Did you know over 2.2 million adults over age 60 in the U.S. have student loan debt? Despite being painted as strictly a problem for young adults, the average debt load for a student loan borrower over 60 is $19,521. In fact, it seems having student loan debt has become as American as apple pie.
In this insightful article from the Star-Tribune, writer Chris Farrell compares current student loan borrowers to the pilgrims that settled in Plymouth Bay in 1620. These pilgrims were backed by London merchant bankers and eventually bought out their investors, paying off their debt in installments. Student debt is good debt Farrell argues that, as just as the […]
There are millions of student loan borrowers struggling to repay their college debt. In this interesting video from HLN TV, Clark Howard speaks with two real borrowers about how they got into debt, how they plan to get out and the advice they have for aspiring college students.
With the cost of college skyrocketing over the past 30 years, taking out student loans has become a necessary evil for many students to attend college. The problem is, many borrowers don’t fully understand the terms of the loans they are taking out or what repayment is really like–until graduation hits and they’re faced with an expensive student loan bill every month.
In this insightful video from The Field, real college students share their thoughts about their student debt, why they took out student loans, and how they plan on repaying their debt in the future.
When taking out loans to pay for college, many students don’t realize the impact of the debt they’re taking on and how much the loans will actually cost them over time due to accruing interest.
NerdWallet created this helpful infographic to explain student loans in terms most people can understand: how the lifetime cost of student loans compares to other expenses and investments like car payments and 401k contributions.
This enlightening post from Common Sense Student Loans argues that the student loan debate going on in Congress right now is preventing us from dealing with the root “disease” of skyrocketing college costs. Student loan debt, author Craig Anderson argues, is a symptom of this much larger issue, and current government proposals are merely Band-Aids […]
Like many prospective college students we work with, Erin had a firm idea about the college she wanted to attend. She believed she had found her “dream school” when she submitted her seat deposit to Wake Forest University during her senior year of high school.
But that all changed when Erin had a conversation with her parents about the financial implications of her decision to attend the private North Carolina university. Her parents were requiring she take a 50% stake in her college education, regardless of where she went. Erin wasn’t receiving any financial aid or scholarships from Wake Forest, and with her parents only willing to pay for half of the full $160,000 tuition bill, she would have to come up with $80,000.
Student debt is a huge issue, and borrowers with private student loans get the worst of it. Check out this chart and read on to learn about the differences between federal and private student loans.
With federal subsidized student loan interest rates set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1 unless Congress acts, it’s crunch time for government officials to come to an agreement to prevent rates from rising. Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) have co-sponsored a bill that would freeze interest rates […]
Students in Sweden attend college for free, but they still graduate with an average of $19,000 in debt. But unlike in the U.S., this debt is easily managed due to low interest rates and long repayment periods.