Student Loans Start To Bypass 2-Year Colleges

New York Times:

Some of the nation's biggest banks have closed their doors to students at community colleges, for-profit universities and other less competitive institutions, even as they continue to extend federally backed loans to students at the nation's top universities.

Citibank has been among the most aggressive in paring the list of colleges it serves. JPMorgan Chase, PNC and SunTrust say they have not dropped whole categories, but are cutting colleges as well. Some less-selective four-year colleges, like Eastern Oregon University and William Jessup University in Rocklin, Calif., say they have been summarily dropped by some lenders.

The practice suggests that if the credit crisis and the ensuing turmoil in the student loan business persist, some of the nation's neediest students will be hurt the most. The difficulty borrowing may deter them from attending school or prompt them to take a semester off. When they get student loans, they will wind up with less attractive terms and may run a greater risk of default if they have to switch lenders in the middle of their college years.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[biwee]

But, the USA thinks it can spend $10-12 BILLION a month in an unnecessary war of choice for Israel.
Young people should ensure that the Republican Party goes extinct.

[huffnpuffn]

If you can't afford to go to a particular college without borrowing thousands of dollars from the likes of Citibank, maybe you ought not to enroll. Whatever happened to pay as you go?

This whole system of bigger and bigger loans to pay for tuition that well out paces inflation seems crooked to me. In at least some cases, it is:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/us/03loans.html

[loki]

Maybe because those days of pay as you go, you could actually afford to do it. I remember when 40 dollars a credit hour was considered the norm. Now its 400+ ! And books are always a rip off. So those days are gone with history unless you or your parents are wealthy. And as we know form past articles sometimes even the wealthy dont pay much as the school hopes to suck up to the parents to get a large donation. This is more action in making the haves and the have nots. If you cant afford college, you haves not in this day and age. So makes sure no one but the wealthy can.

Also, just wait and see what happens when those kids who might have finished Jr college and now dont, when they start to say screw paying back the loans form previous years. Dont kid yourselves, Jr College is no longer a 2 year thing. Its typically 3 years now. And I really wonder what happened with all those good republican capitalist, dont they stand behind their president who until recently insisted Jr college was the mainstay of American Education?

[sandiegoconservative]

400 a unit? Where? I just checked the three local community colleges in my area and its 20 bucks a unit. 10 years ago, it was 14 per unit for me.

Using rough calculations, you need about 60 units for an associates, or to transfer, so that is 1,200.00. Say 3 years of parking at $100/semester, which is about $600.00. I will use about what it cost me at community and university levels for books for a semester, which is about $350.00 for 6 semesters at $2,100.00. Add in "fees" of $300 and you get a grand total of $4,200 for 2-3 years of a college education.

My university, which is the largest (and best) school in the CSU system is about 10k per year for non-resident and less than half that for residents. Even at the high end, the tuition is not quite 400/unit.

Sure, going to college is expensive and can be a pain, but its not meant to be easy. Not to mention in CA they practically give away education via grants depending on your situation. My wife went 2 years at a university for basically free until we got hitched and she "made' too much money based on our finances. She went another year for about 5k after grants and a scholarship she applied for.

[way2muchsense]

My question is, what are state regents doing about it? If I were the chancellor of the SUNY system, for example, I'd tell Citibank and the others, "either you take ALL of our students, including the community college students, or you get ZERO business from ANY school in the SUNY system. Same goes for California. I'm sure if Citibank thought they'd be cutting themselves off from the likes of UCLA, UC Berkeley, and the rest of the UC system, which includes some of the finest and most sought-after schools on the west coast, they'd think twice about stuff like this.

[ibsteve2u]

Strange...on such a story, I would have thought I would have seen some mention of H.R. 5715, that passed the House last week by a 383-27 margin.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h5715/show

[BobEvansZombie]

Isn't all of this - a weak dollar, skyrocketing debt, unending war, tax cuts, stagnant wages, lowered education, weak economy, and crumbling infrastructure - turning into the perfect storm that could lead to the collapse of the country.

Is this really such an impossibility? Am I just paranoid? Or is this the writing on the wall?

[NeoStar9]

No I think it's possible as well but the question that should concern people the most is what all of this could and will trigger once it gets to a certain point. Country collapsing maybe but perhaps it simply breaking up might be the case in the semi-far future if things continue to get bad.

I could honestly see states turning toward neighboring states in their regions more and more up till the point where they start to simply ignore Washington, DC and the Federal Government losses all control and pull with certain regions. Perhaps a 100% restructuring of the Federal government is needed. Or simply done away with and let regional government be created with head of those areas coming together when the rest of the world needs to be addressed.

[bmermaid]

California will be the first to break away.
They have their own economy & the rest of the country is a drag on it.
And the rest of the country will be hurting if California leaves the rest of us on our own. They have their own agriculture, their own industry & import/ exports, their own military & energy production; they don't need the rest of us.
But we deserve it- I visit California several times a year, but live on the East Coast.
The East Coast Media & Washington DC ignore California as if they don't exist.
When you go to California, it's like a different world, as far as media & politics.

[bmermaid]

So eventually only the rich will be able to get higher education.

Great job there Bushco!

The rich will continue to get richer, and the poor, poorer.

[RabidRightRebel]

Welcome to the Republican way of doing things. Being conservative means that everything stays the same, with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Where as the no good liberals want everyone to have a chance for a better life with proper health care and better education. Imagine if rich children had to compete with poor children on merit, what a tragedy that would be!

[swift goat pet for truth]

Conservatives = Me First.

Liberals = We all do better when we all do better

[ErnestineBass]

The conservative assault on public education began during Reagan's Presidency.

Educated serfs have always posed a threat to the aristocracy.

[sandiegoconservative]

I am curious as to how this is a Republican issue only. Dems are in control of Congress and have done nothing. The CA Regents are almost all liberal, as are the University presidents. I know the two schools I attended sure are.

[swift goat pet for truth]

Universities are like corporations.

Liberal? Sure, like the non-existent mythical liberal corporate media.

It just rubbish the right wing makes up to enslave the middle class.

[swift goat pet for truth]

Can you think of a better way to establish an upper class than denying education to the lower and middle classes?

True, the rich are not denying education. They are just making it REALLY REALLY difficult.