REPOST: AP Sources: Senators reach deal on student loans

REPOST: AP Sources: Senators reach deal on student loans

Phillip Elliot of the Associated Press reports a recent deal among senators forwarding better rates for student loans. The full story can be accessed at Time.com.

(WASHINGTON) — Heading off a costly increase for returning college students, a bipartisan group of senators reached a deal Wednesday that would offer students better rates on their loans this fall but perhaps assign higher rates in coming years.

The deal would offer students lower interest rates through the 2015 academic year, but then rates were expected to climb above where they were when students left campus this spring. The interest rates would be linked to the financial markets, but Democrats won a protection for students that rates would never climb higher than 8.25 percent for undergraduate students. Graduate students would not pay rates higher than 9.5 percent and parents’ rates would top out at 10.5 percent.

Under the deal, all undergraduates this fall would borrow at 3.85 percent interest rates. Graduate students would have access to loans at 5.4 percent and parents would be able to borrow at 6.4 percent. Those rates would climb as the economy improves and it becomes more expensive for the government to borrow money.

The deal was described by Republican and Democratic aides who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing negotiations.

Undergraduates last year borrowed at 3.4 percent or 6.8 percent, depending on their financial need. Graduate students had access to federal loans at 6.8 percent and parents borrowed at 7.9 percent.

A vote on the agreement could come as early as Thursday, although it could be pushed back to the middle of next week depending on the Senate calendar.

The bipartisan agreement is expected to be the final in a string of efforts that have emerged from near constant work to undo a rate hike that took hold for subsidized Stafford loans on July 1. Rates for new subsidized Stafford loans doubled from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, adding roughly $2,600 to students’ education costs.

Lawmakers from both parties called the hike senseless but differed on how to restore the lower rates. Republicans have pushed for a link between interest rates and the financial markets. Obama included that link in his budget proposal, as did House Republicans. Democrats balked, saying it could produce government profits on the backs of borrowers if rates continued to climb.

Leaders from both parties, however, recognized the potential to be blamed for the added costs in the 2014 elections if nothing were done.

The House has already passed student loan legislation that also links interest rates to the 10-year Treasury note. The differences between the Senate and House versions are expected to be resolved before students return to campus this fall, and Obama is expected to sign the bill.

Few students had borrowed for fall classes. Students typically do not take out loans until just before they return to campus, and Congress had until they left for the August recess to restore the lower rates. The students who had borrowed for summer programs since July 1 would have their rates retroactively reduced.

Lawmakers and their top aides have been tinkering with various proposals — nudging here, trimming there — trying to find a deal that avoids added red ink for students and the government alike.

The deal was estimated to reduce the deficit by $715 million over the next decade.

But if the economy improves as congressional economists predict, rates would climb in coming years. The compromise reached Wednesday evening would limit how high those rates could go, although all were higher than the current fixed levels.

Lawmakers from both parties met with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday at the White House. An outline of an agreement seemed to be taking shape Tuesday, with follow-up meetings Wednesday in Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin’s office yielding a final agreement.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina were the main negotiators, with Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Durbin filling the role of mediators.

David Charlow, part of the College Capture team, served as a student affairs specialist at Columbia University. Visit this website for more on him and his colleagues and how they help parents and their children prepare college financing plans.

Understanding the market value of a college degree

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For generations, college degrees have always been linked to career success. It seems that graduating from college can easily mean getting a good job with a good salary. But in a real-world sense, it may not always be the case.

Not all college degrees have the same value in the job market. This is something that relies on three things, according to Forbes:

1. Academic performance
Just because a person holds a college degree like the rest of his classmates does not mean he will get the same job opportunities as them. Naturally, graduates with higher grades will be considered first for decent positions. Of course, decent positions also naturally come with good pay.


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2. Majors
There are jobs that are in demand, and there are those that are not. Depending on how sought-after a job is in the market, the general salary increases or decreases. When there are only few graduates qualified for much-needed positions, salaries being offered hit the roof.

