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?al m. 18 inI7)n Le Ballet National Du Senej presents Pangols, 7:30 p. Tuesday, the Roger Center. $ adults, $10 students. For more formation, call 251-2222. OVu W-v rnoo copy editor JACQUELYN POSTON Every day, Will Troutman has to wade through the myriad of credit-card applications he gets in the mail. Walking to class, he's confronted by representatives from credit-card companies offering him a free T-shirt if he applies for a credit card. / Every year, Troutman signs doc uments that say he agrees to pay rg for the Stafford Loan he's been awarded for college. \ Like Troutman, thousands of other USC students are largely dependent on credit cards and student loans to pay for tuition, housing, books and other expenses. Often unaware of interest rates and payment arrangements, students carelessly j?fs' X sign documents / \ agreeing to get ?J credit cards or pay V j student loans. & How *bout them loans? According to Financial Aid Officer Robert Patton, about 40 percent of USC students have student loans, the amounts for which are determined by I Need a lo Dr. Don Elton, a board graduate), is accepting n< Pulmonary Me Mid Caro http://www.midcarolina. CTHIS MWL'S CONNR ( irSHOULo'tt GONE T w. , " >, % '. the federal govern- ' P ment :W^m?0? ir The government xj:; Xt.:.:-: ti sets a limit on how much * bi students can borrow, depending on their to year in school. The interest rate on the loans is capped at 9 percent, but right bi now it's at about 8 percent, Patton said. K When students apply for the student loans, they can jo K / ) \\ request the amount they e: Y* V think they'll need. w n ^ /J) The financial aid office hi ys then takes into account the ic government limit, the student's request and several other factors, and cc then recommends to the bank how much tr the loan should be. The bank then is- ri sues the loan to the student. Patton said students often take more gi money than they need, not realizing d< how much they'll have to pay back later. "I can't help but suspect that some of them may not know what they're getting into. They may be so anxious to a meet their need right now that they'll c. take any money they can get," Patton ^ said. According to Columbia bank- ~ ruptcy attorney Robert King, * * of the King Law Firm, many ^ students get enough money in student loans to cover tuition, // lodging, meal plans and books, cal asthma sp certified pulmonary medicine spec *w patients by appointment at his tdicine. Sleep Disorders, 796-2222 ilina Internal Medicine Associat 138 North Hospital Drive \A/oc+ rnlnmkia CT *)Q1t%Q V VtJL V.UIUIML/ia, JV. -/ IUJ org email -V i If He LIKES Me? ) ^To Ne o mi.J 0 c ur TO7 pe T fl \X 3 hours cJXg^l/ you u / Help childre V7 I receive prod If you net job to help cards For studei you'll need Be cautioi If you she it could cau m m :x'\' a job King said they'd be better oi Lg a smaller student loan an< ng a part-time job to cover everj at tuition so they won't have so i pay back later. "They live the good life for four at they pay the price for 20 [ye ing said. Troutman, a junior psycholog r, said he likes having enough ? in student loans to cover tuiti ell as other expenses, because it im more time to study instead o ig to work. "While you're in school, you ca rntrate on what you need to cc ate on. Financially, I have nc es," Troutman said. However, some students can' 3t their money and end up de sbt. Bankruptcy King said he sees about 15 stu year who are considering banl r, about eight to 10 of whom ac le. Most of the students he sees :x about $40,000 to $50,000 i dent loans, he said, and m students have even mori dent-loan money to repay "With an interest rate of 8.5 percent, which is pretty ecialist? :ialist, (and Carolina West Columbia office. Critical Care :es, L.L.C. : info@midcarolina.oi = w donors an earn i to $215 ir month! ; of your time could earn p to $65 in one week! in, hemophiliacs and heart patients who nets made Irom the plasma of oar donors. The Quality Source ABI BioMedical Canter >embly St., Columbia SC 29201 254-2280 Making ce Money IVI hi student loans, get Mm pay expenses and av< lit loans, only request tl is about credit cards. Us tuld fall into debt, try to se problems when you ti T tak- mon, on a $50,000 student loan, youll En i get- pay about $400 [a month] for the next thing 15 years," King said." That's more than much a car payment. That's quite a hit. j "Medical students sometimes go ! ... AA AAA i 1 a 1 to rPflfiftf years, over $iuu,uuu in student loans. 