Student loan borrowers are under growing pressure.
In 2016, 1.1 million Federal Direct Loan borrowers defaulted, according to a new analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education.
| YesCollege
Posted on: 3/6/2018
Edvisor’s financial aid expert, Elaine Griffin, recently had the opportunity to chat with Scott Hawksworth of YesCollege—a website devoted to helping students make the best choices for their degrees—to answer questions on some of the toughest topics students face when it comes to navigating the world of student financial aid. Check out YesCollege podcast, episode 21 to hear Elaine’s tips.
| Business Insider
Posted on: 3/2/2018
A growing number of Americans are racking up high student debt— and they won't be paying it back anytime soon.
News media organizations count on Edvisors as a valuable source for financial aid information and expertise. Review these news articles to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the higher education industry.
| CNBC
Posted on: 9/26/2017
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the 2018-19 academic year can be filed starting Saturday. Colleges, as well as federal and state governments and other groups, use FAFSA data to determine eligibility for need-based financial aid.
| Essence
Posted on: 9/12/2017
While taking out student loans to assist with paying for your education may seem like the best option for getting through school, being knowledgeable about how to manage them is even better. Here are what a few experts had to say about managing your loans before, during, and after college so that you don't end up with regrets.
| MyDomaine
Posted on: 7/19/2017
"Adulting is not always easy. While getting your first grown-up set of furniture and moving in with your S.O. are exciting parts of becoming an adult, there are other aspects of becoming 'responsible' that are a lot tougher to swallow."
| CNBC
Posted on: 6/30/2017
"There's good reason to file for financial aid early, but even procrastinators can still benefit."
| CNBC
Posted on: 6/16/2017
"The school announced Thursday that its 'Go Blue Guarantee' program, starting in 2018, will cover tuition for up to four years for in-state students with family income of as much as $65,000 and who meet other eligibility criteria."
| GoodCall
Posted on: 6/6/2017
"People have become increasingly aware that student loans have begun to reach a crisis point for many Americans. The amount of money borrowed is rising while the ability of students to repay loans has been decreasing over time. Now comes word that some students are using loans for non-educational spending."
| The Home Story
Posted on: 5/22/2017
"Outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. totals $1.3 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That’s the second-highest level of consumer debt —only behind mortgages."
| North by Northwestern
Posted on: 5/21/2017
"Requiring students to contribute toward their cost of education might be well-intentioned and even have a positive impact. Studies show that students get better grades when they have 'skin in the game' – that is, when they contribute to the cost of their education – according to a 2013 report in The American Sociological Review. But today, students without “skin in the game” are in the minority."
| Credit Union Insight
Posted on: 5/19/2017
"Outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. totals $1.3 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That’s the second-highest level of all consumer debt types — only behind mortgages."
The Scholarship System
Posted on: 5/16/2017
"It’s safe to say that most students don’t even think about applying for scholarships until the bill comes in the mail from whichever college or university they decide to attend. While this is a great time to look for scholarships, the ideal time actually would have been earlier. So when exactly should your child start applying for scholarships?"
GoRead News
Posted on: 5/5/2017
"Whether you know someone graduating from high school or college, graduates are in a time of transition, in a growth period where they start becoming who they want to be. We asked how people celebrate their graduates, what advice they give, and for graduation gift ideas."
| CNBC
Posted on: 5/4/2017
"If you're counting on Advanced Placement credits to cut the cost of a college degree, better start studying your school's policies, too."
| Adirondack Daily Enterprise
Posted on: 5/2/2017
"The problem is getting agreement that tuition-free education is worth paying the additional taxes required."
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 5/1/2017
"...challenges surrounding the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program threaten its future — just as the first wave of borrowers are set to come off the books."
| Reading Eagle
Posted on: 4/24/2017
"Challenges surrounding the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program threaten its future - just as the first wave of borrowers are set to come off the books."
| Forbes
Posted on: 4/23/2017
"When students don’t have any financial skin in the game, an opportunity for an impactful teaching moment is lost."
| CNBC
Posted on: 4/10/2017
"With New York poised to start offering a tuition-free college education for some students, public colleges may be worth a closer look."
| The Daily Orange
Posted on: 4/3/2017
"Annual increases in tuition at private universities...can be largely attributed to the rising costs of running a university, experts said. And with those high costs unlikely to slow down in the coming years, tuition hikes are also likely to continue for the foreseeable future, according to experts."
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 3/31/2017
"You could argue that college isn't all that hard. What is hard is figuring out how to pay for that education – and later coming up with a strategy to pay off the loans that you took out."
San Marcos Corridor News
Posted on: 3/29/2017
"Prior to the 2017 legislative session, Hegar sent a letter to lawmakers outlining some of these obligations which, if left unaddressed, could negatively impact the state’s credit rating and limit the amount of revenue available for general spending."
| Kansas City Star
Posted on: 3/24/2017
"Families fretting over the size of college financial aid packages they are hoping to receive and how much of their own money they’ll have to shell out are starting to get answers."
CBS MoneyWatch
Posted on: 3/20/2017
"For anyone applying for college financial aid, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the key that can open the door to thousands of dollars."
| Newsday
Posted on: 3/18/2017
"In 2016, 1.1 million Federal Direct Loan borrowers defaulted, according to a new analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education."
| Kansas City Star
Posted on: 3/15/2017
"Now that the Federal Reserve raised interest rates as expected on Wednesday, consumers should take stock of their financial exposure to the new economic reality."
| Kansas City Star
Posted on: 3/10/2017
"Many parents haven’t clearly established the ground rules with their college student on whether there will be any financial help beyond undergraduate school. Some people misunderstand the financial-aid process or miss deadlines for filing key paperwork, with the result being that they miss out on scholarships and grants and wind up taking on more debt."
| MSN Money
Posted on: 3/9/2017
"When it comes to building credit, most people start at a disadvantage."
| FreshU
Posted on: 3/5/2017
"Along with the uncertainty of the college application process, there’s often a big question mark when it comes to financial planning."
| Democrat and Chronicle
Posted on: 3/3/2017
"When the time comes to pay for our children's college education, my wife and I plan to go out for ice cream and never come back."
| Yahoo Finance
Posted on: 3/1/2017
"There are 43.3 million Americans with student loan debt and 70% of college students will graduate with debt, according to the US Department of Education."
| Credit
Posted on: 2/28/2017
"When it comes to building credit, most people start at a disadvantage. It takes credit to build credit, and with no substantial credit history, it’s difficult to qualify for the very credit cards or loans they need to start building credit."
| Cronkite News
Posted on: 2/4/2017
"Every calendar in Anne Gabriellini’s Surprise house was marked for Oct. 1, but not to signify a birthday, anniversary or important doctor’s appointment. The Gabriellinis were determined not to miss the new FAFSA start date."
| CNBC
Posted on: 1/19/2017
"If you're aiming to zero out your student loans ahead of schedule, pay attention to how your loan servicer handles those extra payments."
| Your Teen
Posted on: 1/17/2017
"When my daughter was accepted to her top college choice, she received a robust financial aid package. But even with that aid, the costs were beyond our means."
| The Kansas City Star
Posted on: 1/13/2017
"The fastest-growing segment of student loan borrowers? Not millennials, not Gen X-ers. Not even 40-somethings returning to school to learn new skills. It's parents and grandparents."
| Business Day
Posted on: 1/5/2017
"Sixty-two percent of Americans are in support of a proposal seeking to make public college schools and universities tuition-free as indicated in a Bankrate survey in July 2016."
AdvisoryHQ
Posted on: 12/29/2016
"One of the most common forms of debt are certainly student loans. In fact, the most recent figures suggest that there are 44.2 million Americans carrying a combined amount of $1.6 trillion in student debt."
| GoodCall
Posted on: 12/22/2016
"The debate over student loan often revolves around how much students owe and how it affects their prospects. But recent reports and analyses are focusing on being proactive."
| CheatSheet
Posted on: 12/20/2016
"You’ve researched tuition costs and know how much you’ll be charged for room and board, but if you thought your college bills stopped there, think again."
| Huffington Post
Posted on: 12/8/2016
"Student loans now have the potential to cost the federal government an estimated $100 billion as more borrowers opt for lower income-based payments and eventual loan forgiveness."
| Nightly Business Report - NBR
Posted on: 12/7/2016
"College-bound students: If you haven’t already submitted your financial aid application for 2017-18, it’s time to get a move on."
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 11/26/2016
"Whatever you think you know about college costs, you’re wrong. It’s going to cost more. Lots more."
SchooLinks
Posted on: 11/23/2016
You've heard all the usual advice about what to do on college visits. Go on the tour, talk to the guide, talk to the students, etc. You know these things. And they're great tips! But here's some unusual suggestions that'll take your college visit from 'meh' to 'woah.' "
| The Kansas City Star
Posted on: 11/18/2016
"From the moment Donald Trump won the presidential election, people have been wondering what he’ll really do about a large swath of issues, including immigration, health care, abortion, foreign trade, and taxes. Add student loan debt and college affordability to the list."
| GOBankingRates
Posted on: 11/3/2016
"College tuition continues to rise faster than inflation and family income, according to the College Board’s most recent annual report. Scholarships can benefit families who need help with college expenses — and now is the time to start applying."
| Yahoo Finance
Posted on: 10/19/2016
"A student who graduates with $30,000 in debt could take years to pay it off, or may not pay it off at all, falling into default. According to the Institute for College Access & Success, that is the average amount for students who graduated in 2015."
| The Penny Hoarder
Posted on: 10/13/2016
"Priscilla Vasquez wanted to major in psychology. Then, biology. A few classes later, she changed her mind again, to marketing. For a student at a four-year college, multiple concentration changes means additional semesters to make up for lost credits. And that extra time leads to an even bigger tuition bill."
| CNBC
Posted on: 9/14/2016
“Paying for college is a top financial concern for many families. So what happens when you have too much set aside?”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 9/12/2016
“Here are helpful suggestions, new apps and web services for the student’s finances.”
| The Street
Posted on: 9/9/2016
“The youngest U.S. adults have a better grasp of credit cards than just about any generation before them -- and they aren’t about to repeat history with mistakes. As credit agency Equifax discovered, about 70% of college students have one or more credit cards, but a slightly higher percentage pay their balances in full each month -- without help.”
| The Street
Posted on: 9/6/2016
“Any first-time car buyer could use a bit of education. According to a recent survey conducted by auto pricing site CarGurus, almost one-third of this year’s college graduates plan to buy a car, with 57% planning to pay for it entirely on their own.”
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 9/1/2016
“Starting this fall, the process of applying for financial aid gets a reboot. College students and their families will be able to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — used to determine financial aid from the government as well as from colleges — three months earlier, or as early as October 1.”
| The Daily Orange
Posted on: 8/29/2016
“For most Americans, it’s typical to get insurance in case something catastrophic happens that ruins a car, damages a house or requires a massive medical bill. Though less popular, insurance is also available for paying for college.”
| American Public Media
Posted on: 8/22/2016
“High school seniors and college students heading back to school should circle one date on their calendars: Oct. 1. That’s the day the Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the 2017-18 school year comes out.”
| The Street
Posted on: 8/22/2016
“Given the economic downturn’s legacy of student loan debt and joblessness, is college still a good investment for most U.S. students and their families? The answer is both ‘yes’ and ‘of course it is, what’s wrong with you?’”
| The Street
Posted on: 8/19/2016
“A new class of freshmen is headed off to college, but it’s the freshman classes of next year and beyond that should be pricing out the realities of their college dreams.”
| Fox Business
Posted on: 8/3/2016
“Americans are saddled with more than $1.2 trillion in student loan debt — the most ever.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 7/28/2016
“It’s that time of year when families are mentally processing their high school senior’s college financial aid award and quietly freaking out. I know I was doing that last year, and I had researched my patookie off to learn the costs of my daughter’s college choices in advance.”
| The Street
Posted on: 7/19/2016
“When saving for retirement, make sure to put a little extra away for those coming along for the ride. A broad-ranging financial survey from HSBC stumbled across one little nugget worth examining more closely: 64% of people age 70 or older are financially supporting others.”
| CBS MoneyWatch
Posted on: 7/18/2016
“When Bernie Sanders recently agreed to endorse Hillary Clinton for president, a question popped into my mind: Would Clinton be directly linking college debt to income inequality?”
| New Hampshire Public Radio
Posted on: 6/20/2016
“Did you know you could get a college scholarship for being tall? Or if you can make an amazing peanut butter sandwich?”
| BadCredit
Posted on: 6/9/2016
“A lot of questions come up when you’re applying to college: Where should I apply? How do I get in? Which is the best way to afford my education? I’m accepted, now what?”
| Inc
Posted on: 6/7/2016
“A shockingly high number of Inc. 30 Under 30 honorees this year left school with little to no student debt. Is it easier to be a rock star entrepreneur without the student-loan monkey on your back? You bet.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 6/3/2016
“If you’re buried in credit card debt and can’t make your payments, you may have wondered if you should tap a credit counseling service. And you may well need one.”
| Huffington Post
Posted on: 6/1/2016
“Senator Bernie Sanders wants it. Until the Vietnam War, most public colleges and universities had it. So what happened to our tuition-free public universities and colleges?”
| Investopedia
Posted on: 5/25/2016
“Are you behind on saving for retirement? Even if you don’t know what counts as ‘behind,’ you’re likely to need to step up your efforts to build your nest egg.”
| Kansas City Star
Posted on: 5/20/2016
“Move-in day for your college freshman will be here before you know it, but even with scholarships and other financial aid, you’re still short of covering the tab. What can you do?”
The Daily Times
Posted on: 5/16/2016
“If they are anything like their predecessors — and there is no indication they will buck the trend — the average college graduate this year will likely leave campus with more than $35,000 in student debt.”
| The Street
Posted on: 5/15/2016
“The perfect car for high school or college graduates, if they opt to buy a car at all, is the one they can afford. We’re always tickled by the lists that surface around this time each year indicating which cars college graduates should buy.”
| Bloomberg
Posted on: 5/13/2016
“Student loans are gobbling up a growing share of household debt. Borrowing for education accounted for 10.2 percent of that debt at the end of 2015, about three times as much as in 2005.”
| Fast Company
Posted on: 5/12/2016
“By now you may have heard that the economic future of the Class of 2016 is looking relatively bright. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that their job prospects are better than any other class since 2009.”
| Nightly Business Report - NBR
Posted on: 5/2/2016
“The sticker price for a four-year college degree can easily tip into six figures; for the 2015-16 academic year, the College Board estimated the cost to attend at almost $44,000 for a private nonprofit institution and about $20,000 for a public one, including tuition, fees and room and board. But many students don’t graduate on time, a trend that pushes up the price of that degree.”
| KPCC
Posted on: 4/6/2016
“Student debt in the United States has reached $1.3 trillion, which trails only the amount Americans owe on their mortgages. It’s often blamed for preventing young people from buying houses and cars, which fuels the country’s economy.”
| Credit
Posted on: 3/31/2016
“Figuring out where to go to college is a very long process, and this is the home stretch. But for many students trying to decide where to go to school in the fall, this time of year is also the worst part.”
| Newark Advocate
Posted on: 3/28/2016
“These days most college graduates are seeing red. As in, leaving school with their finances in the red.”
| Her Campus
Posted on: 3/26/2016
“So you just got into this fantastic college that makes your parents sigh with relief. There's just one catch—you’re an out-of-state student, and the tuition that you have to pay makes you cringe every time you look at the long line of digits.”
| Financial Advisor
Posted on: 3/22/2016
“Survey results released earlier this month by Edvisors, a publisher of free Web sites that help students and parents plan and pay for college, paint a stark contrast to the images of carefree college students living it up on spring break.”
| Los Angeles Times
Posted on: 3/20/2016
“Forget foosball tables or free snacks. The latest employee benefit for recruiting and retaining young employees is more practical.”
| BankRate
Posted on: 3/18/2016
“Whether you are worried you won’t be able to make your 1st student loan payment, are experiencing sudden financial stress or have been struggling for years to come up with the funds to repay your college tuition debt, you’re not alone.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 3/15/2016
“There’s so much anxiety this time of year. And it’s not just because of college basketball’s March Madness.”
Tyler Morning Telegraph
Posted on: 3/14/2016
“If you have a child headed to college in the next year or two — or even in the next decade — it’s likely you’ve spent some time worrying about how your family is going to pay for that education.”
| Daily Camera
Posted on: 3/12/2016
“When Holly Flego sent her son Michael off to college at the University of Colorado last fall, she was a bit worried about his first year at such a big school. When she heard a neighbor in central New Jersey mention tuition insurance, Flego was intrigued.”
| Money
Posted on: 3/9/2016
“College kids these days face plenty of stressors, but a new survey indicates that running out of money is a much bigger concern than experts previously believed, with almost two-thirds of students winding up broke at some point during their college careers.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 3/6/2016
“Our grandson, who is a sophomore in college, had a summer job last year. We would like him to open a Roth IRA account, and would be giving him the funds to do this. Would this affect his ability to obtain college aid?”
| Forbes
Posted on: 3/4/2016
“Somewhere in the world of brand marketing, someone should come up with a logo for colleges that offer degrees without getting you into debt. These ‘Most Generous’ colleges would have insignias that they could put on all of their materials and merchandise.”Related Content: Colleges With "No Loans" Financial Aid Policies
| Morningstar
Posted on: 3/4/2016
“Your grown-up children may never hit many of the milestones you’ve come to associate with adulthood — and you can blame their crushing student loan debt for that.”
| Credit Karma
Posted on: 3/3/2016
“Young adults often make financial mistakes in their late teens and 20s and take years to recover, a phenomenon called the Credit Fumble™. In November 2015, Credit Karma and research company Qualtrics surveyed more than 1,000 Americans between the ages of 31 and 44 to determine the extent and impact of making these Credit Fumbles™ before turning 30.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 2/17/2016
“As students and families nervously wait for college acceptance letters, there’s a certain futility about getting into debt. Yet it still can be avoided — if you plan and monitor expenses and save aggressively.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 1/26/2016
“Unless you’re getting a refund, you might not enjoy tax season. But there is something for everyone to look forward to.”
| KOMO Seattle
Posted on: 1/22/2016
“There are two important rules about getting federal aid for college: You must apply for it and the sooner you do it, the better. The process starts by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.”Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 1/19/2016
“It’s getting harder and harder to graduate college without taking on student loans. Nearly 70% of bachelor’s degree recipients leave school with debt, according to the White House, and that could have major consequences for the economy.”
| The Kansas City Star
Posted on: 1/15/2016
“A high school senior has a $50,000 decision to make this spring: Should she load up on student loan debt or skip college?”
| Fox Business
Posted on: 12/30/2015
“The nation’s student loan debt has expanded tremendously over the last decade. With more individuals attending college than ever, the demand for student loans has skyrocketed.”
| NPR
Posted on: 12/29/2015
“With the new year beginning Friday comes a new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. That’s the dreaded form college students and their parents have to fill out to in order to get financial aid.”
| USA Today
Posted on: 12/23/2015
“Student loan debt is a crushing reality for students nationwide. As of Sept. 30, 2015, it totaled $1.2 trillion, an all-time high, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debit and Credit.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 12/19/2015
“Skip the mall this holiday season — that is, if you want to give your children and grandchildren a gift they’ll appreciate for decades to come.”
| Christian Science Monitor
Posted on: 12/17/2015
“Refinance might help make student loans more affordable month-to-month, but it could strip you of protections government-sponsored student loans offer. The choice can be a tricky one.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 12/2/2015
“It’s that time of year when glossy college pamphlets litter dinning room tables, teenagers labor over personal essays, and parents wonder whether any 17-year-old is truly capable of selecting a school that could set their path toward adulthood.”
| Minnesota Star Tribune
Posted on: 11/7/2015
“Many students and parents empty their piggy banks to finance a college education. But this doesn’t have to be the case.”
| International Business Times
Posted on: 11/6/2015
“More than 40 million adults in the U.S. are now saddled with student debt, and for many of them the amount they owe can seem like an inescapable abyss.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 10/1/2015
“Join Washington Post nationally syndicated personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary for an online discussion.”
| Christian Science Monitor
Posted on: 10/1/2015
“Many students choose colleges based on price tag, unaware of available financial aid options. Colleges are increasingly taking aim at that problem.”Related Content: Federal Pell Grant
| Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 10/1/2015
“The Federal Perkins Loan Program died on Wednesday, the victim of a senator who has made it his mission to simplify student aid. Perkins was the oldest federal student-loan program on the books: Created in 1958, it spanned 11 administrations and provided $36 billion in aid to 30 million low-income students during its lifetime.”Related Content: The End of the Federal Perkins Loan Program?
| International Business Times
Posted on: 10/1/2015
“Unless you landed a one-way ticket to the haute-bourgeoisie at birth, odds are you’re accumulating debt — and possibly quite a bit of it. It pays for the stuff the American Dream is made of; those pretty houses, college degrees and shiny new cars all come with hefty price tags.”
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 10/1/2015
“It’s never too late to go back to school, for a degree or for pleasure.”
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 10/1/2015
“Next Year you’ll be able to apply for college aid sooner and use completed tax returns. Plus: Changes make 2015 tax returns doubly important.”Related Content: Switch to Prior-Prior-Year Income and Tax Data Allows Earlier Filing of the FAFSA
| PBS Newshour
Posted on: 9/30/2015
“Yesterday, John Wasik explained how to avoid student loan debt by saving early and often in his column, ‘Beating back the college debt beast before it beats you.’ Today, Wasik dives into how one can avoid student loan debt by choosing an affordable college.”Related Content: Consider Financial Fit When Choosing Colleges
| Forbes
Posted on: 9/30/2015
“Today the U.S. Department of Education revealed that the number of students defaulting on their student loans has continued to decline, to 11.8% this year from 13.7% last year, and 14.7% the year before that. That’s 11.8% of students whose loans entered repayment in 2012.”
| BankRate
Posted on: 9/30/2015
“Opening a savings account in a child’s name may seem like a great way to give Junior a head start on a lifetime of thrift. However, it can come back to haunt families, especially when college years roll around.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 9/29/2015
“Parents of college freshman will soon find out that along with the lessons their kids learn in the classroom, will inevitably come some valuable life lessons. Unfortunately, too often college kids learn financial lessons the hard way and as parents we may want to bail them out.”
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 9/28/2015
“The explosion in student debt has been grabbing headlines. Political candidates have touted proposed solutions, and the Obama administration has released its College Scorecard — a compendium of raw data for individual schools on such things as cost of attendance, debt incurred by students, typical monthly debt payments and salary after attending.”Related Content: Why Save for College?
