If you are thinking about enrolling in a pricey Ivy League graduate program, read a recent Wall Street Journal article titled “Financially Hobbled for Life’: The Elite Master’s Degrees That Don’t Pay Off.” Reporters Melissa Korn and Andrea Fuller report on a WSJ analysis of student debt owed by people who graduated from prestigious schools … Read more
People are getting all sorts of emotionally tied up in the discussions about student loan forgiveness. But what many might be missing is just how insane the student loan debt has become. Take the situation that Lauren Schreiber is facing. She now has $581,000 in federal student loans that were easy to get and the … Read more
Secretary of Education Betsy Devos hired McKinsey & Company, a global consulting firm, to audit the federal student loan program. Why did she do that? After all, the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accountability Office or the Inspector General could have done the job. Why hire a private firm? I’m thinking Secretary DeVos and the … Read more
Over the years people have confided in me about all sorts of things they have done to try and knock out their student loans. However, most of those things have involved more sex than smuggling or robbery. More than one person has told me they became an escort or considering that path. To help pay … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, So, in 2016 I took out my first student loan! Only thing is, I was also unable to have my own bank account because I was “unable to sort my money the right way”. My stepmother at the time did a jointed bank account but when I protested to have my own … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, Graduated with BA in American History from the University of Hartford in 2012 with 138k in loans, both private and federal. Paying approx $1300 per month since I graduated. I’ve done everything I was told/am supposed to do and have paid approx 84k and my loans have only gone down to about … Read more
It can come as no surprise the financial problems is a major cause of divorce. A marital split is an understandable outcome from substantial relationship pressure. CNBC is reporting 1 in 8 divorces are caused by student loan debt, “13 percent of divorcees blame student loans specifically for ending their relationship, the report found. Student … Read more
Willy Walker is the chief executive officer with the commercial financing and invest group Walker & Donlop. A recent interview with him by the Commercial Observer is just his opinion but it shows a different point of view on who is to blame for student loan debt. He also lays out who is going to … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, About 5 year ago I applied for College straight out of high school. I worked from 9am to 5pm, then attend school from 5pm to 10pm. While also begin a mother to a one year old boy. It was not long at all before all that hard work became too overwhelming, and … Read more
A few months ago, Steve Rhode posted a thought-provoking blog titled “The Student Loan Bubble That Many Don’t Want to See.” He argued that student-loan indebtedness is in a bubble that will soon burst, creating two huge problems: First, when the student-loan market collapses, postsecondary education will be out of reach for most people, which … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I have a student loan that has more than doubled in size, from 45,000.00 to now 98,000.00. My dad and I have tried to pay this off 3 times with no luck. I am in default on this loan and would be happy to pay a portion of this loan. I am … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, My husband had a student loan in 98 we filed bankruptcy and it was just over from 5 years ago now they are garnishing his pay 15%. The school closed 2 years after he took out this loan. They took his taxes how do we get copies from back in 98-2001? How … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I am 26 with a daughter and a wife and a LOT of student loan debt. I have been paying my private loans on time and am up to date there but until just recently, I was unaware I had a federal loan in default that I was not paying. I failed … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, I have taken out loans to pay for college. Several of them are from Sallie Mae, which is now Navient. Over the past 20 months, I have been unemployed for 14 of them. I was initially laid off in Sept of 2014, and again in Oct of 2015 my 6 month contract … Read more
By Mark Tetzlaff, JD, MBA, MAR Everyone agrees that student loan debt is spiraling out of control. Analysts cite many reasons, but offer few remedies. In my view, the reason for no offers of plausible solutions is that experts have failed to pinpoint the primary cause—Congress passing the Higher Education Amendments of 1992 (HEA-92) and … Read more