For example, the repayment term for some federal student loans, like the Stafford and PLUS parental loan programs, can be extended to as long as 30 years.
Years later - or at least what felt like years to a grieving nine-year-old - it was republished and I took out a parental loan to buy it and a brace of back-up copies, just in case.
Meanwhile, the amount of parental PLUS loans, which 10 years ago nearly doubled that of private loans, totaled $8.4 billion in 2004-5.
And rates on parental PLUS loans are an astounding 7.9percentt.
Outstanding parental PLUS loans from that era (pre July, 2006) are repaid at a 3.6percentt interest rate.
Because of job loss, we are operating on one parental income and may not qualify for a parent loan.
On payday loans, parental leave, and – yesterday – energy, a Government whose Chancellor talked about taking "grown-up decisions for a grown-up country" has come to look like it is following the debate, not leading it.
But students nowadays who try to work their way through college without parental support or loans face a financial challenge of a different order than the one that Ms. Foxx, 69, confronted as a University of North Carolina undergraduate more than 40 years ago.
This often comes in the form of student loans, parental support and even donations.
Without the benefit of parental support, the loan and grant were not enough to live on.
