Seems to me that circa junior year or so, I had to have a Duke dean call Sallie Mae on my behalf – because they were refusing me a loan at the time with no justification (actually, their actions were directly tied to my parents’ financial troubles at the time – that much was obvious). It was only because I was at Duke that I had that kind of assistance, based on the stories other people across the U.S. have told me. Like most U.S. institutions of higher learning, Duke costs too much. The astronomical cost of tuition is an exact reflection of our values – not just as members of the Duke community, but as Americans. We Americans pride ourselves on the lack of a safety for people like me. We’re rugged individualists, dammit! But entrapment of students does not help our society in the long run – it defies financial logic.
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We can all agree here: paying 40K+ for any degree makes no sense at all. Is it me or do all these loan stories come from students from private institutions?
