NC Podiatrist Owes $895K in Student Debt
Kathleen LaRose, DPM, a podiatrist in North Carolina, graduated from the California College of Podiatric Medicine in 1991, having borrowed $277,000 in federal loans. Thirty one years later, she owes $895,512.97 in student debt, which Insider verified — all while on an income-based repayment plan that should have granted her loan forgiveness three years ago.
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Dr. Kathleen LaRose |
While she was in her doctoral and residency program, Dr. LaRose’s loans were placed on in-school deferment, which lets borrowers postpone loan payments until after graduation. But since her student loans were unsubsidized, interest continued to accrue during that period, adding to her principal balance and causing the debt to surge. “I thought, ‘I’m going to be working with a doctorate in this country, so I’ll make a lot of money and be able to pay this,'” Dr. LaRose, now 55, told Insider. “But I never ended up making a ton of money, and I’ve maintained the monthly income-contingent payments, and they’ve never been in arrears. But they’re just wildly out of control now.
Source: Atlanta Business Journal via Insider [8/14/22]
