where to get student loans

i’m guessing you’ve heard of the acclaimedtv show “game of thrones.” seven kingdoms vying for power, plots within plots, watchyour back or lose your head. it’s great. but you’ve probably never heard of a reallife drama that i call the “game of loans.” that’s a game washington politicians playon young people, that is, college students, every day. just like “game of thrones,” the “game of loans” has plots within plots, big winners and big losers. the winners are politicians and colleges.they fool students into thinking that by generously providing ever-larger college loans to coverever-larger tuition costs, they have earned students’ votes at election time. why doi say students are fooled? because it is thanks to the very politicians who promise studentsmore and more aid -- in league with the colleges

-- that college tuition became so expensivein the first place. here’s how the game works. according to bloomberg news, since 1978 thecost of a college education has gone up by over 1000% percent. way past the rate of inflation.tuition alone at many colleges is 20, 40, even 50 thousand dollars a year! so, how doyou pay for it? answer: student loans, loans that the government is happy to give you sincethey collect the interest. you don’t have to be a finance major to figure out that allthese student loans give colleges no incentive to cut costs. instead, it gives them everyincentive to raise costs. higher tuition obviously means more money for the college.

now if students were going to college in recordnumbers to study engineering or computer science or biology -- professions with high employmentrates -- maybe these crazy sums would make some sense. maybe. but the most common majorsare in the social sciences and communications -- in subjects like sociology, cinema historyand gender studies. not surprisingly these majors have very high unemployment rates,as in, they don’t prepare you for a job. and these majors are mainstream! you can geta degree in storytelling, bag piping and puppet arts for your fifty thousand a year. but here‘s the point: colleges are no longerprimarily about preparing you for a career. today's higher education is about teachingyou what a terrible country america is,

social activism… and binge drinking. hey, if collegedidn't cost so much the parties might be worth it, but it does. the average student loan debt in america is$28,400 per borrower. note that this is per borrower, not graduate! big difference. alarge chunk of the 1.3 trillion dollar student loan liability is held by ex-students whonever graduated. for every 100 students who enter a four- year college only 59 exit witha degree. but maybe you’re one of the lucky ones.you got a business degree and you found a decent job. chances are you’re paying offyour student loans and will be for the next 10, 20 or even 30 years! good luck savingmoney for a down payment on a house

or just about anything else.mike rowe from the tv show “dirty jobs” nicely summarized the issue this way: "weare lending money we don't have to kids who can't pay it back to train them for jobs thatno longer exist." so, am i saying that college is always a wasteof time and money? of course not. but i am saying this: 1) remember that if you take out a studentloan, it’s not free money. you actually have to pay it back. i know this sounds ridiculouslybasic but it’s also ridiculously important. and since you owe this money to the federalgovernment, you can’t get out of it, even if you declare bankruptcy.

2) whenever you hear politicians say theywant to make college “more affordable,” what they’re really saying is that theywant to get the youth vote while making it easier for you to dig yourself into a deephole. these politicians don’t have your best interestat heart. they have their own best interest at heart -- namely, getting elected. you don’towe them anything. “the game of loans” is rigged -- and notin your favor. but if you’re smart about your choices, you can beat the odds. i’m charlie kirk of turning point usa forprager university.

where to get school loans

bryana: people have dreams to become an actressor things like that… going to college has been my dream… bryana: my parents got divorced at the ageof two … my mom has been my rock since everything… her house is her sanctuary pretty much…my mom has it very nice ‘n’ tidy… it’s considered a trailer; they’re not the onesthat you could roll on wheels. it’s planted on the ground. i’ve been tutoring sinceactually, elementary school. geometry, algebra, algebra one, algebra two. you know, you nameit, the subject… i tutor it, so… [laughter...] lisa solovay: bryana has such a heart forservice. i don’t know if, if it’s because of her predicament that she feels like sheneeds help so she feels like she can help

