Hello!
I was previously attending a university for the last 3 and a half years and took the last 4 months off as a result of some serious hardship. I lost my grandpa a few months ago, and he had been ill with terminal cancer for the last year, so this was a tough year for me. I was one of his primary caretakers during this period, and it consumed most of my energy and time.
I attended school in the summer & fall sessions of last year, and honestly, I stupidly thought that my tuition was handled with some private loans. Long story short, it obviously wasn’t, and due to my extreme apathy last fall, I did not check my student email for months, or any mail that was sent to my house was sent to my permanent home address, where my parents are. I just found out about my $12k tuition being sent to collections because my mother finally opened the mail that my university had been sending.
I just called my school’s financial aid office and basically was told I’m SOL and had to contact the debt collection agency, which is NES. Before I make any attempt to reach out, what do I do in this situation??? I’m seriously at a loss, and I know it is my own fault for being so neglectful, but I guess this has blindsided me when I’m already at a complete low in my life. My parents are fuming, and unfortunately, they are also not of much help when it comes to situations like this. Genuinely, I have no idea where to begin on handling this situation. Am I able to just take out loans to pay it off??? I do not have any means to really pay $12,000 right now and, if things went how they were supposed to, it would have been handled by FAFSA and private loans.
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You could contact the agency and ask to be put on a payment plan as you are unable to settle the balance. I am not sure if you would be able to get a loan to cover but it would only be worth it if you can get a really low interest rate.
You have to deal with the collections agency. Which SUCKS!
Speak to someone in financial aid at your school and see what they have to say. They may have some ideas for getting the loan settled ASAP.
You also need to find funds for next semester
You have the summer to sort it out.
I’m sorry about all the hassle.
But we all learn, “open the mail, deal with it now,” the hard way.
If your school sent you to collections, your best bet is to contact the collection agency and start working out a payment plan with them. Be honest and polite when you speak to the collection agent and ask them to help you set up a payment plan within your ability to pay. Be aware that it is highly likely that you will be required to pay the costs incured from your account being placed in collection, so the account balance you last saw on your student billing account may not be the same as what you will owe now with the collection costs added in.
If you’re intending to return to school at that university or somewhere else, there are some private loan/student loan companies that will offer loans to cover back-debt to get your school account paid off. If you qualify for a loan they will pay your school directly to get your student account in good standing. (You may still have to pay the collection costs if you go this route, just fyi, unless you can negotiate a settlement amount with your school.) Do your due diligence when looking at these types of loans though and be prepared for them to require a co-signer to qualify.
The most important thing you can do now is face the problem head on, now that you’re aware of it. Your school and the collection agency would prefer to work with you to get this taken care of instead of letting it loom over the rest of your life like an eldritch horror.
Look up a financial advisor (state-run debt consolidation) in your area. Typically they can consolidate loans and help you pay them off. The down side is that you have to not take on any additional loans until it is paid off. Then I would work like crazy to pay off that loan. Good credit is vital for successful adulting. I hate that you had such tragic circumstances but creditors really need assurance that you will pay back what you borrow regardless of life’s circumstances. They can’t just write it off. Good luck.