Anyone feel sorry for this piece of shit?

[bottomset316]

This guy sounds like a massive pussy:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/this-b...ent-loans.html

Even as total outstanding student debt rises to $1 trillion, lawmakers have yet to allow loans to be discharged in bankruptcy.

Without an escape clause, these loans can strangle a person.

Take 36-year-old Nick Keith, who remains $142,000 in debt eight years after graduating from culinary school. He's featured in a new film, "Default: The Student Loan Documentary," in which several college graduates expose the pitfalls of the private student loan industry.

"I want to educate the public about the facts," Keith said. "My life has become a daily swim in a tar pit with very little hope of ever getting out."

Without family support, Keith turned to culinary school

Keith's father only agreed to co-sign a student loan if he stuck with an engineering degree at Iowa State University, but even with decent grades, he knew it wasn't a right fit.

He dropped out sophomore year and later turned to the California Culinary Academy–without his dad as a safety net–hoping to put his love for healthy eating to use.

"The culinary academy commercials were on the Food Network every 15 minutes," he said, and only required 12 months of study with a three month externship.

He fell for their sales pitch, hook line and sinker

"I should have seen all the signs. [The campus tour guide] had a used car salesman answer for everything," Keith recalls.

The magic number was always 99 percent–whether Keith asked how many enrolled students graduated or how many graduates scored jobs afterward.

Feeling confident, Keith took out $46,000 in private loans

He then took out another $14,000 in federal loans to cover his rent, since the school's fees didn't include room and board.

But "I was lied to about the terms of the private student loan," Keith says. "And after completing the program, my first job in the culinary field (working on a meal assembly line) paid $10 per hour."

He wasn't the first one to be duped

In September, the California Culinary Academy agreed to pay $40 million back to thousands of students in a class action suit claiming they were misled about the program.

The school allegedly boasted a "48 percent to 100 percent" success rate for graduates looking for work, but students claimed the calculation included jobs that didn't require a culinary education at all.

With just a part-time job, it took three months to make the first loan payment of $1,300

He was also paying a 19% variable interest rate – nearly triple the capped interest rate on federal unsubsidized loans.

"I spoke to (private loan issuer) Sallie Mae. I wrote to Sallie Mae. But Sallie Mae would not refinance my debt with a reasonable interest rate or reasonable payments," he says.

"I could not afford to make a student loan payment because my choice each month was to either pay my rent or make a student loan payment."

Sallie Mae's best offer? A $50 to $100 reduction in his monthly payments.

Bankruptcy wasn't an option

No matter how deep borrowers find themselves buried in student loan debt, federal law prevents them from discharging it in bankruptcy court–unless they can prove "undue hardship."

"Most bankruptcy attorneys do not pursue a discharge of student loans because the undue hardship restriction is such a harsh standard," according to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org.

With no hope of meeting his monthly payments, Keith threw his hands up and basically let the debt collectors have at him.

"They call every day, a couple times a day," he says. "I send their numbers straight to voicemail."

Eventually he stopped making loan payments altogether

Keith sought advice from a bankruptcy attorney as well as a couple of CPAs on how to handle his loans. Both gave him the same advice: Stop paying.

They reasoned that with so many students in Keith's position, Congress would eventually revamp its personal bankruptcy laws to allow loans to be forgiven.

Nearly a decade since he took out the original loan, his balance has ballooned to $142,000 with a 17% interest rate–and the law hasn't budged.

And the blows just kept coming

"Just as I was getting close to getting my financial house in order, I was injured at work and became permanently disabled," Keith says.

Six years later, Keith's only source of income is a $1,200 monthly disability check, going so far as to collect cans and bottles for extra pocket money.

"I get groceries at the local food bank," he said. "I have sold or lost 99 percent of everything I ever owned."

The outlook remains pretty grim

Keith's expecting about $16,000 from the $40 million CCA settlement in July, but that's only if the school doesn't file another appeal.