3. Reputation of the college
According to Forbes, students who graduated from top colleges earn 20 percent more than students coming from lower ranking schools. This just proves that enrolling in a reputable college can be a valuable investment. Of course, graduates must also prove that they don’t rely solely on the name of their school. They must prove to their employers that they are ready to utilize the skills and knowledge they have accumulated in their escalation in the educational ladder.


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As part of College Capture, David Charlow helps families save up for college education. Visit this website for more information.

Reading: Not as leisurely as it used to be

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Back in the day, in a time when having a horse pull a carriage is called “technology,” boys and girls, and a whole lot of men and women, spent a great deal of time and resources on books. Books were, at that time, the number one source for entertainment and knowledge, and at that time, many people have been immortalized because of their written works.

Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. In an article published by The Guardian, it is reported that the number of children who read on their own time for leisure has gone down drastically from the last reported figure in 2005. Now, only three (3) out of 10 children prefer reading books over all the other alternative activities, wherein in 2005, four (4) out of every 10 would pick up a book for entertainment. Now although the figures may not look much, there is a considerable shift in percentages, especially when the research is based on a study of more than 21,000 children.

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Champions of education such as Greg Roberts or David Charlow would definitely be the first to encourage more children – and even adults for that matter – to pick up books over the television’s remote control, or mobile phones, for good, clean fun; however, in today’s world where technology is within anyone’s reach, it is very easy to get side-tracked and choose the latter rather than the former.

Books, whether physical or electronic, are readily available to everyone. It is high time for the love of books to come back to the world.

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David Charlow, as a student affairs professional and an academic advising expert, may be able to offer more information about books (scholastic or otherwise), and how these affect a learner’s progress. This Facebook page for him would have more information on the matter.

The Adderall epidemic: What students need to know about the study drug

Adderall is a type of amphetamine developed for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). This drug acts as a central nervous system stimulant, counteracting ADHD and narcolepsy by affecting chemicals in the brain and nerves responsible for hyperactivity and impulse control. For people with ADHD, this drug calms them. For people without attention problems, the drug can trigger hyperactivity.

 Image source: nydailynews.com

Adderall, along with other ADHD prescription drugs like Ritalin, has earned the moniker the ‘study drug’ for its reported positive effects on focus and concentration. Students without ADHD are taking the pill and most of them are abusing it. For these students, enhanced mental performance is just a pop of pill away, and they’ve learned how to lure doctors to thinking that they’re showing symptoms of ADHD when in fact they’re just under academic pressure. The study drug “has become to college what steroids are to baseball.” Competition in America’s college has never been tougher and students drink Adderral to get them through all-nighters, cramming, projects, and gruelling exams.

 

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Taking drugs the body doesn’t really need could pose serious health risks. Like cocaine, Adderall is a Class 2 controlled substance, meaning, it’s more addictive than Class 1 drugs like heroin or LSD. It has a high potential for severe psychological and physical dependence, dragging the user into downward spiral to clinical depression. Users, having been addicted to Adderall, may need to fight withdrawal symptoms such as nightmares, fatigue, and hunger; they may suffer from seizures or heart attack, or may even die.

  

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Learn to conquer academic pressure by reading David Charlow’s guide to educational success posted on this blog.

GPAs: What's their point, anyway?

How important is a grade point average (GPA) in the college admission process?

For most parents and college-bound students, the GPA is very important, often seen as the key to higher education. However, as admission experts like Greg Roberts, Jim Bock, and David Charlow explain, some colleges barely look at an applicant’s GPA.

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“It is meaningless.” Roberts, admissions dean at the University of Virginia, told USA Today. Bock, admissions dean at Swarthmore College, agrees, pointing out that “It [GPA] is artificial” and unimportant that Swarthmore doesn’t bother including it into college guidebooks.

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Although such statements may, understandably, cause confusion among high school students and their families, there are surveys, such as those done by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which show that most admissions officials put a high priority on grades – particularly those in college preparatory courses. But does this mean that high school students need not put much work on their GPA? Not necessarily. After all, GPAs, together with college test scores, are “still the best solution to setting a bar on which to judge thousands upon thousands of applicants,” as the Boston University’s The Daily Free Press puts it.

