Hi, I’m kind of freaking out and could really use some honest advice.
I just finished my freshman year of college and I took out about $33,000 in private student loans through Sallie Mae. At the time, I was planning on becoming a lawyer, so I justified the cost in my head because I thought I’d be able to pay it off later.
But now I’m not sure I want to go to law school anymore. I’ve been thinking a lot and I feel like I might actually want to become a teacher instead, which obviously makes a lot less money.
On top of that, I’m just now realizing how bad my loan terms are. My interest rate is around 13%, and after reading more about Sallie Mae, I feel like I got myself into something really predatory. I didn’t fully understand what I was signing at the time, and now I feel stupid and honestly kind of scared.
I keep doing the math in my head and it feels like I ruined my financial future before I even really started it. I don’t know if I should change my major, stick with law to try to justify the debt, or what.
Has anyone else been in a situation like this? Is this as bad as it feels right now, or am I overreacting? What would you do in my position? and what should I do for my next year of school?