Important Article on the Parent / Student Loan Trap

#1

From the Chronicle of Higher Education:

http://chronicle.com/article/The-Parent-Loan-Trap/134844/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Note that several major art schools are on the list of schools that grant the highest number of PLUS loans.

Sort the list below by “Average amount borrowed” to see the worst offenders:
http://chronicle.com/article/Parent-Loan-Debt-on-Rise/134846

Note that many art schools, such as Art Center College of Design, RISD, Ringling, Full Sail, Cal Arts, SCAD, etc. are ranked highly (not a good thing) for granting a great deal of PLUS loans in high amounts.

I’ve always promoted students and parents being informed about what they are getting into with student loans, and this is just further evidence of the student loan bubble.

#2

Thank you for posting this stuff. It really puts things into perspective! :slight_smile: The only problem now is how to combat this. I feel that a lot of talent is wasted due to schools having ridiculously high tuition costs / bad loan terms.

#3

The only way to combat the high cost of education and still get one is to be as prepared as is humanly possible prior to going to an expensive school, in an attempt to get scholarship money. This may entail attending community college, private art prep programs, self learning, etc. I always advise my college bound students to work as hard as they can (for as long as they can) on developing a portfolio for submission to schools. Every person’s family financial situation is different, and one can’t know how much aid one will receive (combination of scholarship / financial aid) until one has applied to a school and submitted a FAFSA. Every school you apply to will have an application fee of at least $50, so even there, you want to be sure you’re ready to apply before doing so.

In short, preparation, preparation, preparation.

Oh, it also helps to have smart parents who have saved some money for a child’s education. These days, that saving should start right around, say, birth…

#4

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.