Student loan discaharge

[dizzygirl]

hey guys..

I have been going round with the AES here in PA.. about getting my loan forgiven (discharged)... since like april of this year.. well I sent an application in in like May/June and it got lost.. so i sent another one in.. and they said the information was not complete.. so yet another form was filled out correctly and they denied that b/c my cardio at the time stated that my disability began in 1995.. when in a sense of the word...is true but.. as a teeneger I didw ork and attend coolege before I got very sick.. so now.. I had anew form done by a different doctor.. and they (the docotor's office) lost it! they have no record of it any where in my chart.. but they charged me a fee to fill the form out.. and cashed that checked.. and I have no form to turn in!!

Now to be truth full I'm not exactly certain when my date of disability began.. as I have had it for a very long time now.. at the age of 11-12.. i got very symptomactic.. and stayed that way for years.. then at 19.. i got even worse.. then started doing alittle better...and went back to college... then crashed again.. and have progressively gotten worse over the past yr.

In a realistic sense of the word i can say that my disabilty(s) have been there since birth..but at the age of 12 I got sicker at the age of 19 even more sicker.. and now at the age of 23.. i am virtually house bound.. and now have to use a wheelchair.. last year my PCP didint leave alot of room for negotiation concerning school.. she wrote them a letter.. and they(school--dean) talked to me and so on.. and here I am a yr later..

so I am wondering how you guys have handled this?? They told me on the phone today (AES).. that I would not qualify b/c i was disabled before I went to school..

I dont know what todo!! there is no way that I can pay over $200 loan payment every month for the next ten years.. and I take blame for my own stupidity in not coming to terms witht the fact that "hey girl tis is serious!'

I was still in denial that this pots was kicking my rear... and wanted to prove to myself( and family=friends) that i could still follow thru with my dreams and goals despite the fact.. that i' couldnt handle a 2 hour class at one time.. or pas out at school or on the bus.. or had to leave early so many days b/c i couldtn see straight or hold my head up.. not to mention the days where I'd get up and pass out beore I'd leave for the 45 minutes bus ride into town..

so I stuck it out.. with out being realistic.. and thinking "how are you going to pay this back?"

I couldnt accept the fact that multiple docs were telling me that chances of me working again where slim..and unrealistic...I was being stubborn and in denial..

Ok sorry fot he vent there...

any inut would be appreciated

dizz

[Ernie]

Hi,

I can totally relate to what you are talking.

I had such a hard time when I did my bachelor. 50% of the time I was in class I would pass out. I could not give my assignments in time and had to reschedule so many exams. I was always behind in schoolwork and was so stressed because of the whole situation.

During the first 2 years of my degree doctors were telling me that it was all in my mind so I kept pushing my body. Then I went to NIH and Dr Goldstein told me to stop pushing myself because I was digging my grave. It took me months to accept that I had to stop my dream of going for a PhD. My heart was broken.

I thought I would have a depression if I stopped university but I realized that I was just too sick to keep on. So I finished my undergraduate degree and decided to build other dreams.

I am glad I did so because my health is a bit better and I have more energy to have a social life.

Another reason I stopped is that I did not see the point of putting so much money and time in my instruction since I was permanently disabled.

If ever I go back to university it will be because I have my magical pill!

[dizzygirl]

I hear ya ernie!

I know last yr when I had to stop my schooling.. that I was terribly disaapointed in myself initially.. but not depressed like i thought i would be .. iactually was relieved that i didnt have to fight with my body on a daily basis.. just to get up at 5am to catch the 6 am bus into twon to get to my 8 am class!...

I'd be so tired when i got home that i'd crash out sound asleep.. I ended up in the hospital in october of 2004.. and after that i had to finish up my semester from home.. thankfully the school and teachers were great.. and I finished my term paper and (about POTS) and got a B+ on it.. and passed my classes with solid B's all the way around... so I was proud of myself in that aspect.. but more diappointed b/c I only had about less then one yr to go before I graduated...

But as you said couldnt see spending any more money on schooling.. when it didnt/doesnt look like i will be able to utilize my schooling in a professional setting anyways...

But.. still am fighting with AES to get my loan discharged.. so I dont have to majorly stress about paying that back.. and wonder how I will make it finacialy..

I pray that something opens up for me soon!

and again have to really commend you guy who are working still or going to school.. and have families to take care of.. that is really amazing to me how you guys juggle like that in a potsy body.. god bless ya~

dizzygirl

[Ernie]

Hi,

I am not familiar with the American system but is there a way you could be discharged from your loan because of your health issues. After the army accepted you.

Would the army prefer that you work for them to pay the loan!

I surely hope that you will find a crack in the system to be able to erase that debt.

Thinking of you.

[Jacquie802]

Hi guys, I am in a situation similar to yours. I took EMT classes because after my 2nd ablation in Jan of this year, I thought I was cured. Wishful thinking So everything was okay, however I began to get worse in May of this year. I stuck out my EMT classes because it is my dream to help people and something about being the first on the scene gives me a great feeling of being able to help people.

However, with only 4 weeks left of class I began to miss class alot due to the hot humid weather here. I could no longer sit in an unairconditioned room during 85 plus degrees of heat for 8 hours. I literally would feel very faint and many timmes barely made it home.

To make a long story short I am currently waiting to hear back about getting some sort of refund. I do not believe it's fair that there was no air conditioning available due to the size of our class. If there was air conditioning I could have finished those classes and became certified. Not that there is much now I could do with it, but just knowing that I finished something even if it took every last ounce of energy I had. Of course I still haven't heard back anything from the course director. Now I am trying to see if I can take some online classes, might as well feel like I am doing something with my time since I can't do too much these days. I hope you find some sort of loop hole in the system. It's not like we have asked for this.

