• @[email protected]
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    fedilink
    12 months ago

    The biggest differences are that the interest rate is so jacked up, there’s no actual end date for the loan, and there’s little regard to the person’s ability to pay the loan back when getting it.

    They’re more akin to sub prime mortgages than regular mortgages or auto loans in that last respect which were insanely predatory

    • @[email protected]
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      fedilink
      22 months ago

      Yeah I remember getting calls for my student loans asking me to consolidate my federally backed loans and claiming I was going to save a bunch of money. In reality they were lowering my monthly payment but at a higher rate and with a longer term, which would have caused me to spend a significant amount more in the long term . Bunch of scams that should have never been legal. Looking at the source, it looks like consolidated loans for folks who owe more than when they started are covered as part of the forgiveness. Hopefully that goes through someday.

      The federally backed ones I remember having good to reasonable interest rates (looking at historicals they were pretty low most years) and being much lower than I could get anywhere else.

      I’d love to see higher education being affordable for everyone. (If not free)