Notes in the Margins: Loan defaults, immigrants and crowded college lounges

Student Loan Default Rates Rise Sharply in Past Year The percentage of borrowers who defaulted on federal student loans rose sharply last year, especially at for-profit schools. (The New York Times)

California weighs college aid for illegal immigrants California Gov. Jerry Brown considers signing a bill that would grant financial aid to some illegal immigrants attending state colleges. (USA Today)

We Overvalue College American colleges would have us believe that the skills they purport to teach, the critical thinking and higher levels of reasoning and all that, are crucial to competent performance in the workplace. Professor "X" writes that this is baloney, less a line of reasoning than a sales pitch rooted in academic snobbery-a naked appeal to our intellectual insecurities. (The Daily Beast via NAICU)

The Overbooked: Many students still stuck in hotels, crowded lounges They are The Overbooked– Students whose residence halls are overwhelmed with more incoming freshmen and transfers than they can handle. As a rash of recent student newspaper reports confirm, the causes of such overbooking appear to vary widely. The blame game includes administrators’ ambitious over-admitting; misread or poorly planned enrollment predictions; and a down economy ensuring residence hall construction projects stay on the back burner. (USA Today)

Why a recent court ruling is wrong about affirmative action in Michigan n 2006, Michigan voters overwhelmingly ended race-based preferences in college admissions, hiring, and contracting. But a recent federal court ruling has temporarily overturned that, opening the door for affirmative action’s return to Michigan. This would restore the racial favoritism that existed for decades at the University of Michigan and other public universities. (MLive via University Business)

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