In the meantime, his credit score has fallen below 550, he's had trouble securing even auto insurance, and finding work is a struggle–not to mention the fact that none of his CCA credits will transfer if he decides to go back to school.

"Any employer that checks my credit history will surely have to raise questions as to why my credit shows only defaulted or charged-off accounts," he says. "All of my good credit that showed I paid everything in full and on time is now past seven years old and has fallen off my credit report."

For the time being, he's living out of his van

Keith camped out in his dad's heated garage for the better part of 2011, hoping he'd be able to either find a job or sell enough of his belongings to afford to move back West for work.

When we caught up with him in late May, Keith said things with his father turned sour and he used the $2,500 or so he raised on hotel stays instead. As of last week, with the rest of his savings dried up, Keith officially joined the ranks of the homeless.

He's living out of an aged minivan, taking advantage of Salvation Army for meals and groceries. At night, he crashes at highway truck stops, where he says he's rarely bothered.

"All that I, and the rest of the folks in this mess, are asking for is that Congress simply return the "Truth in Lending" policies and procedures to all student loans (both federal and private)," he said. "As well as return the ability to discharge student loan debt through bankruptcy."

[LLL]

Yes.

[jsearles22]

I feel sorry for any human being who has sunk that low. I struggle to feel remorse for people who put themselves in those positions though. This guy did the same thing thousand do every year. I took out about the same as he did in student loans, and I worked as a $6.00/hr security guard 40 hours per week while I was in college in order to get by. I paid my loans and havent looked back. The only reason he is there is due to his own stupid decisions.

[Dan Druff]

Yes, this guy sounds like a loser, and I don't believe all of his sob story.

Usually when someone claims to have been "disabled" from work, but won't state the specifics of the injury or how it affects their daily life, it tends to be bullshit designed to collect worker's comp. There are a staggering number of people collecting "disability" from jobs that weren't even very physical, yet are walking around actively and looking 100% fine. You will actually find that most deadbeats who skip out on car payments, rent payments, etc tend to have the same "disability" story (and in reality, actually did collect many thousands in disability payments.)

The fact that he is able to live out of a van shows that he couldn't be that bad off physically.

Also, the fact that things "turned sour" with his father is also indicative of a guy who's a fuckup. Most parents have a really hard time turning their kids (even adult kids) to the street, even if their circumstances were the kids' own fault. I am guessing that this guy was doing everything he could to avoid getting a job, his father was getting pissed, and the resulting fights led to him being booted from the garage.

Regarding student loans, I think forgiving them is a terrible use of public money, and isn't fair to those who responsibly paid those loans back. Basically, it rewards deadbeats and punishes the honest people.

Taking a student loan is a business decision. You are taking on debt to learn skills and get a degree that you think will increase your earning potential in the future. You are basically investing in yourself on credit. This needs to be done with care. Some people take student loans to major in commercially useless subjects such as Art History, and then demand forgiveness of their debt when they can't get any kind of decent job with that degree. There's also a risk that, even with a useful major, you might have a hard time finding a job if the economy takes a dive, or if your field of study becomes less commercially relevant. Too many people these days want a freeroll in life. They want to be able to make investments that can hugely benefit them, yet get bailed out in some way if they come out behind. Life doesn't (and shouldn't) work that way.

I do agree that this culinary academy sounds like a complete fraud, and he probably legitimately got fucked in that respect. I have seen ads for tons of culinary schools on TV, and they all look like bullshit. One thing that isn't well known is the fact that most chefs get paid VERY poorly. Executive chefs and head chefs get paid well, but those jobs are extremely hard to come by, and only represent a tiny percentage of chefs in this country. The rest of them -- assistant chefs, sous chefs, etc., get paid very little -- sometimes as low as $11/hour. I'm not talking about short-order cooks at Denny's. I'm talking about assistant chefs at very high-end restaurants. If you are eating at a nice restaurant, it is highly likely that your waiter is making MUCH more than the chef preparing your meal. They get away with this because there are just too many chefs out there, and they are all hoping to make a name for themselves and get the rare jobs as head/executive chef or be offered a piece of a new restaurant.

