Students Have Difficulty Finding Financial Aid as Tuition Rises

Colleges and Universities' Preferred-Lender Lists: Tuition Rises; Students' Loans Skyrocket

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo is sending letters to colleges and universities from Boston to California. He wants to know about the nature of the relationships between colleges and universities and loan companies. The question to ask is whether these two entities are conspiring to push tuition costs to the point where education becones unaffordable to many young men and women. It is worth nothing that private student loans have become a very lucrative and fast-growing business over the years. All the while, tuition costs at many colleges and universities have soared. Who stands to benefit from the hidden relationships between Universities and Colleges and those loan companies? Until now, many families and students go to these centers of higher learning only to get taken advantage of.

NY Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo wants to know more details about the preferred-lender lists. Most colleges and universities compile these lists to offer to students. But nothing is said about the nature of the relationships between the school and the loan companies. What is in it for the schools? The Federal Education Department is thinking about regulating this side of the business. It is requesting more transparency. The students must know whether these institutions stand to make money in the deals. Private student loans may have their days counted. Mr. Cuomo has also demanded information from both loan companies and schools. "My office is seeking to ensure that students are being steered toward lenders offering the most competitive rates, not t hose who offer the best perks to schools of financial aid administrators," said Mr. Cuomo.