November spawned a student loan news monster
Sorry folks, I just can't help but commandeer that Morrissey song title when I post in November. Lots of links to pass on, so let's get to it.
-The Washington Times has commentary on student loans, including the cash cow they are for Sallie Mae. On a similar tangent, note that one private loan company is holding an all expenses paid meeting for financial aid administrators at the Four Seasons Resort on a Caribbean island.
-USA Today notes median debt levels of graduating students have increased in recent years.
-The Checkout blog at The Washington Post discusses student loans, and asks the key questions: "Are you better off for having taken on student loan debt? Or is the cost of higher ed and the terms and conditions of student loans creating a new type of indentured servitude?"
-The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses graduate student loans, noting that a "financial aid administrators' 2003 survey said that among those who left school in that year, average repayments ranged from 7.4 percent of starting salary for some master's recipients to 16.3 percent for some law graduates." The Post-Gazette further notes that student loan burdens can affect job, family and housing choices.
-A Letter to the Editor in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star laments the gain of student loan lenders at the expense of student borrowers.
-The Independent Florida Alligator notes that no one's talking about student debt in this election season.
-One group is lobbying for changes in the Department of Education's loan program, including "limiting student loan payments to 15 percent of any income above 150 percent of the poverty level after graduation ... instead of the standard set rate repayment option, which ignores varying salaries."
This postcard from Post Secret hit home for me, so I thought I'd share:
National Student Loan Debt Clock: $443 billion and ticking higher.