others… bryana: the do something club is a nationalorganization; you focus on what your community problems are and you try to put a fix to them.i absolutely love it; it always puts a smile on my face when we have meetings and i seethat these students are changing… bryana: we’re doing good. i haven’t seenyou forever… back to interview: bryana: they're realizingthat they can actually be a change in something big. gina carlton: nothing’s ever been handedto bryana; i think she’s always had to work hard for everything. she hasn’t had a [sic]easy financial situation at home. she’s

dealt with her mom losing her job. i’m likeamazed at as much as she’s gone through and still stay so composed and still takescare of everything she has to take care of. female1: unless she tells you what her situationis, you would never know… bryana: i can remember kindergarten – wewere all goin’ around, you know, ”state your name, say what neighborhood you livein so you could make friends…” i said, “hi, i’m bryana and i live in tolly [phonetic...]lakes…” and everybody was like, “what’s tolly lakes?“ i was like, “oh, it’sa neighborhood right across…” and they’re like, “oh, is that a house!” i’m like,”no. i live in a… in a little trailer!” i have been called trailer trash, homeless,low life… pretty much any stereotype for

a hispanic who has divorced parents and livesin a trailer… i’ve heard about [inaudible phrase...] yeah, it hurts -- butuhm, it’s made me really strong. as i’m older, it doesn’t affect me as much. it’snot like a pushback; it’s more of a pushforward now, like, alright, what can i do to earnsomething and make things happen again?” rich gonzalez: bryana’s future looks verybright; she wants to evolve; she wants to go into the medical field. when you have somebodylike that, in (?) that type of caliber, you know you have someone special…02:35 bryana: i volunteer at a couple of hospitals;in high school, i’ve been enrolled in health science one, health science two and emr, whichis emergency medical responder. i’ve been

learning first aid certification, cpr certification,ivs, injections – things like that – so that class is really how i’ve been preparingmyself for the nursing field. my junior year in my english class, a student next to mehad a seizure… [pause...]… you know, i was the only one who actually acted to dosomething and at least i did something ‘cause i know if we all just stood there frozen,she might not be here today… right in that moment like i in myself i already knew whati wanted to be. the biggest obstacle is financially, you know, i would love to be able to go toone of the top medical schools but because of my financial restraint, i have to findcolleges that are in my range but somehow, someway, i’ll make it work to actually goto a university.

03:31ana: college is important because it’s the only way that you could go forward in lifeand have everything that you want and be who you want to be. bryana: i’m trying’ to tutor as much asi can my senior year…[pause...]… scholarships are my biggest, you know, focus, even thoughthere’s no guarantee with them… female1: it’s sometimes hard when you'rea counselor with six hundred plus seniors. you wanna find the best person and sometimesyou can’t; i was lucky that i had that relationship with her; i knew that she was a great studentand i knew that she did have this financial concern, which is what the scholarship wasasking me: “do you now a student that needs

help?” i nominated bryana for the scholarship.and we had gotten a standard email saying, “thank you…” so i kinda thought thatwas the end of the road. when sallie mae called me and told me that she was one of the fourfinalists in the nation, i was completely taken aback. i was crying myself and theni called bryana and i had her come to my office. bryana: i got called down to the guidanceoffice and everybody was bawling and i thought someone died! i was like, ”why is everybodycrying and hugging me? this is not normal!” she just says, like, “you remember that,you know, sallie mae, uhm, scholarship thing? i got an email and they asked me just to senda hundred word essay…” that’s when it hit me: “oh my gosh…” i started crying,too… [laughter...]…and she’s like, “you

are one of the four finalists…” she mademe believe that i can actually go to college and earn an education that, you know, i’vebeen dreaming about… female1: it’s gonna mean a lot more to herto have this scholarship than it would to your average kid and i think it would makea world of difference for her… bryana: in ten years, i hope to see myselfworking as a nurse, putting on my scrubs and being able to support those around me in mylife. it’s crazy! just a hundred words can literally change my life.