Interest rates on new Federal student loans are rising today, under a law passed by Congress last year. Rates for new undergraduate Stafford loans are going up from 3.86 to 4.66 percent; for new graduate Stafford loans, the rates are going up from 5.41 to 6.21 percent; and for new parent PLUS loans, the interest […]
Interest rates on Federal student loans rising today Read More »
Another bill has been introduced that would allow student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy under certain circumstances. Debtors who were driven into bankruptcy by medical debt or lost income due to the medical problems of a relative would be eligible for student loan debt forgiveness under a new bill that has very little
Medical debtors’ student loans the subject of new Senate bill Read More »
Senator Tom Harkin has proposed a bill to make private student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy and to automatically enroll people who owe student loans in income-based repayment. Harkin’s bill, called the Higher Education Affordability Act, contains many other proposals that are less helpful to people who owe student loans now or who will in the future. As
Private student loan discharge in bankruptcy proposed in new bill Read More »
What should you do if you have been sued by NJHESAA on your NJCLASS loan? Are you suddenly having to deal with a law firm over your NJCLASS loan instead of with NJHESAA directly? If you are being sued over your NJCLASS student loan, there are some things that you can do to help resolve the
Are you being sued on your NJCLASS loan? Read More »
The National Consumer Law Center just released a report proposing recommendations for state governments to increase oversight of for-profit schools. For-profit schools have been a problem for student-loan borrowers because tuition tends to be fairly high while graduation rates are low and post-graduation employment rates also are low. As a result, NCLC, a consumer advocate
States should oversee for-profit schools, says NCLC Read More »
Today, President Obama is due to take executive action to assist Federal student-loan debtors with their debt burdens, as reported yesterday by the New York Times. Part of the plan is to expand a law that allows student-loan debtors to cap their payments at 10% of their income. People who got student loans before October
Payments cap will be available to more Fed loan debtors Read More »
On the front page of Saturday’s Real Estate section, The New York Times has done a decent job of tying together the student loan crisis and debtors’ resulting lack of participation in the larger economy, although I think they could have picked some better examples. Admirably, the article includes a quote from one student loan
Student loan debtors less likely to buy property, says the NY Times Read More »
In May 2014, the Center for Economic Policy and Research published a report entitled “A College Degree is No Guarantee,” which focuses on the experience of black college graduates in the labor market. Here’s a breakdown of the executive summary: In 2013, the unemployment rate for black college grads between the ages of 22 and
Report: Black recent college grads more likely to be un- or under-employed Read More »
Earlier this month, the Department of Education’s rule making committee came to a tentative agreement on the definition of adverse credit for PLUS loans. PLUS loans are offered to parents of students to help pay tuition and expenses at a college or university and they’re often used to fill the gap left when other Federal
What is “adverse credit” when applying for a PLUS loan? Read More »
In my view, NJCLASS loans create a special set of problems. The following is meant as an introduction to just a few of them. If you don’t already know, NJCLASS loans are New Jersey-based student loans offered to New Jersey residents to attend in-state or out-of-state schools or to out-of-state residents to attend New Jersey
The trouble with NJCLASS loans Read More »
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