2 Las Vegas-area colleges to participate in student loan experiment

College of Southern Nevada and Nevada State College will join 49 other schools across the country in a new student loan counseling experiment, the U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday.

“We’re really excited to have the opportunity to be a part of this,” said Vikki Goeke, assistant vice president for Financial Aid at CSN. “So many of our borrowers are young, first-time (college) students and they have to make difficult choices. They’re borrowing so that they have more time to study, instead of working.”

Through the experiment, the department hopes to test whether requiring additional loan counseling for student borrowers, beyond the single statutorily required entrance and exit counseling sessions, helps borrowers better understand their obligations and make more informed decisions about their debt.

Goeke said about 2,000 CSN students will participate in the program, which will include counseling in group settings, as well as one-on-one sessions.

“We just want them to make good choices,” Goeke said. “It’s pretty scary when you get out of college, to know that a student loan is looming over your head. We want to take away that fear factor.”

Contact Natalie Bruzda at nbruzda@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3897. Follow @NatalieBruzda on Twitter.