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Indeed, a student’s GPA is not a perfect system, like what The Daily Free Press noted. Nonetheless, it can still serve as a good indicator of how a student will fare in college.

Join the discussion on the importance of GPAs in the college admission process by logging in to this Facebook page.

The lucky one: The price of your college degree

Lucky are those who grew up in an upper middle class American family, for their parents are more than willing to spend a million-worth college degree for their children, for them. Even the kids who belong in a working class home are fortunate, too, since their education is secured by their hardworking parents’ diligence.

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Lucky and privileged, perhaps, are the words that might describe these kids as they ascent onto the graduation dais, receiving their hard-earned diploma, and thinking of the bright future awaiting elsewhere. Nonetheless, for those who are still evading the loan-providing firms, there might be a substitute description for them: ill-fated.

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The students who managed to finish college through educational loans could not pay the creditors back because they are out of work, or there are no works of any sort that wait for them even though they’re dying to have one.

The problem is there are no jobs available for the new graduates—be they from a middleclass university or not. The economy resurges according to the numbers, but the nation, in the eyes of the unemployed, doesn’t. Joblessness continues to deteriorate as the economy improves and as job hopefuls stay infuriated for not getting the right job they’ve dreamt of. However, numbers are just numbers for those who have long given up landing a job that befits their area of expertise, and some just jump into occupations that have nothing to do with their college degree.

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More on planning and financing a college education can be accessed from this David Charlow blog.

REPOST: Benefits of College Degree in Recession Are Outlined

In times of recession, a college degree becomes more instrumental in landing a job. A study reveals that unemployment was at its worse in the workforce bracket that lacks a college degree. This New York Times article, written by Richard Perez-Pena, explains the study further.

Image source: nytimes.com

Young adults have long faced a rough job market, but in the last recession and its aftermath, college graduates did not lose nearly as much ground as their less-educated peers, according to a new study.

The study, published on Wednesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts, shows that among Americans age 21 to 24, the drop in employment and income was much steeper among people who lacked a college degree.

The findings come as many published articles and books have told the stories of young college graduates unable to find work, and questioned the conventional wisdom that a college education is a worthwhile investment and the key to opportunity and social mobility. The study did not take into account the cost of going to college.

“This shows that any amount of post-secondary education does improve the labor market outcomes for those recent graduates,” said Diana Elliott, the research manager for Pew’s Economic Mobility Project. “This is not necessarily to discredit those individual stories.”

In fact, the study documents a serious decline in the job picture for young people.

Using data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey, Pew looked at employment, either full time or part time, among 21- to 24-year-olds, in the roughly two and a half years before the 2007-2009 recession, during it, and in the two and a half years after it.

Among those whose highest degree was a high school diploma, only 55 percent had jobs even before the downturn, and that fell to 47 percent after it. For young people with an associate’s degree, the employment rate fell from 64 percent to 57 percent.

But those with a bachelor’s degree started off in the strongest position and weathered the downturn best, with employment slipping from 69 percent to 65 percent. (The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded a similar decline, about four percentage points, among all people over 20, at any education level.)

Similarly, in all three groups of young adults, wages fell for those who had work, but the decline was spread unevenly.

People with four-year college degrees saw a 5 percent drop in wages, compared with a 12 percent decrease for their peers with associate’s degrees, and a 10 percent decline for high school graduates.

One surprise in the data, Ms. Elliott said, had to do with “the prevailing speculation that people who couldn’t find work were returning to school, enhancing their training.” In fact, college enrollment over all rose sharply for several years, driven primarily by older students, before leveling off in 2011.

But Pew’s study found that among people age 21 to 24, the rate of college enrollment actually declined slightly, during and after the recession.

A major partner of College Capture, David Charlow helps families save up for their children’s college education. More about him can be read in this Twitter page.