I worked at Sallie Mae a LONG time ago (as in over 15 years ago). At that time, companies who serviced student loans HAD to follow certain rules from the government. If you didn't and the person defaulted on their loan, the government would not pay the money to the servicer. One of the rules was that if a borrower was behind on their loans, the servicer had to call them twice a month. It was very strict. Again, that was over 15 years ago. I really don't know what the rules are now. I don't even know if student loans are still guaranteed by the government.
As for financial aid offices at colleges/universities, they aren't allowed to make recommendations to families for loans. It is up to each family to research. Families all have different needs and what's good for one isn't necessarily good for another.
I work at a university. We recently had a presentation explaining student loans, the repayment process, etc. Do you know how many students attended? 5. A few thousand attend school here, but only 5 came to the workshop.
One of the best things that a high school student can do, but most don't want to, is spend their 1st 2 years at a community college. I wouldn't do it blindly. I would have the student work with the community college and with the university where they'd like to spend their last 2 years to make sure that all of the credits will transfer. It costs almost $30k a year to attend school where I work and that doesn't even count boarding. That's $120k for 4 years, and lots of students take longer than 4 years to graduate. Then they want to be social workers (which is a much-needed job that takes a special person) maybe where I live pays $25k a year. How are they ever going to pay off those student loans??
So many students attend a 4 year college because they want to continue playing whatever sport that they played in high school. They don't research careers to see what salaries are, to see if they can pay back their loans. A nearby community college has a yearly tuition of about $7k. Spending their first 2 years there drastically cuts down on tuition.
It is very difficult to see kids attending college that might not be able to afford the bills when they graduate. Some parents make their kids go to college. The kid goofs off all semester and has to leave at the end. When I think of the money that the parents/student wasted, I get so sad. Some parents want to be able to tell others that their kid is going to (insert name) college, rather than the local community college.
In my opinion, which doesn't count for anything, college financial aid workshops need to be done at the high school level. High schools should be bringing in speakers to education seniors and their parents about the different options.
I don't mean to upset anyone and I apologize if I did.
As for financial aid offices at colleges/universities, they aren't allowed to make recommendations to families for loans. It is up to each family to research. Families all have different needs and what's good for one isn't necessarily good for another.
I work at a university. We recently had a presentation explaining student loans, the repayment process, etc. Do you know how many students attended? 5. A few thousand attend school here, but only 5 came to the workshop.
One of the best things that a high school student can do, but most don't want to, is spend their 1st 2 years at a community college. I wouldn't do it blindly. I would have the student work with the community college and with the university where they'd like to spend their last 2 years to make sure that all of the credits will transfer. It costs almost $30k a year to attend school where I work and that doesn't even count boarding. That's $120k for 4 years, and lots of students take longer than 4 years to graduate. Then they want to be social workers (which is a much-needed job that takes a special person) maybe where I live pays $25k a year. How are they ever going to pay off those student loans??
So many students attend a 4 year college because they want to continue playing whatever sport that they played in high school. They don't research careers to see what salaries are, to see if they can pay back their loans. A nearby community college has a yearly tuition of about $7k. Spending their first 2 years there drastically cuts down on tuition.
It is very difficult to see kids attending college that might not be able to afford the bills when they graduate. Some parents make their kids go to college. The kid goofs off all semester and has to leave at the end. When I think of the money that the parents/student wasted, I get so sad. Some parents want to be able to tell others that their kid is going to (insert name) college, rather than the local community college.
In my opinion, which doesn't count for anything, college financial aid workshops need to be done at the high school level. High schools should be bringing in speakers to education seniors and their parents about the different options.
I don't mean to upset anyone and I apologize if I did.
