"H Schinske" wrote in message
...
wrote:

If a student graduates with $20,000 in extra loans, as a
result of attending the more expensive rather than the less expensive
institution, then that student would only have to make 1% more, over his
or her lifetime, to break even.

Yeah, but what happens is that 1% of the students make twice as much, and
for
the rest of us it makes no difference! ;-)

In any case, am I naive to think that loans are not really "financial aid"
in
the true sense of the word? I know you can get them at attractive rates
compared to borrowing money elsewhere, but really, almost anyone can
borrow
money for college. To me, financial aid means somebody actually helps me
PAY
THE BILL, permanently.

It also depends on repayment. In education, I know that there are programs
in most states which will either pay your way through grad school directly
(if your undergrad record is good enough) or will repay loans given if you
teach in high need fields. In my case, I got a substantial grant from the
state of TX to get a degree in Mathematics Education (and also,
incidentally, got my certificate in music ed while I was there) because it
was a high need field, then the state of TN paid off my loans since I work
in an inner city school (which was where the jobs were anyway). In my case,
they lost the bet on the first one-not only did I move out of state, but I
was hired as a music teacher, but the second paid off, since I'm still in
inner city schools, and have stayed despite at least 2-3 job offers a year
(most of which, admittedly, would require moving and are not at all
attractive).

According to my brother, it used to be fairly common for law offices to pay
off loans for their new hires, especially if you came from the same law
school they did (the good old boy network). However, since it's currently an
employers market for new lawyers, even ones from fairly prestigious schools
are having trouble finding jobs at all, with or without repayment.



--Helen