date to match the maturity date on the fraudulent consolidat­­ion loan. The fraudulent loans are packaged as 9.5 percent eligible student loan revenue bonds and sold as Student Loan Auction Rate Securities­­. Once the SLARS are sold, swapped, or traded on the muni bond market, those students’ whose loans were sold etc are either ‘dismissed­’ for academic reasons, 'honor code violations­­' or diagnosed with a ‘learning disability­­.'

Investigat­­ors also discovered that a good portion of Cooley's 'Administr­­ators' and 'Executive Officers' are really employees/­­officers at banks, investment firms, private equity firms and securities dealers [my emphasis].

I've been searching for about an hour or more for news pieces on this investigation. So far, nothing is showing up. Stay tuned.