Don't Bank on It
June 11, 2009

Taseen Peterson is a portrait of the recession. A single father who worked as a loan officer in the mortgage industry, Peterson decided to go back to school as the real estate market dried up, figuring he’d ride out the downturn in college and come out the other end with a credential that would get him a higher paying job.

A resident of Newark, N.J., 26-year-old Peterson chose to attend Berkeley College, a for-profit institution just up the street from his house. While he’s had to juggle being a dad and a student, Peterson has taken enough online and evening classes to potentially graduate in fewer than four years. There’s a new wrinkle in the plan, however, given a proposal in Gov. Jon Corzine’s budget that would cut financial aid for students at proprietary institutions.

“Now I’m in school; I mean to stay here. I love it. It’s like I was built for this,â€