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 9/28/2015
“It’s time to talk about the FAFSA, five little letters that are sure to strike fear into the hearts of parents with a college-bound junior or senior at a terror level that’s worse than Caller ID indicating you’re being contacted by the billing department at the hotel that just hosted Missy’s high school volleyball team.” Subscription Required
| The Detroit News
Posted on: 9/27/2015
“It’s time to talk about the FAFSA, five little letters that are sure to strike fear into the hearts of parents with a college-bound junior or senior at a terror level that’s worse than Caller ID indicating you’re being contacted by the billing department at the hotel that just hosted Missy’s high school volleyball team.”
| Kansas City Star
Posted on: 9/25/2015
“As financial experts sized up the latest changes in the must-do form for seeking federal student aid, one piece of advice kept bubbling to the top: Parent, push up your college planning.”
| Bloomberg
Posted on: 9/24/2015
“Generally speaking in financial markets, borrowers are sympathetic characters and lenders aren’t. So you often hear calls to make things better for borrowers: Forgive their loans, or let them take more time to pay them back, or whatever.”
| Fortune
Posted on: 9/24/2015
“This week, global consulting and accounting firm PwC announced it would help junior employees pay down their student loans starting next July. The perk — up to $1,200 a year for up to six years — will be available to the 22,000 associates and senior associates the firm employs, more than 45% of their employee population.”Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 9/23/2015
“Federal programs designed to ease the burden of college loans are causing snarls in the bond market and raising concerns that banks may soon ratchet back lending. The programs, which let struggling borrowers scale back their repayments, have made student loans more affordable at a time when millions of Americans are falling behind on their student debts.” Subscription Required
| USA Today
Posted on: 9/22/2015
“Last week, President Obama announced changes to Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form that are meant to simplify the process of applying for tuition assistance. Starting with the 2017-18 FAFSA, the application will be available earlier, as well as request tax information from two years prior, rather than one year prior, in order to allow an earlier application period.”Related Content: Switch to Prior-Prior-Year Income and Tax Data Allows Earlier Filing of the FAFSA
| USA Today
Posted on: 9/22/2015
“As it visits college campuses over the next year to recruit from the Class of 2016, consulting and accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers will push a new benefit it hopes will help set the company apart — starting next year, the firm’s freshest grads will receive $1,200 a year to help pay off student loan debt.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 9/22/2015
“PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP will help its employees pay their college loans, an issue that has ballooned along with school tuitions. The accounting and professional-services firm said on Tuesday that it plans to assume up to $7,200 in student debt for its U.S. employees.” Subscription Required
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 9/22/2015
“PwC announced Tuesday that it will offer employees $1,200 annually to pay down their student loans, an effort to address the nation’s ballooning student debt crisis and give new graduates some financial breathing room. The benefit, which kicks in with the start of the next recruiting class in July 2016, will be available to all U.S. associates and senior associates, who make up about 45 percent of the company’s U.S. workforce of 46,000.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 9/21/2015
“When parents and children talk about applying for colleges, they consider all sorts of factors: the school’s prestige, the location, even the food in the dormitories. But often there’s one thing that never is on the agenda: How are we going to pay for this?”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 9/21/2015
“When parents and children talk about applying for colleges, they consider all sorts of factors: the school’s prestige, the location, even the food in the dormitories. But often there’s one thing that never is on the agenda: How are we going to pay for this?”Related Content: Consider Financial Fit When Choosing Colleges
| Yahoo Finance
Posted on: 9/21/2015
“Two more colleges have slashed their tuition prices by a headline-grabbing margin. Officials from Utica College in New York and Rosemont College in Pennsylvania, both small, private liberal arts schools, announced cuts of more than 40% off the price of tuition.”
| Newark Advocate
Posted on: 9/19/2015
“If the recently graduated college class of 2015 taught us anything, it’s the pomp and circumstance of debt.”
| Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Posted on: 9/18/2015
“As anyone who has been through the college application process knows, getting accepted is only half the battle. Then comes how to pay for it.”
| Kansas City Star
Posted on: 9/18/2015
“If you’ve ever spent a weekend poring over countless websites and guidebooks trying to find the best school for your would-be college student, you know the work can sometimes be time-consuming and overwhelming. Enter the College Scorecard, an online tool released this month by the U.S. Department of Education.”
Youngstown Vindicator
Posted on: 9/17/2015
“The $1.3 trillion figure is certainly a shock to the senses — especially because it represents the amount of debt carried by college graduates. For bachelor’s degree-holders, the average unpaid loan is $35,000, a $19,000-plus increase from a decade ago.”
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 9/17/2015
“A bargain on milk might draw you into a grocery; an upfront grant could draw you into a college. The terms grant and scholarship can mean something different at different schools. Ask what each term means.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 9/17/2015
“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a bunch of simple rules for making the best financial decisions to pay for college for yourself or your child? Well, here are some, from Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president and publisher of Edvisors.com, a free web site about planning and paying for college.”Related Content: Twisdoms about Paying for College
| Reuters
Posted on: 9/16/2015
“The Fed’s decision to boost interest rates — when it finally happens — will not significantly impact your household budget, at least not immediately. Instead, take it as a signal to get your finances ready for the increases to come.”Related Content: What Happens If the Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rates?
| Main Street
Posted on: 9/15/2015
“Next year, high school students will get a head start on submitting their FAFSA applications, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, as the Department of Education (ED) will let students apply for aid based on their family’s income found in tax returns filed two years earlier instead of the previous year. President Obama took the wraps of the plan at a town hall meeting in Des Moines, Iowa on Monday.”Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| The Boston Globe
Posted on: 9/15/2015
“A financial adviser on why it’s never too early to teach kids about debt, income, saving, and investing.”
| Christian Science Monitor
Posted on: 9/15/2015
“In an effort to make college more accessible to low-income families, the Obama administration is launching a new initiative to streamline the process of applying for federal student aid. Starting next fall, aspiring college students will be able to access the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form in October rather than January.”Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| The Michigan Daily
Posted on: 9/15/2015
“With the aim of helping more Americans see college as an affordable option, President Barack Obama announced a new initiative to align the Free Application for Federal Student Aid due date more closely with college applications.”Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| CNBC
Posted on: 9/14/2015
“Applying for federal financial aid for college will be a little easier for millions of students and families next year, under a proposal announced by President Barack Obama on Monday. The federal government will allow students to apply for college aid based on their family’s income from two years earlier instead of the past year. ”Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted on: 9/14/2015
“Students soon will be able to apply to college armed with facts about their eligibility for federal financial aid. President Barack Obama on Monday announced changes that will provide more timely information about financial aid along with an easier application process.“Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| The Guardian
Posted on: 9/14/2015
“Aspiring college students will soon have more time to apply for federal aid grants, a move the White House hopes will help ‘hundreds of thousands’ pay for college. A new plan is intended to make it easier for families file for federal aid under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), an important but some say needlessly complex form that determines eligibility for federal student loans and Pell Grants.”Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Youngstown Vindicator
Posted on: 9/14/2015
“Today, students will walk into class, sit down to learn and may not think of what’s to come after they walk onto a platform or stage to accept their degrees: student loan debt.”
| Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 9/13/2015
“The White House is taking new steps toward simplifying the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the much-maligned form that provides access to billions of dollars in federal grants and loans for postsecondary education. Starting in the fall of 2016, applicants will be able to file the form, known as the FAFSA, as early as October and prepopulate it using tax data from two years prior.”
Youngstown Vindicator
Posted on: 9/13/2015
“Today, students will walk into class, sit down to learn and may not think of what’s to come after they walk to a platform or stage to accept their diplomas: student loan debt.”
| Investopedia
Posted on: 9/11/2015
“It’s impossible to quantify what a college major is worth to a person. Factors like spiritual fulfillment or intellectual development can’t be measured, nor can anyone gauge how college will enrich their social life.”Related Content: Most and Least Lucrative College Academic Majors
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 9/9/2015
“Returning to college, or going for the first time, can be harder than the course work itself, as Cliff Robertson, Jr., of Tyler, Texas, is discovering, in large part because he refuses to go into debt to pay for school.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 9/9/2015
“Students of divorced parents have special considerations when applying for college financial aid. After all, they are likely part of two households, often two families if one or both parents remarries, and two financial circumstances.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 9/9/2015
“Paying for college is too complicated. A lack of clear and correct disclosures concerning college costs and financial aid causes confusion about college affordability.”
| Education Week
Posted on: 9/9/2015
“As calls to simplify the student financial aid process intensify and gain bipartisan support, advocates are hopeful that changes are coming to help more qualified students get through college who couldn’t otherwise afford it.”
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 9/9/2015
“The fun thing about scanning a stream of tweets is that you’re bound to spot something that you didn’t know. Some quick fact or news tidbit pops up and gives you a clue into the bigger picture.”Related Content: Twisdoms about Paying for College
| Business Insider
Posted on: 9/8/2015
“The average debt burden weighing on students graduating from college this year will be a record high. That spells good news for student-loan-focused marketplace lending startup CommonBond.”
| ABC 7 News
Posted on: 9/8/2015
“While many students are back in college, many of those who just graduated will soon have to start repaying their loans. Two out of three who’ve graduated from college carry some sort of debt.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 9/8/2015
“It’s not just children who head back to the classroom every fall. Retirees have a variety of options to take college-level classes at affordable prices and sometimes even for free.”
| Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 9/8/2015
“The movement to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is trending. Well, maybe not literally — although Bill Gates himself did take to Twitter last month to spread the message to his 24.4 million followers.” Subscription Required
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 9/5/2015
“Paying for college is no easy task, but if there’s anyone who has mastered the nuances of it — from getting scholarships to repaying student loans — it’s Mark Kantrowitz. For the past three decades, Kantrowitz has been speaking and writing about financial aid and college costs.” Subscription Required
Related Content: Twisdoms about Paying for College
| The New York Times
Posted on: 9/4/2015
“Mallory Rego, the first member of her family to attend college, says she now sees that she put too much blind faith in the power of education. After graduating in 2008 from Emmanuel College, a liberal arts school in Boston, she enrolled in a graduate program nearby that would have certified her to help children cope when undergoing stressful medical treatments.”
| Connecticut Post
Posted on: 9/4/2015
“Since September is National College Savings Month, let’s talk about kids and college. In some families, parents cover the entire cost of college.”
| Journal-News
Posted on: 9/3/2015
“Nearly a third of us have no savings. A fifth have some money socked away but it wouldn’t stretch three months. About a quarter owe more on credit cards than they have in savings.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 9/3/2015
“It’s conventional wisdom that using credit cards responsibly is the fastest and best way to build credit. It’s also conventional wisdom that using credit cards can be the fastest, best way to destroy credit.”
| KCRW Los Angeles
Posted on: 9/3/2015
“A three year college degree is just one proposal to rethink the cost of college education. With the average graduate carrying $30 thousand in debt and middle class parents depleting their retirement funds to pay for higher education, has the time come for radical reform?”
| Creditcards
Posted on: 9/3/2015
“Lowering the interest costs on your student loans sounds like a no-brainer, even to grads who steered clear of the math building during their university years. Private lenders are re-entering the student loan refinancing market, which has a number of new players, too.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 9/1/2015
“Credit card debt is at its highest level in six years. Among households with debt, the average credit card balance is nearly $16,000, according to Nerdwallet.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 9/1/2015
“If you’re a parent who recently paid a tuition bill for a college student this fall, you know full well that tuition bills are about as transparent as the pricing of airline tickets. Discounting the published tuition price is a widespread practice throughout higher education.”
| USA Today
Posted on: 8/31/2015
“Congratulations! You’ve made it to your senior year. Three years of hard work and all-nighters have led to this moment — the moment you will leave your comfort zone and enter adulthood.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 8/31/2015
“The average cost of college is over $30,000 for a public, in-state school — and it’s only going up from there. With the cost of college high and rising, you’ve probably thought about putting aside money for your children’s higher education.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 8/28/2015
“With the total amount of student loans topping $1 trillion, it is no wonder that people are looking for alternative ways to pay for college.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 8/28/2015
“When I think of paying for college, I’m reminded of the opening lines from the original ‘Star Trek’ TV series.”Related Content: Twisdoms about Paying for College
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 8/27/2015
“Before Jackie Niblock sent her only son Ryan off to Virginia Tech this month, she made sure he had all of the snacks and comfy sheets he needed to feel at home in Blacksburg. And for her own comfort, she took out a $50,000 insurance policy that would reimburse Ryan’s college costs if he had to withdraw from school.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 8/27/2015
“The fact is that 4 out of 10 families will have to borrow money for college, according to the latest report from Sallie Mae. And the most recent reports from Edvisors indicates that the Class of 2015 will be the most indebted ever, averaging $35,000 per graduate.”
| Inside Higher Ed
Posted on: 8/27/2015
“As Democrats on the presidential campaign trail pitch their college affordability plans to voters, they are largely united in their calls for a big boost in federal spending on higher education.”
| Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 8/27/2015
“A recent hacker attack against the Internal Revenue Service has created a hurdle for some Pell Grant recipients this summer. After hackers used the online Get Transcript system to access about 100,000 tax accounts in late May, the IRS shut down the system, which allowed students and parents who had been selected for income verification to access a PDF copy of their ‘tax transcripts’ — their tax returns — within moments.” Subscription Required
| Forbes
Posted on: 8/26/2015
“Is a more expensive college for my child worth the cost? First, let’s dispense with the notion that the more expensive the college, the better the education.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 8/26/2015
“Joseph Chanlatte’s father was the director of a university when political turmoil forced the family to migrate from Haiti for Brooklyn in the early 1980s. So even though both his parents were college-educated, when it came time for Chanlatte to apply, they weren’t much help with the American education system.”
| Money
Posted on: 8/26/2015
“In April 2013, my girlfriend and I were walking to our local bagel shop when she asked if I wanted to start a family. I said that I did not — for all the reasons you’d expect from a 26-year-old male urbanite.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 8/26/2015
“Parents of college-bound students may fret about the amount of money they’ve saved for college. But the type of investments they choose also factor into deciding how much financial aid their child will get for school.”
| USA Today
Posted on: 8/25/2015
“One Thursday afternoon this summer, about 15 young professionals met for lunch at a Nashville barbecue joint. The goal was to get people talking about a typically off-limits topic: their finances.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 8/24/2015
“When students file FAFSAs, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, it includes a list of the schools to which students are applying. That list is made available to colleges and universities.”
| Racine Journal Times
Posted on: 8/23/2015
“Did you know that in the Racine Unified School District and at many other area schools, students have the chance to earn college credits? If you didn’t know that, you are not alone.”
| North Jersey Record
Posted on: 8/22/2015
“For a few hundred dollars a semester, some of the pricier private colleges in the United States have long offered tuition insurance — policies that protect families and schools if a student withdraws for medical reasons. Starting this year, however, tuition insurance is available to any family in New Jersey — no matter where a student goes to school.”
| Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Posted on: 8/22/2015
“Tom and Laura Bakewell know more about the cost of college — emotional and financial — than most parents want to learn. The Bakewells — he’s a fifth-grade teacher at Elizabeth Forward, and she’s a pharmaceutical company rep — are sending their 18-year-old quadruplets off to college this month.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 8/21/2015
“Nearly seven million Americans have gone at least a year without making a payment on their federal student loans, a staggering level of default that highlights how student debt continues to burden households despite an improving labor market. As of July, 6.9 million Americans with student loans hadn’t sent a payment to the government in at least 360 days, quarterly data from the Education Department showed this week.” Subscription Required
| Deseret News
Posted on: 8/21/2015
“College begins shortly for millions of American students (if it hasn’t already). That can mean thousands of dollars for tuition, books and other anticipated expenses.”Related Content: Beware of Hidden College Costs
| Main Street
Posted on: 8/20/2015
“Income-driven repayment plans enable borrowers who are struggling with federal student loans to reduce their payments and the risk of default. But many people who could benefit are staying away, despite the Obama administration’s calls for people to get with the program.”
| Washington Examiner
Posted on: 8/20/2015
“Student loan delinquencies are growing, even as the subprime mortgage disaster and financial crisis recede into the past. If there’s a student loan crisis, it’s here.”
| Christian Science Monitor
Posted on: 8/19/2015
“College costs can saddle undergraduates with large amounts of debt. These six tips might save prospective and current college students from another loan.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 8/18/2015
“Virginia Murphy borrowed a small fortune to attend law school and pursue her dream of becoming a public defender. Now the Florida resident is among an expanding breed of American borrower: those who owe at least $100,000 in student debt but have no expectation of paying it back.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 8/17/2015
“An estimated 21 million students left for college last fall, and the numbers are on the rise. On their own for the first time, many struggle with their newfound responsibilities, including handling their money.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 8/14/2015
“When it comes to covering college costs, employers offer more help than signing your paycheck. Don’t discount that contribution: Savings and especially parent income account for 32 percent of the average family’s college funding for an undergraduate degree, according to Sallie Mae’s How America Pays for College 2015 report.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 8/13/2015
“Credit Unions have been at the margins of the student loan crisis, yet they make student loans. The Center for American Progress, the United States Student Organization, Veterans for Educational Success and five other groups protested the role of credit union service organizations (CUSO) in partnering with for-profit colleges, particularly ITT Tech, in a July 30 letter to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the federal credit union regulator.”
| Mashable
Posted on: 8/13/2015
“Over the course of an hour, @MashBusiness covered an array of questions, ranging from the best circumstances to consider refinancing student loans, to the biggest mistakes to avoid when trying to pay student loans off.”
Bloomberg
Posted on: 8/12/2015
“Edvisors Network Senior Vice President Mark Kantrowitz discusses Hillary Clinton’s $350 billion plan aimed at making college more affordable and reducing the crushing burden of student debt. Kantrowitz speaks on ‘Bloomberg Markets.’” (Watch video)
| CNBC
Posted on: 8/12/2015
“You’ve heard it all before: Millennials are independent thinkers, multitasking pros who are open-minded and tech-savvy. They question decisions, hate structure, are extremely impatient and go against the typical office norm.”
| Fiscal Times
Posted on: 8/12/2015
“The end of summer is a great time for family college visits. Universities tend to start classes a few weeks before high schools, so your teen can check out a busy campus while getting back into the academic mindset.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 8/12/2015
“I’m declaring war on college loan debt and urge you to join my battle. I think it’s socially immoral to saddle millions with loans when we have enough money to send qualified students through school debt-free — like most civilized countries.”
| San Francisco Chronicle
Posted on: 8/12/2015
“Today I have answers to reader questions on student loans, municipal bonds in an IRA, Social Security for same-sex couples and paid sick leave.” Subscription Required
| Inside Higher Ed
Posted on: 8/12/2015
“Some colleges and universities that play big-time intercollegiate sports are sharply increasing the federally defined cost of attendance for students at their institutions this year — letting them provide several thousand more dollars in stipends for scholarship athletes, but resulting in little if any additional funds for other students.”
| Politico
Posted on: 8/11/2015
“Clinton has made student loan debt relief and college affordability a major platform issue as she seeks to attract the young and progressive voters.”
| KQED Radio
Posted on: 8/11/2015
“Americans carry over a trillion dollars in student loan debt and eight million Americans are in default on that debt; it’s a problem not lost on presidential hopefuls. Hillary Clinton proposed a plan Monday that would award federal grants to states that increase spending on public universities and limit the rise of tuition. Bernie Sanders has called for tuition-free college. This hour, we’ll look at America’s student debt problem and proposed solutions.” (Stream or download audio)
| Politico
Posted on: 8/11/2015
“Student loan debt blues? Student loan interest rates at 9 percent? Graduates leaving school with more than $100,000 in debt? An annual college bill of $64,380?”
| Newsweek
Posted on: 8/10/2015
“At last week’s GOP presidential debate, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio threw down a generational challenge to Democratic primary front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton. ‘How is she gonna lecture me about student loans?’ he asked. ‘I owed over $100,000 just four years ago. If I’m our nominee, we will be the party of the future.’”
| Inside Higher Ed
Posted on: 8/10/2015
“Lower student debt and increased retention: those are the results the University of Dayton says it’s seeing two years after putting in place an unusual tuition strategy. The Midwestern Roman Catholic university scrapped its student fees in 2013 and is one of few universities to guarantee entering freshmen who receive aid the same net price for four years, or 144 credits, of instruction.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 8/10/2015
“Parent education loans can help your child attend the college of her dreams—and sink any dreams you had of ever retiring. The grim reality is that the federal PLUS loan program allows parents to borrow far more than they can comfortably, or even ever, repay.”Related Content: Consequences of Parent Loans
| Yahoo Finance
Posted on: 8/10/2015
“One of the formulas the government uses to determine how much financial aid families can get for college has changed drastically over the last few years, cutting middle-income families’ eligibility for financial aid. The changes impact the Asset Protection Allowance (APA), the part of the federal financial aid formula that is meant to shield certain assets, like savings and investments not held in a retirement fund.”Related Content: Asset Protection Allowance Plummets, Cutting Financial Aid to Middle-Income Students
| Washington Examiner
Posted on: 8/7/2015
“Hillary Clinton plans to roll out the most costly part of her campaign proposals, her ‘big ticket item’: student loan reform. The Democrats’ presidential front-runner hopes to ‘mandate’ action ‘on college affordability,’ a source told Politico.”
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 8/6/2015
“Budget 101 is necessary coursework the summer before college. It’s time to consider what you’ll pay in school and how much you can reasonably borrow and spend.”
| Bloomberg
Posted on: 8/6/2015
“Laura Strong, a 29-year-old in suburban Chicago, owes $245,000 on student loans for the psychology Ph.D. she finished in 2013. This year, she says she hopes to earn $35,000 working part-time jobs as a therapist and yoga teacher—not enough to manage a loan payment of about $2,000 a month.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 8/6/2015
“The Obama administration’s February announcement that it planned to tax 529 College plans was panned in higher ed circles and by college savers alike. The White House reversed course almost immediately yet managed to throw a harsh light on a larger problem.”
| LearnVest
Posted on: 8/6/2015
“$35,051. That’s how much student-loan debt the average class of 2015 graduate carries, according to college-resource site Edvisors. That’s more than the price of a new car, higher than the average home down payment—and nearly five times what the average household has accrued in credit card debt.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 8/5/2015
“Your grown-up children may never hit many of the milestones you’ve come to associate with adulthood — and you can blame their crushing student loan debt for that.”
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted on: 8/2/2015
“David King grew up on public welfare as a young man in Ambridge. Five years ago, he got married and moved his wife into a low-income housing project in Imperial.”Related Content: Bankruptcy Discharge of Student Loans
| Financial Advisor
Posted on: 8/1/2015
“Tuition isn’t the only rapidly rising college expense. So is the money many families are shelling out to try to give their children a leg up in the admissions race.”
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 8/1/2015
“Valedictorians and star quarterbacks aren’t the only ones earning college scholarships. In the 2011-12 school year, more than $6.2 billion in private scholarships was awarded to more than 1.8 million undergraduate students with all manner of academic and athletic achievements.”
The New York Times
Posted on: 7/31/2015
“To some, millennials — those urban-dwelling, ride-sharing indefatigable social networkers — are engaged, upbeat and open to change. To others, they are narcissistic, lazy and self-centered.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 7/30/2015
“The class of 2015 just graduated with an average student loan debt of $35,000, according to estimates from Edvisors.com. That’s the highest collective debt of a graduating class in history and it’s adding to the (already staggering) national student debt of $1.2 trillion dollars.”
| Money
Posted on: 7/30/2015
“In this special guest column, a college expert challenges some familiar financial advice for parents.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 7/30/2015
“More student lenders are for the first time offering to refinance the loans of professionals who are years out of college, promising low rates in return for the prospect of lucrative new customers. A growing number of lenders have started refinancing the debt of select graduates with high credit scores and, often, high-paying jobs.” Subscription Required
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 7/29/2015
“A 529 savings plan can offer a state tax break on contributions, as well as future tax breaks on qualified withdrawals from the plan. The trick is to focus on minimizing fees in a 529 plan.”Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
Arizona Republic
Posted on: 7/28/2015
“It’s graduation season in Arizona, with more than 22,000 people graduating last May from the state’s three public universities. That’s an exodus big enough to fill US Airways Center in Phoenix and still leave more than 3,500 people standing outside. What should you know about this year’s graduating class? Here are eight facts.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 7/24/2015
“Is the federal government a predatory lender? A predatory lender makes loans with unfair or abusive terms and conditions, where the lender coerces, induces or deceives the borrower into accepting the loan.” Subscription Required
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 7/24/2015
“Presidential hopefuls are talking a lot about the high cost of college these days. A few are even sharing their family’s own experience paying for college.”
| Credit
Posted on: 7/24/2015
“If you took out a private student loan to pay for college, you may be getting some letters and email from a company called Sallie Mae. You definitely need to open those.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 7/23/2015
“When KellyAnn Kirkpatrick hears that her date went to an Ivy League school, she’s more concerned than impressed. Her inner dialogue goes like this: Congrats! You’re probably really smart. But I wonder how much debt you’ve taken on — probably more than I have.”
| Bloomberg
Posted on: 7/22/2015
“Cody Roderiques, a college senior, owes the federal government more than $100,000 for his student loans. He may not have to pay taxpayers back.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 7/21/2015
“Are millennials earning less than Gen Xers were at their age? If you compare inflation-adjusted median weekly earnings for Gen Xers in the mid-1990s to earnings for the same age group today, millennials (usually defined as those between 18 and 34 years old) actually come out a little ahead, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 7/20/2015
“A couple of years ago, Emilie Hunt had to go to the emergency room with a stomach virus. The bill took a huge chunk of money out of her savings, more than $800, and kept her from saving for a couple of months.”
| DailyFinance
Posted on: 7/20/2015
“We recently looked at the basics of merit-based scholarships and how institutions determine what you’ll be able to pay. Now it’s time to make a battle plan for winning scholarships.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 7/19/2015
“Families are ramping up spending on college — a shift from cost-cutting measures they were taking in the wake of the recession. Undergraduate students and their parents spent an average $24,164 on college in the 2014-15 academic year, up 16% from a year prior, the biggest increase since 2009-10, according to private student loan lender Sallie Mae’s ‘How America Pays for College’ report.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 7/19/2015
“A new study by student lender Sallie Mae found the average amount spent on college education in the United States jumped for the first time in five years, thanks to greater outlays from high-income families and parental readiness to spend more.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 7/17/2015
“To charge or not to charge? That’s the question credit card holders face when it comes time to make a purchase or pay a bill.”
