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Student Loan Rates Double After Congressional Inaction

Helix said:
i was lucky enough to be born to parents who are teachers. when i struggled in calculus-based physics, my dad taught himself the subject so that he could tutor me. i feel a bit of guilt that every student doesn't have access to that kind of help. without tutoring, i'm not sure that i would have achieved my full potential.

my folks are retired now, and they tutor anyone who wants help. i realize that this is not the norm, but it should be. we all benefit from a highly educated population.
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If your dad taught himself calc based physics, then your dad must be one bad ass mo fo! I made it through ok but I couldn't even imagine trying to go back and re-learn that stuff, much less, trying to pick it all up from scratch.

Never forget Fathers Day!
 
Helix said:
education is weightlifting for the mind. i majored in science, but it's undeniable that i have benefited from other required courses which i considered unnecessary at the time. all learning builds neural connections which can be used for a wide variety of applications later in life.

i find that many people lament how "stupid" the general population is. part of the remedy for that is extended education at the specific point in time when the brain is finishing its development. it's my opinion that we should encourage students to pursue as much education as they want. putting a fiscal barrier in front of that is counterproductive.
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Tis true. I am a bio-medical sciences major myself, and I have found that a few select liberal arts classes to be very beneficial to my development as a person. This may sound condescending, but I see them overall as supplemental instruction. Its very difficult to find careers for our over supply of history and philosophy majors, hence why I call them "useless" degrees when they are just stand alone, but by no means do I consider them useless courses. I will say, that a vast majority of the courses that I did deem useless, were often over crowded required Gen Ed courses that everyone has to take. I can learn sciences in very large classes, but many other courses were meant to be discussion based.
 
Jack Fabulous said:
If your dad taught himself calc based physics, then your dad must be one bad ass mo fo! I made it through ok but I couldn't even imagine trying to go back and re-learn that stuff, much less, trying to pick it all up from scratch.

Never forget Fathers Day!
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thanks! i definitely didn't forget. this year, my dad got two games of golf at a great club, some golf gear, and also beer. i did something similar for Mom. she drilled me in grammar and literature.
 
Helix said:
i was lucky enough to be born to parents who are teachers. when i struggled in calculus-based physics, my dad taught himself the subject so that he could tutor me. i feel a bit of guilt that every student doesn't have access to that kind of help. without tutoring, i'm not sure that i would have achieved my full potential.

my folks are retired now, and they tutor anyone who wants help. i realize that this is not the norm, but it should be. we all benefit from a highly educated population.
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Yeah I'm not sure what exactly to say to stories like this. Some parents are just more helpful/dedicated/caring then others, and you and I both were some of the lucky ones. If you went to the University of Central Florida, we have a Supplemental Academic Resource Center where free tutoring is available as well as 8 hours a week of Supplemental Instruction which is run by a student who previously had gotten an A in the course. So the resources are there, I've just never used them. That may change with biochemistry coming up on my schedule this fall. :2brickwal
 
OMG, the sky must surely be falling.
 
CanadaJohn said:
I could be wrong Maggie, but didn't Obama and the Democrats pass legislation to take the banks out of the student loan business and make it a government monopoly? Wasn't that supposed to make borrowing easier and less costly?
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yes.... if i remember right your correct, only MN is exempt from government student loans, i believe it was something under obamcare
 
Rates didn't go up per se; the gov just isn't subsiding these to the same tune as before. It costs money to provide such subsidy.
 
greyhat said:
Rates didn't go up per se; the gov just isn't subsiding these to the same tune as before. It costs money to provide such subsidy.
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They make money off the loans anyway, subsidized or not. They just get less.
 
digsbe said:
The government.
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That's not true; most of the student loan debt outstanding is "government guaranteed", however it was privately funded, securitized and is this held privately- investors are the ones who receives the interact payments and when "rates came down", the US Gov stepped in to with a subsidy. Think of it as Uncle Sam subsidizing a mortgage backed by them.