[dizzygirl]

Hi...Yes that is what i am trying to do.. et discharge b/c of my health issues...

I was not in the army.. sorry for the confusion... AES stand for American educational services..for student loans to help pay for schooling exspneses...

what i mean by discharge/forgiveness.. is to have my loan um .. written off?? I'm not sure how to explain it.. so I dont have to pay back the loan debt .. since I am not able to work.... and am on disability.. whcih as most folks know .. when that is your only source of income.. close to impossible to live off of...

I too am hoping that I can find a crack in the system...

thanks ernie!!

Linda

[Mrs. Glass]

I too have student loans that I would like to have written off. Mine is with Sallie-Mae, as I have not been approved for disability as of yet they wont even consider it. So I have to keep paying every month. They will only let you have 1 years grant to wait on payments, and I have already used that due to hardship. So I have to pay them until my disability comes through. What I would do is to write to them again and explain what you have explained to us, that you were in denial, and that you wanted to show everyone that you could do this. It may not work but it is a try. Also get another form for your doctor to fill out, and take in the reciept and the cancelled check to them to show them that you paid them once and they lost the form, and you should not have to pay for it again. I know beurocracy is hard to get through some times. That is why I hired a disability group to handle my disability claim. Hope you get some answers. Vanessa

hey guys..

I have been going round with the AES here in PA.. about getting my loan forgiven (discharged)... since like april of this year.. well I sent an application in in like May/June and it got lost.. so i sent another one in.. and they said the information was not complete.. so yet another form was filled out correctly and they denied that b/c my cardio at the time stated that my disability began in 1995.. when in a sense of the word...is true but.. as a teeneger I didw ork and attend coolege before I got very sick.. so now.. I had anew form done by a different doctor.. and they (the docotor's office) lost it! they have no record of it any where in my chart.. but they charged me a fee to fill the form out.. and cashed that checked.. and I have no form to turn in!!

Now to be truth full I'm not exactly certain when my date of disability began.. as I have had it for a very long time now.. at the age of 11-12.. i got very symptomactic.. and stayed that way for years.. then at 19.. i got even worse.. then started doing alittle better...and went back to college... then crashed again.. and have progressively gotten worse over the past yr.

In a realistic sense of the word i can say that my disabilty(s) have been there since birth..but at the age of 12 I got sicker at the age of 19 even more sicker.. and now at the age of 23.. i am virtually house bound.. and now have to use a wheelchair.. last year my PCP didint leave alot of room for negotiation concerning school.. she wrote them a letter.. and they(school--dean) talked to me and so on.. and here I am a yr later..

so I am wondering how you guys have handled this?? They told me on the phone today (AES).. that I would not qualify b/c i was disabled before I went to school..

I dont know what todo!! there is no way that I can pay over $200 loan payment every month for the next ten years.. and I take blame for my own stupidity in not coming to terms witht the fact that "hey girl tis is serious!'

I was still in denial that this pots was kicking my rear... and wanted to prove to myself( and family=friends) that i could still follow thru with my dreams and goals despite the fact.. that i' couldnt handle a 2 hour class at one time.. or pas out at school or on the bus.. or had to leave early so many days b/c i couldtn see straight or hold my head up.. not to mention the days where I'd get up and pass out beore I'd leave for the 45 minutes bus ride into town..

so I stuck it out.. with out being realistic.. and thinking "how are you going to pay this back?"

I couldnt accept the fact that multiple docs were telling me that chances of me working again where slim..and unrealistic...I was being stubborn and in denial..

Ok sorry fot he vent there...

any inut would be appreciated

dizz

[Dawg Tired]

I went through that... But I was not disabled when I started back to school, it happened during my last semester. I called the loan people in Montana, where I was living at the time, and they told me there was no provision to have it written off due to disability. So I called the financial aid office at the school and a man there told me who to call. So... Maybe if you call the financial aid office where you went to school??

Beyond that, maybe your Congressman?

[taylortotmom]

I can help!!!! I am finishing up this process even as we speak. Be forewarned however, it is a pain in the rear. Here is the deal- if you have failed a tilt- use that as your onset of disability because it is VERIFIABLE. If your loans are through the US Dept. of Ed which most FEDERAL loans are- you can have them discharged due to verifiable medical disability. However, they will only be provisionally discharged until three years have passed since your DOCUMENTED (by your physician) onset of disability. What this means is you will not be responsible for making payments during the three year period and interest will not accrue on your account. If at the three year mark you are still considered permenanently disabled, your loan will be discharged and any money you paid on it will be returned to you. Now, last week there was a Supreme Court ruling that says the government can go after "bad" student loans by seizing 10% of disabiliity payments (Social Security). If you get your paperwork in this will not apply to you but if you don't it might in the future. So.... make sure you keep meticulous records because if it is not done exactly right they will keep denying your discharge. In the meantime, while you are working on getting it discharged make sure your loan is in FORBEARANCE. This means, you are still responsible for the loan but you do not have to make payments for the next year. This is relatively easy to do by putting in a call and filling out a form or two. The discharge procedure is another ballpark though- it is truly a pain in the ****. But.... do it, and keep copies of everything. Get it in now before the law changes again. Hope I didn't confuse you too much because it is confusing!

Carmen

PS Regarding the ruling- this does not apply to those who have had their loans discharged formally (as you and I are trying to do) but for those who defaulted on the loans but are still unable to work.