<p>Federal loans are earning the government a higher interest rate than the government would get purchasing CD’s…</p>
<p>IF they are getting the pay back. The number of folks defaulting and delaying is not so good, from what I understand.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse,</p>
<p>My rant about the federal government stemmed from the comment you made that parents are the cash cows. I agree but I also think the federal government is to blame for causing jacked up prices that are then paid for with aid and passed on to students and parents in the form of loans.</p>
<p>And I never claimed my mother was not involved. I just know for a fact that legally I should not have been claimed as a dependent on her taxes. That was the reason for my initial inquiry. I didnt mention the parent plus loan in my first post because it was irrelevant and didn’t want to cause any confusion. That loan was taken out my last semester. I had 3 years of schooling before it.</p>
<p>And yes certain jobs out there do require a degree when you apply. That doesn’t mean you need the knowledge acquired from that degree. You can ask many of the people with those jobs (I know plenty of them) if their under graduate degree gave them the knowledge to perform at their job and more times than not they’ll tell you no. Surely there could be a better prerequisite for getting a job than something that puts you in debt for half your life.</p>
<p>There are LOTS of ways to get a college degree without going into debt for the rest of your life. Of course this would mean taking your own initiative to work, earn money and save. It sure is a lot easier to have your parents cosign a loan. It’s a lot easier to either commute from home or live in a dorm with a meal plan.</p>
<p>But there are MANY MANY folks who get college degrees (albeit not on the four year plan) while working, living on their own, and NOT taking loans.</p>
<p>Please, you are making is sound like you are a victim when in fact it was your CHOICE if you took our loans, and continued in college. </p>
<p>You certainly had control of your own destiny here, but YOU (not anyone else) chose the course you took.</p>
<p>If appropriate, you can retroactively file corrections to your tax returns to claim your own exemption. Your parents would also of course have to retroactively change theirs. (That has nothing to do with financial aid, just taxes)</p>
<p>You know…what’s done is done. Try looking forward instead of backward.</p>
<p>I could have sworn I already posted that I’m perfectly aware that I’m 100% responsible for the actions I take in my life.</p>
<p>Those actions were simply easier to make thanks to the options available to me. Options I did not understand to the fullest extent as an 18 year old kid. Options that I don’t think should be available to future students.</p>
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<p>Couldn’t agree more. This’ll be my last post on this thread.</p>