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New student loan bill protects financial aid
Issue date: 4/24/08
New legislation hopes to keep the rocky state of U.S. credit markets from preventing the granting of financial aid to parents and students.
The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (H.R. 5715), recently approved by the House of Representatives, will expand new protections to those already present under the current law.
These protections will guarantee that families will continue to have access to federal college loans, despite lenders' growing reluctance to give out private loans.
Director of the Office of Student Financial Services Vincent Amoroso recently attended a symposium addressing the issues of student loans.
He observed that the perceived student loan crisis "actually is more real than … some people initially were thinking."
"We have students at Johns Hopkins, really just like at any other school, where even after we give them everything that they're eligible for in terms of financial aid, and that includes loans, they still need additional funding," Amoroso said.
Hopkins's status as a direct lending school means that both undergraduate and graduate students are borrowing subsidized loans, unsubsidized loans and plus loans directly from the federal government.
The issues surrounding cash loan availability for lenders will not really affect Hopkins students because of this process.
Students at the University will instead feel the strain brought on by the current financial situation only through the private loan sector.
Additional funds may be needed to cover expected payment contribution, but if all other resources from the University and federal loan programs have already been overextended, then students will have to delve in to a private loan program or find some other sort of personal financing.
When it comes to the fact that certain loaners may not be able to provide families with the same sort of financial help as they had in the past, Amoroso said, "I don't think we're at the place yet where there is not going to be a place to go. It's just, it may not be the place to go that you're used to going to."
The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (H.R. 5715), recently approved by the House of Representatives, will expand new protections to those already present under the current law.
These protections will guarantee that families will continue to have access to federal college loans, despite lenders' growing reluctance to give out private loans.
Director of the Office of Student Financial Services Vincent Amoroso recently attended a symposium addressing the issues of student loans.
He observed that the perceived student loan crisis "actually is more real than … some people initially were thinking."
"We have students at Johns Hopkins, really just like at any other school, where even after we give them everything that they're eligible for in terms of financial aid, and that includes loans, they still need additional funding," Amoroso said.
Hopkins's status as a direct lending school means that both undergraduate and graduate students are borrowing subsidized loans, unsubsidized loans and plus loans directly from the federal government.
The issues surrounding cash loan availability for lenders will not really affect Hopkins students because of this process.
Students at the University will instead feel the strain brought on by the current financial situation only through the private loan sector.
Additional funds may be needed to cover expected payment contribution, but if all other resources from the University and federal loan programs have already been overextended, then students will have to delve in to a private loan program or find some other sort of personal financing.
When it comes to the fact that certain loaners may not be able to provide families with the same sort of financial help as they had in the past, Amoroso said, "I don't think we're at the place yet where there is not going to be a place to go. It's just, it may not be the place to go that you're used to going to."
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