Fail State - documentary about Higher Education for-profit schools

[dfrecore]

I agree.  Even back in the late 80's when I went to college, it was confusing about which part is a loan.  These should be completely separate.  You should get 1 set of paperwork that shows the total cost, and subtracting loans/grants/scholarships, and then a 2nd set of paperwork that shows the loan that you're taking out, IF you choose to do so.  It should not all be together.  I think they try to trick kids (and their parents) into taking out loans.

I agree- not only should the paperwork be separate but I don't like colleges calculating in costs beyond what they are going to bill you for.  It's really bad form to write in that my son's cost of attendance includes $1,400 in textbooks.  Uh, no, we're not paying $1,400 for textbooks. Someone might be, but we're not lol and EVEN IF we buy an overpriced NEW textbook with a code for a zillion dollars, it won't be part of a 20 year loan.

I agree!!  One of the kids I was helping with our local CC was so confused - they were calculating living expenses.  Um, he lives at home, his parents buy food and electricity, I think his bills are like gas for his car and his cell phone.  He doesn't need to have thousands of dollars calculated in for that stuff, and then not even realize he's taking a loan out for stuff that he doesn't need/want.  When all was said and done, between a grant, and a scholarship, his school was free, and books were about $150 to rent for the semester.  He certainly didn't need a loan for $2500!  And he has a PT job, so he was able to pay cash for everything anyway.  So infuriating.