Bait and Switch: They Are Representing Your Borrowing for College As Being Presented Their Financial Aid; It Isn’t

Calling Elizabeth Warren!

College financial aid offices are sending out letters offering financial aid amounts that include debt the student and their parents will go out and contract on their own.

Lots of examples in this piece from Bloomberg entitled “Colleges Confusing Students with Letters Offering Aid That's Debt”

Last I checked, aid was aid, and debt was debt. Not it seems that your debt is their aid. 

Via Infectious Greed.

college,aid,debt

Comments

[Dean Esmay]

The College Loan scam just gets worse and worse and worse. I'm so sickened by it. Getting a college degree (a tough, marketable degree with a 4.0 GPA mind you) was probably the biggest mistake of my life. :-/

[Dave Tufte]

I'm sorry you feel that way about your degree; I continue to think a fair chunk of them are money well spent.

But, yeah, the college loan scam is unbelievable. Thirty years ago I took out about $20K of student loans, knowing full well that I was just getting extra cash to blow. But I didn't have any illusions that I wouldn't pay it back, or that I didn't have to make wise educational choices. I did, and I paid off the loans within 10 years of graduation.

But the situation now seems to be 1) talking about larger amounts, 2) talking more about debt forgiveness, and 3) increasingly unattached to the choice of serious majors.

I think the world would be a better if it were made clear that the loans were drawn against potential future income, and that there were majors that would score you more cash.

[Dean Esmay]

Being in a position where you cannot possibly repay your loans definitely changes the viewpoint. I won't be paying mine back for decades at my current income levels.

I would like to see schools having some responsibility here, such as actually having a stake in the economic outcome of their students, to force them to be more choosy about the majors they offer and the students they accept. They wouldn't like that much though.

[Paresh]

The best thing you can do is call them and tell them you want to work with them to pay this bill. As long as you show that you want to work with them, they will usually work with you. I bveilee that as long as you pay them something (the original person you owe) that they can't sent it to collections.But I don't understand. You say it has been charged off. That sounds to me that they are taking the loss and your credit is already affected. If that is the case, just calling them and paying it off isn't enough. You need to start by calling them, get more info. For example, can you still work with them or do you have to work through a collection agency? Then you need to find out, no matter who you are working with, if they will remove the bad mark on your credit if you comply with the agreement you make.I did work with a collection agency and paid it off and they offered, without me asking, to take it off of my credit. Worked out great. Shows you what a phone call and cooperation will do.