Quote Originally Posted by BeardoMSU View Post
I'll say this....this move, while I'm sure will help folks in the short term, doesn't really address the problem long term. It's really more of a political stunt. I do like the language on interest accruement, though. That's a step.

The root of the problem rests with the symbiotic relationship between colleges/universities offering degree programs that they know don't lead to jobs, poor academic retention because there are just soooo many kids going to school that have no business being there, and a predatory loan industry that is just fine exploiting the situation.

If MS does one thing right, it's our investment in junior colleges and the support they give kids while there. I didn't go to JC, but plenty of my friends did. Also, the US as a country as failed kids by our total disregard for widespread vocational training; something they do exceptionally well in Europe, btw.

The simple fact is there we're now in a system where kids feel their only option post HS is to "go to college".

Oh, you don't know what you want to do? Don't worry...you'll figure it out while you're there....oh, you never figured it out....tough luck, but here's a mountain of loan debt that you'll still have to pay off despite not finishing your degree.
Yea the interest is the biggest problem. If we just put a stop on interest for these loans that were taken out the issue would not be so wide spread. Student loans have compound interest making it even more difficult to pay. College and Universities may not like it, but moving forward students need to be able to pass a test and understand interest. This is the best way to document it so students can’t come back and say “nobody told me”. Just pull up the test where they answered the questions correctly and have all the information needed right in front of them. Also, we need a smaller cap on the amount of stipends students are taking out. Student loans are supposed to be used for educational expenses not typical for normal bills. Give students 1000/year for Internet, 1000/year for computer and 1000/year for books. They should be working to pay normal bills like rent, water, food, car payments, sewage, gas etc not taking out huge student loans for these things