Parent Plus Loan information and experiences

Mwfan1921
Fri, 21 Jul 2023 14:04:23 +0000

Here’s a gift link, I didn’t realize your OP wasn’t a gift link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/06/your-money/parent-plus-loans-debt.html

Yes, I read the article. Interest capitalization happens with many other types of loans too.

For the record, I disagree with the federal government offering parent plus loans to anyone who hasn’t filed bankruptcy.

I disagree with the federal government allowing parent plus loans up to the full COA, with no income test required (meaning someone who earns $20K or $50K or whatever per year, can take out $80K (or whatever the COA is) in these loans per year.

I loathe schools that package these loans and still consider themselves meet full need schools (looking at you Georgetown). But, no one cares what I think about these things.

The DOE did make these loans more difficult to get a decade or so ago, and this is what happened (from the article):

But restricting access to PLUS loans also has consequences. When the Obama administration tightened the credit check criteria in 2011, for example, loan denials increased. And certain institutions whose students rely more heavily on the loans, including historically Black colleges and universities, were particularly hard hit. The backlash was swift — and the rules were loosened a few years later.

Regardless, I agree with the general CC recommendation that if parent loans are necessary, the college isn’t affordable. There is no reason the couple’s D had to attend NYU, as an example. Do I feel empathy for them and for the situation they are in? Of course.