College Families Bushwhacked by New Loan Legislation

BOCA RATON, Fla., June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Bush signs law subsidizing colleges and lenders -- again!

On May 7, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, which was supposed to quell panic in the student loan crisis. However, according to financial aid expert, Reecy Aresty, "It added fuel to an ongoing fire by ensuring that the colleges and lenders will benefit at the expense of students."

"The new law," Aresty said, "follows on the heels of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA), and should be re-titled the Ensuring Continued Increases to Student Loans Act!"

Under the guise of aiding college families overwhelmed by the student loan crisis, all it did was to perpetuate another deception on the academic public, typical of this administration. According to Aresty, here's how these laws play out:

* Beginning in school year 2007-2008, HERA increased Stafford Loans for
freshmen from $2,625 to $3,500 and from $3,500 to $4,500 for sophomores.
Need-based aid recipients lost $1,875. Not too bad, but it gets worse.
* Colleges benefited by reducing their own aid accordingly and lenders
will prosper from the increased loans.
* Beginning in school year 2008-2009, the new law increased Stafford
borrowing power for undergraduates by $8,000 ($2,000/yr for 4 years).
Colleges will now save up to $9,875 per student in unawarded need-based
aid (scholarships and grants), and lenders will be handsomely rewarded
with more interest from larger loans.

Aresty calls the new act a "wolf in sheep's clothing" and is asking that everyone, not just college families, write their congressmen and demand a repeal of this deceptive legislation. He also added, "Why has the media lauded this bait 'n switch, when it's so obvious that the only beneficiaries are the colleges and the lenders? Only time will tell if the media alerts the public that they indeed have been swindled."

This administration promised no child left behind -- and they weren't. They're just guaranteed to graduate college deeper in debt than at any other time in history!

Reecy Aresty is founder and president of College Assistance, Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida. He is the author of the critically acclaimed parent/student manual, How To Pay for College Without Going Broke, and presents free admissions/financial aid seminars coast to coast. For additional information or to schedule an interview, please contact Reecy Aresty at 561.477.9639, reecy@paylessforcollege.com or visit: www.paylessforcollege.com/media_credits.asp.

Source: Payless for College, Inc.

CONTACT: Reecy Aresty of Payless for College, Inc., +1-561-477-9639

Web site: http://www.paylessforcollege.com/
http://www.paylessforcollege.com/media_credits.asp

2008-06-02 23:01:53 0375393 PRNEWSWIRE