Tag: college loans


President Obama’s College Affordability Plan

Posted on August 24th, 2013

In his recent trip to nearby Buffalo, Syracuse, and Binghamton, President Obama revealed his new plan to make college more affordable.

This handy infographic from the White House explains the major reforms and initiatives the President hopes to advance in order to hold colleges accountable for providing a quality education, encourage schools to use technology to cut costs, and make it easier for borrowers to repay their student loans.

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President Obama unveils plan on college affordability

Posted on August 22nd, 2013

"Whether we're talking about a 2-year program, a 4-year program, a technical certificate, the bottom line is that higher education cannot be a luxury. It's an economic imperative. Every American family should be able to afford to get it." -- President Obama

In his visit to Western New York today, President Obama unveiled a series of higher education reforms aimed at making college more affordable. A new way of ranking colleges His ideas include creating a new rating system for colleges that would judge schools on measures like tuition, graduation rates, debt and earnings of graduates, and […]

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How to pay back student loans

Posted on August 21st, 2013

If you recently graduated college, remember that your grace period doesn’t last forever. Come fall, 2013 college graduates will start receiving student loan bills from their lenders.

The Buffalo News offers some great tips on paying back your student loans and outlines the different types of repayment programs.

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A breakdown of the new student loan law

Posted on August 16th, 2013

On Wednesday, July 31, 2013, the U.S. House gave final passage to a compromised bill for student loan interest rates. The president signed it into law on August 9, 2013.

For new student loans made since July 1, 2013, the new rates for this year will be 3.86% fixed for undergraduate Direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans, 5.41% fixed for Graduate Direct unsubsidized loans and 6.41% fixed for Direct PLUS loans. This is significantly less than borrowers would be paying if a deal hadn’t been brokered.

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How to pay for college without loans

Posted on August 12th, 2013

"As a society, our main goal should be to help position new college graduates to start their professional careers on a solid footing and without the weight of student loan debt." -- Celest Horton

Even with today’s high cost of college, it’s still possible to pay for school without taking out student loans. This article offers some great tips and advice for reducing college costs, from taking college classes while you’re still in high school to actively searching for scholarships all through college. Because of her diligence, the author was […]

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House passes student loan interest rate fix

Posted on August 5th, 2013

"Although this legislation is far from perfect, it a step that must be taken in order to provide financial relief to American students and their families." -- Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY)

On Wednesday, July 31, 2013, the U.S. House of Representatives gave final passage to a compromised bill for student loan interest rates and the president is expected to sign. For new student loans made since July 1, 2013, the new rates for this year will be: 3.86 percent for undergraduate Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized loans […]

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“We need to have a different concept of higher education”

Posted on July 17th, 2013

"How can you start a business, how can you build a family, how can you buy a home, how can you be a consumer, which is vital to economic progress and job creation, if you're paying off a $90,000 loan?" -- Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.)

As student loan debt tops $1 trillion dollars, the outcry to reduce student loan interest rates and help those already in debt grows stronger. In this video from Politico, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) offers his take on the high cost of college, society’s view of higher education, and the impact of student debt on the economy. […]

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Millennials: a generation in debt

Posted on July 12th, 2013

After adjusting for inflation, students are borrowing twice the amount they borrowed a year ago. Congress’ recent neglect to keep student loan interest rates from doubling to 6.8% could cost students as much as $5,000 more over the next 10 years.

Scholarslip, an excellent documentary about the student loan crisis, explores the real stories of young people facing their student debt.

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Student loan vote fails Senate again, sticking borrowers with higher rates

Posted on July 10th, 2013

Today, the Senate failed once again to implement a one-year, retroactive fix that would keep rates at 3.4 percent on federal subsidized Stafford loans made from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014. Lawmakers have been debating various proposals to lower student rates but have neglected to come to an agreement.

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Student loan interest rates aren’t the problem

Posted on July 8th, 2013

"Manifestly Congress has failed our students. But the real failure here is the pretense that federal loans are making college more affordable." -- NY Post

This commentary from the NY Post sums up the real way Congress has failed students perfectly. The problem is not just that Congress has hurt students by failing to keep student loan interest rates from doubling to 6.8%. It’s that they have done nothing to prevent college costs from skyrocketing. The real problem: college affordability […]

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