[Publib] More on Survey

[James Casey]

Michael:  
 
I don't accept the premise that student loans are more inclined to be defaulted by professionals in lower paying fields --- i.e. journalism, ministry, librarianship, academic teaching fields, etc. --- than the higher paying professions (such as medicine, law, business, computer science, etc.).  
 
2005 was a difficult year for many younger folks who had credit card debt and outstanding auto loans as well as student loans.  I recall that tougher rules for filing bankruptcy that went into effect on October 17, 2005.  
Did this inspired a peak in filings before the deadline?
 
Although Librarians are not particularly well compensated (particularly early in their careers), newly graduated doctors and lawyers also come out of school with huge debt's and have been among the highest risk groups to default.  It has been said that an MD can default on student loans and quickly re-establish a credit rating due to future earnings potential.   
 
James B. Casey -- my own views
Director of Oak Lawn Public Library
ALA Council Member -- candidate for re-election
 

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From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org on behalf of Backwage at aol.com
Sent: Fri 3/2/2007 12:42 PM
To: NEWLIB-L at usc.edu; publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] More on Survey


The response which hit me hardest was the 6.2 percent rate of default on student loans.  I hadn't anticipated that.  Even taking into consideration that the answer would cover all student loan debt, including that incurred in undergraduate and other graduate study other than for the LIS degree, the figure is high.  In fact, for about the first couple of hundred responses the figure even topped eight percent, which is probably owing to the fact that people with significant debt were more willing to respond immediately to a poll on the subject.
 
The significance of this lies not so much in the proportion, but in terms of what student debt means to librarians, who are among the least well compensated of professionals.  
 
I am considering drafting a library student bill of rights which would call for disclosure of default rates, graduation rates, post-graduation employment statistics and other such information by library schools.  
 
M. McGrorty



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