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Credit seminar focuses on reducing student-loan debt By VICKI GUARINO For too many years, credit counselors have seen too many clients floundering on the wrong end of the college-financing equation. They are couples in their early 20s, modestly employed, savings account nil and $80,000 in debt. "Education is a good thing, but that's kind of depressing," says Jan Safley, director of Consumer Credit Counseling Service. She hopes that a new seminar will help alleviate the debt burden by making families more financially prepared for their students to enter college. "We're trying to catch them on the other end," Safley says. Parents are asked to register now for the college financing seminar. The session costs $10 and will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 7. To register, call Consumer Credit Counseling at 779-2273. The session may be repeated if there is sufficient interest. The office is able to offer the program now because of the expertise of a new staff member: Janice Short, who handled financial aid matters at Washington State University. Considering the cost for a year at the University of Oregon totals $16,000, she says, it's easy to see how families or young grads can find their diplomas encumbered by deep debt. "The sooner people start saving, the better, Short says. "High school age is fine, but ... I would like to catch people with the elementary school kids." Short has collected information about savings plans, including IRA-like accounts that enable parents to set aside funds for their students in income tax-deferred plans. Once the money is spent on college, families can earn another break through tax credits. But not all college funds have to come at parents' expense. "There's a lot of financial aid that's available," Short says. She'll have scholarship and low-interest loan information available to parents as well as references to other information sources. The sources are free, and Short cautions parents away from scam operations that sell information that is readily available. "People don't realize they can go to the library, or get online and get the information for free," she says. The seminar also will address the importance of getting youngsters to start planning for their college education while they're still young. "Most junior high kids aren't going to do this, but ideally, in the perfect world, they would start looking at what their skills are, what their interests are," she says. Students and parents could then begin to research the specialized scholarships available for specific areas of interest, she adds. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA