Student loans not likely affected by bailout

With multi-billion dollar corporations going under, some of the effects are hitting close to home, but most financial aid for students should remain safe.

While the government may soon be handing out $700 billion to help stabilize financial markets , student loan opportunities won’t be affected by the spending, Minnesota Department of Higher Education spokeswoman Barb Schlaefer said.

Nothing has changed in terms of loans and grants because of what’s happened on Wall Street, she said.

There is more pressure on the federal government, however, to cut costs to pay for the War in Iraq and the potential bailout, University Office of Student Finance Director Kris Wright said.

“It’s going to make it more difficult to make education a high priority,” she said. “On the other hand, I can’t imagine a Democratic congress not wanting to fund increases to the Pell that President Bush agreed to.”

According to statistics, 63 percent of University students received some form of grant or scholarship in 2007, Wright said. The same statistics showed the total University loan volume was over $3.7 million.

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