11 you " sars]had $100,000, you're paying back , P13 $276,000 with interest." 11 s ha y ma- Most students who file bankruptcy y?u a( mon- with King's firm, file a chapter seven tereston, as bankruptcy. ^ ;gives A chapter seven is a liquidation- laws> if hav- type bankruptcy that benefits people amoui who have little to no assets and lots of n con- credit-card debt. checki incen- This kind of bankruptcy will usu- Ca ) wor- aiiy result in the elimination of all un- rentin secured credit-card debt, but student mos*( t bud- loans can't be included in the bank- now;ep in ruptcy. So: "The only way a student loan will to ren go away is if you've been making pay- others ments regularly for seven or eight years, deposi then you file bankruptcy. Then it will Ki idents be discharged," King said. it chec erupt- King said most people, students in- abiliti tually eluded, have no concept of debt, espe- credit cially interest rates. bankri ; have "I don't know why schools are so lax for 10 n stu- about educating people about debt be- "11 edical cause that's a part of your life. People ing th e stu- need to know that. Where are students for a s supposed to get that? I think the stu- esteerr about dents are ill-equipped to understand be for < com- debt," King said. other1 ~1 In Enqlan De Here at The ( tures sta-f Wednesdays in f< [dj ' I (Parking G for! S Don't forget to renew DEAE Friday, Call Parking I Be Smart! Avo I you lea\ 1 Dou, Ber bef ht nts of latters ? least amount | >id charging thi le amount of m< e them, but don > avoid filing for ry to rent an ap ding chapter seven ig said he tries to discourage stufrom filing bankruptcy for many lS K ice you file bankruptcy, he said, rd to get credit or loans, and if ), you pay about 35 percent in- ^ id South Carolina has no usury so you could be charged any ^ it of interest for a loan, so, most banks won't give you a Qr ng account in that situation, r buying and apartment or home g also becomes difficult because ^ )f those places do credit checks ta me apartment complexes refuse 0 t to those with bad credit, and cr i require four times the normal th t amount before renting. It ng said even employers do cred- s? ks whir.h rmilH affprt stiidpnts' es to get jobs if they have poor Sl histories, since a chapter seven se aptcy stays on one's credit record ty years. sa think one of the most devastatings about filing for bankruptcy m tudent is the blow to your self- si 1. Ifs really a last resort, or should ty :ollege students. I try to find every w< svay around it," King said. al id, 3 p.m tea time Gamecock, it' :f meeting. J RH 333. Cal or details. rarageZRfe Spring '9! your reserved space (LINE IS. Novembt 111 Hj H Ma mm mm Questions?? I Services @ 77' Id the rush & pay 'e for Thanksgivir ffffS ""ii'iiijffffirffrS 1 g Creases Six. Actually, it's \ Folds Five. Check it out ore the number changes. tp:/ /www.bffweb.com nAceihla tfaf ings on credit >ney you think 't abuse them bankruptcy ? artment or get Staying in the black There's no real way for many stu;nts to avoid debt, King said. If you have to have student loans, ing recommends the following; Get the least amount possible. Get a job to pay for the rest of your penses. Avoid using credit cards. English junior Lori Vinings said she )es just that. She has student loans, but they're lly a small amount, and she works to ly her rent and expenses. She also has credit cards and said ley're huge sources of spending tempition to many people she knows. "They attack you with [credit cards] i campus. I think people start using edit cards with good intentions, but tey spend more than they can pay for. 's just too easy to get credit," Vinings lid. Troutman said that, although he's irrounded by ways he could get himilf into debt, he's thankful to be largedebt free. But for many students, he id, there's no other way to avoid debt. "For a student to avoid it," Troutan said, "they have to have a lot of ipport family-wise and have a pretr good part-time job. Otherwise, it ould be pretty hard... I think if s a reproblem." . would s our f eaoin us 1777-3913 newals I 9 ... l\ for the Spnng. * J 7^fw( I it before |