Many students use consolidation as a way of reducing the costs of their monthly student loan payments. Now, universities are following their lead. Some colleges have begun to merge and consolidate in order to lower administrative costs and pool their resources during an era of reduced education budgets.
The good news? The government has finally come to an agreement on student loan interest rates and agreed to lower rates through the 2015 academic year.
The bad news?After 2015, rates would likely climb higher than they were this past spring.
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. […]
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.
Funding for federal student aid programs was first authorized in the 1960s and 1970s and has increased dramatically to keep up with the skyrocketing costs of college. Yet, despite this increased aid, negative patterns of inequalities in college attendance, low completion rates, and high student debt continue. It’s become clear that a new approach might be needed: one that focuses on college affordability and access.
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 […]
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.
While the millennial generation has been labeled as lazy, entitled, and narcissistic, many people neglect to realize that this generation has entered a world with shrinking employment opportunities and mobility. For young people, jobs (especially good ones) are hard to find, and many are saddled with tons of college debt. And for young adults who are […]
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.