[NaturalBornHustler]

If they ever let student loan debt be discharged I swear I am moving out of the country. The domino effect from tuition hikes to the number of college grads who would just not work to cry poor would be staggering.

Sick and tired of these IDIOTS who want everything for free.

Read the paperwork you dumb fuck and maybe you wouldn't be paying 19%.

[bottomset316]

My back was up against the wall twice in the last 7 years. Had to borrow money, paid it back 100%. The people lending me money hated lending it to me. And I hated accepting it.

I don't fault anyone borrowing money. It's part of life. I now have a few bucks and if a friend or relative asked for some cash due to a situation I would not hesitate.

I'd wait tables at Waffle House at midnight before I welched on a loan. To Druff's point, if the guy were really disabled it would be impossible to live in a van. You use the bathroom like 3 times a day minimum. How and where are you getting out?

[HEX]

imo anyone who calls anyone else a "loser" is a douchebag. It almost always has to do with how much money someone has/makes.

[limitles]

Yes, this guy sounds like a loser, and I don't believe all of his sob story.

Usually when someone claims to have been "disabled" from work, but won't state the specifics of the injury or how it affects their daily life, it tends to be bullshit designed to collect worker's comp. There are a staggering number of people collecting "disability" from jobs that weren't even very physical, yet are walking around actively and looking 100% fine. You will actually find that most deadbeats who skip out on car payments, rent payments, etc tend to have the same "disability" story (and in reality, actually did collect many thousands in disability payments.)

The fact that he is able to live out of a van shows that he couldn't be that bad off physically.

Also, the fact that things "turned sour" with his father is also indicative of a guy who's a fuckup. Most parents have a really hard time turning their kids (even adult kids) to the street, even if their circumstances were the kids' own fault. I am guessing that this guy was doing everything he could to avoid getting a job, his father was getting pissed, and the resulting fights led to him being booted from the garage.

Regarding student loans, I think forgiving them is a terrible use of public money, and isn't fair to those who responsibly paid those loans back. Basically, it rewards deadbeats and punishes the honest people.

Taking a student loan is a business decision. You are taking on debt to learn skills and get a degree that you think will increase your earning potential in the future. You are basically investing in yourself on credit. This needs to be done with care. Some people take student loans to major in commercially useless subjects such as Art History, and then demand forgiveness of their debt when they can't get any kind of decent job with that degree. There's also a risk that, even with a useful major, you might have a hard time finding a job if the economy takes a dive, or if your field of study becomes less commercially relevant. Too many people these days want a freeroll in life. They want to be able to make investments that can hugely benefit them, yet get bailed out in some way if they come out behind. Life doesn't (and shouldn't) work that way.

I do agree that this culinary academy sounds like a complete fraud, and he probably legitimately got fucked in that respect. I have seen ads for tons of culinary schools on TV, and they all look like bullshit. One thing that isn't well known is the fact that most chefs get paid VERY poorly. Executive chefs and head chefs get paid well, but those jobs are extremely hard to come by, and only represent a tiny percentage of chefs in this country. The rest of them -- assistant chefs, sous chefs, etc., get paid very little -- sometimes as low as $11/hour. I'm not talking about short-order cooks at Denny's. I'm talking about assistant chefs at very high-end restaurants. If you are eating at a nice restaurant, it is highly likely that your waiter is making MUCH more than the chef preparing your meal. They get away with this because there are just too many chefs out there, and they are all hoping to make a name for themselves and get the rare jobs as head/executive chef or be offered a piece of a new restaurant.

This is only one assumption that you make but it is the most bizarre of them. What would you know about his disability/injury or living out of a van for Christ's sake.

Is this coming from your box boy experience?

[Dan Druff]

imo anyone who calls anyone else a "loser" is a douchebag. It almost always has to do with how much money someone has/makes.

No, a loser is someone who repeatedly avoids responsibility in their life, and burdens others to keep them afloat.

