Monday, January 26, 2009

Poor Economy Shuts Out Those Needing Student Loans

By Ronaldo Q Cacheezey

The economic climate appears to have caused more problems for U.S. students bound for College. United States college students are realizing it's nearly impossible to access student loans which they need to pay college tuition fees. Currently, there is an increase in the number of private and public lenders, who traditionally have provided financial aid, withdrawing from this area of finance. One reason is due to the fact that the growing crunch on credit worthiness and the low profitability of previously popular federal insured college loans.

Word of a state agency pulling out of providing funds, has surfaced. This will affect 100 colleges and universities alone, and the fear exists that many more will become similarly affected. The reason behind this drastic move is cited as being the credit squeeze.

Traditionally, funds for college have been backed by some of the major US banks, including JP Morgan, Sachs Goldman and Citibank. These banks will no longer be supporting the auction system that allocated resources for student loans. There are also predictions that financial assistance will become more expensive.

The biggest scheme that provides college loans is the Federal government-backed student loan scheme, providing loans to means-tested students. Students mainly use these loans to pay for tuition and then seek a private loan to cover their additional expenses. It is these private loans that are set to become more difficult to find, although it looks as though companies are still supplying funds for the government scheme.

The other area of concern is the growing number of families who have been caught by the mortgage crisis - many will have college-aged children. The people most affected by the disappearance of student loans will be low income earners and people with a low credit score, and families suffering with their mortgages are now included in this group. There will be a growing number of students who will be refused loans due to their parents' credit rating.

It has been estimated that about 100,000 students will not qualify for private or government loans this year due to poor credit. Add to this the decreasing number of companies providing student loans, and there will be problems for many college students.

Students caught up in this financial crisis and who are unable to obtain student aid still have a few solutions left. You should go and talk to the student aid department at the school you're wanting to attend to see if there are any scholarships or grants available to you. They may also be able to get you enrolled in a State aid program or find you a source of aid not available to just anyone.

Don't forget, don't give up. If you can't get a hundred percent of your college needs financed, you may have to cut back on classes and get a full or part time job and work your way through college. Sure, that's nearly unheard of in this day and age, but you can't deny that it's effective. - 16928

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