Types of Art School Student Loan Defaulters

De Facto Defaulter

The first type of student loan defaulter attends art school with good intentions, but later cannot make their monthly payments after graduating. These artists often end up quitting art—or putting it on the back burner—so that they can honor their debt. These are honest people who end up working a 9-5 job to keep up their end of the deal. They will pay thousands of dollars in interest over their lifetime, and over the lifetime of their loan, which sadly ends up being one and the same.

Disgruntled Defaulter

The second type of defaulter is the artist who attended art school with good intentions, but later chooses not to make their monthly payments after they attend college. An example of this type of artist would be a someone who graduated and returned to the lifestyle they had prior to earning an MFA. As for student loans, they are indifferent. Their education, they feel, was okay but not worth a lifetime of indentured servitude. They refuse to make payments, and ignore the creditors.

Diabolic Defaulter

The third type of defaulter attends art school with absolutely no intention of ever making payments after graduation. This type of artist may purchase solid goods, such as computers, with their refund checks. They often have a justification for their action, a resentment towards the class system, little or no experience with money, and they see education as something that should be universal. Sadly, many of these artists feel as if they’ll never own anything, so there’s nothing for a lender to take.

Denial (Don’t Worry) Defaulter

There are defaulters who just don’t worry about their loans. They don’t think paying off their debts are worth stressing about. If they get a windfall, they say, then sure they’ll pay. Otherwise—if they worry about their student loans—their life will be filled with stress. Rather, they just focus on pretending there is no problem as they live in financial debt.