I like this fake letter written up by the folks at Higher Ed Watch, in which a hypothetical financial aid offices explains to a hypothetical student body why it doesn’t make sense to follow Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s advice and begin making preparations for the likely switch to direct lending in the fall of 2010:
[P]lease don’t be worried about your loans because there’s really no need for concern. Our friends in the loan industry assure us that they can spread enough fear and confusion on Capitol Hill to convince Congress that a switch to 100 percent direct lending would lead to a catastrophic breakdown. But in order to help them, we must do our part. If enough colleges like us dig in their heels, and refuse to take even the most rudimentary steps to prepare, we may be able to help lenders scare lawmakers away from enacting any real student loan reform and maybe even get them to extend ECASLA for another year.
Well played, Higher Ed Watch.
