Question:
Dear Steve,
I attend Westwood college online a handful of years ago. It seemed at the time they were being extremely helpful about getting me enrolled, it appears now, all they really cared was getting me as deeply in debt to them as possible.
I currently have 17 student loans which were originally with Sallie Mae and Navient currently has. There were also personal loans that the school had me take out through them, that I was unaware were personal loans.
I have seen some articles saying Westwood has gone under and their student’s debt was forgiven, or something like that.
I need to know what I need to do about moving forward in this situation if I can in fact get my outlandish debt erased. I also did not get to graduate because I was told I had reached my “aggregate loan limit” and was forced to resign from the school in what was supposed to be my final year.
Kevin
Answer:
Dear Kevin,
Westwood College has been the subject of many posts here over the years. Since 2010 the college has been a problem for students. In 2010 a group of Westwood College students sued the school for fraud.
I have no idea what year you attended.
It should not be a surprise to any reader that schools are trying to sell as much of their product to bring in as much money as they can. Their product is enrollment in classes, not making sure students graduate.
The salespeople at Westwood College you dealt with seem to have figured that out and worked hard to max you out.
It appears you may have three categories of loans.
Loans to Westwood College
The loans to the school can be discharged in a consumer bankruptcy. You can find a good local bankruptcy attorney and have a free discussion about what bankruptcy would mean for you. Bankruptcy is the fastest way to get a fresh start for the least amount of money.
Westwood College Federal Student Loans
On the federal student loans, if any, you may be eligible for a closed school discharge of that debt.
You can read about the criteria for eliminating your federal loans here.
Westwood College says they did create teach-out relationships for those who wanted to finish their education.
Westwood College Private Student Loans
On the private student loan front, there is no easy answer or a program like for federal student loans. Your options are:
- Pay the private student loans.
- Default on your private student loans and attempt to negotiate another solution. See Top 10 Reasons You Should Stop Paying Your Unaffordable Private Student Loan
- There are a number of technical issues that can make some or all of your private student loans eligible for elimination in bankruptcy. You can see a list of articles on this here. At this time there are two articles you should read, this and this.
Easy Fix
If you are looking for an easy fix for this mess, there is not one. You are going to have to push to deal with your loans and fight for a solution.
The reality is there are a few good people out there who can guide someone through this mess but the vast majority of people in this kind of debt simply can’t afford to get professional help and competent assistance for the overall financial issue.
