Tag: repayment


Want your student loans paid? Move to Niagara Falls

Posted on January 29th, 2015

For recent college graduates, paying student loans can be a struggle.

But what if you could get yours paid for you just for moving to a certain city?

Niagara Falls, NY is trying to attract young residents by doing just that. The city will pay off $7,000 of a borrower’s student loans if they live in a designated area of the city for 2 years.

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How to get out of student loan default

Posted on January 20th, 2015

As we’ve explained, defaulting on your student loans has several consequences and could severely damage your credit score.

Of course, it’s best to avoid default by getting on the right student loan repayment plan for your situation and paying your loans on time. But if you’ve already defaulted on your loans, there is a way out.

This helpful video from Centsible Student explains what to do if you’ve defaulted on your loans and what options you have, including repayment plans and student loan consolidation.

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New York plan could cut college graduates’ debt

Posted on January 19th, 2015

We’ve written a lot about the great, affordable colleges in our home state of New York.

And beginning this year, prospective college students and graduates may have another reason to consider making a move to the Empire State: free student loan payments for two years.

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What happens if you don’t pay your student loans?

Posted on October 8th, 2014

With the national student debt topping $1 trillion, more students than ever are defaulting on their student loans.

The average student loan default rate is currently at 9.1%–that’s almost 1 in 10 borrowers.

If you have high student debt, you may be thinking, what’s the worst that can happen if you don’t pay it back?

A lot of terrible things, actually. From a severely low credit score to having your wages garnished, the consequences of defaulting on your student loans are dire.

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A breakdown of 4 student loan repayment plans

Posted on September 9th, 2014

Student loan repayment can be extremely confusing for new graduates and their parents. With so many different plans and options, it can be difficult to figure out which one is best for you.

US News recently published a helpful breakdown of the four student loan repayment plans that are income-driven, meaning that your payments are dependent on how much money you make.

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What is a student loan consultant?

Posted on August 5th, 2014

When we say we are financial aid and student loan repayment consultants, many people assume we work for a college financial aid office, bank, or other outside organization.

But our work is completely independent. As student loan repayment consultants, we work one-on-one with student loan borrowers to set up a repayment schedule that allows them to manage their debt.

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6 out of 10 college graduates unemployed or underemployed

Posted on July 8th, 2014

"Students and graduates are corralled by crippling debt into making financial decisions out of necessity rather than out of desire. They aren't purchasing homes, investing in their future or focusing on community involvement. The debt insists that they work for money, rather than for societal improvement." -- Charles Stevens

Student debt remains an enormous societal and economic problem, with the average college graduate leaving school with $29,400 in loans, according to College Access and Success. It would be one thing if these graduates were entering an economy with many high-paying jobs available, but that simply isn’t the case, Charles Stevens writes in a fantastic […]

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Class of 2014 graduates with record student loan debt

Posted on May 19th, 2014

It’s official: the class of 2014 is the most indebted college class ever.

According to an analysis by Mark Kantrowitz published in the Wall Street Journal, the average 2014 college graduate has $33,000 in student loans, the most by any previous class.

Just a year ago, we were talking about how the class of 2013 was the most indebted class ever, but, as has been the case for the past 20 years, the record has been broken by this year’s class.

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Sen. Warren: Student loan interest rates are ‘crushing’ students

Posted on May 14th, 2014

"We’ve got 40 million people across this country who are struggling with student loans, many of them at very high interest rates. They are crushing our former students, they are crushing our families, and it’s starting to create a drag on our economy." -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) says student loan interest rates are ‘crushing’ former students, and something needs to be done. She introduced a plan in March that would let student loan borrowers refinance their loans at lower interest rates. And last week, she filed the bill with the support of 27 co-sponsors. Plan would let borrowers refinance […]

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Popularity of Pay-As-You-Earn Program prompts calls for reform

Posted on May 6th, 2014

President Obama unveiled the “Pay As You Earn” program in 2011 as a way to provide relief for student loan borrowers struggling to repay their loans. For student loan borrowers with low incomes, especially those in the public sector, the income-based repayment plan helps them manage their monthly payments even without a high-paying job.

The plan capped borrowers’ payments at 10% of their discretionary income per year. After 10 years, for the unpaid balances for those working in the public sector or for nonprofits would be forgiven, while private-sector workers’ debts would be wiped after a 20-year payment period.

But the program has had an unintended consequence: the government is taking on enormous debt, while colleges continue to raise tuition, having no incentive to lower costs when the government is footing the bill.

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