Can this be true and if it is, how the hell is this allowed to happen?

Works that way in Australia too.


America ... land of the fee. 

When I was living in Oz, there was 'voluntary' donation (seem to remember it was approx $200 per term) to the school among other charges and I for one was most willing to pay these 'charges' for my son's education, even though strictly speaking it was voluntary.

Yep.

When I have gone shopping for large items that require a loan (car, house) ... I figure what I can make payment wise, and cut that in half ... that tells me how much loan I can afford.  Then I can pay it off faster, or meet the minimum payment if an emergency comes up.

Would a student in full time education be able to get a bank loan without security to back it up?

Edit, sorry I misunderstood what you were saying, I thought you meant that you would get a bank loan instead of a student loan to begin with. This post was edited by C.D.R. at June 18, 2018 11:09 AM MDT

Do you not feel that the government of a country should have some obligation to ensure that its population gets the best education possible? If the education cannot be fully funded by tax dollars then at lest it could be funded by federal interest free loans, after all it is the country's money not the government's money but I suppose you only get the government you vote for and if the voters do not want equality in education, then they will not get equality in education.

The Constitution charges parents with educating their children, not the government.  Think about that.

As it is your constitution I suggest that it is you who should give it some thought, your constitution is over 200 years old and written at a time when there was no public education anywhere. Many other countries remedied this fault and at the end of the day your constitution has been amended 27 times in the past and can be amended again if the government/population have any desire for equality in education. In my opinion the lack of money should not equate to the lack of access to a good education, it should be in the country's interest to have a highly educated population (even if only to gain more tax from the higher earnings of the educated) and as such should be paid for by the federal/state governments.

As a non-American your opinion, to me, is completely irrelevant.  

Fair enough, have fun burying your head in the sand behind your isolationist wall.

Not to mention credit card companies target college students.
And credit card interest rates are ridiculously high.  Even if you have stellar credit.

I think credit cards are more "predatory" than those cash-advance storefronts.

You're off topic.  I have no experience with credit card companies targeting my college students.  A college student can read.  I acquired cards for my kids in high school and they learned how to handle carrying a card.  

You raised the "topic" of interest rates.
You mentioned 7%.
Not sure what that is for ... but many college students get cards at "benefit fairs" put on by the colleges.  And they are told they can use those cards to pay for things like meals and books - which they do.  Only to find out later that the cards charge over 20% interest.

It was a big story a couple years ago.  Because colleges were encouraging students to get high-interest credit cards at these "fairs", without full disclosure that the college was often getting "kickbacks".  I believe there were even some state investigations.

Yes, in the context of student loans. 

So do I or at least paid back with no interest once the student starts earning over certain amount per annum.

No way!

I think the general idea is to get the loan in order to become smart.