I am not talking about people with legitimate reasons for this, such as ones with legitimate major disabilities, but rather people who always find an excuse as to why they can't/won't work, and why everyone else should be paying their bills.

One can also be a loser even if financially successful. For example, a millionaire who gets a girl pregnant, then ditches out on the responsibility of raising the child and even avoids paying child support -- that's a loser in my book.

[Dan Druff]

Yes, this guy sounds like a loser, and I don't believe all of his sob story.

Usually when someone claims to have been "disabled" from work, but won't state the specifics of the injury or how it affects their daily life, it tends to be bullshit designed to collect worker's comp. There are a staggering number of people collecting "disability" from jobs that weren't even very physical, yet are walking around actively and looking 100% fine. You will actually find that most deadbeats who skip out on car payments, rent payments, etc tend to have the same "disability" story (and in reality, actually did collect many thousands in disability payments.)

The fact that he is able to live out of a van shows that he couldn't be that bad off physically.

Also, the fact that things "turned sour" with his father is also indicative of a guy who's a fuckup. Most parents have a really hard time turning their kids (even adult kids) to the street, even if their circumstances were the kids' own fault. I am guessing that this guy was doing everything he could to avoid getting a job, his father was getting pissed, and the resulting fights led to him being booted from the garage.

Regarding student loans, I think forgiving them is a terrible use of public money, and isn't fair to those who responsibly paid those loans back. Basically, it rewards deadbeats and punishes the honest people.

Taking a student loan is a business decision. You are taking on debt to learn skills and get a degree that you think will increase your earning potential in the future. You are basically investing in yourself on credit. This needs to be done with care. Some people take student loans to major in commercially useless subjects such as Art History, and then demand forgiveness of their debt when they can't get any kind of decent job with that degree. There's also a risk that, even with a useful major, you might have a hard time finding a job if the economy takes a dive, or if your field of study becomes less commercially relevant. Too many people these days want a freeroll in life. They want to be able to make investments that can hugely benefit them, yet get bailed out in some way if they come out behind. Life doesn't (and shouldn't) work that way.

I do agree that this culinary academy sounds like a complete fraud, and he probably legitimately got fucked in that respect. I have seen ads for tons of culinary schools on TV, and they all look like bullshit. One thing that isn't well known is the fact that most chefs get paid VERY poorly. Executive chefs and head chefs get paid well, but those jobs are extremely hard to come by, and only represent a tiny percentage of chefs in this country. The rest of them -- assistant chefs, sous chefs, etc., get paid very little -- sometimes as low as $11/hour. I'm not talking about short-order cooks at Denny's. I'm talking about assistant chefs at very high-end restaurants. If you are eating at a nice restaurant, it is highly likely that your waiter is making MUCH more than the chef preparing your meal. They get away with this because there are just too many chefs out there, and they are all hoping to make a name for themselves and get the rare jobs as head/executive chef or be offered a piece of a new restaurant.

This is only one assumption that you make but it is the most bizarre of them. What would you know about his disability/injury or living out of a van for Christ's sake.

Is this coming from your box boy experience?

Anyone who has the physical ability to live out of a van also has the ability to take many jobs out there, especially many jobs that don't require a lot of physical exertion.

To me, "permanently disabled" is someone who is so physically messed up that he can't reasonably hold any job (even a desk job). Only a very small percentage of the US under-65 population is permanently disabled, yet there are tons of deadbeats out there claiming such.

Maybe you aren't experienced with life enough yet to identify a deadbeat but this guy is a textbook example, right down to living in his dad's garage for a few months and having things "go sour".

[JUSTIFIEDhomicide]

Dan "Tough but Fair" Druff has spoken

[Steve-O]

Student loans offer Economic Hardship and all manner of options for people in these situations. A recent law also allows you to only pay up to specific amount of your income and is very lenient. I don't get how this guy doesn't qualify for any of this stuff????

