“I look at my student loan statements each month and feel angry and jaded toward a culture that tells poor kids that the only way to make anything of themselves is to take out a ton of loans to MAYBE have a tiny chance at competing for a job that dozens or hundreds of other people are also competing for. I feel like someone tricked me along the way by telling me college was the answer, and I feel stupid for not having questioned that. I did enjoy college. I don’t regret my degree. I DO have a job now. But I don’t think that means the system works. I think that means I’m lucky.”
—We Were Poor, And College Was The Answer to All My Problems. (Right?) at The Billfold
“I’m worried that 30,000 3 and 4 year old kids won’t get the benefit we know comes from early education and that our students in public universities and colleges will continue to be buried in debt because we don’t stand up and adequately fund their campuses. I’m worried that kids trapped in poverty through no fault of their own will be denied the best route out and up – a better public education. These kids – our future – deserve these wins and it’s up to us to deliver them.”
—-John Walsh
MA Democratic Party Chair
“We Will Lose” via Blue Mass Group
Everything You Need to Know to Apply for Financial Aid for College
There are both federal and private loan options, as well as scholarships and work-study programs.
By EMILY DERUY
So you want to go to go college but have no idea how to pay for it. You’ve heard there are a million options when it comes to financial aid, but every time you try to research them you get overwhelmed and your eyes glaze over.
How about a chart, with pictures?
5 Mindblowing Facts About Student Debt
1. The number of students who have to go into debt to get a bachelor’s degree has risen from 45% in 1993 to 94% today.
2. There is now more than $1 trillion in outstanding student loan debt in the United States.
3. Over the last 10 years, tuition and fees at state schools have increased 72%.
4. During the late 1970s, Ohio spent 17% of their budget on higher education and 4% of prisions. Today, Ohio spends 11% on higher ed and 8% of prisons.
5. This year, national, state and local spending on higher education reached a 25-year low.
What Writing Programs Ought To Teach You When They Teach You About Writing
theawl.com
- The Unworkshop. “Editors have real jobs and give writers gigs. What does knowing another writer ever get you?”
- Accounting. “This class will be essential because student loan payments never go away, like Nuclear Herpes.”
- Grant Writing. “Even more important than your own writing, which is what it is, is your ability to write in such a way that people will give you money.”
- Charm Classes. “ A little charm goes a long way. “Please” and “thank you.” Not being a complete dick all the time. Flirting a little. Seeming to listen to people. Attempting to be a genuine person in whatever shifty, fake ways you can.”
- Sex Ed. “ No one wants to be fucked for hours. Just wrap yourself around me and give me five good minutes and then a nap.”
- Concentration Class. “This class will teach you that nothing on the internet is really all that important.”
Malissa Babe is a divorced mother of two teenaged daughters whose wages are being garnished to the tune of $1000 per month. Why? Because her ex-husband stopped paying on their consolidated loan and now she's on the hook for over $134,000.
signon.orgI’m writing today to ask you to sign a new petition to correct an enormous injustice by student loan company American Student Assistance (ASA).
Malissa only borrowed $17,000 for school, however; her husband had borrowed over $117,000 in student loans. During their marriage, they were encouraged by their lenders to consolidate their separate loans into one so as to lower their monthly payments. Seemed like a good idea at the time - until they got divorced.
Because of the sweetheart deals from Congress and the enormous collections powers given to student lenders, the divorce court refused to even consider the issue of their consolidated loan, leaving Malissa to fend for herself with a student loan company that doesn’t care about anything but getting paid.
When her ex-husband stopped paying on their consolidated loan, Malissa was left on the hook for the full amount of both loans, even though she only borrowed $17,000. Now, every month, $1000 of her income is being garnished before she ever sees a dime. What’s worse? ASA refuses to even give Malissa any information about the loans because her ex-husband has been uncooperative.
Malissa drafted this petition with the hope that public pressure upon ASA will force them allow her to separate her loan from that of her ex-husband’s. She’s already paid back over $13,000 of the $17,000 that she originally borrowed, yet, according to ASA, she’s fully responsible for the full $134,000. This is a huge injustice that epitomizes the abuses of the student lending industry and, together, we must ALL take a stand!
…..
Sincerely,
Rob, Natalia, Kyle, Aaron & The Student Debt Crisis Team
