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Would the Student Loan Forgiveness Act Help You?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 30, 2012 CommentWith total student debt at $1 trillion and rising, the Student Loan Ranger is not surprised at the popularity of our post on the Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012.
We'd like to address some prevalent themes from comments we've received and, since the act has not yet passed, we also want to share information on currently available relief.
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As Student Loan Default Rates Rise, Is the Law School Bubble Bursting?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 23, 2012 CommentHere at the Student Loan Ranger, we recently read about Educational Credit Management, a Minnesota nonprofit that is earning commissions of up to 31 percent for collecting on defaulted student loans. Seven of their employees earned more than $400,000 in 2010, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Ironically, we just got an E-mail from a woman who defaulted on her federal student loans and is struggling to rehabilitate them. Like so many borrowers we talk to, she genuinely wants to pay back her student loans but is struggling to do s.
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Grads Have Options to Manage Student Loan Debt
Tweet Share on Facebook May 16, 2012 Comment (5)Families, friends, and colleges across the country have come together in recent weeks to celebrate the accomplishments of the class of 2012. And even as they cross the threshold and flip their tassels, many new graduates are preparing to undertake new hardships to manage student debt payments.
It seems these days we can't think of accomplishments like graduation without thinking of student debt. Last weekend's newspapers seemed to abound with articles on students' crippling debt and the resounding effects of student debt long after graduation. The New York Times even devoted its Room for Debate forum to the topic, Easing the Pain of Student Loans.
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Colleges Can Reduce Risky Private Student Loan Borrowing, Study Shows
Tweet Share on Facebook May 9, 2012 Comment (5)Your Student Loan Ranger has been talking quite a bit recently about the importance of disclosing information to student loan borrowers. Last week, we discussed how the focus on the interest rate increase on subsidized Stafford loans—which we don't favor—can obscure systemic problems such as reporting requirements designed to provide consumer information that aren't working well.
Earlier, we voiced our support for Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) proposed Know Before You Owe Act that would help ensure that borrowers are informed of the advantages of federal loans over private loans.
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Obama's Slow Jam Obscures Student Loan Problems
Tweet Share on Facebook May 2, 2012 Comment (3)One item that's been getting a lot of press attention lately is the interest rate increase on subsidized Stafford loans from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, scheduled to take place on July 1. The increase would raise the cost of repayment by an average of $1,000 each for around seven million undergraduates.
[Find out more about Stafford loans for graduate students.]
Despite the fact that the parties differ on how to pay for it—the Republicans will make cuts to a public health prevention fund, according to Politico, while Democrats in the Senate will consider options like closing corporate tax loopholes—the Student Loan Ranger is hopeful that a deal will get done and the interest rates won't be raised. We'll credit President Obama's slow jam with Jimmy Fallon in helping to close the deal.
