University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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First, money. A college diploma is good for your parents, but for someone that has a family to support and has been undoubtedly dreaming about the NBA for well over a decade, it won't have much utility for Sherron. If he needs it, he can get one on the road, but finishing in four years is overrated anyway. Second, draft predictions. While leading the jay- hawks for another year might help his draft stock, it is questionable whether it will help it enough to move him into lottery-pick territory. This year's draft is one of the weakest in recent memory and next year he will most likely have to compete with some amazing guard talent: Xavier Henry, Dominic Cheek and john Wall. Third, he's not getting any taller. An injury in his senior season, combined with the ever-looming fexagger- atedl 5'1 1 H height dehcit and he might be out of the draft totally. Get the cash while you can. NATE There is no doubt that Sherron Collins is the best the Big 12 has to offer. But that does not mean now is the best time to leave. Currently, Sherron is projected to go near the end for the Hrst round or the beginning of the second round of the NBA Draft. Sherronls draft status is looking a lot like Super Mario Chalmers, status after last yearas national championship. Mario was drafted 34th overall by the Miami Heat and is scheduled to make 952.5 million between this year and the next two years. Certainly. that is an awesome amount of money, especially considering the worldls economic woes, But if Sherron could even ina rgin- ally improve his draft status, he might make money niore comparable to Brandon Rush. Rush was selected as the 13th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and is sclietl uletl to make S3.7 million over the next 2 years, and make Sl million a year if the Indiana Pacers pick up his option. With the difhculty of this year's draft at the guard position, including higher-rated prospects such as .johnny Flynn or Willie Warren, one more year might become a shrewd economic move. It certainly wouldnlt hurt to be drafted in the 2010 economy rather than in the 2009 one. I think that Sherron dehnitely has potential to im- prove his game, with such additions as a consistent inid- range jumper and a more traditional point guard passing skill set. Next yearas team will allow Sherron to shine on a team of potential superstars, possibly ending in his second national championship. One more year and Sherron might become one of the greatest Jayhawks in history. DEBATE l O8

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ate Johnson and Brett Bricker won first place at the 2009 National Debate Tourna- ment. The Manhattan and Wichita seniors, respectively, won for their argument to elimi- nate grain subsidies. The University Daily Kansan Wanted to hear their thoughts on another mat- ter: Will Sherron Collins , stay or go? Here's what they came up with. BRETT Sherron Collins is the most valuable player in the Big 12 and one of the most - fun players to watch for the Jayhawks in the past de- cade. If he were to return, of course, the Jayhawks would be a national cham- pionship contender, and be the favorite to repeat as Big 12 champs. Despite this, I believe Sherron should . declare for the NBA draft , for three reasons: SHCULD HE STAY R SHOULD HE GC. '52

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any economists and Wall Street investors said the S700 billion eco- nomic recovery package was essential to prevent- ing world markets from slipping into a long-term recession, but what does it mean for student loans? The bailout should bring down interest rates on private student loans and increase their avail- . ability, said Mark Kan- trowitz, president of MK 3 ' ' 5 I Consulting, a national i I i htm that provides student I Financial aid consulting services. He said the bail- out will have no effect on Federal Stafford Loans or consolidation loans. Kantrowitz said the S700 billion injection should free up credit for lenders so they can issue more private loans. The in- terest rates on these loans, which Kantrowitz said would have risen by at least 2 percent had Congress not passed the bailout, could start coming down, he said. The bailout won't affect federal loans because they are guaranteed by the government. O8 - O9 l JAYHAWKER WHAT THE BAILO UT M EANS FORSTUDENT LCJANS Students will continue to have a difficult time consolidating their student-loan debt into one monthly payment. Many lenders have suspended their consolida- tion services, which Kantrowitz said were unprontable for lenders. According to FinAid.org, 85.6 percent of the consolidation loan industry has left the market since the subprime mortgage meltdown Hrst made headlines in August 2007. Consolidation loans won't see any fixes anytime soon,', Kantrowitz said. Lenders lose money every time they make them because they are still underwater. Although this is good news for students who need to borrow more than the government will lend them Q53 1,000 for financially dependent students, 557,500 for financially independent students for their entire college careerl, it doesn't help students such as Curry Curtis, who borrowed from multiple sources and will have a difficult time finding lenders willing to consolidate her debts into one monthly payment. Curtis, Olathe senior, said she borrowed 527,500 through the KU financial aid department, 558,000 through KU Endowment and a 82,300 federal loan through Wachovia, a private lender. Curtis said that she would have liked to consolidate all three loans into one, but that she understood she would probably end up having to pay back all three debts separately. I know it'll be hard, but I still plan on trying to find a way to consolidate them when I get out,,' Curtis said. It,ll be really annoying paying them all back individually every month. 'I Although students will likely find it easier to get ap- proved for private loans, Kantrowitz said, students should exhaust all other financial options first. Private loans come with higher interest rates than Federal Stafford Loans, and they are usually unsubsi- dized, which means debt starts accumulating while the student is still in college. The interest rates on private loans are about 1 1 per- cent, according to FinAid.org. Kantrowitz said the bailout should bring them down to about 9 percent, which is still higher than the rates on federal loans. Robert Baker, Lawrence credit counselor for the Housing and Credit Counseling Institute, said students should plan far in advance before borrowing money to finance their educations. As with all decisions requiring a large expenditure of resources, careful planning and a judicious gathering of information and options will save a potential college student money, Baker said in an e-mail. The choices a student makes in advance and the amount of time a stu- dent has to review options and make good choices could impact the overall cost of college or debt repayment for the next decade or so. I' Kantrowitz said a student's top priority when decid- ing how to pay for college should be to minimize debt wherever possible.