[limitles]

What does it take to physically live out of a van? How about on the street? How many types of physical injuries are there? Do agencies who pay disability not verify health claims? None of this is mentioned in the article you are jumping to conclusions....that was my point

[Steve-O]

What does it take to physically live out of a van? How about on the street? How many types of physical injuries are there? Do agencies who pay disability not verify health claims? None of this is mentioned in the article you are jumping to conclusions....that was my point

In his industry Permanent Disability could mean chronic tendinitis or carpal tunnel, maybe he lost a couple fingers on a deli slicer or something. Virtually anyone can collect disability if they work hard enough to not work (you just go to the list and pick something that is hard to diagnose). The fact that they don't explain his plight in more detail has me thinking this is just one of those people that can't hold down a job and tries to skate by, but there ARE plenty of legitimate people who get fucked over on a daily basis too; whether it's making 26,000 instead of 24,000 and therefore not qualifying for any aid (just guessing at those numbers) while the person making $2k less gets $10k yearly in assistance.

[limitles]

The fact they don't go into detail is, it's not the main focus of the story and it's a web article. You can make any assumption you wish but your guess is as good as mine.

[Steve-O]

The fact they don't go into detail is, it's not the main focus of the story and it's a web article. You can make any assumption you wish but your guess is as good as mine.

Very true

[tigerpiper]

Sounds like a loser. I saw a similar story of a girl at Ohio Northern(?) a private(!) school costing $60k/year. She had a degree in social work and was bemoaning her loans.

Social work? Give me a break. A loan is not a scholarship- choose a cheaper school or a higher paying job if you need that much of a loan.

[cmoney]

The kid watched too many episodes of Iron Chef and thought he was going to be a baller.

They have a bunch of French cooking schools here in Portland and the tuition is almost on par with that of medical school. The school has posters up of the one student out of thousand that had a cooking show on the food network.

When they graduate they are lucky to working side by side a felon who got the same job from his parole officer making minimum wage.

It is such a scam but I guess so is 95 percent of college degrees. The only one that benefits from this free money are the Democrats and the Universities. The school get head shots of money because the government guarantees it. So they build rock climbing walls, four star dining facilities and spas to entice the students to come. The democrats win because they essential buy the students vote as the students get brainwashed by their liberal processors who know jack shit about the real world. They then vote democrat.


Unless your parents are rich, or you are going for something that NEEDS a degree, like a doctor, teacher etc save your fucking money. You are much better getting into the workforce right from high school than getting that kick ass communications degree.

[pikachar]

Unless your parents are rich, or you are going for something that NEEDS a degree, like a doctor, teacher etc save your fucking money. You are much better getting into the workforce right from high school than getting that kick ass communications degree.

Here's my two cents...

US Army: Free degrees ($4,500/yr) while on active service. Don't forget the Army will send you to Medical School (Physician's Assistant, Nursing, Doctor) for free... Oh and here's the kicker... CompTIA Network +/Cisco/MS tech degrees... free through other programs.

I went to College for 3 years, didn't get the $65K college loan repayment program, and make less than $45K/yr (Need proof... I have tax returns, Pay Sheets, Benefits Worksheets). I started with $50K in debt back in August 2003, paid off in 2010. The dude needs to man the fuck up and drive on. Sorry no empathy here... he knew the drill. It's these stories that get me on gorilla tilt... Seriously someone ship this fucker some cash in an envelope asap!

Oh and from the medical side of living on the streets (I am a Combat Medic in the US Army). Yes prolonged exposure to the elements will eventually wear out your immune system due to repeated colds/flu (increase risk without getting medications/healthcare). You run the risk of Hot/Cold weather injury, malnutrition, and dysentery (that occurs naturally, reference #1 disease after a natural disaster). The one thing you don't really have to worry about is violent injury since a vast majority of people will go out of their way to avoid you. TBH there would be more risk of getting hit by a car by driving one than staying on a sidewalk. If I wasn't married I'd propbet this in a heartbeat (think about what I do, extreme camping, for a living).

[Rollo Tomasi]

Dan "Tough but Fair" Druff has spoken