Category Archives: Student Loan Related

Nonprofit Student Loan Debt Collector Makes About Half a Million: Bloomberg Businessweek is reporting that Educational Credit Management Corporation, an IRS educational charitable nonprofit group, paid Joshua Mandelman, a student loan debt collector for ECMC, nearly $500,000 in a single year. ECMC’s debt collectors earn bonuses as a reward for extracting money from defaulted borrowers. In 2010, the bonuses for top performers amounted to as [...]
Student Loans Today are Akin to Debt Slavery. It’s Real and a Life Killer.: I grew up in an era where we were taught to go to college and get a degree. You would better your life I was told. That was the 1970s. At that time the majority of my peers were headed off to college and the majority would graduate without student loan debt. They had a [...]
Student Loans Getting Shuffled All Over. Leaves Many Confused.: by Marian Wang ProPublica The Department of Education has been transferring large batches of federal student loans to new loan-servicing companies — leaving in the lurch some borrowers who are suddenly encountering problems with their loans, such as payments that are mysteriously adjusted up or down. The switch, which has been going on for months [...]
CFPB Rolls Out Beta Version of Cost of College Tool – Cool!: The Consumer Financial Protection bureau has just announced a beta version of a new tool they’ve been working on to help inform people about the costs of college in order to make better decisions. For a first pass it’s pretty cool. It allows you to enter up to three school names in the tool and [...]
Student Loan Infographic: Feel free to copy this info graphic and place it on your site. @GetOutOfDebtGuy
One of Every Four Student Loans is in Default. National Economic Crisis Boiling.: For many, many years now I’ve been the chicken little saying the sky is falling when it comes to student loan debt. Ever since the bankruptcy code was changed to prohibit the discharge of student loan debt, both government and private student loans, a national crisis has been building pressure. Student loans are looked at [...]
My College Won’t Release My Transcript Because They Claim I Owe Them Money. – Reshene: My college won’t release my transcript or transfer my credits to a community college because they claim i owe them $950. This is untrue because I paid for semester that i did not get to attend because i was on sick leave and i was turned down for more student loans and couldn’t get a [...]
Do Military Veterans on GI Bill Deserve to be Treated Fairly by For-Profit Colleges?: Student loans are tough enough to deal with but it appears for-profit colleges are intentionally targeting military veterans eligible for the GI Bill. Students are winding up deep in debt at the more expensive for-profit college with no degree or a degree worth little. Some experts interviewed in the broadcast said that online degrees are [...]
Student Loan Public Service Loan Forgiveness – New Forms and Documentation Released: The Department of Education has released new forms and documentation to assist government backed student loan holders with getting their loans discharged through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The new documents include updated information on eligible loans: Any non-defaulted loan made under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loan Program) [...]
Bankruptcy Attorneys Report Major Problems Brewing for Holders of Student Loan Debt: The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys conducted a survey of its members. Of the 860 bankruptcy attorneys that participated in the survey, 81 percent said potential clients with student loan debt have increased “significantly” or “somewhat” in the last three-four years. Nearly two out of five of bankruptcy attorneys (39 percent) have seen potential [...]
Private Student Loan Help Needed. Pass the Fairness for Struggling Students Act.: Rachel just sent in a question for me to answer about the hopelessness of private student loan debt. The tragedy of private student loan bondage is one that will sacrifice a generation of hardworking citizens under the hopelessness of private student loan debt if solutions are not made available. Unlike government backed student loans, private [...]
CFPB Gets an Earful of Good Suggestions About Student Loan Disclosures: Recently the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) requested feedback from consumers about student loan issues. Advanced results and feedback on the survey are now available. The focus of the CFPB effort is to make information more available to students and potential students so they can make the best and most informed decision possible before falling [...]
Student Loan Forgiveness or Discharge Can Create a Huge Tax Bill. Watch Out!: If you are one of the lucky few who have qualified for a discharge or cancellation of your student loan debt, you may be shocked to learn the debt may not be over with just yet. A reader brought to my attention that the forgiveness of student loan debt, even under a disability discharge, can [...]
Interest Rates on Federal Student Loans to Double: Photo Credit: Bark Interest rates on federal student loans will double unless Congress takes action by this summer to keep the low rates in place. Currently federal student loans pay 3.4% interest but that rate is set to expire this summer. So unless Congress takes action to keep the rates low they will revert back [...]
Student Loans: Necessary for a College Degree?: Student Loans-Rising Costs of College Tuition the Culprit? How much does college tuition cost? Without considering the cost of room and board, here are some average tuition costs. Public four-year colleges charge, on average, $7,020 per year in tuition and fees for students who live in their state. The average surcharge for full-time out-of-state students [...]