(Money Magazine) — For families with little tikes heading off to college, this has been the year from hell. First, a record number of applicants made two thousand and eight the most competitive year ever for college admissions. Then the credit crunch wacked the college market in a huge way, igniting fears of a drought in financing for all students this fall.
Spurred by dwindling demand for packaged loans from investors and cuts on fed subsidies, more than 100 lenders in the government college loan program have pulled out of the market. Private lenders are leaving the college market too - 27 so far. Those who stay are making it tougher to qualify for loans, while jacking up rates and reducing discounts.
The result: If ya’re counting on a loan to pay tuition bills this fall, ya’re likely anxiously holding your breath, waiting to see if ya’ll be able to borrow what ya need at a rate ya can afford.
Is it harder to get a bad credit student loan? Tell us.
Well, Mom and Dad, ya can officially exhale now. You, my mate’ll be fine, if ya just play it right. Unlike the crisis in the mortgage market, where politicians continue to argue about how to help without actually doing much, Uncle Sam in recent weeks has swooped in with a practical damage-control plan for college borrowers.
(More from CNN)
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