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Report Reveals Issues With Private Student Loan Servicers
Tweet Share on Facebook December 19, 2012 CommentEarlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its report, "Private Student Loans," highlighting a number of issues with regard to private student loans, and concluding that federal student loans are the better choice for the vast majority of borrowers. The Student Loan Ranger agreed.
And we continue to agree, especially in light of the CFPB's Student Loan Ombudsman's more recently issued "Annual Report," which highlights issues faced by borrowers when dealing with servicers of private loans.
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Loan Repayment Plans Make Public Interest Careers Feasible
Tweet Share on Facebook December 12, 2012 CommentYour Student Loan Ranger read with concern Staci Zaretsky's article, "As Law School Costs Skyrocket, Is It Still Feasible To Pursue A Public Interest Career?," published on October 18 on Above The Law.
We don't disagree with many of the article's points—it's always been difficult to survive on a public interest salary, law school is extremely expensive, and the temptation to join "Big Law" has always been present for the small percentage of students offered those jobs.
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Examine the Scope of Student Loan Borrower Distress
Tweet Share on Facebook December 5, 2012 CommentIt's no secret that many borrowers are struggling to pay off their student loans. In the past, the Student Loan Ranger has discussed rising default rates.
The equally-telling deferment, forbearance, and delinquency rates also continue to rise, and reporting from the Chronicle of Higher Education suggests that even the new and sobering Department of Education three-year cohort default rates actually under-report the financial distress of borrowers.
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Some Employers Assist With Student Debt Payments
Tweet Share on Facebook November 28, 2012 CommentMany different voices have expressed their thoughts on whether and how to address the ever-rising student debt levels.
The Student Loan Ranger could go on about why we need relief and which solution(s) are best, but we like to keep it real here, so we'll try to stay focused on some tangible help out there for student loan borrowers.
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Examine Student Aid's Fiscal Cliff
Tweet Share on Facebook November 21, 2012 CommentMuch of the federal government's spending on student aid is highly visible and hotly debated. It comes in forms like grant aid, including the vital but always funding-challenged Pell grants, and federal work study.
Student loans are sometimes also referred to as federal student aid because provisions like fixed interest rates and in-school interest subsidies help keep down the costs of borrowing for college.
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Some Colleges Help Students Avoid, Handle Debt
Tweet Share on Facebook November 14, 2012 CommentNow that President Obama has earned reelection, the Student Loan Ranger is anxious to see if he'll be able to fulfill his promises to address colleges' soaring tuition and skyrocketing student debt balance.
For example, you may remember a promise to hold schools accountable for costs. And the Student Loan Ranger hopes the administration will require schools to adopt initiatives like the Financial Aid Shopping Sheet and College Scorecard.
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New Student Loan Repayment Option Could Help Recent Graduates
Tweet Share on Facebook November 7, 2012 CommentNovember is an anxious time for many recent graduates as grace periods end and payments come due on student loans. And last Thursday, as the month began, the Department of Education issued final rules for the new Pay As You Earn plan, giving many federal loan borrowers a new income-driven repayment option.
Income-driven repayment plans can help you avoid default by basing your payment amounts on your income. In addition to the new Pay As You Earn option, current plans for federal loans include Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), Income-Based Repayment (IBR), and Income-Sensitive Repayment. (Options for private loans will vary depending on your lender, so be sure to ask what's available.)
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As College Costs Rise, Has Competition Arrived?
Tweet Share on Facebook October 31, 2012 CommentIn last week's review of The Project on Student Debt's recent report, "Student Debt and the Class of 2011," the Student Loan Ranger briefly noted the important role of transparency regarding schools' costs and outcomes. A lack of transparency harms borrowers who have difficulty comparing colleges to assess their value and abets the continuing rise in tuition.
Greater transparency increases the competitive pressure on institutions of higher education and incentivizes them to focus on student outcomes and reduce costs.
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Student Debt Continued to Rise in 2011
Tweet Share on Facebook October 24, 2012 CommentFor seven years running, the Project on Student Debt, an initiative of The Institute for College Access and Success, has compiled its invaluable report on student debt. The most recent report, "Student Debt and the Class of 2011," was released on October 18 and, as usual, it is worth pondering. Here are a few highlights.
• Perhaps the least surprising is the fact that student debt levels continued to grow. Two thirds of college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit four year colleges in 2011 had student debt. The average debt for those with loans was $26,600, up 5 percent from the average debt for those with loans in 2010 ($25,250). This increase in one year is unsettling to the Student Loan Ranger—and about the same as it has been the last few years.
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Learn Who's Affected By Rising Student Debt
Tweet Share on Facebook October 17, 2012 CommentIf you're up on student debt news, you may have already heard that one in five households owed student debt in 2010—a new record. As noted in a recent Pew Research Center report, "[s]ince 2007, the incidence of student debt has increased in nearly every demographic and economic category, as has the size of that debt."
The Student Loan Ranger is going to focus on the greater context of student debt expansion, and what it means for you.
