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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Dear Visionaries:</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>I don’t know why any of us continue to bother Donovan with the facts, but here goes.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>From </FONT><A href="http://www.finaid.org/loans/"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>http://www.finaid.org/loans/</FONT></A><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>, The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid:</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext">“</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">An education loan is a form of financial aid that must be repaid, with interest. (<A href="http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/"><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">Scholarships</SPAN></A>, on the other hand, do not have to be repaid.) <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Education loans come in three major categories: </FONT><A href="http://www.finaid.org/loans/studentloan.phtml"><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>student loans</FONT></SPAN></A><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> (e.g., </FONT></SPAN><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Stafford</SPAN></st1:place><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> and Perkins loans), <A href="http://www.finaid.org/loans/parentloan.phtml"><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">parent loans</SPAN></A> (e.g., PLUS loans) and <A href="http://www.finaid.org/loans/privateloan.phtml"><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-!
DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">private education loans</SPAN></A> (also called alternative loans). A fourth type of education loan, the <A href="http://www.finaid.org/loans/consolidation.phtml"><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">consolidation loan</SPAN></A>, allows the borrower to lump all of their loans into one loan for simplified payment. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Few students can afford to pay for college without some form of education financing. Two-thirds (65.6%) of undergraduate students graduate with some debt, and the average federal student loan debt among graduating seniors is $19,102 (</SPAN><st1:place><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">Stafford</SPAN></st1:place><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> and Perkins Loans), according to the 2003-2004 <A href="http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/"><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none">National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS)</SPAN></A>. (The median is $17,120. One quarter of undergraduate students borrow $24,936 or more, and one tenth borrow $35,193 or more.) These figures increase by about 3% or approximately $550 a year. When one includes PLUS loans in the total, the average cumulat!
ive debt incurred is $21,814. (Approximately one in ten (10.7%) parents borrow PLUS loans for their children's college education, with a cumulative PLUS loan debt of $16,218.) <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"><FONT face="Times New Roman"><FONT size=3>Graduate and professional students borrow even more, with the additional debt for a graduate degree ranging from $27,000 to $114,000. The following table shows the percentage borrowing and average amount of cumulative debt among graduating students according to degree program. It provides the amounts borrowed for just the graduate education and also the combined totals for undergraduate and graduate education.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P><FONT size=3><EM><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">From this same website: “The interest rate on the Stafford Loan starting July 1, 2005 is 5.30% during the repayment period and 4.70% during in-school and grace periods, an increase of 1.93% over the previous year's rates. The interest rate on the PLUS loan is 6.10%, up from 4.17%. So the era of historically low interest rates on student loans has ended. Interest rates are expected to increase by a further 1.5% to 2.0% on </SPAN></EM><st1:date Month="7" Day="1" Year="2006"><EM><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">July 1, 2006</SPAN></EM></st1:date><EM><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Times; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">, returning to historical averages.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></EM></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Now, from the Latah Federal Credit Union website: “Personal loans are available for just about any reason. Go on a trip, refinish your hardwood floors, or pay for unexpected expenses with one of our personal loans. The rates for the loans are split into two categories. For loans of $9999.99 and less, you can repay for up to 36 months. Personal loans with a $10000.00 minimum have a repayment term of up to 72 months!” </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>LFCU’s current rates for personal loans are 9.25% for $9999.99 or less borrowed for a period of 36 months.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The rate for $10,000 borrowed for 60 months is 9.5%.</FONT></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Please note the difference between commercial (or private) lending rates and the government-subsidized (and federally-guaranteed) lending rates for educational loans.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Yes, Virginia, there is a Federal Santa Claus, and he, or rather we, are paying for Donovan Arnold’s continuing education.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I would consider that money well spent if there were only some – please God, any – evidence that he was learning. At this point, I'd settle for a picture of his shoes properly tied.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><A href="http://www.auntie-establishment.com"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>www.auntie-establishment.com</FONT></A></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></o:p> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>PS: I don't know why Debbie thinks Donovan might ever have need of a doctor or lawyer or tinker, tailor, soldier, spy -- he's already asserted his absolute expertise in a good 99% of the world's professions right here on this list. In fact, he has surpassed Pastor Doug Wilson as Moscow's new "Jethro Bodine," the Beverly Hillbillies' brain surgeon, international playboy, and double-nought spy. You remember him, don't you? He grad-ee-ated the sixth grade!</FONT></o:p></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">PPS: Keely, the fact that your father sold a ’76 Mustang for a mere thousand bucks makes me sadder than I’ve been since I read Ginger’s death scene in Black Beauty at age seven.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>You owe me a box of Kleenex.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And your father owes me a bottle of Ambien; I’m not going to be able to sleep for at least a week.</SPAN></P></BODY></HTML>