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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.
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Young Americans Voice Concern Over Student Loans
Tweet Share on Facebook April 25, 2012 Comment (5)Equal Justice Works is a proud partner of Young Invincibles' Campaign for Young America, whose National Youth Bus Tour is traveling across the country to engage young adults and elevate their diverse voices in local, state, and national conversations. This week, the Student Loan Ranger presents a guest post from Young Invincibles to share some of the major issues young America is concerned with when it comes to student debt.
What are some of the words you would use to define young Americans today? Optimistic? Hopeful? Fearful? In debt?
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Declining Investment in Higher Education Hurts Students
Tweet Share on Facebook April 18, 2012 Comment (11)Last week, Rep. Virginia Foxx expressed her lack of tolerance for people with student loans. Having worked her way through school without borrowing a dime, Foxx believes there is no reason students should have large amounts of student debt.
The Student Loan Ranger knows not everyone understands why most students today must borrow, so we'd like to share some information that may help.
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Lack of Information Can Be Devastating to Student Loan Borrowers
Tweet Share on Facebook April 11, 2012 Comment (8)Last week, we wrote about the proposed Know Before You Owe Act of 2012. This week, we want to emphasize its importance by sharing some real-life consequences that can result when borrowers don't have vital information before they sign on the dotted line. (We apologize for the solemnity, but thinking about the effects of these consequences has made your Student Loan Ranger a bit somber.)
Recently, Young Invincibles and NERA Economic Consulting released findings from High Debt, Low Information: A Survey of Student Loan Borrowers, in which thousands of high debt student borrowers shared their experiences, including what they did not know when deciding to borrow, factors that influenced their decision making, and their sources of information.
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Private Student Loans Examined in New Senate Legislation
Tweet Share on Facebook April 4, 2012 Comment (6)On March 29, Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced the Know Before You Owe Act of 2012. The senators wrote the legislation in order address the fact that, as Durbin's press release states, "two-thirds of private student loan borrowers were not aware of the dramatic difference between federal student loans and risky, higher-interest, private student loans" and "[i]n many instances students have not applied for federal aid before they apply for private student loans or have not exhausted their federal aid options."
As regular readers know, the Student Loan Ranger is a big supporter of maximizing your federal loans before taking out private loans. There are a wide range of reasons, including the fact that federal loans contain important borrower protections that can help you afford your monthly payments and avoid default.
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Looming Student Debt Crisis Hits the Senate
Tweet Share on Facebook March 28, 2012 Comment (16)On March 20, your Student Loan Ranger attended "The Looming Student Debt Crisis: Providing Fairness For Struggling Students," a Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts hearing. (You can watch a video of the hearing, and we'll give a prize to the first person who sends us a frame showing the Student Loan Ranger in the audience!)
Obviously, that is right up our alley. And the fact that Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) convened the hearing, even though he's not a member of the Subcommittee, piqued our interest, because Durbin is the sponsor of the Fairness for Struggling Students Act of 2011, which would restore the ability to discharge commercial student loans in bankruptcy proceedings.
