Quoted In: Graduates’ Burden, Student-Loan Payments (The Las Vegas Sun)

"The amount of Jones’ student loan debt is unusual, but the fundamentals of his story are not," The Las Vegas Sun reports. "In a bleak economy, students are leaving school carrying growing amounts of debt that force them to put other dreams - homeownership, marriage, raising children - on hold. Borrowing, however, is likely to remain central to the way families finance college for years to come. For many students, loans are a blessing, making higher education possible. But others say the money is too easy to obtain, fueling decisions they later regret. ‘There are some colleges that think of private loans as financial aid. We strongly disagree,’ says Lauren Asher, vice president of The Institute for College Access and Success, a nonprofit group dedicated to improving access to higher education.

But Justin Draeger, vice president of planning for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, calls private loans ‘a necessary evil.’ Families, he says, have come to depend on them."

You can read the complete November 30, 2008 Las Vegas Sun article on-line.