In financial aid, loans, and scholarships, what does "shop locally" mean?

Your question seems to also be the answer. Higher Education use to be for the elite, the well off, and those of money. Over time our country has struggled to change this "elitism" to give everyone an opportunity to go to school. The government has done what it can by providing guaranteed student loans (Stafford).
The government, schools, and other organizations also are In the providing many different scholarships for students to help go to school. (This is especially true for women and minorities.) I hate to be political, but in California an illegal alien can go to school for free. People of poverty can receive enough financial aid to attend school free.
The people who are struggling with school and costs are the white middle class. These are the people who are unable to receive said scholarships and have the credit and financial backing to receive private loans. You are correct that these organizations are gouging the college graduates, but when you look at the salary difference of those who go to college versus those who don't, we should be able to pay back those loans, especially with the many options we do have. From deferment and forbearances to graduated payments, extended loan length, and income based payments they have made repaying loans quite easy.
What we need to shut down is how easy it is to receive private loans. They are so easy that people can rack up huge debt through these companies and none of it going to school. There should be more accountability of where the funds are going, because lets face it 18-22 yr old adults are not the most financially responsible.
In the end Education is a commodity that is in demand. As long as the demand is high, the price will be high. There needs to be some accountability to the system, but we can not expect higher education to be free. (Look at the public school system and the problems with the level of education because of the poor funding)

Crushing. Boredom. Anyone want to take my place in this lecture hall learning about financial aid loans?

Having just read the most recent WASC team report from November, while those who authored the report were critical throughout and repeatedly wary of another “list of promises” to appease WASC, it's also stunning how they focused almost entirely on academics and mentioned administrative problems and even more suprising, barely made reference to the allegations of malfeasance in the handling and lack of recordkeeping of financial aid loans. WASC can and should be taken to task for this, however I'm waiting a few more days to hear what the Commission Action on the report will be. Anything short of a show cause to terminate accreditation at this point, if they give New College one more chance after the most superficial of “plans” without barely a mention of financial investments appearing out of nowhwere to rescue what's left of the school…. one might just as well assume the whole system is corrupt.

To me this is a very personal situation, because in fact my girlfriend is attending a UC and she is struggling to pay tuition along with many other fees that come with being at a prestigious university. So for me, I would say that it is unfair for the students who have been there for awhile and only seen the prices increase over the years. They started their education at one set price and are now forced to pay more and more each year. I think that the only way that this can be allowed to take place is if the tuition hike is followed with an increase in scholarships given, financial aid, and loans for all the students.

Financial Aid Loans | Financial Aid – Keep Up Your Grades To Keep Up Your Aid

can i use financial aid,loans or grants for off campus housing?<!–DONTREWRITE–>