Posted on 06/19/2007 4:29:34 PM PDT by Saint X
What Now -- Student Lenders Stealing Food from Borrowers?
'World News Sunday' pushes victimization theme, using extreme scenario and leading Democrat to blame lenders.
By Jeff Poor Business & Media Institute
The latest slant on student loans: private lenders essentially steal food off borrowers tables.
A woman who earns only $200 more a month than she pays toward her student loan is not a representative example, yet its the one ABC chose for its June 17 report.
World News used the example of Nicole Gibson, a graphic designer making $1,400 a month, who pays $1,200 a month toward her student loans.
Ive got to sacrifice food on my table and I dont think thats a fair option, said Gibson.
ABC Correspondent Gigi Stone didnt explore whether Gibson could renegotiate her payment plan with her lender, or whether she had looked into loan consolidation or any options that could lower her payments. The report also left out key facts such as where Gibson lived, how much debt she had, and what type of loan or loans she had.
Gibson chose to get her degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology, but ABCs Stone didnt mention tuition there costs nearly $25,000 a year. The average annual cost of undergraduate tuition is much less $5,836, according to an October 2006 U.S. News and World Report. But the story showed Gibson saying her payment wasnt fair, instead of acknowledging it was a result of choices she made.
The segment provided further proof of media support for liberal New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomos crusade against the student loan industry.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessandmedia.org ...
There is something to be said about the graph that tracks the cost of attendance with the amount of financial aid available side by side.
Where do they get that kind of money? Who loans it?
Why would anyone borrow that much and what parent wouldn’t talk their child out of doing so?
The only question is which is cause and which is effect.
An education is an investment in your future. Sometimes that investment is undercut by shady business practices.
But the schools get their money either way.
Or an illegal immigrant in some states. The courts should strike down this discrepancy for "in-state/out of state" tuition where the "third way" exception exists. It is nothing more than selective discrimination.
Causation vs. Correlation.
They don’t, see post #19.
She applied for the loan.
She attended the school(s).
She now has a job and doesn’t understand why she has to pay the money back per agreement?
If I take out a $4000/month house loan on a Soc Sec check of $960, and then don’t want to pay the money back, May I do that???????
What am I missing here?
Students don’t pay off or even make payments for school loans until they drop below ‘full time student’ status, so how can she have any payment at all?
oops, ok, she graduated.
Of course there’s a positive feedback problem : high tuition causes whining about high tuition, which pushes the government to increase subsidies, either as direct subsidies or low-interest loans ... and more money available allows colleges to raise tuition even higher.
Now both of you can pay me, the debt collector. I'll take my percentage from both idiots.
Then, if you're paying the costs yourself (either as you go, daddy's wallet, or student loans) then you damn well better be studying something that pays off.
The state paid for me to get a two year degree in network administration that is practically worthless. I should have gone for the nursing program, instead.
That said, I can only surmise that the young lady in the story did not finish school (explains her salary) and borrowed far too much in private loans (which have no interest rate cap, except for bankruptcy purposes, they are treated essentially the same as federal loans, i.e., you can not default on them).
Basically, with a private loan, you are at the complete mercy of the lender. Advice for other Freepers is to make sure the only loans your families take out are Federal Student Loans through FFEL or Direct (whichever program the school supports) with capped interest rates.
She’s on private loans...those are a totally new ball game.
Very profitable here in Northern Va., and I actually enjoy what I'm studying, to boot.
If the parent does not qualify for PLUS due to credit, the Stafford limits for the student are increased.
The Pakis and such being imported in here on H-1B visas are really making things rough.
Regardless, I'm not aiming to spend my life writing software. There are better things to (from my perspective) like designing and maintaining networks, database management, content management systems, and security.
There's plenty of decent tech jobs here in Northern Virginia, especially with the government around, and they have jobs that can't be outsourced.
Sounds like you live in the right part of the country! I knew there were plenty of networkers around in WA state, but I figured I’d be in a bit more demand here in NY.
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