Community College Students denied loans

[trillionaire]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/business/02loans.html

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/17/loans

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24170713/

 

[MoonWater]

This really sucks, for some, a community college is all they have access to. I know that the one here doesn't allow students to take loans, but it has been going on for many years. I always found it odd because even though it's much cheaper, it becomes much harder to afford.

 

[trillionaire]

it''s funny, but PS land must be pretty well off. I went to a 4yr college and am in grad school, but I have used the local CC to take courses, though never on loan. I am amazed by the composition of CC classes. Working single moms, people trying to get out of dead-end jobs, fire fighters, former military, anyone trying to get a leg up, college students trying to "expand their horizons". I can''t believe no one else on PS aside from you, Moon, even cares to weigh in.

At a time when my undergrad is going for $50K a year, CC''s are going to become more and more important. The stratification in this country is reaching appalling levels.

Even a recent article in Money mag says that colleges are reaching price tags that are not worth the investment. CC''s are at least a place where you can explore ideas and be exposed to new knowledge.

 

[Lynnie]

I am more of a lurker than a poster, but these articles appalled me so much, I felt I had to weigh in.

I am a strong proponent of community colleges. When I graduated high school, I got a partial scholarship to St Joe''s University in Philadelphia. I got offered a full scholarship to the local CC. And at 17 years old, I decided to go to St Joes. Neither of my parents went to college, and couldn''t affort to help at all with tuition, so the decision was left to me. Well, now I am kicking myself for that decision. I dropped out of St Joe''s after the first semester. I had no idea what I was gonna do with my life, I didn''t like the school, I was still in Party-Teenager mode, etc. I ended up going to CC to explore my options. I took a lot of classes (on both grants and loans) in fields that actually INTERESTED me, like art, chemistry, biology, spanish. I ended up applying for the nursing program there, got in and got my AA after 4 years, going part-time and working almost full time (I needed to work at my former job 30hrs/week in order to keep my benefits, needed benefits for the nursing program). Without the loans, there would have been NO WAY I would''ve been able to afford it. Now, I work at a major hospital making the same pay as nurses who went to expensive colleges and universities. Some of them have over $70000 in loans. I had $7000 (now down to almost $2000 - so happy about that!). I would not be where I am today without a Community College education. In fact, I think a lot of high-school grads are not mature enough to make life-altering decions, and OUGHT to explore their options at a CC BEFORE taking the plunge into an expensive school (unless, of course, money is no object).

Like you said, trill, CC''s help so many people. I had single-mom classmates, second-career classmates, and firefighters in the nursing program. It outrages me that people are being denied loans.

Absolutely ridiculous. I feel like writing my Congressman now...

Thanks for the articles. Okay, I''m done now.

 

[MoonWater]

Date: 9/7/2008 9:54:50 PM
Author: trillionaire
it''s funny, but PS land must be pretty well off. I went to a 4yr college and am in grad school, but I have used the local CC to take courses, though never on loan. I am amazed by the composition of CC classes. Working single moms, people trying to get out of dead-end jobs, fire fighters, former military, anyone trying to get a leg up, college students trying to ''expand their horizons''. I can''t believe no one else on PS aside from you, Moon, even cares to weigh in.

At a time when my undergrad is going for $50K a year, CC''s are going to become more and more important. The stratification in this country is reaching appalling levels.

Even a recent article in Money mag says that colleges are reaching price tags that are not worth the investment. CC''s are at least a place where you can explore ideas and be exposed to new knowledge.

Agreed.

This is partially related although I''m not sure that if she were able to take loans if it still would have been the same problem. I was talking about the issues I had with Clinton''s welfare "reform" and how it was nothing like what he claimed it would be before he was elected. One person (a very vocal Clinton supporter) was talking about how he is tired of people taking advantage of the system etc etc. I was trying to explain (along with a few other women), that you can''t punish the majority over a few.

One woman decided to tell a personal story about how she struggled on welfare with her first child. She said she really wanted to go to college to improve herself but the only way she could afford to go was to take a job. Apparently, if she took a job, her welfare benefits would be terminated. So she had to choose between getting the assistance she needed in helping her provide for her kid or getting a job which could cover college but nothing else. It seems so silly. If people don''t mind temporary assistance, then they have to realize that we need to make it so these people can truly be self reliant. An education is one of the ways to do that. So to me, this lack of providing loans to the groups that will need them the most is absurd. We''re just increasing the education, skill, and wage gap. And like you said, with the increased cost of tuition, hell, the middle class may not be able to afford to go either!

 

[MoonWater]

Hey Lynnie, thanks for posting your story. That''s how I felt when I was young. I didn''t really care about college and didn''t take it seriously, so I wasted time and money going to a 4 year University initially. I was definitely still in "party-teenager" mode. I left, lived life for a few years, got a certificate in computer programming, went to a CC for a semester, figured out what I wanted to do, and finally went back to a 4 year. Sometimes I think kids need to take their time and get to know themselves before making a firm decision in regard to education. CCs definitely help you do that by letting you explore for little expense.

 

[UCLABelle]

As a doctoral student who studies California Community Colleges and access, I have always known the difficulty in loans/financial support for students who attend the CCC system. This issue is not new, and was only made "newsworthy" due to a few longitudinal studies (not simply the one or two studies cited). In California, some community colleges opt out of the loan-programs, however, many of these institutions receive a significant amount of financial support for students via grants, etc (Cal Grant, Pell Grant, etc). Unfortunately, they are still working on finding a balance---

I will state that despite not all offering federal loans, community colleges are significantly cheaper, and still provide a great deal of access, just not enough---

 

[MoonWater]

Date: 9/9/2008 11:29:09 AM
Author: UCLABelle
As a doctoral student who studies California Community Colleges and access, I have always known the difficulty in loans/financial support for students who attend the CCC system. This issue is not new, and was only made ''newsworthy'' due to a few longitudinal studies (not simply the one or two studies cited). In California, some community colleges opt out of the loan-programs, however, many of these institutions receive a significant amount of financial support for students via grants, etc (Cal Grant, Pell Grant, etc). Unfortunately, they are still working on finding a balance---


I will state that despite not all offering federal loans, community colleges are significantly cheaper, and still provide a great deal of access, just not enough---

That''s how it is here, they opted out on their own. Sometimes people make just enough where they aren''t eligible for enough grants and end up owing a balance they can''t afford.