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Consider AmeriCorps to Gain Job Skills, Education Funds
Tweet Share on Facebook August 31, 2011 Comment (1)If you are an avid reader of the Student Loan Ranger blog, you have probably heard about the tough job market, the debt ceiling deal that will cut critical funding to the most vulnerable populations, and let's not forget the seemingly insurmountable student debt crisis. Americans feel they must go to school longer and accrue more student debt just to have a chance at fewer available jobs with diminishing benefits.
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ABA Addresses Law Graduates' Job, Debt Woes
Tweet Share on Facebook August 24, 2011 Comment (6)I love being a lawyer, but I took on too much debt. It changes how many children I'll have. It's impacted the kind of law I've practiced."
—Keri-Ann Baker
Member, American Bar Association's young lawyers divisionThe American Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division, "the home for young lawyers," proposed Resolutions 111A and 111B at the ABA's recent 2011 annual meeting in Toronto to address problems facing recent graduates of law school and potential law students: debilitating amounts of educational debt and the lack of accurate information on job prospects.
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Experts Consider Impact of Changes to Federal Loans on Student Debt
Tweet Share on Facebook August 17, 2011 Comment (8)With an increasing number of graduates unable to repay their educational loans and total educational debt expected to top $1 trillion this year, commentary is being proffered from all sides on how to address this growing national problem.
Some (such as this commentator) are calling for a reduction in the federal student loan program to decrease the nation's educational debt. The reasoning: with fewer low-interest loans available from the federal government, students would have to choose lower-cost alternatives and would be in a better position in the long term. And, they argue, this reduction in available federal loans may also cause colleges to reduce their costs of attendance.
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Make Sense of the Debt Ceiling Jabberwocky
Tweet Share on Facebook August 10, 2011 Comment (3)Democrats and Republicans, doubtless tired of gyring and gimbling in the wabe (to borrow language from the Lewis Carroll poem "Jabberwocky"), have reached an agreement to raise the debt ceiling. At the same time, state budgets across the nation remain in dire shape and the increased federal aid of the last two years has almost completely evaporated. What does this debt ceiling jabberwocky mean for higher education? The Student Loan Ranger will do its best to sum it all up.
First: Pell grants. As our friends at Higher Ed Watch reported, Pell grants are enjoying a temporary and tenuous reprieve. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (be sure to bring your vorpal sword because it's heavy going among those legislative borogoves) adds $17 billion for Pell grants that is spread between fiscal years 2012 and 2013. These funds will help replace funding sources (such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and 2010s student loan reform bill) that will run out at the end of fiscal year 2011.
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The Student Loan Ranger's Mailbag Express: PSLF
Tweet Share on Facebook August 3, 2011 Comment (2)The dog days of summer have hit hard. Hopefully you have a place to cool off.
In this month's Mailbag Express, we have many questions about Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). 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.
