Sallie Mae Doing its Part to Reduce the Glut of Pilots

[Voice Of Reason]

Guess everyone can go back to demanding higher pay now, since there will be a shortage



The news today is that student loan entity Sallie Mae is moving its call center back to the USA...saw just a blurb on CNN...when I search google news found this new little gem:



"Sallie Mae slashes flight training loan business

By Ian J. Twombly
Responding to what it calls “difficult market conditions,” Sallie Mae announced via letter to select flight schools recently that it is significantly reducing the amount of flight training loans it generates.
Although the reduction is thought to be significant and widespread, the company wouldn’t comment on how many schools will be cut from the loan program.
“Due to difficult market conditions, we have found it necessary to focus our resources only on those schools that generate sufficient volume of approved loans to justify the expense of maintaining this manually intensive program,” said a spokeswoman.
The effective date of the termination is May 8. Applications submitted up to that point are being processed, according to the letter. Students are encouraged to speak with their flight school manager for additional details on whether or not financing will be available through Sallie Mae.
AOPA reminds members that if offers an alternative financing route through its Flight Training Funds Program. The Program doesn’t require students to use a particular school; even private instructors are eligible.
March 31, 2009"

 

[Colonel Savage]

So they will continue their predatory lending practices through May 8th, but AOPA will continue the practice. This will allow the flight academies to continue to sell this bill of goods to unsuspecting school aged kids, making a mockery of becoming an "airline pilot", allowing the pilot glut to further depress wages and working conditions.

GREAT!!

 

[Voice Of Reason]

So they will continue their predatory lending practices through May 8th, but AOPA will continue the practice. This will allow the flight academies to continue to sell this bill of goods to unsuspecting school aged kids, making a mockery of becoming an "airline pilot", allowing the pilot glut to further depress wages and working conditions.

GREAT!!

I never even heard of Sallie Mae before today...but if they are anything like their cousins Fannie & Freddie, good riddance. The profession needs to be flushed of these Mesa farms and AOPA needs to realize that or disappear.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

A lot of students count on this type of funding. Sad. Aviation is truly diminishing at the roots.

 

[BeCareful!]

I wrote to AOPA years ago to ask them to stop glorifying PFT in the magazine and understand that hard working airline pilots have little in common with their elitist, aircraft owning, $500 cheese burger eating membership. They didn't respond so I demanded that they stop sending me membership applications. They are not our friends, IMO.

 

[The Prussian]

I never even heard of Sallie Mae before today...

If you have had to fund your own education, you have more than likely heard of them.

 

[BoilerUP]

I wrote to AOPA years ago to ask them to stop glorifying PFT in the magazine and understand that hard working airline pilots have little in common with their elitist, aircraft owning, $500 cheese burger eating membership. They didn't respond so I demanded that they stop sending me membership applications. They are not our friends, IMO.

God forbid the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association market toward *gasp* aircraft owners.

As far as PFT goes though, we're in agreement...but a magazine is a business and as long as the advertising rates get paid those glossy ads will continue to be put in there. Its really too bad that ALPA (or some looser association of professional pilot unions) isn't willing to spend the money to put a glossy ad of their own, showing the realities of the industry and the damage PFT has on the profession, on the opposing page...

Back on point with the original post, Sallie Mae blows. I used to live a mere 5 minutes from their call center in Fishers, IN and when I called because they screwed up my student loan payments for the fourth time in six months, my call went to an Indian call center first and only after sternly asking for "an American agent" did you get to talk to a good midwestern person who 1. you could actually understand and 2. could get the problem fixed.

 

[ualdriver]

Wow, that's surprising. Sallie Mae is the biggest provider of educational loans in the country. They also buy the loans from other banks who make educational loans so that they can "relend" to college students. If Sallie Mae stopped lending or buying loans from banks in any significant way, I think many people would have a hard time paying for college.

I wonder if they're slashing loans for flight training because of flight students having more difficulty than other types of students paying the loans back (forbearances for example).

And that AOPA deal doesn't look that great. First of all it's administered by FIA Card Services, which is a credit card company. The interest rates will probably be astronomical. Plus, you can only borrow 25K. I imagine it would be pretty hard to work through your ratings quickly if that's all one could borrow. Now that borrowing a significant amount of money for this career is a smart thing to do, anyway.

 

[Voice Of Reason]

If you have had to fund your own education, you have more than likely heard of them.

Millions of people had mortgages and never heard of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prior to the housing dive, now they're household names.

 

[fly4surf]

Is this the beginning of the drive towards MPL?

'but there is a shortage because of the lack of available student loans'

The death spiral continues.