While Senator Elizabeth Warren pushes for legislation that would allow student borrowers to enjoy the same insanely low interest rates as big banks (for one year at least), the House of Representatives today passed a bill that would link the interest rates on federal student loans to the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. [More]
the questions never stopIn a series of posts on Consumerist, Rohit Chopra, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Student Loan Ombudsman, answered readers’ questions about comparing, paying for, and getting out from under student loans. If you missed it, or didn’t get your question answered, head on over to Reddit where Rohit is currently taking part in an Ask Me Anything session with readers.
Sen. Warren Introduces Bill To Lower Rates On Student Loans To .75% For One Year
By May 9, 2013
While commercial and personal borrowers are currently enjoying historically low interest-rates on loans, and big banks are able to obtain loans at less than one percent interest, student borrowers have had to fight against lawmakers looking to raise interest rates on federally subsidized student loans. With the rates on Stafford loans set to bounce back to 6.8% from 3.4% on July 1, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced legislation that would actually lower that rate for one year to only .75%. [More]
Student Loan Company Implies That If I Don’t Friend Them On Facebook, I Will Default
By May 8, 2013
Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation is a large student loan servicer/guarantor, and a not-for-profit company. Their goal is a worthy one: they want to keep their customers engaged and get them to pay their student loans back. This is for the good of their customers, the good of the company, and really for the good of our entire economy. A recent e-mail they sent to their customers bothered a few readers, though, because it seemed to imply that if they didn’t follow the company on Twitter, they will default on their student loans. [More]
Why College Isn’t Always A Good Financial Investment
By May 8, 2013
There’s no doubt that the average college graduate earns more than the average worker with only a high school diploma, but a new report shows that it may not always make financial sense to invest in a degree. [More]
you are (sorta) forgivenWe’ve written numerous stories over the years about parents who co-signed student loans for their children and then were stuck with the payments when their child passed away or could not find employment. Sometimes lenders will choose to forgive that debt, but even then some are making a mistake that could continue to hurt the co-signer at tax time. [More]
Report: Student Debtors Under 30 Are Shying Away From Buying Homes, Cars
By April 18, 2013
If life were a 1950s sitcom, college graduates would zoom out of school, get a job, buy a house, buy a car and get married. But these days, student loans are just one of many reason debtors under 30 are staying far away from the housing and auto markets. That, and life isn’t a sitcom. A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that this age group could be a drag on the economy by the very fact that they aren’t participating in it. [More]
The CFPB Answers Your Student Loan Questions, Part 3: Defaulting And Loan Forgiveness
By April 11, 2013
In the second set of questions and answers about student loans, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra made a few mentions of the various service-specific loan forgiveness programs out there. Here, he gets into more detail and responds to questions about the one topic no one ever hopes to face: default. [More]
The CFPB Answers Your Student Loan Questions, Part 2: Repaying, Consolidating, Refinancing
By April 11, 2013
Earlier today, Rohit Chopra, Student Loan Ombudsman for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, responded to questions from readers about applying for schools and comparing financial aid packages. In this second part, he deals with the many issues involved with repaying your student loans. [More]
The CFPB Answers Your Student Loan Questions, Part 1: For Prospective Students
By April 11, 2013
A little while back, we asked Consumerist readers to send in their student loan-related questions to Rohit Chopra, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Student Loan Ombudsman. Today, we’re bringing you his answers in three parts, each dealing with a different aspect of the topic. Since it’s about time for next year’s freshman class to decide on schools and financial aid packages, we’re starting with answers for prospective students. [More]
Number Of Teens Expecting To Depend On Parents Into Adulthood Has Doubled Since 2011
By March 28, 2013
In what could be an indicator of either a massive drop in teens’ financial prospects or the fact that teens today are getting more realistic about their financial futures, a new survey shows that the percentage of teenagers who expect to remain dependent on mom and/or dad until at least age 27 has doubled in just the last two years. [More]
13 Attorneys General Voice Support For Federal Bill To Curb Advertising By For-Profit Schools
By March 15, 2013
Earlier this week, Senators Kay Hagan (North Carolina) and Tom Harkin (Iowa) decided to take another go at introducing legislation that would seek to limit the amount of federal money for-profit schools could spend on advertising. At the same time, the Attorneys General from 13 states penned a letter to the chairs and ranking members of key Senate and House voicing their support for the bill. [More]
Send Us Your Questions For The CFPB’s Student Loan Ombudsman
By February 7, 2013
In addition to the masses of consumers currently paying down their student loans, there are millions of Americans who are either about to pick a financial aid package for college or are just being hit with their first post-college loan payments. So we figured it was a good time to take some questions on the subject. [More]
Student Loan Debt Is Creating Generation Of High-Risk Borrowers With Low Credit Scores
By January 30, 2013
Lots of people graduate college with minimal credit histories. Repaying student loans was always a dependable way to build that history. But recent, rampant growth in student loan debt in the U.S. could slow that process for an entire age group. [More]
Kentucky Sues For-Profit College Over Misleading Job-Placement Stats
By January 16, 2013
If you’re comparing college programs and see job-placement rates of anywhere from 80% to 100%, that might sound pretty appealing. But what if the real numbers are not so rosy? [More]
Bankruptcy Finally Ends Father’s 4-Year Struggle To Repay Dead Son’s Student Loan
By December 19, 2012
Back in June, we told you about the California man who had spent years trying to sort out his late son’s student loans, only to keep running into dead ends and and roadblocks. Now, after four years of struggling to figure out how much is owed and to whom, he’s finally getting some relief. [More]
Some For-Profit Colleges Taking “Unlimited Data Plan” Approach To Tuition
By December 13, 2012
A number of recent studies have cast a negative light on the for-profit college industry. A disproportionate number of students are not graduating or unable to find jobs that pay enough to allow them to repay their student loans. With so many people concerned that these schools might be debt traps, some programs are taking a new approach to tuition. [More]
New Bill Would Take Income-Based Student Loan Payments Straight From Your Paycheck
By December 4, 2012
Student Loan debt in the U.S. recently crossed the $1 trillion mark, with a good chunk of that owed to the U.S. government. In an attempt to streamline the whole process, a soon-to-be-introduced bill would replace the current system of debt collection with automatic payroll deductions tied to the borrower’s income. [More]
