Dear Annie: I am currently pursuing a degree in teaching. I decided to do this slowly (it's been five years), because I wanted to stay home with my son. Also, I have never been truly sure that teaching is what I want to do. More importantly, I have bipolar disorder, and this may interfere with the job and the final stage in obtaining my degree.
I have been very stable emotionally for many years now. I take my medication and see my psychiatrist as scheduled. I do, however, still experience some mood swings, which my husband simply attributes to my monthly cycle.
I also have established a fairly successful part-time pet-and-home-sitting business. Annie, I love it. I enjoy being around the dogs, cats, birds, etc., and meeting new people.
Here's my dilemma: I have this huge student loan to pay off, and I am slated to student teach this coming fall.
Keeping up with student-loan payments is not a priority for about one-quarter of the students who borrow from the federal government to fund their education.
About $2.6 billion in federal student loans is currently in default, said Heather Hamilton, spokeswoman for the Canada Student Loans program.
The default rate was just over 25% for 2004-05, she added.
That doesnt necessarily mean (the students) have walked away from it, it means theyre late, said Hamilton.
A loan that is 270 days past due is in default. .