Parent Plus Loan Tightening Yields Negative Consequences - Higher Education: Paying for college has always been a struggle for Christian Fair, a first-generation computer engineering student at Johnson C. Smith University. But the battle has become much more challenging since his parents were denied a federal Parent PLUS Loan (PPL) this fall. Facing a $600 shortfall in funds needed to cover the rest of his tuition and books, the sophomore worried that he might have to pack up and go home. Fortunately, a group of generous alumni stepped in and paid the balance for Christian.
Most students, however, won’t be so lucky. The effect of tightened lending standards has been both far-reaching and devastating across the U.S., particularly in minority communities. Some 144,000 African-American students across the country, 28,000 of them attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), have felt the brunt of the Parent Plus changes. The ramifications for their future—and for our collective future as a nation—should sound an alarm.
