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Student loans do the opposite of what they were intended to do...they enslave our kids instead of freeing them.
I don't think that was the original intent, though apparently that is what it has evolved into.
I think it comes down to the fact that universities are simply businesses. They exist to make money by employing lots of professional people who need to have satisfactory wages, you have university presidents making more money than lots of corporate CEOs, and you have these schools rapidly building up/out their campuses into high-priced resorts to attract the students for 4 years of country club living. It's simply ridiculous - because ultimately, the whole thing feeds upon itself.
The universities do this and then charge what they need to so the costs are covered. They do a big marketing job to the students, and they really don't care if the students can repay the loans - it's just like the home builder and sales agent - they just want to sell you the merchandise. If you can repay the loan after buying the product - they surely don't care. They received their money already.
Twenty years ago, because student loans were available, I was able to go to an excellent school - which I would not have been able to do otherwise. At the time, the school was expensive, but reasonably priced. Today, my alma mater is still among the top 25 schools in the country, but the cost is now ridiculous. The president is the top paid in the country, the school has built and expanded wildly, and they continue to hit alums up for contributions even after having received the single largest donation ever from an alumnus ($360 million) - their "plan" announced a couple years ago was to raise $1 billion.
I think that the entire system needs to take a step back and revalidate what its mission is.
As you've mentioned previously and I entirely agree with, I am sending my child to school for 4 years of education, not 4 years to find herself in a country club atmosphere.
[This message has been edited by rsinj (edited May 19, 2006).]