Chicago Daily Herald
Posted on: 7/14/2015
“It’s July 17, the temperature is north of 80. Your friends are at the pool, kicking back and getting nothing done. Or working a minimum-wage job to keep busy before school starts up again in the fall.”
| Credit
Posted on: 7/14/2015
“College is expensive, and it’s especially shocking to some parents and students when they start the financing process to learn that one form — the FAFSA — may largely determine their financial fate when it comes to federal student aid. It may be tempting to fudge the numbers on the FAFSA to get more money to help pay for your child’s education, but getting caught could spell big trouble.”Related Content: Student Aid Secrets: Tell the Truth
| Saving for College
Posted on: 7/14/2015
“The final year of preschool is bittersweet for most parents. In the last two years, you’ve gotten used to the idea of your little baby growing up and becoming more independent.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 7/13/2015
“Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O’Malley revealed last week that he and his wife borrowed $339,200 to put their two eldest children through college, the latest of many scary anecdotes about massive student loans.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 7/13/2015
“Congress is unlikely to provide new funding for the 30 year old Perkins Loan program for those with ‘exceptional financial need.’ In the total scheme of federal assistance for higher education, the Perkins Loan program is small stuff–about $1.2 billion in new Perkins loans were made for the 2013-14 school year, a fraction of the $100 billion in new loans Uncle Sam extended.”Related Content: Perkins Loans for Undergraduate and Graduate Students
| Education News
Posted on: 7/13/2015
“The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has published research completed by its economists that suggests that increasing federal student aid results in colleges raising tuition, which in turn offsets the benefit to students. Joseph Lawler of The Washington Examiner says at least for the short term, additional loans do not increase college enrollment.”
Money
Posted on: 7/13/2015
“College is now the second-largest financial expenditure for many families, exceeded only by buying a home. So it isn’t surprising that parents and students are taking a harder look at the costs and payoffs of any college they consider.”
| Inside Philanthropy
Posted on: 7/13/2015
“In this era of instant credit checks, you would think that applying for federal financial aid for college would be a fairly quick and straightforward process. But as millions of high school seniors — and their parents — learn each year, it is neither quick nor straightforward.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 7/10/2015
“Is college a good investment? The answer is still unequivocally yes. But if your ultimate goal is to save for a home as quickly as possible, a college degree could hold you back depending on where you want to live, a new study suggests.”
| Inside Higher Ed
Posted on: 7/9/2015
“Admissions and financial aid experts have been increasingly worried in recent years that horror stories about debt could discourage low-income students from applying to college at all. And many of those horror stories suggest that one needs to borrow in the six figures to afford college.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 7/9/2015
“If you’d browse and bargain while shopping for a $20,000 car, you should give serious thought to taking the same approach to a six-figure college education.”
| San Francisco Chronicle
Posted on: 7/8/2015
“Lisa Adams studied medical insurance billing and coding at Heald College in San Francisco from 2010 to 2013 and graduated with an associate degree. Although the school found her a job in a doctor’s office, it’s only part time and pays $13 an hour. The school ‘was promising me $25 an hour,’ said Adams.” Subscription Required
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 7/8/2015
“A client who walks into Maureen and Dan Crimmins’ wealth management firm won’t get the hard sell to purchase a college savings plan from their office. In fact, the Crimmins say their clients won’t get any sell at all.”
| Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 7/8/2015
“The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation joined the debate over Fafsa simplification on Wednesday, issuing a paper that calls for making the process of applying for student aid simpler, more open, and better timed. The document, the first postsecondary-policy paper by the megafoundation, adds the nation’s biggest philanthropist to the chorus of voices calling on the U.S. Congress and the Education Department to slim down the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and to let students apply for aid earlier in high school.”
| The Street
Posted on: 7/8/2015
“U.S. military personnel with student loans continue to suffer at the hands of their loan servicers, who botch payment processing and erroneously put loans into collection, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 7/7/2015
“Perhaps it is inevitable that as baby boomers retire, the grandparents among them will be looking to offer financial assistance to their children and grandchildren. And that wealth transfer raises lots of questions on how to navigate the tricky world of college financing.”
| The College Solution
Posted on: 7/7/2015
“As recently as the early 1990s, most students did not take out college loans. Today nearly 71% of students borrow to pay for college.”
| Money
Posted on: 7/6/2015
“Tuition and fees for both private and public schools grew more than twice as fast as inflation last year, according to the College Board. If current trends continue, the total cost, with room and board, of four years at an instate public university will hit $160,000 for the class of 2036.”
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 7/6/2015
“Parents who co-sign for a child’s private student loan can sometimes be released of their legal responsibility for the debt years later. But it’s not always easy to do, according to a new report.” Subscription Required
Related Content: Cosigners
| USA Today
Posted on: 7/4/2015
This article answers a reader's two questions: “Do I have to report disability compensation when applying for financial aid from the college? Also, how is homeownership evaluated for financial aid purposes?”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 7/2/2015
“It may seem backward, but some college graduates are choosing to further their education by getting an associate degree at a community college.”Related Content: Tradeoffs of Enrolling in a 2-Year College to Save on Tuition
| BankRate
Posted on: 7/2/2015
“Today’s college graduates are entering their professional careers with staggering student loan debt, and it’s helping to keep them from reaching certain financial milestones. Buying a house? Yeah, right. Saving for retirement? That’s a joke, right?”Related Content: Responsible Student Loan Borrowing
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 7/1/2015
“For you to receive a tax break, the school must be accredited and eligible for federal financial aid.”Related Content: Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| Forbes
Posted on: 6/30/2015
“With the average cost of college tuition $31,231 at a private colleges and $22,958 for out of state students attending public universities, the idea of putting a child—or several—through college can be daunting to any parent. One question that often looms is whether a family will qualify for financial aid.”
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted on: 6/30/2015
“Students and parents who plan to take out federal student loans to pay for college this coming school year will pay less in interest. As of July 1, the interest rate on Stafford loans for undergraduates will fall to 4.29 percent, down from 4.66 percent on loans issued for the 2014-2015 school year.”Related Content: Interest Rates on New Federal Student Loans to Drop on July 1
| International Business Times
Posted on: 6/30/2015
“If you haven’t submitted the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, you might want to get on it. Tuesday is the deadline for completing your FAFSA for the 2014-2015 school year.”
| WPLG Miami
Posted on: 6/30/2015
“Financial advisers encourage engaged same-sex couples to discuss their short-term and long-term financial plans. Arguments over money continue to be among the leading causes of divorce for straight couples.”
| BankRate
Posted on: 6/29/2015
“Mounting student loan debt is a huge problem plaguing the country, with the level of outstanding debt at about $1.2 trillion. Graduates entering the workforce are not only facing large payments each month, but are also tasked with finding a job in a tight economy.”Related Content: Court Upholds New Gainful Employment Regulations
| CBS MoneyWatch
Posted on: 6/25/2015
“Can a summer job hurt a teenager’s chances for financial aid? A teen’s job at any time of year can affect a financial aid award, but it often won’t because of the amount of money a student needs to earn before an award is jeopardized.”
| USA Today
Posted on: 6/24/2015
“The numbers are staggering: more than $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt, 40 million borrowers, an average balance of $29,000. It’s not hard to find indications that student debt is a large (and growing) problem.”
| BankRate
Posted on: 6/24/2015
“Before you apply for student loans, investigate one thing to avoid graduating with crippling debt: Find out how much graduates in your field of study make. Your college major is a major factor in determining how much to borrow for college.”
| The Atlantic
Posted on: 6/24/2015
“For nearly two decades, the federal government has barred for-profit colleges from relying entirely on its coffers for their revenues. These institutions tend to enroll disproportionately high percentages of low-income students, meaning they also rely heavily on the federal need-based aid those students receive.”Related Content: Consequences of the 90/10 Rule
| Main Street
Posted on: 6/24/2015
“Cosigners of private student loans that want to get free from these obligations aren’t getting help from the lenders, according to a report released last week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Student Loan Ombudsman. Most private student loans require a co-signer.”Related Content: Very Few Borrowers Qualify for Cosigner Release
| The New York Times
Posted on: 6/23/2015
“Students who must borrow to help pay college tuition will get a little bit of a break in the coming school year. Starting July 1, the rate on new undergraduate loans made under the federal Stafford program will fall to 4.29 percent, down from 4.66 percent for loans issued in the last academic year.”Related Content: Interest Rates on New Federal Student Loans to Drop on July 1
| Huffington Post
Posted on: 6/22/2015
“The fact that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker dropped out of college early should not be used as a campaign issue against him during the 2016 Presidential primaries or campaigns. Several U.S. Presidents did not graduate from or attend college, including George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, and Grover Cleveland.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 6/21/2015
“If you’re one of the 43 million Americans burdened by student loan debt, then you know that repaying your loan isn’t fun. So what if you just stopped?”Related Content: Is it worthwhile to let my student loans go into default to get a settlement?
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted on: 6/20/2015
“News reports of increasing frequency warn that the next financial crisis may very well be centered around the $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt accumulated by 40 million borrowers with an average balance of $29,000.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 6/19/2015
“Just because the average grad carries more than $30,000 in student loan debt doesn’t mean current and future students should resign themselves to the same fate. There are plenty of ways to reduce or limit your loan balance before graduation.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 6/19/2015
“If you’re looking for an affordable college education, you may find it at one of the nation’s most expensive colleges and universities. More than 70 colleges have replaced loans with grants for the best and brightest students—and those most in financial need.”Related Content: Colleges With "No Loans" Financial Aid Policies
| NBC News
Posted on: 6/19/2015
“It’s relatively easy to cosign a student loan for a child or other family member, but getting off the hook is another matter. Lenders rarely release co-signers from their obligation to repay that loan should the borrower be unable to do it.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 6/18/2015
“Finding a summer job can be hard enough for some students without having to figure out how much they can earn without compromising their financial aid status at school.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 6/18/2015
“Student loan debt is not only a financial burden facing millennials. It’s a big—and growing—problem for many older Americans who are near or in retirement.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 6/18/2015
“‘Debt-free college’ has become the buzz phrase of choice at a time when nearly everyone seems to be talking about student debt while no one does anything about it except borrow more money.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 6/17/2015
“There are a lot of resources out there when it comes to how to best pay for college. There are blogs on financial aid, websites that find scholarships, along with coaches, financial planners, and more.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 6/16/2015
“When Jesse Lambert lost his job last December, he was about a level seven for panic. After paying rent in Arlington, Virginia, the 33-year-old’s student loans for his undergraduate degree and masters in international commerce were the next biggest expense at around $450 per month.”Related Content: Federal Student Loan Deferment Options
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 6/16/2015
“These schools reported data that suggests they may decrease aid after a student’s freshman year.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 6/16/2015
“The class of 2015 will leave college with more than a degree. They’re also shouldering the most student debt in U.S. history.”
| Business Insider
Posted on: 6/16/2015
“Wal-Mart is one of the most popular retailers among millennials, according to consumer data. The retailer is rated higher than Target, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Costco among shoppers under the age of 24, Ad Age reports, citing data from the consulting firm InfoScout.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 6/15/2015
“The numbers are staggering: more than $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt, 40 million borrowers, an average balance of $29,000. It’s not hard to find indications that student debt is a large (and growing) problem.”
| The Orange County Register
Posted on: 6/14/2015
“The Obama administration last week unveiled a new loan-forgiveness plan for former students of Corinthian Colleges, the Santa Ana-based for-profit chain of career schools that went belly up amid allegations of fraud. The rare step could be good news for many Corinthian students.”Related Content: U.S. Department of Education Announces Debt Relief for Corinthian Students
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 6/12/2015
“When it comes to student loans, a little homework can lead to big savings. Over the next few weeks, hundreds of thousands of students and their parents will apply for student loans for the coming academic year.” Subscription Required
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 6/12/2015
“Each year I get about 1,000 questions on financial matters and thought it would be a good idea to share some of them with my answers from time to time in this column. I will pick the ones that I think apply to the greatest number of readers or are particularly interesting.” Subscription Required
| NBC News
Posted on: 6/9/2015
“For cash-strapped college students, it pays to get a high-paying summer job — in most cases. But making more than a certain amount can reduce the money a college gives to students who receive need-based financial aid.”
| Deseret News
Posted on: 6/9/2015
“The New York Times recently published an op-ed that offered defaulting on your loans as a viable way of escaping student debt. Pretty much everyone disagrees with that.”Related Content: Is it worthwhile to let my student loans go into default to get a settlement?
| Forbes
Posted on: 6/8/2015
“When deciding which college to attend, students consider factors such as academics, prestige, location, and size. Even though these features are all important when making a final decision, for money-conscious families, a financial aid package is often the deciding factor.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 6/7/2015
“With the cost of college tuition, room and board averaging about $19,000 a year at public universities and $42,000 at private nonprofit schools, it’s no wonder students and families have questions about how to foot the bill.”
| USA Today
Posted on: 6/7/2015
“When thinking about college debt, the big worry tends to be: Will a paycheck follow the college diploma? And will that job cover everyday bills, as well as monthly student loan payments?”
| CBS MoneyWatch
Posted on: 6/5/2015
“The Millennials have been saddled with more complicated big-ticket financial decisions than earlier generations, but it’s still not too late for financial institutions and policymakers to take steps to make their future less risky. That’s according to a report issued Friday by New America, a nonprofit public policy institute.”
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 6/4/2015
“When thinking about college debt, the big worry tends to be: will a paycheck follow the college diploma? And will that job cover everyday bills, as well as monthly student loan payments?”
| WMAR Baltimore
Posted on: 6/4/2015
“The average college grad in 2015 has about $35,000 in student loan debt, according to a recent analysis from Edvisors. So if you’re a recent graduate and you get an email promising fast forgiveness of your loans, you’d probably be intrigued.”
| The Times-Picayune
Posted on: 6/3/2015
“Taking the issue of Louisiana’s higher education funding crisis to a national stage, LSU President F. King Alexander told a Senate hearing Wednesday that his university faces the worst state funding package since 1961. Alexander, testifying on higher education funding at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, said the pressure of declining state aid puts pressure on LSU as it strives to continue to deliver high quality and affordable education that leaves its 44,000 students with no or little debt after they graduate.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 6/2/2015
“Although I can’t respond to every question I receive, I do try to address a financial issue if enough readers ask about a similar topic. Such is the case following a recent column on tax advantage 529 plans, which allow people to set aside money to help pay for college.”Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| International Business Times
Posted on: 6/2/2015
“Walk through any New York Public Library branch and you can see the Internet’s stranglehold on most every facet of modern life. You see a man watching Leonardo DiCaprio’s ‘Inception,’ a teenager browsing Facebook, an older woman formatting a resume, a middle-aged mother buying food on Amazon, a 20-something checking his email and another searching for diagrams as he reads a medical textbook.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 5/29/2015
“No doubt about it; college can be expensive. But parents looking to kick-start their savings may not need as much as they think.”
| Fiscal Times
Posted on: 5/29/2015
“When Michelle Balducci-Connelly graduated in 2010 from the University of Kansas, she entered a tough job market with $21,000 in student loans along with her degree in architecture. It took a few months to find a job, but once she did, Balducci-Connelly made paying back those loans a priority.”
| Fox Business
Posted on: 5/29/2015
“This May college students across the U.S. are hearing motivational messages from commencement speakers about how to be successful in the ‘real world.’”
| The Sacramento Bee
Posted on: 5/29/2015
“This college commencement season, graduates can look forward to the best job prospects in years. But they better find a position that pays pretty well, because they’re leaving campus with the highest debt ever.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 5/29/2015
“Today is National College Savings Day. Why is it on May 29, or 5-29? Because of the college savings plan called the 529, or, formally, the Private College 529 Plan, which provides tax benefits to families who can set aside money each year for future college costs.”Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 5/29/2015
“If parents needed a nagging reminder to save for their children’s college, they need look no further than their calendars this week. Friday (May 29) marks the 6th annual national 529 day, which calls attention to the ubiquity of so-called 529 plans – tax-advantaged college savings plans named for the part of the tax code that exempts earnings and withdrawals from the plans from taxes.”Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| USA Today
Posted on: 5/29/2015
“Nearly three-quarters (70%) of the Class of 2015 will graduate with student loan debt, with the average load reaching $35,051, the highest of any graduating class in U.S. history, according to an analysis by Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president and publisher of Edvisors.com. The company attempts to give college students and families insight on preparing and paying for college.”
BankRate
Posted on: 5/29/2015
“In 2011-2012, the average college tuition, fees and room and board rates charged for full-time undergraduate students for all institutions was $33,047. That’s up from $32,026 in 2010-2011, the center says. At these costs, should students be asked to pay for their college education? Should parents be expected to foot the bill?”Related Content: Should College Students Have "Skin in the Game?"
| Kansas City Star
Posted on: 5/29/2015
“Mark Kantrowitz grew up in Boston, was a star high school math student and won big college scholarships. He received degrees from two of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and had career options.”
| Money
Posted on: 5/29/2015
“Despite being promoted for more than a decade as the best way to save for college, 529 plans are a mystery to almost two-thirds of American families. Which means they’re losing out on what is essentially free money for college.”Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Forbes
Posted on: 5/27/2015
“It’s fairly often you hear about parents making their children pay their own way through school. Some parents don’t save for college, while others want their children to simply pay their own way.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 5/27/2015
“Nothing is certain but death and taxes—and now, problems for victims of the IRS breach. Even consumers whose records weren’t compromised may experience some short-term hassles.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 5/27/2015
“College costs more than ever and job prospects in your field are likely low. Unless you plan to major in a hard science, mathematics or engineering, its necessary to evaluate whether or not college is a sound investment.”
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 5/27/2015
“The graduating class of 2015 may be partying like it’s 1999! A study earlier this year from Michigan State University found that employers have been recruiting new college graduates at levels not seen since the go-go years of the technology boom and Y2K (remember that?).” Subscription Required
| Morningstar
Posted on: 5/26/2015
“Knowing financial aid rules is key, given the rising cost of higher education.”Related Content: The Impact of College Savings on Financial Aid
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 5/24/2015
“It is the season for commencement addresses, telling new college grads how to look forward to their lives and careers. It is also the season to start dealing with repaying student loans.” Subscription Required
Related Content: Student Loan Checklist
| The New York Times
Posted on: 5/22/2015
“After the mortarboards are thrown into the air comes the reality of student loan payments. More than 40 million Americans are repaying more than $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt, according to the federal government.”
| The DO
Posted on: 5/22/2015
“Interested in standing up to student debt? Read about the changes that may be coming and what you can do to make a difference.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 5/20/2015
“A college student’s life can be full of challenges, from the academic (hello, senior thesis) to the everyday (loads of laundry to do without parental assistance). But all this is just a rehearsal for the real challenge: life itself.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 5/19/2015
“Everyone knows college is important, but most apparently don’t think it’s important enough that they should save for it. New data from college planning giant Sallie Mae shows just 48% of U.S. families are saving for their children’s college, a decline from 51% a year ago.”Related Content: Saving for College
| Credit
Posted on: 5/19/2015
“One of the benefits of government-backed home loans is that they tend to have more flexible and forgiving requirements when it comes bankruptcies, foreclosures and other derogatory credit. The wait time for a VA or FHA loan in the wake of one of these events can be considerably shorter than for conventional financing.”
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 5/18/2015
“Many student loan servicers have an ombudsman program that you can contact if you’re having a difficult time resolving a problem. Student loans can be complicated. Here’s how to work with servicers.” Subscription Required
| The Boston Globe
Posted on: 5/15/2015
“With the strains of pomp and circumstance still fresh in their ears, many new graduates are hearing a loud ka-ching. It’s the sound of their student loan repayments about to kick in.”Related Content: The Student Loan Grace Period Is Ending, Now What?
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 5/15/2015
“Borrowers taking on debt to attend college are rarely considered lucky, but the families taking out loans for this academic year are getting a reprieve that others likely won’t be able to access. Interest rates on federal student loans for the upcoming academic year are set to drop, making it easier for families to pay for college.”Related Content: Interest Rates on New Federal Student Loans to Drop on July 1
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 5/15/2015
“Life after graduation signals a new world of opportunity and responsibility. You’re most likely kicking off your career, moving out of campus housing and becoming financially independent.”Related Content: College Money Saving Tips
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 5/14/2015
“Some debt relief companies try to trick borrowers into thinking that consolidating student loans can be as complicated as doing your own federal income taxes. Not true, experts say. Free options exist.”Related Content: Companies Charging Fees for Free Student Loan Consolidation
| CNN Money
Posted on: 5/13/2015
“Getting a big scholarship or grant to pay for college can be a huge relief. But at least a portion of that free money may not be entirely free. That’s because some of it may be taxable.”Related Content: Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 5/13/2015
“It will cost students and parents less to borrow money from the government to pay for college in the fall as interest rates on federal loans are set to drop. Interest rates on federal student loans will be reduced by more than one-third of a percentage point as the result of the Treasury Department’s auction of 10-year notes on Wednesday.”Related Content: Interest Rates on New Federal Student Loans to Drop on July 1
| Forbes
Posted on: 5/12/2015
“Financial aid can be an important factor in whether a student attends a school. Given the fact that college costs have been rising, and will likely continue to rise, any financial aid can be a huge benefit.”Related Content: Financial Aid Adjustments and Appeals
| Morningstar
Posted on: 5/12/2015
“From time to time, we like to dip into our mailbag and answer reader questions about 529 college-savings plans. Here’s the latest batch.”Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Main Street
Posted on: 5/11/2015
“The word in some circles is that Christmas may come in July this year for people with Federal student loans--when interest rates on Stafford loans may go down.”Related Content: Direct Loans
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 5/11/2015
“Many parents need to save for their own retirement while also helping their children pay for college. But it can be difficult to save for both at the same time.”Related Content: Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| Arizona Republic
Posted on: 5/11/2015
“It’s graduation season in Arizona, with more than 22,000 people graduating this month from the state’s three public universities. That’s an exodus big enough to fill US Airways Center in Phoenix and still leave more than 3,500 people standing outside.”
The News and Observer
Posted on: 5/9/2015
“As the Class of 2015 leaves college this commencement season, its members will move on with coveted degrees and one unwanted distinction: They are the most indebted class ever.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 5/8/2015
“The class of 2015 is reaching new heights, though perhaps not the way it had hoped. College graduates this year are leaving school as the most indebted class ever, a title they’ll hold exclusively for all of about 12 months if current trends hold.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 5/8/2015
“As college graduates begin to enter the real world this month, they can take cold comfort in the fact that just like the last several classes before them, they’ll have the most student debt in history.”
