Surely you Wonketteers have heard the librul media and members of Congress crowing about the new student loan bill, which is apparently not only a great deal for students but is also significant because it demonstrates that Congress is capable of passing something on a bipartisan basis.
"Why is there a 2.5 point margin for undergrads and a 4 point margin for grads — is it more expensive to loan money to grads, or do we just want to discourage people from getting an advanced degree for some reason? And why is it more expensive (6.4%) for parents to borrow the money — does it magically cost more to lend to parents?"
Because they are selling loans to different market segments, and pricing them according to how successful and well-compensated each group will be expected to be over the life of the loan. This is clearly a BS tactic, but I strongly suspect that this was the thinking behind this rate structure.
And yes, this is utter horse feces when you can walk into any dealership and get financing for a new car purchase at rates that are much lower than these.
I worked full-time on the night shift as a psychiatric aide at a mental health facility during the whole time that I was in grad school, and despite the low pay rate the income it provided was enough to allow me to pay my way all through school and finish with $0 in debt. But that was 30 years ago, when a person could still do things like that. (I avoided indebtedness as an undergraduate by receiving a full scholarship.) These avenues don't really exist anymore for the most part, and I don't know how people do it anymore. I cannot even imagine the anxiety that people go through when they have to sign for such stupendously large loans.
No, the students themselves have to deal with that (and make intelligent, informed choices accordingly). It is on us though to find some solutions to curb the soaring cost of higher education and remedy the student loan crisis. No one, not even a French literature major, should finish college owing $100k in loans that were taken out just to pay for tuition, books and a bed in a cramped three-person dorm room for four years. Correcting for inflation, my contemporaries didn't have to pay anywhere near that much for a quality education back when we were in college.
40 hours per week plus occasional mandatory overtime on the night shift at a psych hospital helped to support me and my wife, and also allowed me to pay my entire way through grad school. But that was 30 years ago. It was a different world back then.
It was by no means easy to pull off even then, but it was at least within the realm of possibility. We really struggled but we managed to tough it out. I rather doubt that any student would be able to do the same today though, no matter how many hours they worked and how much they sacrificed -- school costs have really skyrocketed in recent years even after subtracting for inflation. If someone had enough income from a job to do this today, they probably wouldn't actually need the degree in the first place.
We really need to fix this, and soon. No other advanced industrialized country in the world today does this to their brightest young people. We are being incredibly stupid and short-sighted if we allow this to continue. But hey, what else is new?
I note that Howard Slusher was mentioned in the article, does he fund the athletes in any way?
Meanwhile, how many other campus buildings are in need of repair?
"Why is there a 2.5 point margin for undergrads and a 4 point margin for grads — is it more expensive to loan money to grads, or do we just want to discourage people from getting an advanced degree for some reason? And why is it more expensive (6.4%) for parents to borrow the money — does it magically cost more to lend to parents?"
Because they are selling loans to different market segments, and pricing them according to how successful and well-compensated each group will be expected to be over the life of the loan. This is clearly a BS tactic, but I strongly suspect that this was the thinking behind this rate structure.
And yes, this is utter horse feces when you can walk into any dealership and get financing for a new car purchase at rates that are much lower than these.
I worked full-time on the night shift as a psychiatric aide at a mental health facility during the whole time that I was in grad school, and despite the low pay rate the income it provided was enough to allow me to pay my way all through school and finish with $0 in debt. But that was 30 years ago, when a person could still do things like that. (I avoided indebtedness as an undergraduate by receiving a full scholarship.) These avenues don't really exist anymore for the most part, and I don't know how people do it anymore. I cannot even imagine the anxiety that people go through when they have to sign for such stupendously large loans.
No, the students themselves have to deal with that (and make intelligent, informed choices accordingly). It is on us though to find some solutions to curb the soaring cost of higher education and remedy the student loan crisis. No one, not even a French literature major, should finish college owing $100k in loans that were taken out just to pay for tuition, books and a bed in a cramped three-person dorm room for four years. Correcting for inflation, my contemporaries didn't have to pay anywhere near that much for a quality education back when we were in college.
40 hours per week plus occasional mandatory overtime on the night shift at a psych hospital helped to support me and my wife, and also allowed me to pay my entire way through grad school. But that was 30 years ago. It was a different world back then.
It was by no means easy to pull off even then, but it was at least within the realm of possibility. We really struggled but we managed to tough it out. I rather doubt that any student would be able to do the same today though, no matter how many hours they worked and how much they sacrificed -- school costs have really skyrocketed in recent years even after subtracting for inflation. If someone had enough income from a job to do this today, they probably wouldn't actually need the degree in the first place.
We really need to fix this, and soon. No other advanced industrialized country in the world today does this to their brightest young people. We are being incredibly stupid and short-sighted if we allow this to continue. But hey, what else is new?
AHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA TAKERS! WHAT YOU GET!
Oh wait, I have student loans...
Fuck.