"Every few weeks, like clockwork, one major national news organization or another publishes an article that identifies two or three students who've faced difficulties finding loans to pay for college, quotes one or two college administrators who say they're worried their students won't be able to find loans, and declares, again, the existence of a student loan credit crisis," Inside Higher Ed reports. "But the overpowering impression is that students and families are reeling because they've found themselves unable to ensure loan funds, and that colleges are finding themselves with loads of nonpaying students. And that is just not the case, for the vast majority of students and the vast majority of institutions. If families have been unable to fill the gap between their federal financial aid and their total cost of attending college through the normal sources - savings, home equity lines of credit, or private student loans - college business offices will presumably find themselves in coming weeks with significant numbers of nonpaying customers. If not, it might be a while until the next 'sky is falling' story."