Primer on College Loans
Posted on May 14th, 2007
Here, courtesy of the Associated Press, is a primer on college loans. The "article" is presented in a Q&A format. It begins as such:
If they haven't already, millions of seniors graduating from high school will turn their attention over the next few weeks to paying for college.
Scholarships and grants — which don't have to be paid back — are the best option, of course. But not everyone has the academic record for merit aid, or a great jump shot that would earn a sports scholarship. About two-thirds of four-year college students who graduate do so with some debt — typically about $19,000.
Many are confused by the patchwork of programs and options for borrowing, and get stuck with more debt than they should. And this year, there's a new wrinkle: An investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has exposed questionable financial arrangements — he calls them "kickbacks" — involving lending companies and universities. Cuomo also has accused the Education Department of being asleep at the switch in regulating the $85 billion industry.
The whole situation has called into question whether the advice many students get is really unbiased. The Associated Press collected advice from published resources and some independent experts on borrowing for college.
On to the Q&A, which you can find here.
Also, check out this related article on the recent Student Loan
scandal.
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