Should recent college graduates declare bankruptcy if they can't find jobs?

Probably not, because declaring bankruptcy currently does not get rid of either public or private student loan debt.

@Aethelflaed really? That is crazy!

No, two reasons:

1) Student loans will not be forgiven by declaring bankruptcy.

2) In today’s economy, if you call the bank, they can put a forbearance on your loan when you tell them ” I graduated and I can’t find a job,” even credit card debt can be suspended until you find a job. So there is a way for you to eventually pay the debts that you agreed to accumulate. (Corporations do it all the time doesn’t hold water . . . if all your friends jump off a bridge . . . )

But I think #1 is enough to stop anyone from considering it.

If they were forgiven, one might as well. I got a second job in retail and there were bachelors and masters working there :(

You might be on to something. Maybe college students should start paying their tuition with credit cards so they can declare bankruptcy and get the debt wiped clean.

@nikipedia Ooo ah. I never thought of that. How does one get a credit limit raised to $50,000 without a job, and will the university take prepayment four years in advance? My limit was only $1000

@nikipedia That’s assuming they can get credit lines sufficient to pay for school.

It is pretty easy to call up the bank and say that you can’t pay. You might have to do it every month but it was easy after I finished school. It was actually automated.

Please press “1” if you need a month deferment on your loan.

@nikipedia you have to start paying credit cards immediately, and monthly, unlike student loans which you pay AFTER college.

So you wouldn’t get even a year on a credit card without having to pay a significant monthly payment. And if you don’t have the financial means to do so, you wouldn’t be successful in getting a 4 year education on those cards before you decided you ‘need’ to declare bankruptcy.

@mrrich724, no need to make the monthly payments if you never plan to pay it anyway.

I agree it would be hard to pull of for 4 years though.

@nikipedia How long do you think you can go once you don’t make the payments? LOL

I don’t know, b/c I’ve always made my payments . . . but I’ve assumed that when you stop making a couple payments they don’t allow you to charge more money. . .