Vanguard
Posted on: 5/8/2015
“Americans have borrowed more than $1.1 trillion to pay for college. It’s so much debt that many people are having trouble keeping up with payments.”
| Money
Posted on: 5/6/2015
“Some great colleges are still accepting students who can apply quickly and aren’t expecting lots of financial aid.”
| Associated Press
Posted on: 5/6/2015
“When it comes to lining up financial aid for college, earlier is definitely better. Universities have a limited amount of money they can award to students every year.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 5/5/2015
“A ‘robo’ adviser has added college savings to the online investing services it offers. But FutureAdvisor’s new offering is limited by the nature of state-sponsored 529 plans.”Related Content: Choosing a College Savings Plan
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 5/5/2015
“Most incoming college freshmen had to choose a school by May 1. Many of them—along with returning students—are staring at thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs that they and their families will have to pay.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 5/3/2015
“Readers have no shortage of questions about how to save and pay for college. Each month we answer some of the most common and interesting questions. Among the questions this month: Why use any of the various tax-advantaged plans (such as 529s and Coverdell accounts)?”Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Dallas Morning News
Posted on: 5/3/2015
“This is the time of year when many high school students decide where they will attend college. A big factor in that decision for many families is how much financial aid they’ll receive.”Related Content: How to Read Financial Aid Award Letters
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 5/1/2015
“Most incoming college freshmen had to choose a school by May 1. Many of them—along with returning students—are staring at thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs that they and their families will have to pay.” Subscription Required
| The Atlantic
Posted on: 5/1/2015
“Starbucks and Arizona State University are collaborating to help cafe workers get college degrees. Is this a model for helping more Americans reach the middle class?”Related Content: Starbucks Brews Up an Enhanced College Education Benefit for Its Employees
| NBC News
Posted on: 4/30/2015
“The acceptance letters are in, and so are the all-important financial aid offers. But for college-bound students, most of whom must choose a school by this week, the next four years can be full of hidden costs.”
| Business Insider
Posted on: 4/29/2015
“Famous hedge fund manager Bill Ackman believes that there is a crisis in the student loan business and that this crisis could tank the economy. Ackman discussed his views with Bloomberg’s Jody Shenn and Matt Scully.”
| Credit
Posted on: 4/27/2015
“It’s crunch time for high school seniors: May 1 is College Decision Day, the day most college-bound students will let universities and colleges know whether they will be enrolling. For students agonizing over multiple offers, a big factor in choices will (or should be) financial aid.”Related Content: How to Read Financial Aid Award Letters
| Providence Journal
Posted on: 4/26/2015
“A lot has changed about applying to college, but one thing that has endured for generations is the dreaded FAFSA. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid remains the single most important financial-aid application form that students must fill out to qualify for student aid, scholarships and loans.”Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| The New York Times
Posted on: 4/24/2015
“By now, most prospective college students have received their letters of acceptance and are weighing their financial aid packages. But what if the financial aid offer at your preferred school isn’t what you had hoped?”Related Content: Financial Aid Adjustments and Appeals
| Kansas City Star
Posted on: 4/24/2015
“Looking for a way to encourage your college kid to graduate in four years? How about a sweet incentive, courtesy of the school.”
| BankRate
Posted on: 4/24/2015
“We think about how much we’re going to pay a month when we’re shopping for a car, an apartment, even a new phone plan. So why don’t college students think about it with their loans?”
| CNBC
Posted on: 4/23/2015
“College grads on the hunt for jobs may have a little more budgetary breathing room this year. Starting salaries are climbing. One-third of employers said they plan to offer higher pay than last year, according to a new CareerBuilder.com survey of 2,175 hiring managers.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 4/21/2015
“As the class of 2015 looks ahead to graduation, many will have a grace period of six to nine months before they have to start repaying student loans. That may sound like plenty of time, but it’s a busy period for most graduates as they settle into a new job, find an apartment and take on other adult responsibilities.”Related Content: The Student Loan Grace Period Is Ending, Now What?
| Yale Daily News
Posted on: 4/21/2015
“Yale currently has one of the most generous financial aid policies of any university, but students have recently called upon the administration to eliminate the ‘student effort’ portion of financial aid packages — the amount recipients of aid are expected to contribute towards their education. While some administrators and experts argue that this contribution is fair and manageable, students on full need-based aid claim that the quality of their Yale experiences is suffering due to the expectation.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 4/20/2015
“The best time of life to get a credit card is when you’re college-aged, but that’s not how things are working. According to CreditCards.com, the average American believes someone should get their first credit card at age — a typical age for college graduates.”Related Content: Student Credit Cards
| Time
Posted on: 4/17/2015
“Dalia Garcia breathed a sigh of relief when she found out that she had been given enough financial aid to nearly cover the cost of tuition for her first year at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona. Because her father earned less than $20,000 a year as a janitor, college would have been out of reach without the help.”Related Content: Financial Aid Packaging Philosophies
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 4/17/2015
“High-school seniors could be forgiven for thinking that comparing college financial-aid offers requires an advanced degree. The letters have been pouring in over the past few weeks.” Subscription Required
Related Content: How to Read Financial Aid Award Letters
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 4/16/2015
“According to a recent Bankrate poll, 52 percent of Americans have declined to invest in stocks or stock-based investments. But experts warn that without the strong capital gains that can be achieved from stocks, Americans may find it difficult to achieve future savings goals.”Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 4/16/2015
“Spend enough money, and you’ll quickly learn the definition of a bad money habit. Few people need to be told not to overspend on credit or debit cards or to curb impulse shopping. You know you shouldn’t, even if you always do. What you need are solutions.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 4/13/2015
“Demand for college-educated employees is on the rise, a trend that can be a mixed bag for job hunters. From 1967 to 2007, the share of high-skill managerial and professional jobs rose from 21 percent to 35 percent of U.S. employment, according to a new report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.”
| Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on: 4/12/2015
“Did you borrow for college and end up the victim of a sky-high-interest student loan? A new group, Debt Collective, says it’s time to go on a ‘debt strike.’ That is, stop paying.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 4/10/2015
“College acceptances — and rejections — are now out and millions of students are trying to figure out how they are going to afford to go to college. Complicating that effort are financial aid letters sent from colleges, which can be so confusing as to be indecipherable.”Related Content: How to Read Financial Aid Award Letters
| Main Street
Posted on: 4/10/2015
“What’s the difference between FAFSA.gov and FAFSA.com? About $79.95. If you pick the live service with a phone counselor, it’s $99.99.’Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| CNBC
Posted on: 4/9/2015
“Everyone knows the alarming news about student loans: It’s grown to become the second-largest source of consumer debt in the U.S. behind only home mortgages, surpassing credit card debt since the financial crisis.”Related Content: Student Loan Forgiveness: How to Cancel Your Debt
| Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 4/8/2015
“It’s the final Fafsa workshop at H.D. Woodson High School in Northeast Washington, and Charles Coleman is bent over a computer in a room lined with college pennants, filling out the federal application for student aid.” Subscription Required
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| The New York Times
Posted on: 4/7/2015
“He lives rent-free in an Upper East Side mansion, owns two homes in a prime Brooklyn neighborhood and earns a six-figure salary supervising hundreds of thousands of employees. But Mayor Bill de Blasio is now facing a hurdle familiar to many of his constituents: navigating the financial aid process to pay for his children’s college educations.”Related Content: Financial Need
| NBC News
Posted on: 4/7/2015
“Starbucks is making its tuition reimbursement program for its workers a double. The coffee chain is expanding the eligibility for its program from just those with junior and senior amounts of college credits to allow for a full four years of paid tuition for an online degree from Arizona State University.”
| DailyMail
Posted on: 4/7/2015
“Dante de Blasio, the son of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been accepted into several top colleges including Ivy League universities Yale and Brown, sources close to Gracie Mansion said. The mayor’s son, who is 17 and a senior at Brooklyn Technical High School will make his decision by the end of the month, leaving de Blasio in a situation familiar to millions across the country.”Related Content: Financial Need
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 4/6/2015
“As with most tax perks, rules for ‘529’ college-savings plans get complex quickly, and the answer to one question leads to more.”Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on: 4/6/2015
“Drexel University junior Zakiya James didn’t graduate from high school, or even spend much time there. She never took the SATs or got a GED.”
| Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Posted on: 4/6/2015
“Want to know how much a college education will really cost and what a student considering a major at a specific university will earn after graduation? Good luck, if you're living in Pennsylvania.”Related Content: Net Price Calculators
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 4/2/2015
“Your high school senior is basking in the glow of college acceptance letters. Three or four schools want her to join their class of 2019, and nothing can bring her down, except for the cost.”Related Content: Financial Aid Adjustments and Appeals
| Today
Posted on: 4/2/2015
“CNBC senior financial correspondent Sharon Epperson joins the team to help make sense of all the looming financial hurdles of spring and summer, like tax deadlines and summer vacation expenses.” (Video)
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 4/2/2015
“Most of us have no problem when it comes to shopping around to save $100 on a vacation flight. Or using an app to save $10 on a dinner out. But shop around for a tax break? Who does that?”Related Content: Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 4/1/2015
“When you start a relationship later in life, does it make sense to marry or move in together? Answer: It’s complicated.”
| The Daily Record
Posted on: 3/31/2015
“With the average four year price of a private college getting close to $165,000 and rising 3.7 percent a year, families are looking at lots of strategies for helping future grandchildren get a college education. One strategy is to open a 529 college savings plan and have it start growing years before the future student is even born.”Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| International Business Times
Posted on: 3/27/2015
“Student loan debt is a very real thing and many people are finding it hard to make their monthly payments. While it may seem like a daunting task, there are ways to make the repayment process work in your favor.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 3/26/2015
“Now is the time to find the most financial aid possible to help with the costs of school. It can be a challenge, though, to find financial aid, especially given the fierce competition and limited amount available.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 3/26/2015
“Once a star in the for-profit college firmament, the University of Phoenix reported yesterday that both year-on-year revenue and enrollment sank roughly 14% in the latest quarter compared to 2014. Enrollment has fallen from 460,000 in 2010 to 213,000 currently.”
| The Cougar
Posted on: 3/25/2015
“With the Free Application for Federal Student Aid deadline looming, many students have yet to fill out their applications, costing them billions collectively in aid. According to a study conducted by Edvisors, two million students did not file the FAFSA in 2011-2012 and missed out on about $9.5 billion in aid.”Related Content: When Applying for Student Aid, Timing Matters
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 3/24/2015
“After socking away college savings in a Virginia-based 529 account for five years, John Seelke and his wife recently switched to Maryland’s plan, Maryland College Investment Plan. That’s because the Seelkes, who live in Silver Spring, Maryland, discovered they could save more money for their twin 6-year-old daughters by taking advantage of the state tax break they would get for using an in-state plan.”Related Content: 529 College Savings Plans - Listed by State
| Yahoo Parenting
Posted on: 3/24/2015
“Student loans are a fact of life for all those who owe toward the $1 trillion due to the government in school-related debt. How do you pay them off when you’re a parent who also needs to save for kids’ college? Experts give their 2 cents.”
| The Denver Post
Posted on: 3/23/2015
“Katie Haitz clearly remembers the day her father sat her down and unveiled a plan that would let her graduate college debt-free. ‘Even talking about it, I get emotional,’ said Haitz, a 30-year-old social worker who received an undergraduate degree from Sanford University in Birmingham, Ala., in 2007 and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Denver in 2010.”
| Minnesota Star Tribune
Posted on: 3/21/2015
The Star Tribune’s Chris Farrell answers a reader question about 529 college savings plans.
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| CNBC
Posted on: 3/20/2015
“As college acceptance letters start making their way to mailboxes and inboxes, families’ next big dilemma is figuring out which offers are affordable based on the financial aid award letter. That’s not as easy as you might think.”Related Content: How to Read Financial Aid Award Letters
| Lafayette Journal and Courier
Posted on: 3/20/2015
“Has the phrase ‘indentured servant’ been used as much on campus — outside, maybe, an upper-level American Colonial History course — as Tuesday when Purdue University President Mitch Daniels floated his ‘Bet on a Boiler’ idea to a U.S. House subcommittee?”
| Cronkite News
Posted on: 3/20/2015
“Around 885,000 Arizonans owe more than $22.6 billion in federal student loans – numbers that students and experts fear will only get worse under a 13 percent university funding cut in the just-approved state budget.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 3/19/2015
“Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is back on the barricades with a re-do of last year’s legislation that will let people refinance their student loans. She has company, with Generation Progress and the Center for American Progress joining the fray. She also faces a Republican-controlled Congress.”
| La Voz
Posted on: 3/19/2015
“As she negotiates one of the many common areas at Community College of Denver, Erica Rodriguez oozes friendliness as she passes out leaflets to the various clusters of lounging students. The flyers are invitations to a seminar explaining financial aid.”Related Content: Tradeoffs of Enrolling in a 2-Year College to Save on Tuition
| The Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 3/18/2015
“Alan Collinge is on a mission. It’s a mission that has left him demoralized and destitute, yet more determined than ever. For a decade now, Mr. Collinge has been fighting to make it easier for borrowers, himself included, to wipe out their student-loan debt.” Subscription Required
| USA Today
Posted on: 3/18/2015
“If you’re in the throes of college research and decision-making, it’s likely that how to pay for college is a huge consideration. And because things have changed so much economically over the last 25 years, some say that today’s young adults, those classified as Millennials, have a lot more to think about than their Generation X parents did.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 3/17/2015
“There are several ways to fix student loan debt problems. None of them could be defined as ‘quick.’ According to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February, student loan debt has climbed to $1.16 trillion.”
| The Herald
Posted on: 3/15/2015
“Williams & Fudge Inc., the Rock Hill-based firm that collects college student debt, said it is waiting for details to determine how President Barack Obama’s new Student Aid Bill of Rights would affect its business. Obama signed the executive memorandum last week in an effort to make it easier for people with student loans to understand and manage their college debt.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 3/14/2015
“An article about education tax benefits in February’s Investing in Funds report prompted a number of follow-up questions from readers. That article, headlined The Tax-Smart Way to Withdraw 529 Funds described how people who pay for tuition and other college costs with money from a ‘529’ savings plan risk forfeiting other education tax benefits such as the American Opportunity tax credit (if they qualify for such benefits based on their income).”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 3/12/2015
“Many prospective graduate students spend at least a few years working before deciding to return to school for a postbaccalaureate degree – time that can be spent planning, and saving, for graduate school.”
| The Michigan Daily
Posted on: 3/11/2015
“Following several announcements earlier this year, President Barack Obama again addressed higher-education policy in a speech Tuesday at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The president announced a presidential memorandum he signed earlier that morning, which he called a Student Aid Bill of Rights, that will direct the U.S. Department of Education to increase support for students to repay their student loans.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 3/10/2015
“Student loan debt is still the $1.3 trillion gorilla in the room—one that borrowers could soon have more options to manage. President Barack Obama announced a new ‘Student Aid Bill of Rights’ Tuesday, directing the Department of Education and other federal agencies to undertake initiatives in three areas to help improve affordability for the estimated 40 million borrowers with federal loans.”
| Yahoo News
Posted on: 3/10/2015
“On Tuesday, President Obama proposed a new Student Aid Bill of Rights, a directive that aims to make the borrowing process less painful for college students and do a better job helping graduates manage their debt payments.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 3/10/2015
“We are in the season when high school seniors are making college plans. As part of the process, students will receive financial aid award letters. To fill the gap left when they haven’t been offered enough scholarships, grants or work-study, many families will turn to borrowing.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Deseret News
Posted on: 3/9/2015
“A mid-winter ritual is on millions of families’ calendars this month, and it wasn’t about asking a large rodent named Phil for a weather forecast. For families with college-age children, it’s time — once more — to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the yearly application to calculate college students’ eligibility for financial aid.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
CBS Los Angeles
Posted on: 3/9/2015
“A $50 million competition was underway Monday among dozens of California universities and community colleges to come up with new approaches to help student earn degrees in less time. KNX 1070’s Pete Demetriou reports UCLA is among eight University of California campuses competing for the recognition under an effort spearheaded by Gov. Jerry Brown.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 3/8/2015
“An article about education tax benefits in February’s Investing in Funds report prompted a number of follow-up questions from readers. Here are answers to some of the questions that readers raised.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| The New York Times
Posted on: 3/5/2015
“Early this year, 529 college savings plans stirred a lot of attention — outrage, really — when President Obama proposed eliminating the tax-free status of withdrawals from the accounts, which millions of Americans use to save for higher education costs.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| American Public Media
Posted on: 3/4/2015
“Look closely. Buried deep in President Obama’s 2016 budget (Page 41) is a proposal to cut up to 30 questions from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.”
| American Public Media
Posted on: 3/4/2015
“It’s deadline time for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Better known as the FAFSA. The daunting application — with its 108 questions — stands between many college hopefuls and much-needed financial aid.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 3/3/2015
“Millions of parents get a state-tax break for contributing to a 529 college-savings plan. But when it’s time to pay tuition bills, some parents may find that the tax-smart move is to not pay the full tab with cash they pull out of that plan.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| CNBC
Posted on: 3/3/2015
“How much did you pay for that college degree? Or are you still paying for it? More than 70 percent of students leave college with school debt, and the average loan balance is growing.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 3/2/2015
“The drive to weaken government oversight of higher education by the Republican-dominated Congress kicked off last week during the first meeting of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) since the midterm elections, with student advocates arguing for oversight. Gainful employment rules are a threat to for-profit colleges, who depend on federal funding students bring in the form of student loans.”
Related Content: Trick or Treat? U.S. Department of Education Publishes Final Gainful Employment Regulations
| Yale Daily News
Posted on: 3/2/2015
“For the third year in a row, the cost of attending Yale will increase by roughly 4 percent. During its February meeting, the Yale Corporation approved an increase in the Yale College term bill for the 2015–16 academic year.”
| Kansas City Star
Posted on: 2/27/2015
“Your high school senior has filled out the college applications, navigated through the standardized tests, submitted the student loan paperwork and even squeezed in a couple of campus visits. Now it’s crunch time as the acceptance letters and financial aid packages start to trickle in. But how do you size up — financially speaking — who is offering the best deal among your favorites?”
Related Content: Consider Financial Fit When Choosing Colleges
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted on: 2/26/2015
“Grandparents want the best for their grandchildren, but sometimes their good intentions can wreak havoc with a student’s financial aid package. Students could become less eligible for federal financial aid when grandparents help them pay college expenses — even when the distributions come from 529 savings plans, which are usually marketed as a tax-friendly way for grandparents to help fill the college savings gap.”
Related Content: How 529 Plans Affect Financial Aid
| Main Street
Posted on: 2/25/2015
“With education fees at record highs and outstanding student loan debt topping $1.2 trillion nationwide, prospective students are staring down the barrel of burdensome college debt. Sure, President Obama’s recent goal to make community college free for all students and his college ranking system based on affordability and ROI are steps in the right direction.”
| Money
Posted on: 2/24/2015
A reader asks a question about how much to save each month for college for her two children, currently age 4 and 6.
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| International Business Times
Posted on: 2/24/2015
“The stories out of for-profit colleges all seem to have the same plot points: aggressive recruitment, exaggerated claims, worthless degrees. But one group of students is fighting to get a happy ending -- in the form of forgiven loans.”
The Chattanoogan
Posted on: 2/24/2015
“Senator Lamar Alexander on Tuesday said a report released by a task force of college and university leaders—and commissioned by a bipartisan group of senators—shows colleges in a jungle of red tape that ‘should be an embarrassment to all of us in the federal government.’”
| Reuters
Posted on: 2/23/2015
“Families receiving college financial aid offers this spring should beware: what they see this year may not be what they get next year. Some colleges make their most generous offers to high school seniors as a lure to attend, a practice known as front-loading.”
Related Content: Consider Financial Fit When Choosing Colleges
| The Washington Times
Posted on: 2/23/2015
“At one time in American history, ‘Go West, young man’ described the idea that the frontier was the place to build a new life. For the past few decades, we’ve settled instead for the far less pioneering ‘Go to college, young man.’ Not nearly as exciting, is it?”
Related Content: Why College?
| Credit
Posted on: 2/20/2015
“Taking out student loans will have a significant impact on your future — and whether that impact is positive or negative depends heavily on what you do before you sign a promissory note. Even though borrowers may not have to repay their loans for several years after they receive them, cost needs to be near the top of your priority list when considering colleges.”
| LearnVest
Posted on: 2/19/2015
“Arlene George assumed that her child’s college education would come with a hefty price tag, so she started saving when her daughter, Aimee, was three months old. Depending on what she could afford, George socked away between $50 to $200 a month, figuring that the funds would be enough to cover at least the first three years of school.”
| Fox Business
Posted on: 2/17/2015
“Edvisors.com Senior V.P. Mark Kantrowitz on the latest lending start-ups helping borrowers refinance their student loans.” (Video)
| Main Street
Posted on: 2/17/2015
“People just out of college—or out for a decade or more--look at their student loan balances and see a drain on their pay checks and cash that they’d like to invest elsewhere. Increasingly, banks look at student loan balances and see risk, red tape, and cash they’d like to invest elsewhere.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 2/17/2015
“There’s more than one way to save for college. Many families can profit from combining a few of them.”
Related Content: Choosing a College Savings Plan
| Morningstar
Posted on: 2/17/2015
“It’s the time of year when many households are focused on filing their income taxes, but for those with family members soon to enroll or already enrolled in college, there’s another important financial matter to address: financial aid. College students who will be enrolled this fall should be thinking about financial aid now.”
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 2/16/2015
“Private student loans get a bad rap. Their repayment terms are not as flexible as federal student loans. You generally need good credit to qualify. And interest rates often are variable, which means costs can go up if rates start to rise.” Subscription Required
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 2/15/2015
“Here is some important advice from a financial aid expert on how to avoid making the most common financial aid mistake for college-going families. It was written by Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president and publisher of Edvisors.com, a web site about planning and paying for college.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 2/13/2015
“There’s more than one way to save for college. Many families can profit from combining a few of them.” Subscription Required
Related Content: Choosing a College Savings Plan
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted on: 2/12/2015
“Emily Tarnow, a senior at the University of Pittsburgh who plans to start a career in marketing after graduation, tries to keep her worry about her $35,000 student debt in check. ‘I think student loans have become a part of life. You just have to come to terms with it,’ she said.”
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted on: 2/12/2015
“Compared with mutual funds, bank accounts and most other types of investments that could be used to save money for college, 529 savings plans are in a class of their own. These plans are actually college savings trusts that are set up under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Service code.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted on: 2/12/2015
“Ravi Choudhuri has spun things in his own direction to help him pay some of the costs of attending graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh. Along with working as a research assistant in the school’s Department of Psychology, the vice president of communications for the Pitt Graduate and Professional Student Government is a disc jockey, working under the name Dangerous Stranger.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 2/8/2015
“If you have a college-tuition bill coming due this year and plan to pay it all with money from a 529 savings account, you might be missing out on some valuable tax benefits. Americans are pouring billions of dollars into 529 college-savings plans—more than $221 billion was invested in these plans as of mid-2014, up from $52 billion a decade earlier.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Posted on: 2/6/2015
“If you have a college student, here are three good reasons to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid right now. First, those who submit the form in the first three months of the year receive about twice as much grant money (the kind you don’t have to pay back) as those who wait until April or later.”
| Yale Daily News
Posted on: 2/5/2015
“In the spring of 2014, after withdrawing from Yale the previous fall, Stewart McDonald enrolled at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He began taking classes in his hometown because he was required by Yale’s regulations to complete two term courses.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 2/4/2015
“Why are more young adults living at home? The clearest culprit is student debt, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York says, though joblessness and rising housing costs may play roles, too.”
| Morningstar
Posted on: 2/3/2015
Morningstar’s Adam Zoll responds to readers’ new and interesting questions about 529 college savings plans.
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Delaware News Journal
Posted on: 2/3/2015
“Two former Sallie Mae executives have founded a new student loan financing company in their former employer’s backyard.”
WRKO Boston
Posted on: 2/2/2015
Edvisors Mark Kantrowitz discussed student loans on WRKO Boston. Listen to the radio program or read the transcript.
Related Content: College Student Loans
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 2/1/2015
“College financial-aid season is in full swing, which means millions of families will soon decide whether they need student loans to help cover tuition bills for the 2015-16 year. Students generally choose between federal student loans, provided by the U.S. government, or private loans, available at some banks and other financial institutions.”
Related Content: College Student Loans
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 2/1/2015
“I am not shocked that the trial balloon to stop a federal tax break on state 529 college savings plans popped so soon after President Barack Obama mentioned it in his State of the Union address. It was an idea that deserved a flunking grade.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| The Delphos Herald
Posted on: 1/31/2015
“This is the time of year when high school seniors are looking forward to college, filling out and filing applications for college scholarships and financial aid and thinking about how much this education will actually cost them in the long-term. The New York Daily News reports Americans owe $1.2 trillion in student loans, a number that has tripled in the last decade and surpassed credit card and auto loan debt totals.”
| The Kansas City Star
Posted on: 1/30/2015
“It’s getting easier to fill out the dreaded Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the key form for obtaining college funding. Since overhauling the online version of FAFSA several years ago, the U.S. Department of Education has continued to make tweaks.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Main Street
Posted on: 1/29/2015
“As it drew to a close, student loan observers were saying 2014 would go down as the year of regulation. The White House, the Senate HELP Committee, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and activist state attorneys general went after loan servicers and for-profit colleges that abused borrowers, the pawns that this game couldn’t be played without.”
| The Michigan Daily
Posted on: 1/29/2015
“Several education initiatives announced by President Barack Obama in his annual State of the Union address earlier this month have garnered both negative and positive reactions from the higher education community. During the address, Obama announced his intention to both expand the American Opportunity Tax Credit beyond 2017 and to establish two years of free tuition for community college.”