New loans, started after 2010, are funded directly by the DOE and these reflect lower rates than older loans.
 
digsbe said:
Mine are already at 6.8 and 7.9. Graduate loans receive no subsidies.
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And they shouldn't, I paid for all of my kids educations and they worked an helped out. I should not have to pay for everyone's.
 
MaggieD said:
The only loans that are doubling are NEW loans. So, unless you're borrowing MORE money? You're good.

Nonetheless, I think it's AWFUL!!!!!!! When banks can borrow from the Fed at near-zero, they don't need 6.something% on a guaranteed loan. Our government should be ashamed.
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Actually, no one's LOAN is doubliing, period.
 
Heh, suddenly the other options (well, mine is the lone State bank of the United States) are looking better.
 
digsbe said:
Mine are already at 6.8 and 7.9. Graduate loans receive no subsidies.
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We rely on GTA/GRA positions, tuition wavers, and scholarships, don't we? Gah. Not that I am particularly worried-it's cool that I'm not taking additional debt now, but it's a fragile notion! My other school option included no financial package, and very few, if any grad students are supported at all!
 
ReformCollege said:
After all, why should society pay for degrees that society doesn't need?
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Because society is fickle. First Americans overpopulate the world with engineers and scientists (because we roll that way), then they want more physical labor, then they want educators. All the meanwhile, your attempts to totally shape the economy fail, and fail big time.
 
ReformCollege said:
Yeah I'm not sure what exactly to say to stories like this. Some parents are just more helpful/dedicated/caring then others, and you and I both were some of the lucky ones. If you went to the University of Central Florida, we have a Supplemental Academic Resource Center where free tutoring is available as well as 8 hours a week of Supplemental Instruction which is run by a student who previously had gotten an A in the course. So the resources are there, I've just never used them. That may change with biochemistry coming up on my schedule this fall. :2brickwal
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you'll do fine in biochem. organic chem was the one that gave me nightmares.
 
Helix said:
you'll do fine in biochem. organic chem was the one that gave me nightmares.
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I agree with that, having both taken organic 1 and 2 and biochem in undergrad I would say that organic (literally) was the class that gave me nightmares.
 
It's got to be real scary. Not only are the current voters borrowing against your future, but so are you....

what will you have in the future for yourself?
 
digsbe said:
I agree with that, having both taken organic 1 and 2 and biochem in undergrad I would say that organic (literally) was the class that gave me nightmares.
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I opted out of organic 2. I bet that one was fun.
 
Helix said:
you'll do fine in biochem. organic chem was the one that gave me nightmares.
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My Organic 2 professor was ridiculous. A genius really, but absolutely insane. Out of the original 200 or so students, more then 60% dropped and there were only maybe 9 or 10 As. Definitely the hardest I have ever worked for an A in my life.
 
MaggieD said:
I don't remember that, CJ. Not sure.

Okay, I Googled around and found this:



Student Loan Reform — President Obama’s Record — Barack Obama

Not a bad deal either.
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Hi again Maggie - this is what I came up with from 2010:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/obama-signs-bill-on-student-loans-health-care/?_r=0

The new law will eliminate fees paid to private banks to act as intermediaries in providing loans to college students and use much of the nearly $68 billion in savings over 11 years to expand Pell Grants and make it easier for students to repay outstanding loans after graduating. The law also invests $2 billion in community colleges over the next four years to provide education and career training programs to workers eligible for Trade Adjustment aid.

Students who borrow money starting in July 2014 will be allowed to cap their repayments at 10 percent of their income above basic living requirements, instead of 15 percent. Moreover, if they keep up their payments, they will have any remaining debt forgiven after 20 years instead of 25 years – or after 10 years if they are in public service, such as teaching, nursing or serving in the military.

As a result, if the above legislation wasn't changed, the banks are out of the equation as far as government backed loans are concerned and the payback of these loans is still based on the student's ability to pay, capped at 10% of income after living expenses.

Sounds to me this is a bunch of fury over nothing.
 
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