In Goodvin v. Educational Credit Management Corporation, Judge Dale Somers, a Kansas bankruptcy judge, began his opinion with these words: “This student loan case fits the definition of insanity.” Judge Somers went on to chronicle the story of Jeffrey Goodvin. Mr. Goodvin attended Wichita State University for four years (1982-1986) but did not obtain a … Read more
In 2019, a group of student-loan debtors filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Claiming to represent more than 100,000 student-loan borrowers, the plaintiffs accused DOE of issuing “blanket refusal[s]” when students tried to have their student loans forgiven based on claims they had been defrauded by the … Read more
Everyone knows the story about the hapless motorist who gets lost in rural Maine. When he finds a farmer and asks for directions, the farmer says, “You can’t get there from here.” The U.S. Department of Education must be staffed by Maine farmers. DOE has made it almost impossible for student-loan debtors to benefit from … Read more
Top Democrats, led by Senators Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren, are calling on President Joe Biden to forgive student-loan debt up to $50,000 per person. According to the plan’s proponents, $50,000 in debt relief would wipe out all college-loan debt for 36 million Americans. That would be an impressive achievement. Moreover, forgiving $50,000 in student … Read more
There is a terrific article on Market Watch on efforts to cancel student loan debt. As a consumer debt expert that regularly studies the impact of debt and human lives, I can clearly see the importance of tackling the systemic problems that have been created through all student loans, both private and federal. This is … Read more
It took a long time but Navient is finally going to have to pay back money from activities with the Federal Family Educational Loan (FFEL) Program. I’m not sure if you want to call this justice or not but it took about a decade to reach the decision and demand that Navient needs to repay … Read more
Our government’s Parent PLUS Program is an insidious scheme to lure low-income parents into taking out student loans so their kids can go to colleges they can’t afford. Insider Higher Ed’s Kery Murakami tells the story of Ewan Johnson, whose mother owes $150,000 in Parent PLUS loans–money she borrowed so her son could get a … Read more
Question: I am currently pursuing an adversary proceeding on student loans against the DOE, and Navient. I am a single father, and it appears they will argue at trial that they are entitled to my tax returns to use to pay towards my student loans. Do you know of any case law that says a … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, Navient holds my 6 figures of student loans, that continue to get deferred and accrue ridiculous amounts of interest. The minimum payment is not affordable for me and has never been. I worked for several years as a teacher hoping to take advantage of the teacher loan forgiveness program only to be … Read more
I read an interesting question and answer about President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. The person asked a very good question. They said, “I paid off my student loan in 2020. What happens if the Biden Administration passes student loan forgiveness? The answers given seemed to really miss the mark so I thought I’d help … Read more
President Biden entered office and immediately extended the federal student loan payment holiday to help struggling debts. The suspension is extended through at least September 30, 2021. And while this is a help for people struggling, this is also a great time to pay as much as you can towards your federal student loans. Every … Read more
Seth Koeut was born in Cambodia and came to the United States as a child. Like many immigrants, he applied himself energetically to obtain a better life. He graduated 6th in his high school class and went on to earn two bachelor’s degrees from Duke University. Mr. Koeut then went to medical school and received … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I am a student loan holder, in re-payment since 2005. My loans were Federal Direct Subsidized Student Loans that were consolidated, and are currently owned by Deutsche Bank (serviced by Navient). This may be of interest to your readers. There have been various conversations around student-loan forgiveness. From what I have heard … Read more
I just read a great post that describes how college students can get additional financial aid if they need it. This article mentions a website that can help create a letter to your college to receive additional financial aid. The SwiftStudent website can assist anyone to write a financial aid appeal letter for free. It … Read more
Even a blind acorn finds a pig occasionally, and Betsy DeVos’s Department of Education finally found a piggy: Grand Canyon University (GCU), which operated as a for-profit institution until 2018. Last year, DOE rejected GCU’s application for non-profit status. This surprised most people because Betsy DeVos is famous for coddling the for-profit college industry. Not … Read more