Related Content: Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| American Public Media
Posted on: 1/28/2015
“A huge chart outside of Terri Williams’ office at Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy tracks where all 90 seniors at the Baltimore high school are in the college application process. ‘Have they gone on any college tours, how many applications have they done, have they completed their FAFSA?’ says Williams, a college access specialist with the CollegeBound Foundation.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Main Street
Posted on: 1/28/2015
“Blame it on bipartisanship. Throw in some political expedience and voilà—college savers got their 529 savings accounts back. They never really lost them—it was tax-free withdrawals that the Obama administration took away.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Yahoo Parenting
Posted on: 1/28/2015
“You’ve probably heard that on Tuesday, President Obama dropped a proposal to end 529 college savings plans. The proposal, which the president pitched during his January 20th State of the Union address, was opposed by members of both political parties.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 1/27/2015
“The change would end a 14-year policy allowing families to withdraw from their accounts tax-free.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 1/27/2015
“The plan was to take away a very generous tax break for college savings. It was, I thought, ill-conceived, as did many other college savings advocates. President Obama had proposed taxing the earnings in 529 plans; avoiding those taxes is a huge selling point for the accounts.”
| Education News
Posted on: 1/27/2015
“The Obama Administration is set to propose a reduction of tax breaks for college savings accounts, 529 plans, in order to provide funding for his ‘free’ community college initiative. Back in 2006, Obama had promised to keep these programs tax free.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 1/26/2015
“The FAFSA asks how many members of a household are in college, but college-bound parents can’t be included on their child’s FAFSA – which can affect the amount of aid the student receives.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 1/26/2015
“The Obama administration’s fight for the middle class, trumpeted in last week’s State of the Union address also includes an all-out war on 529 College Saving plans and people who are saving for their kids’ education. Savers currently put after-tax dollars into a 529 account which are run mainly by states.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| CNBC
Posted on: 1/26/2015
“Wellness. It’s not just about your waistline any more. Researchers have long known that financial stress can take a toll on physical health.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 1/25/2015
“President Obama has caused a furor with his plan to tax withdrawals from so-called 529 plans, a tax-advantaged savings account through which families save for children’s college tuition. Annual contributions to 529s, often deductible from state income taxes, accumulate earnings tax-free and then — under current law — can be withdrawn tax-free to pay for tuition and other college expenses.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 1/23/2015
“President Obama this week touted new ways to help students pay for college, but he also proposed stripping away a popular benefit: a significant tax advantage of college savings plans used by millions of American families.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| The New York Times
Posted on: 1/22/2015
“President Obama is proposing a radical change to the 529 college savings plans held by millions of families, which would require those who use them to rethink their approach to college savings.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Fortune
Posted on: 1/21/2015
“In his State of the Union Address, the president alluded to his proposal to start taxing 529 college savings plans.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 1/21/2015
“Could the nationwide discussion on college costs and student loans be reaching a tipping point? And could that lead to a new era of affordability and reduced payments? That’s what those who track the issue are asking in light of some key recent developments.”
| Investopedia
Posted on: 1/21/2015
“The holiday season is over. ‘The most wonderful time of the year’ has brought you happy memories, lots of toys for the kids and time with family. But now the expenses that went along with those memories are staring you in the face from your credit card statement.”
Related Content: Saving for College
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Posted on: 1/21/2015
“Attending college is expensive, even in Florida, where state universities and community colleges have some of the lowest tuition in the nation. Yet, last year, less than 40 percent of Florida high school seniors filled out the free, online federal form used by most states and colleges to allocate financial aid.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Credit
Posted on: 1/19/2015
“For students starting college in the fall of 2015, figuring out loans and grants may feel like a long way off — you may not even know where you’re going yet — but there’s a form crucial to determining how much you pay for your degree that you need to get done as soon as possible: The FAFSA.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Carolina Parent
Posted on: 1/19/2015
“The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to apply for student financial aid from the federal government, state government and most colleges and universities. All students should file the FAFSA every year, even if they did not get anything other than low-cost federal student loans last year.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Reuters
Posted on: 1/16/2015
“While U.S. President Obama’s proposal for free community college tuition may get little traction in a Republican-controlled Congress, there are already a few ways to get a higher education without paying. The bad news: Most of those options are available to only a tiny number of the roughly 21 million people who enroll in college each year.”
Related Content: America's College Promise
| KOMO Seattle
Posted on: 1/15/2015
“If you have a son or daughter headed to college this year, you should be looking for financial aid. Start by filing out the FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid form.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 1/14/2015
“It‘s 103 questions that could make all the difference in how you pay for college. Yet every year families shy away from filling out the form known as the FAFSA, which the government and colleges use to determine need- and some merit-based financial aid.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 1/14/2015
“This is the time of year when families start filling out the dreaded form known as the FAFSA, used by the government and colleges to determine how much need-based aid you can get. What are they looking for? Take this quiz to find out.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Yahoo Finance
Posted on: 1/14/2015
“With 100 questions – twice as many as the typical income tax form — the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be intimidating to parents and college hopefuls alike.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Forbes
Posted on: 1/13/2015
“Student loan debt isn’t getting any better. The average college borrower graduated with $28,400 of debt in 2013, according to the Project on Student Debt. And while more Millennials are staying at home to save on college costs, seven in 10 graduating seniors still have student loans.”
| Daily Trojan
Posted on: 1/13/2015
“Recent USC alumnus Kevin Herald graduated a semester early, but not because he finished his coursework before the standard four years as an undergraduate. Herald dropped his second major in theatre so that he could graduate with his political science degree in December, instead of receiving both degrees in the spring, because he does not want to incur the expense of another semester in college.”
| KOMO Seattle
Posted on: 1/11/2015
“Listen to Herb Weisbaum’s radio show for financial advice, including tips for filling out the FAFSA.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Posted on: 1/10/2015
“The Obama administration’s pitch to have federal and state governments pay for students’ community college tuition sounds good to educators, but it raises questions — and some eyebrows — about implementing another big federal program.”
| The Pueblo Chieftain
Posted on: 1/10/2015
“Were you born in the 1960s, at the tail end of the baby boom? Then maybe you’re like many in your age group who are trying to juggle multiple financial goals simultaneously.”
| San Francisco Chronicle
Posted on: 1/9/2015
“President Obama’s proposal to virtually eliminate community college tuition would have little impact on students in California, since nearly all of them already qualify for fee waivers or tax credits that cover fees. The same is true in most other states, except those with very high community college tuition.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 1/9/2015
“This week as Republicans swept into power, Senator Lamar Alexander (R - Tenn.) said that his top priority would be to ‘simplify and deregulate’ higher education in the course of renewing the Higher Education Act. Alexander introduced legislation on Wednesday that would significantly reduce the length of the application for federal student aid and consolidate federal grant and loan programs.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| The Kansas City Star
Posted on: 1/9/2015
“It’s the same mantra every January: File the federal financial aid forms that determine eligibility for scholarships and other college money as soon as possible. Now data compiled by Edvisors, a financial aid resource site, underscores why this is so important and why it often pays to file early.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Money
Posted on: 1/8/2015
See the answer to a reader’s question: “My daughter will be starting college this fall. I’m estimating the tuition will be about $25,000 each year. I’ve got about $45,000 put aside in a 529 for her. When should I tap that money?”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| BankRate
Posted on: 1/7/2015
“How much money do you have saved? If you’re like the majority of Americans, the answer is not enough -- not nearly enough.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| International Business Times
Posted on: 1/7/2015
“Last year’s tax return. A computer connected to the Internet. Up to an hour and a lot of patience. These are some of the many things a student must have in order to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Money
Posted on: 1/6/2015
“Filling out the 10 eye-crossing pages of the 2015-16 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the most important application for need-based college financial aid, may not seem like a fun adventure in Super Mario’s Mushroom Kingdom. But hidden among its 103 questions are hints that, if followed correctly, can dramatically increase your need-based aid and possibly rescue your dreams of an affordable college education.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Dallas Morning News
Posted on: 1/4/2015
“January kicks off the filing season for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. When it comes to applying for financial aid for college, no single document is more important to fill out than the FAFSA. It’s the best way you can ensure you have a shot at obtaining financial aid.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Posted on: 1/3/2015
“For the past three years, Teresa Piraino of South Milwaukee has diligently filled out the federal application for financial aid for her son Anthony, who is studying criminal justice at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Financial Advisor
Posted on: 1/2/2015
“Whether or not high school seniors already know where they’re headed to college this fall, it’s time for their parents to do their homework. The same goes for families whose children will be returning to campus.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| International Business Times
Posted on: 1/1/2015
“Heading to college this year? Then spend the first day of 2015 filling out the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The application opened Thursday, sending students and parents to their computers in hopes of receiving government money to help with college costs.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
The Chronicle
Posted on: 12/31/2014
“Next fall’s crop of college students can start applying for federal financial aid Jan. 1. And if they jump right on it, they have a greater chance of getting significantly more money.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Cleveland Plain Dealer
Posted on: 12/30/2014
“The sometimes dreaded -- but required -- Free Application for Federal Student Aid will be available online Thursday. Students who hope to obtain financial aid to attend or continue college in fall 2015 must fill out and submit the form, starting Jan. 1.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| The New York Times
Posted on: 12/29/2014
“Students who plan to attend or continue college next fall should get ready to start the application for financial aid. The new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the Fafsa, will become available online on Jan. 1.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on: 12/28/2014
“What’s another name for student debt consolidator? A new low in scam artists. So here’s how not to become a target of ‘debt relief’ companies.”
| Huffington Post
Posted on: 12/27/2014
“The holiday season is upon us. Families are making resolutions, laying out plans for 2015 and spending some much needed quality time away from work or school together. Beyond merrymaking, this lull before the New Year is the perfect time for families to bank some smart savings in the college search process.”
| Associated Press
Posted on: 12/26/2014
“When it came time to pick a college, Abby Slusher leaned toward a private school near her southeastern Michigan home for the small campus and class sizes. Her mother pushed Adrian College for another reason: A new program guaranteeing every graduate would make more than $37,000 or get some or all student loans reimbursed.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 12/23/2014
“The year-end break isn’t a time when students want to think about school. High school kids suffering from senioritis want to go out and play — and ring in the New Year. But January 1 heralds an important benchmark for college-bound students: it’s the season for filing the FAFSA, or the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid.”
| The Mash
Posted on: 12/22/2014
“Looking for ways to pay for college can be stressful and oftentimes the most discouraging part of the application process. Fortunately, the U.S. federal government provides about $150 billion annually in higher education funding to aid college students.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 12/15/2014
“Here is another source of stress for families with children racing to finish college applications: The moves you make between now and year-end could mean the difference between collecting or losing thousands of dollars in financial aid. Timing is crucial because the amount of need-based aid a student qualifies for depends largely on parental income in the calendar year before applying for assistance. If parents sell stocks this month to lock in a large gain, for example, their high school senior could receive less aid next fall.”
| Her Campus
Posted on: 12/15/2014
“So you just got into this fantastic college that makes your parents sigh with relief. There’s just one catch—you're an out-of-state student, and the tuition that you have to pay makes you cringe every time you look at the long line of digits.”
| Albany Times Union
Posted on: 12/13/2014
“Tim’s son graduated from law school two years ago with more than $250,000 in student-loan debt. He just moved back home. Since his parents co-signed some of his loans, their credit scores have dropped.”
| Latin Post
Posted on: 12/13/2014
“A father of a former Harvard University student is facing 20 years in prison for falsifying his income, so that his daughter could be awarded more than $160,000 in financial aid from the college and the federal government. Joseph N. Fonge pleaded guilty on Tuesday in the US District Court in Boston to three counts of wire fraud for falsifying his income, reports the Boston Globe.”
| CBS MoneyWatch
Posted on: 12/12/2014
“A surprisingly high number of students don’t know how much they are borrowing to attend college, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution. Some students aren’t even aware that they’ve borrowed any money at all. In nationally representative data on student loans, more than half of freshmen who were surveyed seriously underestimated what they owed.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 12/12/2014
“Here is another source of stress for families with children racing to finish college applications: The moves you make between now and year-end could mean the difference between collecting or losing thousands of dollars in financial aid.” Subscription Required
| Main Street
Posted on: 12/11/2014
“In December, college applicants who have gone the early action or early decision route are likely to be more fixated on cell phones and in-boxes than usual. Word from the colleges should be coming down soon.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 12/11/2014
“Covering college tuition bills often requires leaving no stone unturned—and now there are more lending start-ups offering help both during and after college. Provided you’ve picked the right major, that is.”
| BankRate
Posted on: 12/10/2014
“Reader question: I would like to redeem some post-1989 Series EE savings bonds that I inherited to set up 529 college plans for my two grandchildren. Can you tell me if the interest on these, which will be considerable -- approximately $450 on each $50 savings bond -- is taxable interest?”
| Inside Higher Ed
Posted on: 12/9/2014
“Student loan guarantee agencies faced an uncertain future in 2010, when the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress eliminated government-backed private lending. With the federal government issuing only direct loans, the guarantee business of insuring bank loans was destined to dry up.”
| Fiscal Times
Posted on: 12/8/2014
“The headlines are alarming: Borrowers are defaulting on student loans at the highest rate in 20 years, and millennials burdened with too much debt may be pushing off marriage and home ownership because of their debt loads. Student loans are the fastest growing category of consumer debt.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 12/7/2014
“In Maryland, the boasts are big: For the second year in a row, state leaders have bragged that Maryland’s high school graduates were offered more than $1 billion in scholarships for college. It is a heady pronouncement, more than double the total seven years ago.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 12/5/2014
“My kids know that some of their favorite things during the holiday season come in brown paper packages tied up with string. Others come in envelopes. The latter — also known as cash — they often toss aside as I scramble behind them trying find a check amid the disarray of boxes, plastic and wrapping paper.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 12/2/2014
“The next generation of college students has heard the message loud and clear about the perils of taking on too much student loan debt - so much so that many are unwilling to go into debt at all in order to attend college. The drawback to this wariness is that for those who do not borrow, they are unlikely to get four-year degrees.”
| The Kansas City Star
Posted on: 11/28/2014
“By now, many of you probably know that student loan debt is $1.1 trillion and counting, making it second only to mortgage loan debt. The numbers also show about 42 million people have college loans — with the average amount owed hovering around $28,400, according to the latest federal data.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 11/25/2014
“Some hoped that an end to the Great Recession would lead to increased revenue for state governments, resulting in a spending hike for higher education — and lower out-of-pocket costs for many students attending public universities. But if what’s happening in California is evidence of a trend, the future will continue to be expensive.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 11/24/2014
“After Teresa Borrenpohl earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Montana State University, she didn’t want her student loans weighing her down, even for the standard 10-year repayment timeline. ‘It wasn't just 10 years – I didn’t want my loans around for five years,’ she says.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 11/24/2014
“U.S. colleges have started, however reluctantly, to share more information about what students might actually pay to attend - the so-called net price. But the calculators that Congress has forced schools to provide since 2011 are often hard to find, vary widely in quality and should be used with some caution.”
| Money
Posted on: 11/24/2014
“Schools are supposed to help prospective students figure out the real price in advance. Actually finding the calculator is another matter.”
| Albany Times Union
Posted on: 11/22/2014
“If you have a recent college graduate in your family, be sure that he or she is alert to student loan repayment schedules — some grads need to start repayments before the end of November, which is just a few days away.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 11/21/2014
“Determining the value of a college degree requires some new math: currency conversion. The appeal of not just studying abroad, but getting a degree abroad, seems particularly attractive amid rising U.S. college costs.”
| AARP Blog
Posted on: 11/21/2014
“Big banks are beginning to cut some slack to distressed student-loan borrowers. Wells Fargo announced a new program this week that will lower the interest rate on loans so payments will be more affordable based on a struggling borrower’s income.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 11/19/2014
“Thousands of people struggling to pay back student debt are in line to get a break as two big lenders roll out programs to ease loan terms. After years of resisting the move, Wells Fargo & Co., which has $11.9 billion of private student loans outstanding, has decided to lower interest rates for all eligible borrowers for the first time starting this month, and it also plans to extend repayment periods starting in February.” (Subscription Required)
| Neon Tommy
Posted on: 11/19/2014
“Today the University of California’s regents committee approved an increase in tuition by up to 28 percent, sending the debate about school fees and student debt crashing back into the headlines.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 11/18/2014
“It’s not surprising that 7 million students in the U.S. defaulted on their college loans during the third quarter of 2014, according to the Department of Education. The average amount of loan default per borrower: $14,014.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 11/17/2014
“The Federal Perkins loan, a program that provides low interest loans of up to $5,500 per year to help mainly low-income students finance their post-secondary education, is set to expire at the end of the year. Loans can currently be obtained by students at 1,700 colleges and universities.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 11/17/2014
“Many parents will not learn how much they must pay for their children’s college education until financial aid packages arrive this spring. By then it may be too late to get a better deal. Families need to be smarter about this if they want to avoid drowning in debt.”
| Los Angeles Times
Posted on: 11/16/2014
“My nephew was persuaded by a recruiter to attend a for-profit technical college. Then, once he entered, his ‘advisors’ persuaded him to take many, many classes — at full price — always handing him student loan paperwork to get more loans.”
| Money
Posted on: 11/14/2014
“Student debt has hit another record—with the typical 2013 college grad who borrowed commencing post-collegiate life with loan bills totaling $28,400, according to a Project on Student Debt report released Thursday. That number is up 2% over the class of 2012, who owed $27,850.”
| BankRate
Posted on: 11/14/2014
“I’m considering whether to pay off the student loan I borrowed this year with some of my 529 plan funds. Will that affect the amount of student loans I’m eligible to borrow in the future?”
| New York Observer
Posted on: 11/14/2014
“In recent years, several law school graduates have sued their alma maters, arguing that they were enticed to enroll because of misleading employment claims.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 11/13/2014
“According to 2014 exit polling, 18- to 29 year-olds made up 13% of the midterm electorate, down from 19% in 2012 and on par with 12% in 2010. Younger voters did not show up on Election Day in the numbers necessary to avoid a Republican wave, and the younger voters who did show were not nearly as likely to vote for Democrats as they had been in years past.”
| WCCO CBS Minnesota
Posted on: 11/13/2014
“A new report out by the Project for Student Debt finds 70 percent of Minnesota college students graduate with some sort of student debt. On average, they owe $30,894, which puts Minnesota as the 5th highest in the country for student debt.”
| Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Posted on: 11/13/2014
“Pennsylvania college graduates continued to bear some of the highest average student debt levels in the nation last year. A new report by the Project on Student Debt found that 71 percent of 2013 Pennsylvania college graduates carried debt averaging $32,528.”
| International Business Times
Posted on: 11/13/2014
“Moms and dads may still be getting sheepish phone calls about beer and textbook money, but undergraduate students are actually borrowing less from banks and the federal government, according to a College Board study released Thursday. As the cost of higher education continues to rise, the economy is bouncing back, leading to fewer -- and smaller -- loans.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 11/12/2014
“Borrowing for U.S. colleges declined for the third year in a row as the federal government clamped down on for-profit schools and families became more cost-conscious. Federal and private-loan lending totaled $106 billion for the 2013-14 academic year, down 8% from the prior year, according to a report to be released Thursday by the nonprofit College Board.” (Subscription Required)
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 11/12/2014
“Your high school senior comes home with a stack of college applications. As thrilled as you are, you get a sinking feeling because you’ve saved nothing to cover the costs of her dream school. Now what?”
| CNBC
Posted on: 11/12/2014
“Two months before 17-year-old Alexa of northern New Jersey—a national merit scholar, Girl Scout Gold Award recipient and standout soccer player—planned to submit her application to Amherst, anxiety set in. Even though she met all the requirements to land her on the college’s competitive playing field, she wanted an independent education counselor (IEC) to give the final nod on her application.”
| Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 11/11/2014
“From his office window, Eric Johnson can see the groundskeeping staff clearing off the sidewalk with leaf blowers. Colleges like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he works, pull out all the stops to make their campuses inviting. But rarely, he says, do they work as diligently to create a welcoming presence online, even though that’s where today’s prospective students encounter them first.” Subscription Required
CBS Miami
Posted on: 11/10/2014
“As the cost of college continues to rise, there is a bit of good news for students when to paying for their education. Today there is more private merit scholarship money available than ever before.”
| St Louis Post-Dispatch
Posted on: 11/9/2014
“Say you’re a die-hard alumna of dear old SLU, or U of I, or wherever. When your baby is born, you buy her a little T-shirt with your alma mater’s logo. You hang a school pennant on her wall and think of the day when she will follow in your footsteps....”
| Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 11/7/2014
“Back in 2007, Congress made a simple promise to student-loan borrowers: Stick with a public-service career for 10 years, making monthly payments along the way, and we’ll forgive the rest of your debt. Now, as the bill gets closer to coming due, a growing chorus of analysts and observers is asking: Was that the right promise to make?” Subscription Required
| Forbes
Posted on: 11/6/2014
“When this year’s high school seniors begin receiving their college acceptance letters, many parents will say ‘congratulations’ and then ask ‘how much money did they give you?’ But as my classmates and I at American University discovered the hard way, parents (and students) should be asking an even more difficult question: how much will they give you, and how much will this school cost us, over four years?”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 11/6/2014
“Alexandra Langley is no stranger to compromises. The 22-year-old, who graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Neb., in May, worked 20 hours a week at a child-advocacy nonprofit as part of her financial-aid package, on top of her full-time studies. Ms. Langley then chose to forgo a potentially high-paying career path to focus on her passion for public policy at a Washington, D.C., think tank, earning $33,000 a year in a city where dollars don’t stretch very far.”
| Credit
Posted on: 11/6/2014
“Since 1978, college tuition and fees have increased by a whopping 1,120%. During that same period, the price of food has increased 244% and medical expenses 601%. In fact, tuition prices have gone up four times faster than the consumer price index, according to a report by Bloomberg.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 11/5/2014
“Skip the mall this holiday season — that is, if you want to give your children and grandchildren a gift they’ll appreciate for decades to come. A survey released Wednesday by Upromise found that more than seven in 10 parents would prefer their children receive money towards college as a holiday gift, rather than a physical gift.“
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 11/3/2014
“So you just threw your daughter a big wedding. Now comes the not-so-obvious next step: setting up ‘529’ plans for the future grandchildren.”
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 11/1/2014
“You’ve no doubt heard stories about recent college graduates with minimum-wage jobs and six-figure student loans. Or parents who can’t afford to send their children to college because they’re still paying off their own student debts.”
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 11/1/2014
“As you’re crunching the numbers, consider how much debt your student will be able to afford after college. Most students borrow to finance their education—to the tune of an average $29,400 per borrower for the class of 2012. But how manageable that debt is depends on the student’s career path.”
| CNN Money
Posted on: 10/31/2014
“One Wall Street firm has an idea that’s raising eyebrows: forgive some student debt for first-time homebuyers. It’s too early to say exactly how the stimulus measure BlackRock (BLK) suggested would work, but it would take Congressional action because the federal government administers the majority of student debt.”
| Associated Press
Posted on: 10/29/2014
“Tackling a hefty new monthly expense can be daunting, particularly for recent grads who haven’t found steady work. But grads have many options for making student loan payments more manageable, even putting them off, if they qualify.”
| BankRate
Posted on: 10/29/2014
“Chris asked the Credit Card Adviser this question: I want to pay off my student loans gradually with credit cards. Will this strategy be good for my credit score?”
| Main Street
Posted on: 10/28/2014
“The College Board, which administers the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), has pulled back its 2014 Trends in Higher Education series, set for release Monday following a Friday press conference. The 2014 Trends release, which went up Friday, was taken off-line and replaced with a message that does not say when the revised report would be available.”
| Entrepreneur
Posted on: 10/28/2014
“The September unemployment numbers released recently by the Labor Department confirmed what most of us already know: having a college education matters in getting a job. Some 75 percent of Americans with a bachelor’s degree are either working or looking for a job (the so-called participation rate), compared to just 58 percent of those with a high-school diploma.”
| Columbia Chronicle
Posted on: 10/27/2014
“Russell Harrison might never have paid off his student loans if he hadn’t had his debt consolidated. Upon graduating in 2008 from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, after receiving a bachelor’s of arts in music composition, he owed $40,000–50,000 in private and federal student loans.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 10/24/2014
“This week Morningstar released the results of its annual survey of 529 College Savings Plans. Morningstar puts each fund into its Good, Better, Best ranking system, dubbed Bronze, Silver and Gold.”
