On Friday, Congress gave final approval to legislation that will overhaul the federal student loan program. That's welcome news to many students and graduates who have been frustrated by unfair practices in the student loan industry. Earlier this year, it came to light that several student lenders were offering perks and kickbacks to colleges and alumni associations in return for being included on preferred lender lists.
Jason graduated from college in 2004 and now works for a large financial institution. He says he was sold on the dream that going to college would give him a middle class lifestyle, with a house and a white picket fence. Instead, he's living with his mother and working to pay off $30,000 in debt. Jason says when he was choosing a loan company to help pay for college, he selected from a preferred lender lists provided by his university's financial aid office. The loan he picked turned out to be a very bad deal.
Jason talks with Dick Gordon about what he wishes he had known sooner - and what it's like to work in the very industry that he thinks contributed towards his spiral into debt. He asked us not to use his last name so he could protect his job.
- Read a book that features the stories of Jason and other young people like him
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