Because the application processes for federal financial aid are complicated and the student loan repayment system has been shifting so often with new cancellation initiatives and then court reversals, the U.S. government has been contracting with an agency that has hired 1,600 people who field over 15,000 calls a day from students and families about student loans and federal financial aid. 55% of all undergraduates get federal financial aid.
Be clear that these are families who cannot afford college on their own, may not know which questions to ask, may not speak English as their first language, may have lived a lifetime of indifference from "the system", may be in situations where staying in school or dropping out depends on the answers during this phone call. All deserve to have their questions answered.
The New York Times is reporting that tech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists placed this week within the Department of Education via "DOGE" have produced memos outlining proposals for replacing many of those in-person contacts with AI bots. At least some of these DOGE workers would themselves profit from the U.S. government buying their AI products for this initiative.
From what we've read about the DOGE staffers, it's likely that they are from families with access to high schools with generous college counseling and the resources to pay for private college coaches.
It seems unlikely that many of these venture capitalists and tech entrepreneurs have themselves had to navigate financial aid applications or student loan bureaucracies.
It's seems highly unlikely that they know the fear of not mattering to those controlling the resources that they need, the frustration of having to track down information controlled by others, the exhaustion of constantly worrying about money, the persistent sense that they just don't belong in college.
But they're now in powerful positions to to grow wealthier as they widen disparities between their own children and the children of poor and working-class families, children they view as potential revenue streams regardless of their own needs.