Forbes
Posted on: 10/21/2014
“Considering that the average student loan borrower graduates with more than $26,000 in debt, you need a strategy to keep your loan debt from ballooning out of control. After all, student loan debt could affect your or your child’s quality of life after graduation.”
| USA Today
Posted on: 10/19/2014
“If a person owes $150,000 for private student loans, is there any way to negotiate a lower amount to pay off the loans? Also, if one lets the loan go into ‘foreclosure,’ how does this affect his credit and for how long? It seems that people walked away from mortgages with greater losses than this and seem to have been forgiven.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 10/17/2014
“For years, the benefits of having a ‘rewards’ credit card have paid me — and millions of other cardholders — back in terms of free airline tickets and other goodies. I just flew to New York on reward miles I earned on my credit card. Yet a rewards card is not a good place to lodge your college tuition payments.”
| The New York Times
Posted on: 10/17/2014
“With all the worries about rising college costs, lower- and moderate-income families should keep in mind that there are federal tax benefits that can help ease the financial burden of getting an education. For instance, there are two tax credits available that can lower your tax bill while you, or your child, are in school.”
| Fortune
Posted on: 10/15/2014
“Around the time of the credit crunch, consolidating federal student loans stopped making a lot of sense. Sure, you could do it if you were looking for administrative ease, but you weren’t going to save much, if anything, on the interest rate.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 10/15/2014
“On paper, refinancing student debt — like refinancing a mortgage – is a logical way to save cash. The idea: You often apply for education loans as a penniless teenager and, ideally, graduate four (or seven or 12) years later with a steady job and a healthier credit score.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 10/14/2014
“A group of 21 institutions, mostly for-profit technical and beauty colleges, are on the precipice of losing federal funding unless they successfully appeal. They landed on the list for having default rates topping 40 percent for one year or at least 30 percent for three consecutive years.”
| Daily Nebraskan
Posted on: 10/13/2014
“As the University of Nebraska-Lincoln seeks to boost its enrollment numbers, unseen forces are in play to make sure the university doesn’t break its bank. Chancellor Harvey Perlman wants to grow UNL’s student body to 30,000 students by 2020, and many of those students will need hefty financial aid packages. However, there’s one big problem."”
| Reuters
Posted on: 10/12/2014
“Rising student loan debt may be hampering young people’s ability to buy homes or even move out of their parents’ basements. But that does not mean student loan borrowers always should be in a hurry to pay off this debt.”
Related Content: Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| Main Street
Posted on: 10/11/2014
“A new report sheds light on just how burdensome student loan debt is. According to Citizens Financial Group, 49% of college students considered dropping out of school on the heels of high debt levels.”
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 10/8/2014
“Paying for one’s college tuition by going online and using a credit card sounds super convenient. But it’s also a really easy way to get hit with hundreds of dollars in extra fees.”
Related Content: Student Credit Cards
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 10/7/2014
“Stop putting college tuition on your credit card — even if you pay off that balance in full and on time. According to a survey released Tuesday by CreditCards.com, parents and students who pay their college bill with a credit card face an average ‘convenience fee’ — a fee that colleges are charging you simply for swiping that card — of 2.62%.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 10/7/2014
“Want to know how grim the student loan debt problem is? Just ask our nation’s graduates and former college students, roughly half of whom say that had they known the impact student loans would have on their lives, they would have considered not going to college at all.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 10/3/2014
“If you are worried about the cost of college, you have plenty of company. College tuition hikes have been outpacing inflation for years, and nearly three quarters of the class off 2012 graduated with student loans.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 10/3/2014
“The Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Education (ED) criticized the Department’s oversight of the agencies it pays to insure and administer federally guaranteed student loans. The inspector general’s findings were disclosed in a report released last week.”
| Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 10/3/2014
“There’s lots of interest these days in finding alternative ways to finance a degree. But the advice of experts hasn’t changed: Students who need to borrow for college should start with federal loans, which have fixed interest rates, more favorable terms, and income-based repayment options.” (subscription required)
| Morningstar
Posted on: 10/2/2014
“Get the latest read on tuition inflation, the best values, financial aid trends, mounting student debt, and more from Edvisors’ Mark Kantrowitz.”
| Bloomberg Businessweek
Posted on: 10/1/2014
“With its pick of well-groomed, Ivy League-educated students to choose from every recruiting season, Goldman Sachs (GS) is like the really popular kid everyone wants to be friends with. Those who paid $995 to gain entry to a higher education conference in New York on Tuesday were given exclusive insight into how to get into that clique by a Goldman executive whose job includes overseeing recruitment: Be a global citizen.”
| Money
Posted on: 10/1/2014
“Forget the old thinking that kids could wait until college to decide a major. Today, they really ought to be making this decision before their junior year of high school.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 9/30/2014
“People go to graduate school for various reasons. For some professions, like medicine, law and academia, a higher degree is required. For others, the question of whether or not to go is not so cut and dried.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 9/29/2014
“People with federal student loan debt now have a few options to lower their rates with private consolidation loans, but consumer advocates warn they could be giving up vital protections in doing so.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 9/29/2014
“Early childhood education grads earn an average of just $27,000, often restricting the profession to the privileged.”
CNN
Posted on: 9/26/2014
“For many of us, college is a defining experience. It’s where we expand our thinking, make lifelong friends and learn how to live on our own. It’s also where we get a leg up in launching our careers. College graduates have better access to full-time jobs, and the median annual earnings for full-time working adults ages 25–34 with a bachelor’s degree is $46,900, compared with $30,000 for those with a high school diploma.”
| Politico
Posted on: 9/24/2014
“A Florida school choice program will come up in Leon County circuit court today, marking the latest installment in a fight between school choice advocates, a Florida teachers’ union and the families of severely disabled students.”
| WOFL-FOX 35
Posted on: 9/23/2014
“It’s that time again -- time for high school seniors to apply to college. Many students will consider location, reputation, and degree options when deciding on the right school. However, new studies reveal the price tag could be one of the most important factors.”
| Fiscal Times
Posted on: 9/22/2014
“The Senate failed to vote this week on a bill that would have allowed millions of Americans to refinance their student loans at today’s low rates. Though the bill focuses on providing financial relief to struggling young adults, it turns out millennials aren’t the only ones trying to dig out from crippling mountains of student debt.”
Yahoo Finance
Posted on: 9/22/2014
“What advice can you provide on best financial set-up for our child, or where can I go for a comprehensive review and assistance?”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 9/21/2014
“Most families know the basics of college financial aid: Several months before school starts, students apply for assistance, parents detail their financial situations, and then everybody waits for the powers that be to tab the bill.”
| Today
Posted on: 9/19/2014
“As families struggle to pay the skyrocketing costs of higher education, a growing number of parents are concerned that the money they borrow for their child’s tuition will hurt their retirement.”
| The Kansas City Star
Posted on: 9/19/2014
“Think long and hard before taking on debt to pay for your child’s college education. Those loans could come back to haunt you in your retirement years. A look at new data from two reports suggests that many aging baby boomer parents are having trouble paying back federal student loans taken out to send their children or even grandchildren to college.”
| Huffington Post
Posted on: 9/18/2014
“Paying for college doesn’t just begin in your first semester freshman year. Rather, prospective college students can expect to start funding their higher education in high school -- when they send in their college applications. According to the National Association of College Admission Counselors, almost one-third of high school seniors apply to seven or more colleges.”
| Dallas Morning News
Posted on: 9/14/2014
“At first glance, the news appears good: Comparatively few households headed by older Americans carry student debt compared with other types of debt, according to a new report. The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that about 3 percent of households headed by those age 65 or older — about 706,000 households — carry student loan debt.”
Related Content: Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| The Motley Fool
Posted on: 9/13/2014
“Incoming freshmen, beware of the front-loaded financial aid package. To entice new students to enroll, some schools offer freshmen substantial ‘merit aid’ -- awards that are based on qualifications other than financial need -- then sneakily reduce those scholarships and grants in subsequent years, leaving upperclassmen with bigger college bills.”
| The New York Times
Posted on: 9/11/2014
“When 18-year-old Kiana Neisig added up her expenses for college, she found herself short of funds, even after receiving grants and student loans. So in June, a friend set up a profile for her on a crowdfunding website to help her seek donations of roughly $2,000.”
Related Content: Crowdfunding for College
| CNBC
Posted on: 9/10/2014
“Mounting college costs and student loan debts present a substantial dilemma for those planning to start families in the next few years: What will the cost, and value, of a college education look like 25 years down the line?”
| The GW Hatchet
Posted on: 9/8/2014
“Middle-class families saw the amount they pay after receiving their financial aid packages rise at a faster rate than any other income group over five years. Experts say GW has to not only help the poorest families, but also weigh how to lure families who can pay more out-of-pocket.”
| The GW Hatchet
Posted on: 9/8/2014
“National Guard veteran and Corcoran student Dominic Fredianelli officially became a GW student last month, but his GI Bill benefits and $10,000 annual scholarship were left behind. The junior, who served for six years and completed a tour in Afghanistan, spent a week trying to find out where his federal housing stipend and scholarship had gone.”
| WJST Jacksonville
Posted on: 9/3/2014
“For those of you who graduated from college this past spring, you are part of the graduating class with the most debt ever. According to a financial report by Edvisors, the class of 2014 graduated with an average student loan debt of $33,000; nearly double what it was 20 years ago.”
| The Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 9/3/2014
“The Chronicle asked students, recent graduates, parents, and experts a simple question: What is the most you should borrow for a bachelor’s degree?”
| The Daily Progress
Posted on: 9/3/2014
“In the latest of a string of stops at campuses across the state, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner on Wednesday pitched proposals to ease student debt. The former governor spoke to about 100 students at the University of Virginia, where tuition has been a hot topic both on Grounds and on the school’s Board of Visitors.”
Realtor Magazine
Posted on: 9/3/2014
“Carrying student loan debt is making it more difficult for many young professionals to qualify for a mortgage. Recent college graduates with student loan debt who want to own a home will need to earn about one-third more annually — or $8,969 more — than those who are debt-free, according to new research by the real estate data firm RealtyTrac.”
| Financial Advisor
Posted on: 9/2/2014
“Think the college-savings years fly quickly? Just wait until school begins. One minute, parents are hauling heavy milk crates up four flights in a freshman dorm. Before they can catch their breath, their kids are grown up and graduating—and the college loans are due.”
| BadCredit
Posted on: 9/2/2014
“Now exceeding $1.2 trillion, student loan debt has become the second largest form of consumer debt in the United States behind mortgages. What’s worse, many of the indebted are young Americans who’re just beginning their careers.”
| Money
Posted on: 9/1/2014
“Dream of venturing forth into a new and rewarding career? Navigate your journey with expert help from people who know the territory.”
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 8/31/2014
“Good intentions alone — and maybe cutting out a few restaurant dinners — won't cover a college tuition bill, of course. But there appears to be a real disconnect between what many parents plan to contribute toward college and how much money they’re saving.”
| CNN Money
Posted on: 8/30/2014
“It’s happening in every high school in America, students preparing for college, taking the SATs, visiting schools, filling out applications, and figuring out how to pay for it all. College is not an expense, it’s an investment.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 8/29/2014
“No matter what kind of gloss you put on it, going to college is stressful. You have to study, make the grade — and pay for it all. Some two-thirds of millennials say they were unprepared for life events like college because ‘they didn’t prepare for the financial implications,’ according to a new survey by TD Bank.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 8/29/2014
“Whether you’re helping your college-bound teen choose the perfect school or getting serious about that second degree yourself, you’ve likely experienced a bit of sticker shock over college prices. And who can blame you? Prices for tuition and fees have grown by over 1,200% over the past three decades.”
| Cleveland Plain Dealer
Posted on: 8/29/2014
A panel of experts participated in an online chat session to answer questions about student loans. This article summarizes the event and provides links to other resources.
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 8/28/2014
“The ladder to home-ownership is a lot steeper for debt-laden graduates. They need to earn a lot more money if they want to buy a home — in some cases, over 50% more. Recent graduates who are saddled with student debt and want to get on the property ladder will have to earn roughly one-third more annually (or $8,969 more, on average) than those who are debt-free.”
| Fox Business
Posted on: 8/28/2014
“With college costs continuing to outpace inflation and student debt being hailed as the next bubble of doom, some schools are coming up with creative alternatives to pare down costs. Purdue University is just the latest college to debut a three-year degree in communications, promising savings of between $9,000 and $20,000.”
| WSAV Savannah
Posted on: 8/28/2014
“Government data shows tuition soared more than a thousand percent in the last 35 years. Now the amount in scholarship money is also on the rise. But you need to plan ahead to get a piece of the pie.”
| The New York Times
Posted on: 8/27/2014
“College has its problems. It’s expensive, it has some outdated traditions and it has a tendency to produce graduates who struggle to find jobs in the rapidly changing economy. In the parlance of the tech industry, higher education is ripe for disruption.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 8/26/2014
“The spin-off of Sallie Mae’s student loan servicing arm from its consumer banking business seemed designed to suggest that nothing drastic was happening. Just as innocuous--or mysterious--is the servicer’s new name: Navient.”
| USA Today
Posted on: 8/26/2014
“If you graduated from college this past spring, you’re part of the most indebted graduating class ever. According to a government data analysis by financial aid experts at Edvisors, the class of 2014 graduated with an average student loan debt of $33,000.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 8/25/2014
“It is an American rite of passage. Little Johnny finally grows up, goes off to college, and starts handling money on his own. He probably spends a little too much, and racks up some debt. Does Johnny tell mom and dad the truth - or keep it a secret?”
| Teen Vogue
Posted on: 8/25/2014
“College is all about new experiences and teachable moments—but before that, most students have to learn a whole new language just to figure out how to pay for it in the first place. FAFSA? EFC? Subsidized loans? Federal grants? Private loans? Disbursement? No wonder the line at your university’s Financial Aid Office is always out the door.”
| Dallas Morning News
Posted on: 8/24/2014
“As college-bound students head to campus, parents are preparing to shell out bucks for tuition, room and board, fees and other costs. I’d like to pose a question to those parents: Do you think your children should pay for part of their college costs? Many parents believe so.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 8/22/2014
“You shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth—unless it is your grandparents offering to help pay for college via a 529 plan. Grandparents increasingly are opening such accounts to help cover their grandchildren’s college costs. But their well-intentioned efforts could hurt students’ chances for getting financial aid.” (subscription required)
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 8/21/2014
“One question is bound to pop up as college students head to campus: ‘Hey, Mom, would you cosign for a student loan?’ And too often that knee-jerk reaction is ‘Sure, why not?’ Parents and grandparents feel they should help out when it comes to getting a college diploma and contribute to building up all that college debt.”
| Money
Posted on: 8/21/2014
Reader question: “I have college savings for my children in both education savings accounts (ESAs) and 529s. Is there a difference in the way those accounts are calculated for potential financial aid? Would there be any benefit to consolidating into one type of account?”
| Main Street
Posted on: 8/19/2014
“Parents are helping their kids pay for college and are relying less on loans, according to a new study. In the Sallie Mae survey, families said they would cover 42% of college costs, compared to just 27% last year. Loans accounted for 22% of college tuition, representing a five-year low.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 8/18/2014
“Let’s face it, qualifying for college financial aid is complicated. Colleges use formulas that are opaque and hard to understand. There are lots of factors to consider. I know, because I’m about to go through this gantlet as my oldest daughter applies for college.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 8/15/2014
“With tuition and fees at a four-year private college or university averaging $30,094 a year, many students need help making ends meet. The good news is that scholarship money being handed out by corporations, foundations and other private-sector benefactors is on the rise.” (subscription required)
| The Hill
Posted on: 8/15/2014
“Imagine if the federal government decided to regulate hospitals and medical clinics by judging them strictly by their ability to achieve specific outcomes for their patients — as opposed to measuring their quality of service — or else funding would be cut off, causing them to close their doors.”
| The Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 8/14/2014
“On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education released new data on student-loan repayment that included figures on loan delinquencies—potentially good news for those interested in how well students are faring when it comes to paying back their loans.”
| Yahoo News
Posted on: 8/14/2014
“The college financial aid application process can be tough for any family to manage on their own, but is it worth the money to bring in a professional? Certified college aid planners and consultants promise to help families maximize their chances of securing financial aid.”
| The New York Times
Posted on: 8/13/2014
“If you are struggling with student loans that you took out before October 2007, there is a new, more generous option in the works that may help you manage your debt payments. In June, President Obama signed an executive order that expanded the ‘pay as you earn’ program.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 8/13/2014
“Say $1,000 unexpectedly landed in your lap. How would you spend it? Perhaps you’d hit the casino. Take your friends to the swankiest restaurant in town. Or splurge on those designer shoes you’ve been eyeing.”
| NerdWallet
Posted on: 8/12/2014
“Paying for college doesn’t just begin in your first semester freshman year. Rather, prospective college students can expect to start funding their higher education in high school—when they send in their college applications.”
| Education News
Posted on: 8/11/2014
“Community college presidents in Illinois have formed a committee to look into allowing four-year programs in the state’s community colleges. Similar policies are already in place in 20 other states. For example, a ‘2 plus 2 partnership’ is in place in Syracuse, New York. Students can begin their degree at Onondaga Community College and finish up at Cazenovia College without worrying about which credits will transfer.”
| American Public Media
Posted on: 8/8/2014
“As of September, active service members who tap the military’s tuition assistance program could be financially on the hook if they get bad grades. Active members of the military can get up to $4,500 a year in tuition assistance. Under the current rules, they just have to pass classes they take off-duty to get tuition covered up to 100 percent, depending on the branch of the military they’re in.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 8/7/2014
“For many families, private college loans are much cheaper than federal student loans now—a reversal from as recently as one year ago. While the federal government has increased interest rates on its loans for the 2014-15 academic year, most private lenders have kept their rates steady for parents with high credit scores.” (subscription required)
| Forbes
Posted on: 8/6/2014
“My wife and I have just finished a round of college tours with my 17-year-old daughter. No one emotion describes our experience. It’s a combination of joy, hope, promise, fear and dread. The joyous part is knowing that our daughter will find a great school that meets her needs, won’t leave her in debt and will provide some basic tools upon which to build a career or two. Then there’s the dread part, which most of us parents tend to over-focus on.”
| BankRate
Posted on: 8/6/2014
A student in an advanced degree program asks for advice about tuition assistance, student loans and the requirement to remain with the same employer for three years after completing the program.
| CNN Money
Posted on: 8/5/2014
“If you’re co-signing big student loans for your child, you may want to buy a life insurance policy while you’re at it. While no one wants to imagine the death of their child, taking out insurance on your son or daughter -- or asking them to purchase their own plan -- will protect you from being hit with mountains of debt should tragedy strike.”
| Miami Herald
Posted on: 8/3/2014
“More than two-thirds of college graduates today leave school in debt. The average student loan debt is $33,000 for a 2014 graduate, but there are some stories of students owing $100,000 or more. The crisis is serious enough that President Barack Obama has directed the Department of Education to come up with ways to help young people manage their debt.”
| Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Posted on: 8/3/2014
“Schools are responding to worry among students and their families about the soaring cost of a college education in response to a combined national student loan debt that eclipsed $1 trillion two years ago. Some colleges plan to lock tuition and subsidy rates for four years to help low-income students who agree to graduate on time. Others will match student aid to keep pace with tuition increases.”
| Miami Herald
Posted on: 8/2/2014
“As tuition and borrowing continue to skyrocket, income, grant aid and work study programs fail to keep up.”
| NBC News
Posted on: 8/1/2014
“Young, tech-savvy graduates often go from celebrating their diplomas to figuring out how to tackle their student loan debt in a matter of weeks. Knowing where to begin can be difficult. However, specific money management start-ups are currently lighting up the digital arena.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 8/1/2014
“More parents are sending their children to two-year colleges, but will this negatively impact their children’s future earning power? According to Sallie Mae’s ‘How America Pays for College’ study released this week, enrollment in two-year public colleges has skyrocketed in just the past four years: In 2010, 23% of families reported having children enrolled in a two-year public colleges, but this year, those numbers had ballooned to 34%.”
| AARP The Magazine
Posted on: 8/1/2014
“It’s one of the questions I get asked most often: Do you save for your children to attend college or for your retirement? The answer is the latter — because there’s plenty of financial aid for college but no financial aid for retirement.”
| Money
Posted on: 7/31/2014
A reader, who will soon be a first-time grandparent, submitted a question to Money’s “Ask the Expert” panel about saving for a grandchild’s college education. Edvisors financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz provides the answer.
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 7/31/2014
“Back-to-school ads aren’t just featuring deals on backpacks and blue jeans. The other day, I spotted an ad that highlighted a colorful, small safe to bring to your college dorm room. It’s one more sign that college students need to think about ID theft and keeping good credit, along with good grades.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 7/31/2014
“According to Sallie Mae’s ‘How American Pays for College’ study released Thursday, many parents are paying for college in ways that experts say aren’t smart. Fully one in 10 parents borrow money to pay for their kids’ college (we’re talking just about parental borrowing, not child/student borrowing, which happens at much higher rates), the survey revealed — which, in the simplest terms, is a mistake.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 7/30/2014
“A college education is seen as one of the best paths to success, but the debt associated with it may be a significant roadblock to achievement. For some, the ‘ticket to the middle class’ doesn't end with a diploma, but when student loan balances are paid. Millennials are learning this lesson the hard way—those entering the job market today face some of the toughest conditions in recent memory.”
