As I understand it, the government used to lend money for student loans, but it doesn't do so any longer. "Federal student loans" are nothing more than a publi

As I understand it, the government used to lend money for student loans, but it doesn't do so any longer. "Federal student loans" are nothing more than a public front for private loan companies. Sounds familiar to another intensely politicized system... My parents told me federal student loans (actually from the government) had a fraction of a percent interest when they went to college in the late 80's, although neither of their families had any money to speak of. I'm different in that my parents worked their way (along with a fair amount of luck) to teetering on the edge of entering the upper middle class. They didn't have enough money to send all of their kids to college, but were able to pay for the non-tuition expenses we couldn't cover ourselves on school jobs. I don't know what student loans would have looked like for a family in an equivalent position in the late 80's. My main hope is that barring some form of socialized education system happening in the next 20+ years that I'm able to pay for the educations of any future kids of mine without severely hurting myself financially, and succeed in raising them in such a way where they understand and appreciate the gravity of such a thing.