Do You Know the Truth About Student Loans?
I have a lot of mixed feelings about student loan debt (most notable is my aggravation at paying my own student loans every month). I’ve discussed some of my concerns about them here and here. As mentioned in the title student loans can be a young person’s entry point into the world of debt slavery.
The truth is, there are shockingly few consumer protections for student loan borrowers and as noted by Harvard Law Professor & Chair of the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel, Elizabeth Warren, “Student-loan debt collectors have power that would make a mobster envious.”
For more information on what you can do about your student loans, you should visit the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project.
That said, this chart expresses my feelings better than I ever could. This graphic is easily worth several hundred of thousands of words. Many thanks to the folks at CollegeScholarships.org for putting this together.
Sound off in the comments. What do you think about the way the student loan industry works? Do you think students need consumer protection? Do you think the student loan industry needs reform? What suggestions would you make?
Infographic by College Scholarships.org
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EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, INFORMATIVE–DID I MENTION EXCELLENT–POST!!! #Ready to “Fight”
Thank you, thank you – did I mention thank you?
Glad the information was helpful. We need more people to be aware of what is going on so that we can create the type of policies that will benefit the students and the consumers – not the banks. Please spread the word!
Lurie, Did you see this ATL piece from Wednesday? http://abovethelaw.com/2011/01/character-fitness-fail-for-graduate-with-no-plan-to-pay-off-his-debts/
He failed his character and fitness test because he took a low paying Public Defender job in hopes of gaining full-time employment and had ‘no plan’ to pay back his law school loans in a timely fashion. Talk about indentured servitude, dictating how one should live there lives in order, etc.
I hope you’ve checked out the recent audio post I put up on Solo Practice University about student loans and law school in response to ‘Is Law School A Losing Game’?
Thanks for the comments and the note Susan. What an amazingly horrible display of the power of the student loan lobby. It is so very important that people know this information BEFORE they sign up to take out seemingly endless loans. Here’s hoping that stories like these will make people listen.
I was able to check out the audio post – and it is a fantastic example of the ways in which students approach the concept of higher education. This type of frank talk (and even more) is absolutely necessary and should be part of regular “College 101″ discussions.