Money
Posted on: 7/28/2014
“Now that college is, typically, the second-largest financial expenditure for a family—only buying a home is typically more expensive—parents and students are increasingly taking a harder look at the costs and payoffs of any college they consider. To assist them, MONEY has sifted through the research and advice of dozens of the nation’s top researchers on education quality, financing, and value to develop a new, uniquely realistic, and practical analysis of the likely costs of colleges and their contribution to how much graduates ultimately earn.”
| NBC News
Posted on: 7/28/2014
“Millions of Americans are struggling to pay off their student loans and desperate to find a way to lower those monthly payments. Scammers know this, so they’ve created phony student loan ‘debt relief’ companies that promise to help – for a price.”
| Creditcards
Posted on: 7/28/2014
“In the digital age, video games have joined pencils and calculators as tools for teaching kids to handle money. Not every game is a win for young minds, but when done right, games can help overcome the tedium of learning dry financial topics.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 7/25/2014
“Coding glitches at the Department of Education (ED) may have put thousands of student aid applicants—and their federal funds—at risk. ED’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid—the FAFSA form, which is the gateway to almost all student aid, has revamped data fields that call for annual income to be represented as numerical dollar amounts.”
| Fortune
Posted on: 7/23/2014
“You can pay a company to help you lower your monthly loan payments, but you could also choose a different repayment plan free of charge.”
| Credit
Posted on: 7/23/2014
“A change to the federal student loan program this month presents a huge opportunity to borrowers who have defaulted on their loans from the government. Loan rehabilitation allows borrowers to return to current repayment status, access the benefits offered to borrowers in good standing and have the default removed from their credit history.”
| Christian Science Monitor
Posted on: 7/21/2014
“College in the US can be expensive, but there are ways to make college cheaper. For example, look into colleges that offer free tuition in exchange for working on campus, or considering living off-campus with parents if the college is close by.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 7/21/2014
“Student loan debt is a top concern for parents of aspiring college students. But that concern often doesn’t translate into planning, a recent survey finds. In fact, while 85 percent of parents are worried about how student debt might affect their child in the future, nearly half of those surveyed said they won’t weigh the cost when helping their child choose a college, according to Discover Student Loans.”
| San Francisco Chronicle
Posted on: 7/19/2014
“The threat of losing all federal financial aid - including Pell grants and work-study jobs - if too many former students default on their student loans has caused more community colleges to stop offering federal student loans altogether, according to a report issued last week by the Institute for College Access & Success.”
| American Public Media
Posted on: 7/18/2014
“Here’s a handful of student loan numbers for you. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, current student loan debt is nearing $1.2 trillion. An estimated 7 million borrowers are now in default; behind on $100 billion in debt. All of which adds up to a juicy market for companies looking to cash in on people with student debt troubles.”
| Huffington Post
Posted on: 7/17/2014
“I am sympathetic to the instinct to ignore the question of whether a college is accountable to owners (for-profit), or, alternatively, is answerable to a financially disinterested board (nonprofit or public). While there is a higher incidence of problematic behavior at for-profit colleges, there are also nonprofit and public institutions that don’t do right by students and the public interest.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 7/16/2014
“It was only a matter of time. The debt demons have discovered people burdened with student debt and have started preying upon them. By ‘demons,’ I’m referring to the rapacious scoundrels going under the guise of ‘debt settlement’ companies who pounce on people deeply in debt and promise to get them out of it.”
| Avvo NakedLaw Blog
Posted on: 7/15/2014
“The first article in this series covered how to pay for college before going and the second covered how to pay while attending. In the third and final installment, we look at how to pay for college after graduating, by handling student loan debt.”
| American Public Media
Posted on: 7/14/2014
“Here’s a handful of student loan numbers for you. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, current student loan debt is nearing $1.2 trillion. An estimated 7 million borrowers are now in default; behind on $100 billion in debt. All of which adds up to a juicy market for companies looking to cash in on people with student debt troubles.”
| Minnesota Star Tribune
Posted on: 7/14/2014
“For the first time in years, the median student debt for Minnesota college graduates fell slightly in 2013, amid signs that student borrowing may be starting to level off after decades of record-breaking increases. The Minnesota Office of Higher Education reported Monday that students graduating with a bachelor’s degree had a median debt of $27,300 last year, down from $27,517 in 2012.”
| Money
Posted on: 7/14/2014
“On Monday, Illinois became the first state to sue so-called debt settlement companies for fraudulent student loan practices. The New York Times reports that two companies, Broadsword Student Advantage and First American Tax Defense, were sued for charging customers for debt assistance they never received. Debt settlement companies, which consumers pay for help consolidating their loans and decreasing their monthly payments, have long had a reputation for taking advantage of desperate borrowers eager for a quick fix.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 7/14/2014
“Retirees finally have the freedom to choose how to spend their time. While some people are ready to relax after a stressful career, others are excited to do something different. Some people will try more than one lifestyle as they make time for leisure and then move on to engaging new activities. Consider trying these retirement lifestyles.”
| San Jose Mercury News
Posted on: 7/11/2014
“Offering spin to the painfully real problem of life-altering student debt is not helpful to the young people whose favor President Obama hopes to gain. But this didn’t stop Obama from pretending that his administration is offering substantive relief to the indebted. In the process, he has set up more students, both existing and potential, to believe that their school financing choices don’t have long-term consequences for themselves and their families.”
| Schools
Posted on: 7/11/2014
“The end of summer marks the beginning of a brand-new school year, and with it come changes to the financial aid system. This year, the government will raise interest rates on student loans, along with easing eligibility restrictions on the Pay As You Earn student loan repayment plan and lightening the debt burden for loan borrowers enrolled in the federal Income-Based Repayment Plan.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 7/10/2014
“In the run-up to the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), the 49-year-old law that defines federal spending on post-secondary education, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the top Republican on the Senate education committee, tabled legislation last month that re-invents the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA is the gateway to virtually all aid to college students—private and federal.”
| Business Insider
Posted on: 7/9/2014
“Last month, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) announced a draft bill to simplify the process for students seeking federal financial aid. Their Financial Aid Simplification and Transparency (FAST) Act would most notably kill the 130-question, 10-page Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which determines how much federal aid families will pocket.”
| Bloomberg
Posted on: 7/7/2014
“One minute your annual income’s $50,419.20. The next? $5,041,920. Something like that happened to at least 165,000 filers of the online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 7/7/2014
“Student loans – when handled correctly and responsibly – can actually serve as a major asset in building a student’s credit history and credit score. They can result in a graduate being able to qualify for his or her first apartment, first car loan and, very often, first unsecured credit card.”
| Prudent Money
Posted on: 7/6/2014
Bob Brooks interviewed Edvisors’ Mark Kantrowitz to discuss paying for college and student loan debt. Specific topics covered were average student loan debt, federal student loan payment plans, and the consequences of defaulting on federal student loans.
| CNBC
Posted on: 7/6/2014
“For many members of the class of 2014 who borrowed money to attend college, the clock is ticking on what is likely to be their biggest expense after graduation. They’ll have to start paying back their federal student loans in November or December—as the six-month grace period that lenders give new grads comes to an end.”
| Money
Posted on: 7/4/2014
“Earlier this week, two-time Wimbledon champ Rafael Nadal, age 28, was bested by 19-year-old Australian player Nick Kyrgios—the youngest man in the draw, and the first teen in nearly a decade to knock off a No. 1-ranked player at a Grand Slam tournament.”
| Associated Press
Posted on: 6/30/2014
“Interest rates go up Tuesday for students taking out new federal loans. This hike is relatively minimal but could foreshadow more increases to come. The change stems from a high-profile, bipartisan deal brokered last year by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama that ties the rates to the financial markets.”
| The College Solution
Posted on: 6/30/2014
“If you’ve ever spent time on FinAid, the popular website stuffed with information about financial aid, you’ll definitely want to bookmark a new website called Edvisors. Mark Kantrowitz, the founder of FinAid, and a nationally recognized financial-aid expert, left the site last year to create a new online resource at Edvisors for anyone interested in how to pay for college.”
Minnesota Public Radio
Posted on: 6/30/2014
MPR News invited special guests Miguel Palacios (Vanderbilt University) and Mark Kantrowitz (Edvisors) to discuss creative ways to pay for college. Listen to the radio program now.
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 6/27/2014
“Whether your child is seven months old or 17 years old, you’re probably thinking about what you need to save for his or her college education. Or maybe you’re trying not to think about it. The good news is that while college is expensive, it’s still worth saving for.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 6/26/2014
“Congratulations, graduates, on your diploma. Now what about that $29,000 student loan debt? More than 70 percent of graduates will carry student debt into the real world. And the average debt is just shy of $30,000. But the news will get worse next week when interest rates on student loans are set to rise again.”
| Cincinnati Enquirer
Posted on: 6/25/2014
“The Ursuline Academy graduate and Mason resident was named a Stamps Scholarship Leader at Washington University in St. Louis, which carries a four-year $289,000 scholarship that covers tuition, room and board and funds for international study or taking an unpaid internship. What are the odds of winning such a prize?”
| Bloomberg
Posted on: 6/24/2014
Recent media stories on student loan debt seem to conflict with one another. This article reveals the truth behind the statistics, including grounds for continuing concern and the bottom line about the country’s student debt problem.
| Money
Posted on: 6/24/2014
“Interest rates on federal student loans are set to rise—again—this July 1, following a nearly half a percentage point bump on Staffords last year. But before you cue the outrage, consider this: The hike isn’t likely to increase students’ or parents’ borrowing costs in any drastic way, at least not in the short term.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 6/23/2014
“Paying for college is difficult at any age, but retirees have options to fund college that younger people don’t. People above a certain age can often qualify for tuition waivers, audit classes for free or register for affordable classes specifically for older students.”
| The Boston Globe
Posted on: 6/22/2014
“Despite widespread increases in financial aid, the out-of-pocket cost to attend most of the top private colleges in Massachusetts has risen sharply since the end of the recent recession, even as family incomes have stagnated, according to a Globe review.”
Forbes
Posted on: 6/22/2014
“Considering that the average student loan borrower graduates with more than $26,000 in debt, you need a strategy to keep your loan debt from ballooning out of control. After all, student loan debt could affect your or your child’s quality of life after graduation.”
| Los Angeles Times
Posted on: 6/21/2014
Liz Weston answers a reader-submitted question about arranging personal finances to maximize the amount of financial aid children will receive when attending college in the future.
| Credit
Posted on: 6/20/2014
“Every young video-game addict’s dream just came true: There’s now a college athletic scholarship for exceptionally talented ‘League of Legends’ players. Robert Morris University Illinois announced June 11 the addition of an eSports varsity lineup and a new collegiate-gamer recruiting effort.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 6/20/2014
“Homeownership among Americans under age 35 hit the lowest level on record earlier this year, just as indebtedness among college grads notched a new high. That has stirred debate among economists and policy makers over whether the two forces are related: that high student debt is driving the fall in home buying among the young and harming the U.S. economy.”
| Associated Press
Posted on: 6/19/2014
“The scholarship portion of a new education program Starbucks is offering to help workers pay for an online degree consists of a discount from Arizona State University, not money from the chain.”
| Christian Science Monitor
Posted on: 6/19/2014
“My son, an honors student, recently graduated from high school. He decided not to go to college, a surprise considering his father and I both work at universities. This has made me wonder what exactly is the value of a college degree.”
| Main Street
Posted on: 6/18/2014
“The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators—NASFAA—announced yesterday that it is teaming up with the National Direct Student Loan Coalition—NDSLC—on a joint task force that could put new pressure on student loan servicers to improve the repayment process. The Big Four servicers include Sallie Mae, The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, the Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation and NelNet.”
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 6/16/2014
“Starbucks will send its employees back to college and help pay for their education for online bachelor’s degrees. But many low-wage employees already have college degrees and still end up working at Starbucks and, experts say, the only school the employees can enroll in is a particularly expensive one.”
| Associated Press
Posted on: 6/15/2014
“Starbucks is rolling out a program that would allow its workers to earn an online college degree at Arizona State University at a steeply discounted rate. The coffee chain is partnering with the school to offer the option to 135,000 U.S. employees who work at least 20 hours a week.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 6/14/2014
“Repaying student loans remains a challenge for many borrowers—despite government efforts to ease the pain. President Barack Obama announced on Monday that he is expanding the Pay as You Earn Repayment Plan, which is geared to borrowers with low incomes compared with their overall federal student-loan debt.”
| Fox Business
Posted on: 6/13/2014
“On Monday, as part of his push to assist students buried in debt, President Obama said the Department of Education would be renegotiating contracts to make sure students’ best interest came first.”
Related Content: Income-Based Repayment for Federal Student Loans, Loan Forgiveness for Military Service
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 6/13/2014
“The federal government is stepping up wage garnishment of student-loan borrowers who have defaulted, another lingering effect of the nation’s ballooning college debt. Just over 174,800 people who had defaulted on federal student loans saw the Education Department take some money out of at least one paycheck in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2013.” (Subscription Required)
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 6/11/2014
“Millions of Americans saddled with high interest on their student loans just lost a chance to have the rate lowered as Senate Republicans shot down on Wednesday legislation that would have let borrowers refinance their debt. But the fight ain’t over.”
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 6/11/2014
“If you’ve taken on college debt a bit before 2007, pay attention: You may be able to lower your student loan payments under an executive order issued by the president on Monday. The order would expand the number of people by up to about five million who can take advantage of a law that lowers student loan payments to 10% of their discretionary monthly income.”
| NPR
Posted on: 6/10/2014
NPR’s David Greene discussed White House and Senate proposals to mitigate student loan debt with Edvisors’ financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz. Listen to the story or read the transcript.
| CNN Money
Posted on: 6/10/2014
“Amid great fanfare, President Obama on Monday announced plans to help more graduates tackle student loan debt. However, the number of students that will benefit is like a drop in the bucket.”
| Bloomberg
Posted on: 6/10/2014
“With the student loan payment expansion, MBAs may feel freer to choose public service. If borrowers end up working for nonprofits or local, state, or federal government office, they can stop paying back loans after 10 years, as opposed to the 20-year relief period for graduates who go into the private sector.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 6/9/2014
“Recent college graduates will soon face the first payment on their student loans, even as millions of families nationwide wonder how they’ll settle the rising cost of college. To answer their questions, Reuters hosted a Twitter chat June 4 that included experts in financial aid, student loans and personal finance.”
| Ebony
Posted on: 6/9/2014
“Borrowing for college is unavoidable for most students. Here’s how not to get buried in debt.”
| CNN Money
Posted on: 6/9/2014
“Senator Elizabeth Warren wants every American to have the same shot at the American Dream as she did. But the senior Massachusetts lawmaker and former Harvard law professor would likely have had a much tougher time climbing up the economic ladder today.”
| Today
Posted on: 6/9/2014
“Zeroing out a student loan balance can seemingly take a lifetime, and not all borrowers will see their timelines — or costs — shortened by President Barack Obama’s executive action on student debt relief. The president signed an order Monday to expand eligibility for income-based repayment plans.”
| Creditcards
Posted on: 6/6/2014
“Ignoring debts or waiting for them to go to collections, however, only makes things worse as collection charges and interest are added to your account.”
Related Content: Dealing With Financial Difficulty, Suspending Repayment on Federal Student Loans, Forbearance Options for Private Student Loans
| The Today Show
Posted on: 6/5/2014
“You’d think that when it comes to paying for college, once would be enough for anyone. But apparently today’s grandparents are pitching in. Again.”
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 6/4/2014
“As the excitement of graduation season winds down, the class of 2014 will soon need to contend with the realities of student loan payments.”
Related Content: Strategies for Paying Off Student Loans Faster, Managing Student Loans
| American Public Media
Posted on: 6/4/2014
“You can refinance payments for a house, a car, even a boat. So why can you not negotiate a better deal for your federal student loans and get out from under all that debt?”
Related Content: Federal Student Loan Consolidation, Private Student Loan Consolidation - Resources for 2018
| San Francisco Chronicle
Posted on: 6/3/2014
“A mother whose daughter is suffering from brain cancer wrote me recently asking how her daughter could relieve the stress of repaying student loans. The answer could provide help for others struggling with student debt and disability.”
Related Content: Death Discharge, Total and Permanent Disability Discharge
| Reuters
Posted on: 6/2/2014
“A languid economy, soaring education debt and ignorance about available repayment options lead many borrowers to fall behind on their student loan payments, financial aid experts say. How high those delinquencies rates actually are, though, is an open question, which is turning into confusion on how to fix the problem.”
Related Content: Federal Student Loan Repayment Options, Dealing With Financial Difficulty
| Ask Liz Weston
Posted on: 6/2/2014
“What we don’t know is how many borrowers struggle to repay their loans, falling behind and potentially trashing their credit, without actually defaulting.”
Related Content: Managing Student Loans, Dealing With Financial Difficulty
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted on: 6/1/2014
“A Pennsylvania lawmaker is asking colleagues to consider a program aimed at easing the debt load of some students in technical fields while keeping them in the state.”
| Tampa Bay Times
Posted on: 6/1/2014
“Interest rates on federal student loans are set to rise July 1. Still, experts say, federal loans remain a good deal.”
Related Content: Student Loan Interest Rates
| Detroit Free Press
Posted on: 5/29/2014
“For many college grads, the top item on the to-do list is to find employment. But along with hunting down a paycheck, grads need to figure out a way to tackle all those student loans, too.”
Related Content: Managing Student Loans
New York Post
Posted on: 5/23/2014
“Commencement season is drawing to a close, and for the Class of 2014 that will soon mean this: Hello, real world. To which the real world hollers back: Congratulations, grads. Now pay back what you owe.”
Related Content: Repay, Refinance & Consolidate Student Loans
| MoneyTalks News
Posted on: 5/23/2014
“Between 25 and 33 percent of student borrowers are late paying their very first loan bill. And it continues to get worse. As many as 35 percent of borrowers under 30 are at least three months late paying their student loan bill.”
Related Content: Repay, Refinance & Consolidate Student Loans
DailyFinance
Posted on: 5/19/2014
“The job prospects for this year’s college grads have improved slightly, but they’re starting their careers with more debt than any other class.”
| WCPO Cincinnati
Posted on: 5/19/2014
“Figuring out how to pay for college can be stressful and frustrating, because completing dozens of scholarship applications doesn’t mean you’ll get any of them. Scammers prey on this vulnerability and hope they can trick desperate students into forking over a few hundred dollars in exchange for thousands toward their educations.”
| NBC15
Posted on: 5/19/2014
“Edvisors’ financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz discussed college debt at graduation with the Madison, Wisconsin NBC station.”
The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 5/19/2014
“The Federal Reserve could detail more of its thinking on how it plans to go about exiting from its easy money policies when it releases minutes from its April meeting later this week.”
| USA Today
Posted on: 5/18/2014
“A ho-hum interest rate environment can lull borrowers into thinking that cheap money will be with us, well, nearly forever and one might think talking about rates isn’t relevant. But savers, borrowers and market watchers are wise to prepare for changes in the wind, even if huge rate increases aren’t on near-term forecasts.”
Related Content: Student Loan Interest Rates
| San Francisco Chronicle
Posted on: 5/17/2014
“It’s unlikely that any of the high school or college commencement speeches taking place over the next few weeks will mention debt, other than the debt of gratitude graduates owe their parents and teachers. Yet college debt could make or break many of them financially in the years ahead.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 5/16/2014
“As college graduates in the Class of 2014 prepare to shift their tassels and accept their diplomas, they leave school with one discouraging distinction: They’re the most indebted class ever.”
| The New York Times
Posted on: 5/16/2014
“Too many people, including plenty of brand-new college graduates, fall far behind on their student loan payments for no good reason. What follows is a basic guide for rookie student-loan debtors that can keep people out of some of the most common types of trouble.”
Related Content: Student Loan Checklist, Income-Based Repayment for Federal Student Loans
| Main Street
Posted on: 5/16/2014
“Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee (HELP), along with the Young Invincibles, a non-profit that advocates for Millennials, want the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to include stronger protections for students in career education programs particularly those at for-profit colleges, where debt is often high and job prospects poor.”
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 5/16/2014
“Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee (HELP), along with the Young Invincibles, a non-profit that advocates for Millennials, want the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to include stronger protections for students in career education programs—particularly those at for-profit colleges, where debt is often high and job prospects poor.”
Related Content: Student Loan Interest Rates, Understanding Interest Rates
| Forbes
Posted on: 5/15/2014
“If you have a child about to graduate from college or have one who did The Walk within the past five years, there’s probably a question on your mind: How can I help my kid financially without going broke myself?”
| BankRate
Posted on: 5/15/2014
“If you’re in over your head with student loans, you’re not alone. More than 1 in 7 federal loan borrowers default within three years of starting repayment, reports the Department of Education. Those figures don't account for private loan borrowers or borrowers who are drowning despite making payments.”
Related Content: Student and Parent Loan Settlements
Fox Business
Posted on: 5/14/2014
“Being a student means living with deadlines. Assignments, papers, college applications -- if you miss the due date, you can run into serious trouble. While students might be able to get an extension to finish a project, applying for financial aid doesn’t work that way.”
Related Content: FAFSA and Financial Aid Deadlines for 2018 - 2019
| Investopedia
Posted on: 5/12/2014
“With student loan figures soaring, debt-saddled students and graduates are desperate for any strategy that may help them escape their burden. For many, the prospect of debt forgiveness may seem like a dream come true.”
Related Content: Student Loan Forgiveness: How to Cancel Your Debt, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
| KMTR
Posted on: 5/12/2014
“The Department of Education implemented a new approach recently which could have huge consequences, according to financial aid experts.”
| CNN Money
Posted on: 5/9/2014
“Students taking out government student loans could pay nearly a percentage point more in interest rates. The exact rate will be set Wednesday, based on a government bond auction.”
Related Content: Student Loan Interest Rates
| Credit Solution Program
Posted on: 5/9/2014
“Federal student loan interest rates are rising 0.8% on July 1, following a slight rise last year. For freshmen starting college in the fall, this is just the first increase in student loan interest rates they should expect to see during their college career.”
Related Content: Student Loan Interest Rates
| CNBC
Posted on: 5/8/2014
“Most federal student loans are pegged to the yield on the 10-year note that is set at Treasury’s final auction each May. At that important auction Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note was set at 2.61 percent.”
Related Content: Student Loan Interest Rates
| Bloomberg
Posted on: 5/7/2014
“Students will pay more to borrow from the U.S. government for college costs this coming school year, with the interest rate on undergraduate Stafford loans climbing to 4.66 percent.”
Related Content: Student Loan Interest Rates, Student Loan Interest Rates, Fees, and History
Vanguard
Posted on: 5/2/2014
“America’s college students owe more than $1 trillion on their loans. Moreover, almost 9% of borrowers under age 30 are 90 days or more behind in their payments. How can you manage your debt and avoid defaulting on your loans?”
Related Content: Repay, Refinance & Consolidate Student Loans, Student Loan Discounts, Federal Student Loan Consolidation, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
| Kansas City Star
Posted on: 5/2/2014
“It doesn’t always pay for young borrowers to add parents, grandparents or other relatives as co-signers to get a lower interest rate on a student loan from a bank. In some cases, when the co-signer dies or falls into bankruptcy, the action may trigger an automatic default.”
Related Content: Consequences of Parent Loans, The Risks of Cosigning Student Loans
| Creditcards
Posted on: 5/2/2014
“Certified Public Accountant Sally Herigstad looks to Edvisors’ Mark Kantrowitz to answer a reader question about private student loan debt after a borrower dies.”
Related Content: Consequences of Parent Loans, The Risks of Cosigning Student Loans
| Deseret News
Posted on: 5/1/2014
“Seven out of 10 students graduate with student loan debt averaging $29,400, according to the Institute for College Access and Success, an education research nonprofit. In June 2010, student loan debt passed credit card debt, and now is $1.08 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve.”
Related Content: Colleges With "No Loans" Financial Aid Policies, Tradeoffs of Enrolling in a 2-Year College to Save on Tuition
| Fox Business
Posted on: 4/25/2014
“With the average student loan debt topping, $26,000 per student, according to the College Board’s latest figures for 2012, graduates are seeking out alternative means to pay off their obligations. Crowdfunding sites are cropping up that allows former students to post their fundraising goal and hope to connect with people that will make contributions to the debt loads.”
Related Content: Crowdfunding for College, Alternative Ways of Paying for College
| Creditcards
Posted on: 4/24/2014
“If you’re a new college graduate or about to become one, you've probably figured out what your first job will really be: figuring out how to get out from under tens of thousands of dollars in student loans.”
| AARP Blog
Posted on: 4/22/2014
“Under the terms offered by most private lenders, institutions can demand that borrowers immediately repay a loan in full if the cosigner dies or files for bankruptcy. These so-called auto-defaults can occur even if the borrower has been keeping up with payments.”
Related Content: Consequences of Parent Loans
| CNBC
Posted on: 4/22/2014
“Students who take out private loans to pay for college could face a nasty surprise if their co-signer dies or files for bankruptcy: The lender may suddenly demand the loan be paid in full—or even worse, put that loan in default—even though all payments are being made on time.”
Related Content: Consequences of Parent Loans
Forbes
Posted on: 4/21/2014
“Considering that the average student loan borrower graduates with more than $26,000 in debt, you need a strategy to keep your loan debt from ballooning out of control. After all, student loan debt could affect your or your child’s quality of life after graduation.”
Related Content: How to Choose a Student Loan, How to Choose the Best Student Loans
| WBUR Boston
Posted on: 4/17/2014
One of this NPR news station’s most popular programs, On Point with Tom Ashbrook, invited guests, including Senator Richard Blumenthal and Edvisors’ Mark Kantrowitz to discuss paying for college and college financial aid.
| New York Post
Posted on: 4/13/2014
“Only half of all families with children under 18 save any money at all for college (down from 62 percent in 2009), but among that group, total college savings are up a whopping 30 percent from last year to $15,346.”
