What Students and Parents MUST Know about Student LoansWritten by John WIlliams
word count: 634 character width: 60 resource box: 4 lines + web link========================================================== "What Students and Parents MUST Know about Student Loans" - by John Williams © DigiLectual Inc. 2004 http://studentloans.college--loans.com/ ========================================================== A student loan helps you get through college. Then you come out into a high-paying career. It's a great investment in your (or your sons/daughters) future. Student loans generally give you a good deal. You get below-market interest rates, and you get a $2500 federal tax credit on interest paid over any period of time (previously first 60 months only) It doesn't matter if student, or parent takes out loan; tax deduction remains same. * Did you know federal government has a $50 billion student loan program ? Not surprisingly, federal government provides largest percentage of student loans. Other student loans may come direct from colleges, private lenders or state governments. One of key advantages to a federal guaranteed loan is exactly that - it's guaranteed. That means you don't need collateral. It also means terms are kinder than a typical lender might offer. Of course, your educational program has to be approved by government. Types of student loans * Federal Stafford Loan - for undergraduate or graduate students A popular and cost-effective source of a student loan. Stafford loans provide low-interest, government guaranteed funds. Stafford Loans come in two types, subsidized or unsubsidized. Whether or not you're eligible for subsidized depends on household income. The school ought to advise on this. For subsidized, government covers interest right up to start of repayment i.e. they pay interest incurred during course, in deferment and during grace period before repayment begins. If you qualify for subsidized, it's a great deal For unsubsidized, student must pay all interest incurred at all times, though they don't start repaying until after grace period. * Federal PLUS Loan - for parents of undergraduates Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) allows parents to take a loan on their Childs behalf. They can contribute to their Childs future, and get a great low- interest loan with continuing future tax relief. PLUS actually allows parents to borrow total cost of their child's education, minus any grants or other financial aid awarded. All tuition fees, meals, books, transport etc. can be included in loan.
| | Speaking on Behalf of Our Children: Stop Blaming the VictimsWritten by Dawn Fry
Speaking on Behalf of Our Children: Stop Blaming VictimsHow many times have you flipped through pages of a magazine or newspaper and seen images of children with captions like “Brats,” “Bullies,” or “Mean and Selfish”? Unfortunately, these are common occurrences in today’s media. For some child advocates, these images serve as a call to action: We need to do something to help America’s so-called “out-of-control” children. The problem is, while these negative images are a wake up call, they are not doing anything to help troubled children. In fact, they only add to problem. By labeling children brats, bullies, or mean and selfish, we are imposing very same behaviors on them that we teach as being wrong. In Robert Shaw’s book, The Epidemic: The Rot of American Culture, Absentee and Permissive Parenting, and Resultant Plague of Joyless, Selfish Children, he asserts that “Our culture no longer offers what children need to truly thrive.” That is, some children are so unruly because society has unknowingly taught them to act this way Getting Down to Root of Problem The “epidemic” that Shaw discusses is a result of a deeply rooted social system called Authoritarianism, which is a system of behaviors that manipulate and control through pain and humiliation. These behaviors include blaming, shaming, preaching, moralizing, accusing, ridiculing, belittling, evaluating, labeling, threatening, judging, and punishing – all bullying behaviors. These behaviors disrespect, discourage, and devalue person to whom they are directed. When such authoritarian behaviors are imposed on children, end result is usually a loss of dignity and self-respect. Instead of helping them overcome their problems, these methods only make children feel worse about themselves, causing them to react by displaying same authoritarian behaviors. Authoritarian behaviors are so deeply rooted that even professional advocates who speak out against bullying resort to using same tactics. For example, on an episode of his TV. show, Dr. Phil McGraw interviewed a teenage girl who was being verbally and physically abused by other girls at school. Since accused girls refused to appear on program, Dr. Phil delivered a message to them by looking and speaking directly into camera. When he began to ridicule accused girls and call them names, audience immediately applauded and cheered with approval. Both Dr. Phil and his audience were advocating very same behaviors that he was speaking against. Bullying is so deeply rooted in today’s society, that it now seems reasonable. Adding to our trouble, our nation as a whole has a reputation of being a bully because of our authoritarian behaviors. In fact, The San Francisco Chronicle recently ran an article entitled “9/11 Reminds Chinese of America, a Global Bully.” In article a student at Beijing Institute of Science said, “America is a bully, so when someone hits back, it feels good.” When bullying is directed at children, cycle continues. Many bullied children end up being bullies themselves because “it feels good,” causing others to feel like victims for much of their life.
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