Student loan debt is a major crisis in the United States that, unfortunately, doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. While repayment options are available, they’re still incredibly unaffordable for many people, leaving them unable to pay or desperately searching for alternative options.
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Recently, a TikTok user by the name of @thenormajeane5 shared the unique way they plan to avoid repaying their loans, and as it turns out, it’s not that uncommon!
Basically, the plan is to stay in school to keep their loans in deferment so they’re not required to pay them back immediately.
Norma said, “I’m currently getting a doctoral degree … However, upon graduation in about two and a half years, I’m going to continue to go to college for the rest of my life.”
He added, “I’ll continue to get associate’s degrees and you know, keep learning!”
The post has garnered over 3 million views, 400,000 likes, and over 10,000 comments as people reacted to Norma’s “brilliant” strategy.
Some have even done it themselves.
“One of my professors told us he did this,” one viewer wrote. “he owed over $800,000 in student loans and was still currently enrolled. He laughed and said ‘I’ll never pay it back.'”
Another said, “this is what my grandma did lol she is getting her Masters next Saturday 🥰”
“my friend is a perpetual student too,” a third person added. “her job has tuition reimbursement so she take class a semester and as long as she gets a B she gets her $ back
“LMAO me,” one more said. “Rinse repeat since 2007.”
Another pointed out the cost of going back to school compared to their monthly student loan payments. “it will save me $600 a month to get another masters and pay 100% out of pocket instead of my new monthly student loan payment if my income playment plane gets canceled,” they said.
But it’s not a foolproof solution. In the United States, one has to be enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school in order to receive an automatic deferment. It would also mean you would pretty much have to stay in school until the end of your life!
As this person said, it’s a shame it’s come to this.
But what do you think? How are you repaying your loans? Let me know in the comments below.