Related Content: How Much to Save for College, 529 College Saving Plans, Is College Worth the Cost?
| Consumer Eagle
Posted on: 4/13/2014
“April’s designation as financial literacy month has the government urging parents to put money aside early and often to cover the skyrocketing costs of their children’s eventual college education.”
Related Content: Saving for College, Student Aid Secrets: Report Student vs. Parent Assets, Financial Aid Formulas and EFC Calculators, Impact of Income and Assets on the EFC
| KOMO Seattle
Posted on: 4/12/2014
In this podcast, ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum talks to experts about Big Data, financial aid award letters, taxes, consumer fraud and much more.
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 4/11/2014
“Interest rates on federal student loans are poised to rise, giving families fresh incentive to consider borrowing from colleges, state agencies and banks, experts say. Many students are reviewing offers of financial aid for the 2014-15 school year and figuring out whether they need additional help covering tuition costs.”
Related Content: How Student Loans Work, Federal Student Loans, Private Student Loans
| Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Posted on: 4/11/2014
“College acceptance letters are out. Now it’s time for parents and students to do some math. After subtracting out the ‘free’ money — grants and scholarships — now is the time to bear down and really assess whether taking on student loan debt will be worth it financially after they graduate.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 4/10/2014
“As educators and politicians work to increase college attendance across the country, they often focus on a key barrier to a higher degree: money. Studies show that students who apply for financial aid are more likely to enroll in and graduate from college, particularly as tuitions increase.”
Related Content: Saving for College
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 4/10/2014
“Thanks to increased savings rates and a rising stock market, average balances in U.S. college savings plans jumped 30 percent in 2013 over the prior year. Still, savings lags far behind college tuition rates, which have risen exponentially in recent years.”
Related Content: Plan for College, Saving for College
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 4/10/2014
“While American families have more money saved for college than they did last year, it’s still not nearly enough — and they’re saving incorrectly, advisors say. Only half of all families with children under 18 save any money for college.”
Related Content: How Much to Save for College, Saving for College
| Fox Business
Posted on: 4/9/2014
“It’s that time of year when prospective college students all over the country are getting acceptance letters and financial aid packages. If you or a member of your family is part of this group, steel yourself. Confusion is the most common reaction to these packages”
Related Content: How to Read Financial Aid Award Letters
The New York Times
Posted on: 4/9/2014
“With financial aid award letters in hand, families are struggling to make sense of it all by colleges’ May 1 deadline. Experts Richard Pérez-Peña and Mark Kantrowitz answer readers’ questions about understanding financial aid award letters, filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, and other issues.”
Related Content: Plan for College, How to Read Financial Aid Award Letters
| The New York Times
Posted on: 4/9/2014
“Even if you’ve solved some of life's toughest financial puzzles -- running a business, buying a home, raising a family -- none can compare to the challenge of understanding the cost of sending kids to college.”
Related Content: Advice for Parents, Plan for College
| Reuters
Posted on: 4/8/2014
“The confusing and sometimes misleading financial aid letters that colleges send out this time of year can cause unsuspecting families to sign up for educations they can’t afford, college experts warn.”
| CNBC
Posted on: 4/5/2014
“Colleges issue financial aid awards to families on the heels of acceptance letters, and the numbers can look pretty impressive. But those award letters can also be confusing, and interpreting them the wrong way can cost you thousands of dollars.”
Related Content: How to Read Financial Aid Award Letters
NPR
Posted on: 4/3/2014
“The first step for many families is reviewing the financial aid award letters they receive from each school. But often those letters can be confusing.”
Related Content: How to Read Financial Aid Award Letters
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 4/1/2014
“Income counts most heavily in the federal need equation (with an allowance for living expenses), whereas savings get off relatively lightly. Parents can expect to contribute no more than 5.6% of their assets toward college costs, after an allowance; retirement accounts and home equity are excluded altogether.”
Related Content: Plan for College, Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 4/1/2014
“It’s the season for colleges to accept students and then students to accept colleges. Part of the decision for many students is price, but comparing the actual cost of attending different colleges can be tricky.”
Related Content: College Comparisons
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 4/1/2014
“As college tuitions soar and median household incomes decline, many aspiring college students face a daunting gap. Lacking well-stocked college savings plans or wealthy grandparents, they are turning to a vast and idiosyncratic private industry to help them get to college.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 3/31/2014
“The politics of higher education policy are actually less hospitable to reform than those in K-12. Some argue that partisan polarization is to blame, which is typically code for ‘the Democrats want to change things but Republicans won’t let them.’ To others, resistance to reform is the work of an all-powerful ‘higher education lobby’ that uses money and influence to thwart well-intentioned efforts to improve the system.”
| Forbes
Posted on: 3/31/2014
“If you’re a high school student whose family income doesn’t qualify for the 1% club, there’s a very good chance that the most important day of your college application experience won’t be the day you turn in all of your applications or the day you get accepted to your first school.”
Related Content: How to Read Financial Aid Award Letters
| Bloomberg
Posted on: 3/30/2014
“For parents looking to pay for college, one of the best deals comes with a 1.2 percent, no-fee loan. The hitch: Your kid has to get into Princeton University. Princeton, which accepts only 7.3 percent of applicants, is alone in the eight-member Ivy League in offering financing to parents.”
| The New York Times
Posted on: 3/27/2014
“After much criticism, the Department of Education has made it easier in recent years for disabled borrowers to have their federal student loans discharged. But now, as more people are qualifying for loan forgiveness, many of them are running into an unexpected consequence.”
Related Content: Total and Permanent Disability Discharge, Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 3/25/2014
“Many students consider a graduate degree a necessity for scoring a plum job. But how is a student to know which degrees are worth the expense?”
College Admission Book
Posted on: 3/25/2014
“It is never too early to start planning on how you will pay for college. It is also never too late, but families who start sooner will have more flexibility in choosing a college than families who procrastinate.”
Related Content: Plan for College, Plan for College
| LearnVest
Posted on: 3/21/2014
“Paying for college can be a nerve-wracking rite of passage. Not only are you probably dealing with huge sums of money, but the complex process of making decisions about loans is often trusted to 17-year-olds, who may or may not have ever managed money before.”
Related Content: Plan for College, How Student Loans Work
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 3/20/2014
“If you have kids in college, or kids who are going to be in college, you want to read this advice on how to get financial aid without making big mistakes.”
Related Content: Advice for Parents
KNPR Nevada Public Radio
Posted on: 3/19/2014
Financial aid experts Mark Kantrowitz and Shawn Caxton answer common questions about finding money for college in this radio program.
| Main Street
Posted on: 3/19/2014
“The Department of Education (ED) has yet to release comprehensive information on how its student loan servicers are performing, but the SLM Corporation, or Sallie Mae, the private student lender, released new data earlier this week that it says shows that more of the federal loans it services are in Income Based Repayment plans (IBR).”
Related Content: Income-Based Repayment for Federal Student Loans
| The New York Times
Posted on: 3/18/2014
“As the economic benefits of having a college degree become better known, the number of full-time adult learners --those over 24--is growing. Still, the completion rate for older undergraduates lags that of their younger peers.”
| CBS MoneyWatch
Posted on: 3/18/2014
“If you’ve got children in college, you could be eligible for a valuable tax credit when you file your taxes this year.”
Related Content: Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| The Today Show
Posted on: 3/18/2014
In this video, Today’s Al Roker and Natalie Morales discuss strategies for increasing financial aid and finding scholarships with Jacques Steinberg from Say Yes to Education and Rob Franek from the Princeton Review.
Related Content: Win Scholarships
| Huffington Post Live
Posted on: 3/18/2014
“As kids across America are celebrating their college acceptance letters, parents of high school seniors are freaking out over the quarter-million-dollar question: How are we going to pay for it?”
Related Content: Advice for Parents
| New York Daily News
Posted on: 3/18/2014
Edvisors’ financial aid guru Mark Kantrowitz tells you everything you need to know in this Money Pros article.
Related Content: Student Aid Secrets: File the FAFSA ASAP, Student Aid Secrets: Appeal for More Financial Aid, Win Scholarships, Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| Fox Business
Posted on: 3/14/2014
“As the country’s outstanding student-loan debt tops $1 trillion, financial institutions are increasingly offering borrowers the chance to reduce their interest payments, a market that many borrowers have been afraid to enter.”
Related Content: Private Student Loan Consolidation - Resources for 2018
| CNBC
Posted on: 3/12/2014
“Getting into college is almost a full time job these days. Between standardized tests, lengthy applications and the search for financial aid, many high school students devote many hours each week to the effort.”
Related Content: Win Scholarships
| CNN Money
Posted on: 3/7/2014
“Millions of college students are missing out on financial aid for college because they aren’t even applying for it. About 2 million students could have qualified for the need-based Federal Pell Grant during the 2011-12 academic year, but they failed to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) required to receive it.”
Related Content: Plan for College, Federal Pell Grant
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 3/7/2014
“Most affluent families with college-age children don’t qualify for financial aid. But there are several moves that parents with above-average income can make before applying for aid that could result in a lower tuition bill.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 3/6/2014
“A college degree is increasingly seen as a key to success in the 21st century. Does that mean parents have to pay for it? Last month a New Jersey teenager estranged from her parents filed a lawsuit seeking living and schooling costs from them. The case has focused attention on the question of whether parents - even those who are not divorced or separated - owe their children a higher education.”
Related Content: Advice for Parents
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 3/6/2014
“In the past, when the College Board rejiggered the SAT, the changes proved to be a boon for the test-prep industry. Panicked high-school students and their parents felt more compelled than ever to plunk down huge sums to stay ahead of the curve.”
| Morningstar
Posted on: 3/4/2014
In this video, Morningstar’s Adam Zoll discusses the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the financial aid process with Edvisors’ Mark Kantrowitz.
Related Content: Plan for College
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 3/4/2014
“Taking out a loan always comes at a cost. That’s expected, unless you take on an interest-free loan from a friend or family member. But it’s easy to miss just how costly loans can be, especially if you take out a loan in a hurry.”
Related Content: Understanding Student Loan Fees, Forbearance Options for Private Student Loans
| Reuters
Posted on: 3/4/2014
“Getting student loan debt erased in bankruptcy court isn’t easy, but it’s possible. Unfortunately, most borrowers can’t afford the fight that might give them some relief.”
Related Content: Bankruptcy Discharge of Student Loans, Private Student Loan Settlements
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 3/2/2014
“Some Americans caught in the weak job market are lining up for federal student aid, not for education that boosts their employment prospects but for the chance to take out low-cost loans, sometimes with little intention of getting a degree.”
| Pro Publica
Posted on: 2/25/2014
“At the center of the admissions and financial-aid process is a massive information imbalance: Schools make their decisions with detailed data about each applicant that goes well beyond test scores and transcripts.”
| Ask Liz Weston
Posted on: 2/24/2014
“Exciting news: One of the most-respected experts in financial aid has written a book about filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)–and right now you can get it as a free PDF download.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA
| Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 2/24/2014
“Three years ago, the Education Department published the first of its annual College Affordability and Transparency Lists, a series of six rankings based on college tuition and net price.”
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 2/24/2014
“Lenders are reacquainting themselves with college students, lured by the prospect of building ties with young customers and encouraged by declining loan-default rates among these borrowers.”
| Today
Posted on: 2/24/2014
“Millions of Americans could put more money in their pockets each month by refinancing their student loans. It’s always been possible to refinance private student loans, but few financial institutions offered this service.”
Related Content: Private Student Loan Consolidation - Resources for 2018
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 2/24/2014
“More banks, credit unions and other lenders are refinancing student loans, giving borrowers the chance to cut their interest payments.”
Related Content: Private Student Loan Consolidation - Resources for 2018
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 2/20/2014
“For college graduates, there have been few options for consolidating private student debt into a single loan. But that may be changing.”
Related Content: Private Student Loan Consolidation - Resources for 2018
| The College Solution
Posted on: 2/20/2014
“If you have a child in college, do you qualify for a federal tax credit or tax deduction? These are valuable tax benefits that can help you defray the rising cost of a college degree and yet some parents have no idea that they exist or whether they would qualify.”
Related Content: Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| Dallas Morning News
Posted on: 2/16/2014
“When it comes to applying for financial aid for college, no single document is more important to fill out than the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Simply put, it’s the best way you can ensure you have a shot at obtaining financial aid.”
Related Content: Plan for College
| The Wall Street Journal
Posted on: 2/14/2014
“Many savers who assumed last year’s big rally in stocks would swell their 529 college accounts learned a tough lesson when they opened their annual statements: Gains often trailed the market, sometimes by a wide margin.”
Related Content: 529 College Saving Plans
| Cleveland Plain Dealer
Posted on: 2/10/2014
“If you’re paying for college, make sure you claim tax benefits that can lighten the financial burden a bit. Tax credits such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit can be worth up to $2,500 to someone who paid $4,000 for tuition, books and fees. Yet a surprising number of people walk away from college tax credits and deductions.”
Related Content: Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits, Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits, Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits, Tuition and Fees Deduction
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 2/1/2014
“Students can have the FAFSA sent to up to ten schools at a time, but many students may not realize that the order in which they list those schools could influence the size of their aid packages—or even their admission.”
| Kiplinger
Posted on: 2/1/2014
“Kiplinger’s spoke with dozens of experts in fields ranging from college aid to travel to glean insights they apply to their own financial lives and share with their own family and friends. Here is actionable advice to manage some of life’s biggest ongoing expenses.”
Related Content: FAFSA Renewal
| CBS MoneyWatch
Posted on: 1/31/2014
“College freshmen will be heading off to school in the fall, which means that some parents are making mistakes as they struggle to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. But a new guide can help you avoid such errors and make the entire process easier.”
Related Content: Student Aid Secrets for Increasing Aid Eligibility, Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Today
Posted on: 1/28/2014
“Don't let the ‘sticker price’ of a college education fool you. Experts weigh in on the best values in public and private higher education.”
Related Content: College Comparisons
| Wall Street Journal MarketWatch
Posted on: 1/28/2014
“As they scramble to meet looming deadlines for financial-aid applications, families in which both parents are unmarried and live together—or in which the parents are in a same-sex marriage—may qualify for less assistance than in previous years.”
| The College Solution
Posted on: 1/27/2014
“Every year, 20 million families file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and plenty of them inadvertently make costly mistakes.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition, Student Aid Secrets for Increasing Aid Eligibility
| Reuters
Posted on: 1/27/2014
“Spiraling college costs can tempt families to stretch the truth trying to get more financial aid. These methods carry significant risks and may not even work. There are legitimate ways to get better offers.”
Related Content: Student Aid Secrets: Tell the Truth
| Investors Business Daily
Posted on: 1/24/2014
“With 2014 underway, the race for college financial aid begins. Families can file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2014-15 school year. Even if your child is not yet in college, it’s good to start planning. The student’s grandparents can chip in.”
| Schools
Posted on: 1/23/2014
“The only thing standing between you and free college cash is one little form. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the document the government uses to determine who gets financial aid and who doesn’t."”
Related Content: Plan for College, Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| CNN Money
Posted on: 1/22/2014
“A small but growing group of colleges are guaranteeing students that they will help them pay their student loan bills until they secure a well-paying job. Known as a loan repayment assistance program, the colleges offer to pay undergraduate student’s loan bills until they earn enough to afford the payments themselves.”
| NBC News
Posted on: 1/22/2014
Every month, NBC Consumerman Herb Weisbaum sits down with consumer experts to discuss issues important to teenagers. Weisbaum interviewed Edvisors’ financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz for this video on scholarship scams.
Related Content: Free Scholarships for College
| Main Street
Posted on: 1/21/2014
“One thing is clear: more people are going to be borrowing more money for post-secondary school education in 2014. Indeed, much of the cash that most students live on doesn’t belong to them. It comes from a loan—one that has to be repaid.”
Related Content: Student Loan Interest Rates, Fees, and History, Interest Rates and Fees on Parent PLUS Loans, Reasonable Debt
| Reuters
Posted on: 1/21/2014
“If you know much about college financing, you probably know the basics of improving a financial aid package: Save in your own name, rather than your child’s, fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid as soon after January 1 as possible and look for scholarships and other ‘free money’ that can reduce your costs. But many other strategies can also increase your financial aid.”
Related Content: Advice for Parents, Simplified Needs Test and Auto-Zero EFC, Saving for College
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 1/15/2014
“Student loans garnered a lot of attention in 2013. Interest rates on federal student loans became a political playing card -again- and debt loads and borrower default rates captured headlines. The new year could be just as tumultuous for college borrowers.”
Related Content: Student Loan Interest Rates, Student Loan Interest Rates, Fees, and History
| Main Street
Posted on: 1/14/2014
“Each year, the average amount of student debt seems more disconcerting than the one before, if only because it’s bigger. What’s more, these increases seem predictable as government support for students continues to decline relative to the incomes of borrowers and their families.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 1/13/2014
“Millions of families will fill out a key financial aid form in coming weeks, many for the first time. Unfortunately, mistakes on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are easy to make, education experts said.”
Related Content: Student Aid Secrets for Increasing Aid Eligibility
| CNBC
Posted on: 1/11/2014
“Students graduating from college enjoy a six-month grace period before they have to start repaying their loans. But for the latest crop of graduates, that period is now over, and those who have loans are figuring out how to pay them off.”
Related Content: Repay, Refinance & Consolidate Student Loans
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 1/6/2014
“When it came time for Harley Anderson to apply for financial aid, a complicated family situation made it nearly impossible. The 19-year-old hasn’t had contact with her mother in years and was kicked out by her father when she turned 18 years old.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Reuters
Posted on: 1/5/2014
“One of the worst mistakes you can make with college financial aid is simply failing to file the all-important Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The U.S. Department of Education began accepting FAFSA applications for the 2015-16 academic year on Jan. 1, and most forms of financial help - grants, loans, work study - depend on your turning it in.”
Related Content: Filing the FAFSA Guide 2018-2019 Edition
| Reuters
Posted on: 12/30/2013
“For graduates and others saddled with student loan debt, there are several programs that tie reductions in student loan debt to volunteer or military service or to jobs teaching, practicing law or providing healthcare in high-need areas.”
Related Content: Loan Forgiveness for Health Professions, Loan Forgiveness for Military Service, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Loan Forgiveness for Public Interest Law
Kiplinger
Posted on: 12/30/2013
“Kiplinger’s spoke with dozens of experts in fields ranging from college aid to travel to glean insights they apply to their own financial lives and share with their own family and friends. Here is actionable advice to manage some of life’s biggest ongoing expenses.”
Related Content: FAFSA Renewal
| The Kansas City Star
Posted on: 12/27/2013
Four financial education experts, including Edvisors’ Mark Kantrowitz, were asked what one goal they would recommend for parents — or their children— to accomplish in the coming year.
Related Content: Student Aid Secrets: File the FAFSA ASAP
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Posted on: 12/26/2013
“The college graduating class of 2012 is, on average, deeper in the hole with student loan debt than any class before. And graduates of Pennsylvania colleges -- state and private -- are more likely than graduates of other colleges nationwide to be burdened with student debt, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education and national surveys of colleges and college graduates.”
| The Street
Posted on: 12/23/2013
“Early admission applicants know exactly what school they want to go to. But they may give universities an opportunity to exploit that single-minded ambition by delivering less aid than anticipated.”
| Reuters
Posted on: 12/23/2013
“Starting Jan. 1, families with college-bound students will begin submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA is the key to getting most grants, scholarships and loans, but filling it out can be a nightmare.”
Related Content: Student Aid Secrets: File the FAFSA ASAP, Federal Pell Grant
| The New York Times
Posted on: 12/13/2013
“Cash gifts are often written off as too impersonal. But as you’re scrambling to find the perfect something for a loved one, particularly the students and graduates who collectively hold about $1.2 trillion in student debt, a little financial wiggle room might be exactly what they want and need.”
Related Content: Repay, Refinance & Consolidate Student Loans
| CNN Money
Posted on: 11/1/2013
“While millions of Americans are drowning in student loan debt, some students are actually graduating with thousands of extra dollars to burn—thanks to scholarships and aid that exceeded their college costs.”
Related Content: Win Scholarships
| Reuters
Posted on: 11/1/2013
“Settling student loan debt isn’t easy, but it can be possible. Troubled borrowers who can offer a substantial lump sum may be able to free themselves from years of wage garnishments, tax refund seizures, and other collections efforts, according to student loan experts.”
Related Content: Student and Parent Loan Settlements
| The DO
Posted on: 11/1/2013
“Many physicians didn’t choose their field for the money. Their passion lies in practicing medicine, not following the stock market and interest rate trends. And medical school, residency, and the early years of practicing all require a great deal of focus and time, leaving little room for picking up a solid financial education.”
| The Washington Post
Posted on: 11/1/2013
“Most American families don’t have a plan for paying for college. Financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz offers advice on how and when to save for a child’s college education.”
Related Content: Saving for College, Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits, 529 College Saving Plans
| CBS MoneyWatch
Posted on: 10/30/2013
“When you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), watch out how you list the colleges that your child is applying. Schools will be watching and could hold the order of names against your teenager.”
Related Content: Student Aid Secrets for Increasing Aid Eligibility
| The College Solution
Posted on: 10/30/2013
“If you’ll be filling out the FAFSA during this admission season for a high school teenager, be careful how you list the colleges that your child will be applying to. Colleges could use that information against you.”
Related Content: Student Aid Secrets for Increasing Aid Eligibility
| KGW
Posted on: 10/23/2013
In a town hall called “From Debt to Degree,” Portland State University brought together experts, including Edvisors’ Mark Kantrowitz, to answer questions about how to handle the high cost of college.
Related Content: Reasonable Debt
| Forbes
Posted on: 10/7/2013
“Boomer parents face a growing concern when their children decide to extend their college studies: Shelling out tuition money for longer than expected may reduce what they are able to save for their retirement.”
Related Content: Student Loan Tax Deductions and Tax Credits
| Huffington Post Live
Posted on: 10/1/2013
“In the last 20 years, the percentage of merit-based scholarships handed out has nearly tripled, meaning more low income students have to scrape to pay for college. Edvisors financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz was one of three guests invited to discuss the issue.”
| The New York Times
Posted on: 9/29/2013
“Over the years, many state-university systems -and even states themselves- have shifted more of their financial aid away from students who need it toward those whose resumes merit it, with the rationale that merit scholarships motivate higher achievement and keep talented students in state. The consequence, however, is that more aid is helping kids who need it less.”
Sponsoring Young People
Posted on: 9/27/2013
Mark Kantrowitz answers questions about some of the most common misconceptions students and families have about financial aid and scholarships, and discusses some of the resources available to low-income students and families.
Related Content: Colleges With "No Loans" Financial Aid Policies, 529 College Saving Plans, Is College Worth the Cost?
| Yahoo News
Posted on: 9/26/2013
“Awareness of federal student loan forgiveness is low, but the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is bringing more attention to forgiveness programs with a guide to available options.”
Related Content: Student Loan Forgiveness: How to Cancel Your Debt, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Income-Based Repayment for Federal Student Loans, Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) Repayment for Federal Student Loans
| CNBC
Posted on: 9/25/2013
“Nearly 4 million adults who are 35 and older are enrolled in a degree-granting institution. Going back to school can be worth it, especially if students follow the right steps to find the money to cover the costs.”
Ameriprise Financial
Posted on: 9/19/2013
“As your child prepares to leave for college, money matters may be the last thing on your mind. But, teaching college kids about money is an important part of the process, and one you shouldn’t skip for the child’s own financial well-being.”
Related Content: Cutting College Costs, Student Budget Cutting
| US News and World Report
Posted on: 8/26/2013
“Whether they include step-kids, half-siblings, grandparents raising kids, or some other family structure, blended families often create more complicated financial considerations when it comes to estate planning, saving for college, and paying taxes.”
| The Chronicle of Higher Education
Posted on: 8/22/2013
“A proposal by students at Portland State University has drawn enthusiasm in Oregon and at least four other states. But a close look at the plan suggests it could lead to an even greater shifting of college costs from states to students.”
| Chicago Tribune
Posted on: 8/16/2013
“College students this year will get relief on federal student loans. But if they have to borrow again after this school year, the loans they take on will probably cost them more.”
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