Obama Changes Federal Student Loan Process: Higher Education Progress Still To Be Made

Forgotten by many due to the circus surrounding the passing of health care reform on Sunday night was the passing of legislation that will drastically change the lending process for federal student loans. The new measure will eliminate private lenders from the federal student loan lending process (although they will still be used to collect on loans and in other ways) and require that all federal student loans originate with the federal government. The new legislation is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to save approximately $61 billion over ten years, with those savings going to a variety of programs, including additional funding for HBCU's(Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and community colleges, as well as increased federal grant money for needy students.

Even with the savings and benefits of the new legislation, many of the Conservative/ tea bagger sheeple will claim that this is simply another sign of the Socialist/Democratic takeover of America, another entitlement program that we can't afford, or whatever else Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, or other similar types had to say on the issue. This, despite the obvious logic of cutting the middle men out of the federal lending process, and the fact that the subsidies the private lenders received for years were themselves an 'entitlement' program going to corporations instead of to the students who should have been receiving the money. It is still only a beginning though, and other issues, such as the incredible increases in college tuition, still need to be addressed.

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Hollywood U: Celebs and Higher Ed

They have fame, fortune and are blessed with ability to entertain. Acting and singing are part of their repertoires and they make outrageous sums of money... but how many of them have higher education?

BV has taken the liberty to highlight just a few celebrities who have hit the books at one point or another and some who even obtained college degrees. Welcome to Hollywood U!

Dave Martin / AP

BlackVoices.com

Hollywood U: Celebs and Higher Ed

Alicia Keys - Accepted to Columbia University
After graduating valedictorian of the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan, a 16-year-old Keys was accepted to Columbia University in New York. However, the talented songstress decided to drop-out and forgo a college ed to pursue her musical career.

Hollywood U: Celebs and Higher Ed

Sean Combs - Attended Howard University
Hip-hop music mogul Sean Combs briefly attended Howard University in 1987 with a major in business administration. Combs honed his chops promoting parties and meeting many of the producers who would go on to help him found Bad Boy Records. Combs dropped out of Howard in his second year to become of of the most successful and powerful individuals in music and fashion with an estimated net worth of $400 million.

Hollywood U: Celebs and Higher Ed

David Banner - Attended Southern University and the University of Maryland (grad school)
No stranger to contradiction, southern rapper David Banner is as well-read as they come. He is one of the few rappers that can boast a college degree as well as an MS in business! His music can often be as polarized as his life as he integrates raunchy and violent themes with conscious fare on his albums.

Hollywood U: Celebs and Higher Ed

Denzel Washington - Graduated from Fordham University
Dr. Washington? Believe it or not, everyone's favorite actor once aspired to be a doctor. But while at Fordham he caught the acting bug and switched his major to journalism. By the time he graduated with a B.A. in Journalism and Drama in 1977, Washington already had his sights set on acting. Nearly two decades later most would agree that that was a pretty smart decision.

Hollywood U: Celebs and Higher Ed

Boris Kodjoe - Graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University
Before he was a film and television heartthrob, actor Boris Kodjoe was well on his way to being a tennis superstar. Kodjoe went to school at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he played for the Rams. After a back injury halted his sprorting aspirations, the poor guy had to settle for being a model... what a sad life.

Hollywood U: Celebs and Higher Ed

Nicole Ari Parker - Graduated from New York University
Born in Baltimore Maryland, Nicole used to pretend that she was Willona from the TV show 'Good Times.' After being named the best actress in Maryland at a high school competition, it further solidified her desire to act. Parker was accepted New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and graduated with an acting degree in 1993.

Hollywood U: Celebs and Higher Ed

Common - Attended Florida A&M University
This Chicago legend attended Florida A&M University to study business administration. It wasn't too long afterward though that Common was featured in the Unsigned Hype column of the 'Source Magazine' and dropped out of college to be a rapper.

Hollywood U: Celebs and Higher Ed

Duane Martin - Graduated from New York University
The former 'All of Us' star played basketball for NYU's team and was even drafted into the NBA by the New York Knicks. While he may not be acting at the moment, Martin is currently the owner of both a sports agency and a real estate company so that college ed may be paying off after all.

Hollywood U: Celebs and Higher Ed

Will Smith - Could have gone to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The biggest actor on the planet had a chance to go to one of the country's premiere colleges, but turned it down to pursue his music career. "My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the admissions officer at MIT. I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed black kids, so I probably could have gotten in. But I had no intention of going to college," said Smith.

Hollywood U: Celebs and Higher Ed

This change is a sign of the government realizing that the status quo regarding higher education cannot continue. College costs have been skyrocketing over the past couple of decades, while the average salary per household has been largely stagnant. Also, as has been observed by many, the value of a college degree is not what it used to be. It made sense to invest large sums of money into a degree when it was an almost guaranteed tool for upward mobility. If you received a bachelor's degree in 1970, there was a far greater likelihood that you would receive a positive return on that investment than there is today. The bachelor's degree of today is becoming the equivalent of what a high school diploma used to be only a few decades ago. We all know of (or have directly experienced) stories about people with bachelor's and other degrees working at fast food restaurants, convenience stores, waiting tables, etc. These stories were not uncommon prior to the most recent recession, and have only increased since.

Advanced education is still the most feasible path for most to social and financial stability. However, we must not blindly chase degrees without considering the future costs of that decision. This is especially the case for those who will be dependent on large sums of loan money to pursue that goal. Federal student loans do not go away (even with bankruptcy), and a default is not a good thing for your credit.

Education is an investment, and we must treat it as such. Not all investments produce the same results. It is up to each person to decide what cost is too much to obtain a particular degree. While it is imperative not to bite off more than you can chew, this new legislation looks like it will help in making college education more affordable and in line with its potential for lack of returns.