Dear. Mr. President and Members of Congress:
We, the undersigned, are in desperate need of your help to reform sub-prime student loan lending in this country. There are many who like myself have a bachelor's degree and still owe upwards of $100,000 in student loans due to the unsavory lending practices of companies like Sallie Mae who were not honest with desperate students about what they were getting into with their company and who now are able to do whatever they want with private loans because there is no government oversight into their practices.
Many of us were sold the idea that if you went to college, you could achieve the American dream. Similar to the sub-prime mortgage lending disaster, this idea has become a full-on nightmare for college graduates.
We are harassed, misled, bamboozled and robbed blind by these companies and there is nothing we can do to stop it.
On behalf of every student who has to decide each month whether to pay for groceries or pay their student loans--who are still uninsured and unemployed, but are still harassed by these companies and belittled by their employees--please push for a bill that would reform the private student loan industry and make it mandatory for these companies to disclose their practices, tactics and all repercussions of applying for a loan known to students BEFORE they sign. Please help make federal loans and need-based grants more available to college students. Please make minimum payments based on need and income more accessible and please help millions of American students receive degrees that will make American stronger.
We are in desperate need of your help.
Thank you,
College Graduates of America
