Show 1 I College tuition's rising degree of difficulty Catherine Ho HoLos Los Angeles Times Tunes Higher college costs and steep losses in college savings plans are forcing students and their parents to borrow more to earn bachelors bachelor's degrees Last years year's seniors facing increasing costs through their college years graduated with an average debt load that vas was 6 percent higher than the previous years year's grads accumulated according to a report released in October The average debt of students graduating with loans in 2007 jumped to up up from for those graduating in the previous year according to The Project on Student Debt a Berkeley Calif advocacy group that tracks student loans This years year's graduating class might owe even more as they and their parents borrow more to supplement falling values in their savings plans Meanwhile starting salaries for last years year's graduates haven't haven kept pace growing only 3 percent over the previous year Families may have fewer resources available to them said Matthew Reed a policy analyst who wrote the projects project's report If families who six or twelve months ago might have looked to a home equity line or savings or investments for college those sources might be tightening up a a bit If that's the case that might lead to turning to federal student or parent loan program But whether the pace of J. J borrowing will continue is unclear as the turbulent economy and frozen credit markets strip parents of jobs and make loan standards stricter Private loans are now charging higher interest rates demanding higher credit scores and insisting on signers co-signers said Ronald W. W Johnson director of financial aid at the University of California Los Angeles With tighter restrictions students will find that their lender options have dwindled Until recently stu students could obtain private loans with good credit he said But now those without cosigners cosigners cosigners co co- signers might not be able to obtain those loans Tuition and other costs of attending college have continued to rise and grant aid has not kept up with the therise rise Reed said Last years year's spike in borrowing coincides with rising education costs which continued to rise this year The nonprofit College Board which operates assessment tests said tuition and fees rose 64 percent at public universities in 2007 08 compared with the previous school year Room and board were up 52 percent The projects project's executive director Robert noted that the seniors in inthe inthe inthe the study graduated before the financial downturn but the economys economy's tailspin this year makes high student loan payments even harder to bear he said The federal government tried to reassure families Saturday as the Education Department extended 0 NoW legislation from May that increases lending limits on unsubsidized Stafford loans from to per undergraduate and allows the department to purchase loans temporarily to boost lender confidence We recognize that the current economic situation has created real financial challenges for students and their families who are increasingly concerned about how they can secure loans to help cover college costs US U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings said I 1 want to reassure students and their families that federal student aid both grants and loans remains available to eligible students Unsubsidized Stafford loans are US U.S. government- government backed and dont don't require students to demonstrate financial need Interest rates for Stafford loans Joam are u generally lower than private loans but often have lower limits for borrowing borrowing- The interest rate which accrues from the date of the loan is fixed at 68 percent The rate for subsidized Stafford loans dropped in July from 68 percent to 6 percent and is scheduled to drop the next three years until it reaches 34 percent Unlike with unsubsidized loans the government pays interest while the student is in school Despite a tightening credit market the bottom line is that federal loans are still available in spite of what people might think in inthe inthe inthe the credit crisis Reed said Everyone can still get a federal student loan I t 7 |