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The Student Loan Ranger's Mailbag Express: Consolidation and Repayment
Tweet Share on Facebook June 29, 2011 Comment (3)Another month, another payment closer to loan forgiveness for the Student Loan Ranger. That's right: We don't just talk the talk; we walk the walk and we pay the debt.
Onto the Mailbag Express: As always, our responses are not meant to provide specific legal or financial advice. Your situation is unique, and we encourage you to reflect carefully on your options and to consult a financial adviser.
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Congress Proposes Relief for Student Loan Borrowers
Tweet Share on Facebook June 22, 2011 Comment (74)As college costs continue to rise, and in an economic climate where family incomes are suffering, more and more students must borrow in order to gain access to higher education. The result is that an increasing number of graduates find themselves saddled with high educational debt. As we previously reported, the Project on Student Debt estimates the average debt for 2009 bachelor’s degree recipients at $24,000. Students with advanced degrees may carry an even heavier burden.
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Consider 529 Plans for College Savings
Tweet Share on Facebook June 15, 2011 Comment (1)Is there anything you can do as a parent if you want to help your children graduate from college without a huge debt burden? Yes—with a bit of planning.
One option is a 529 plan (named for Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code that authorized them) which provides tax benefits in order to encourage saving for future college costs. They are sponsored by states, state agencies, and educational institutions and come in two types: prepaid tuition plans and college savings plans.
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Law Students Can Find Ways to Pay Off Debt
Tweet Share on Facebook June 8, 2011 Comment (3)It's a tough time economically. Unemployment remains high, which means states face seemingly never ending shortfalls in revenue. The showdown between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill over how to deal with the massive federal deficit continues. Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives recently set spending limits for the Appropriations subcommittee on labor, health and human services, and education at nearly $42 billion less than President Obama proposed in his fiscal year 2012 budget requests.
While the form those proposed cuts will take is currently unknown, it is anticipated that widely utilized educational grant programs—Pell Grants, in particular—will face cuts. And popular loan repayment programs, such as the Civil Legal Assistance Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program (CLAARP), designed to help civil legal assistance attorneys, have already been defunded.
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The Student Loan Ranger's Mailbag Express: Forgiveness and Repayment
Tweet Share on Facebook June 1, 2011 Comment (7)The Student Loan Ranger would like to give a special shout out to all you new graduates!
As you know, we dedicate a blog post each month to questions we have received in order to shed some light on the educational debt decisions our readers face. This month, we are going to look at some slightly technical (but oft asked) questions regarding Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
