To the Editor:
In response to "Owing an Arm, a Leg and a Future" (March 29), there is unfortunately a large difference between government-issued loans and private ones. The federal government has instituted many policies that ensure that its loans are capped at a reasonable amount and repayable with manageable monthly payments.
Private loans are still a possibility at schools that have eradicated loans in their financial aid packages. These loans have a higher interest rate, fewer limits on the amount borrowed, a shorter period and more restrictions on them, such as they cannot be deferred for activities like joining the Peace Corps or repaid in part by participating in programs like Teach for America.
It would be doing a great disservice to economically disadvantaged students to eradicate federal loans as long as students still must turn to private loans to finance the gap between what parents "can" according to financial aid offices, and what parents can actually pay, which is often nothing.
Instead of getting rid of all loans, the college should first ensure that students never have to turn to private loans to finance their education, as these students obviously are not having their need met in full.
Taking away federal loans will only hide the deeper problem with college financial aid programs. And while it may make Dartmouth a politically correct superstar in the media, the cost of doing so will no doubt fall on the shoulders of the poorest students in the form of more private loans.
