Student Loans : News, Updates and Blog Posts

On Tuesday, the Senate voted on the future of Stafford Loan interest rates. The rates for subsidized loans are currently at 3.4%, but without action from the government, will jump to 6.8% come July 1, 2012. A majority of 60 votes were needed to pass the bill which would lower these rates, unfortunately, the votes were split 52/45.

The issue between parties is not lower interest rates — most are in agreement that they should be lowered — it’s the how that’s keeping the bill from passing. The bill, written by the Democrats, attempts to close a tax loophole for high-salary workers in order to fund one more year of low-interest loans. However, the Republicans rather see this money come from elsewhere.

With both parties locked in a stalemate, it’s unclear how this issue will be resolved, but to learn more about the bill, check out this recent article from The New York Times.

I’m pretty sure the title of this post just about says everything I need to say about the following video. Obama + Student loans + music + Jimmy Fallon = Magic. Pure magic. Oh, and what’s even better? It’s actually informative if you want to know more about what’s happening in the world of Stafford Loans right now.

Well done Sirs, well done.

You may have noticed in the news recently, student loan interest rates have been getting a lot of attention. On July 1, 2012, the interest rates of Subsidized Stafford loans are set to climb back up to 6.8%. Here’s why:

In 2007, congress passed a bill, lowering these interest rates for the next few years. Unfortunately, this bill will expire after June 31, and rates will go from 3.4% to 6.8% once again. Congress is now looking for ways to keep this interest rate hike from happening, though nothing solid has happened as of yet.

Last week, Obama spoke out about this issue and what he wants to see happen. Check out the video below to learn more.

If you have had any issues with your federal student loans, you may be familiar with the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman office. This office is responsible for mediating issues with your federal student loans or financial aid office. Students weren’t lucky enough to have this luxury for private student loans, that is, until now.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created a private student loan Ombudsman office to handle consumer complaints with loan lenders, servicers, and collectors.

What does it really mean for you, the borrower? Well, for starters, a single federal agency is now responsible for overseeing private student loans, which will hopefully provide easy answers to families seeking assistance. This new office will allow families to file complaints, at which point the office will contact the loan lender to help resolve any issues. These could be issues such as you were billed while loans were in deferment, or your payments were not applies as specified. The CFPB will now be able to help resolve loan repayment issues between you and your private loan lender.

While this office does handle complaints, they are also available to answer questions you may have about borrowing a private student loan. For more information or to submit a complaint or question, visit http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/ or call 1-855-411-CFPB.

According to the Gallup poll, the U.S. unemployment rate sits at 8.6% with underemployment (those working part-time but who want to work full-time) at 18.1%. Are you a recent or soon-to-be college graduate? Do you worry about unemployment and whether your skills will land you the job you’ve hoped for (or the job you trained for)? Are you or your friends blaming the economy for the fact that the job market looks scarce for recent grads?

Recent bachelor’s undergraduates have an unemployment rate of 8.9% while those with only a high school diploma have a unemployment rate of 22.9%, and high school dropouts are at 31.5%, so a degree is some comfort in this market. What are you going to do about it?

Well you could chalk it up to the economy, the fact that big businesses made bad decisions before you even graduated, and now you can’t get a job. OR you could show potential employers that you are action-oriented, and that you not only want to work, but you want to find your passion through said work. Sounds nice right? But how do you do that?

There are several different paths one could take to evaluate their potential job prospects while still in, or just out of school.
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This morning, President Obama spoke at Northern Virginia Community College, addressing students in the school’s Automotive Technology program. The 12 minute speech highlighted initiatives that would provide students with better opportunities to gain the necessary skills for employment. The hope is that community colleges would produced skilled workers to fill the many manufacturing and technology industry job vacancies, in order to get Americans back to work and stimulate the economy. Sound interesting? Watch the full speech below.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a federal program that rewards public service employees for working in their chosen professions. As you might suspect, the reward is forgiveness of your student loan balance, an offer that many seek but few are able to take advantage of.

The Department of Education has recently made improvements to the PSLF process. While the requirements remain the same, they are more clear, and there’s a variety of new documentation to help get you through the application process.

If you’re not familiar with Public Service Loan Forgiveness here’s a brief overview:

Who is it for?

Employees who have worked for a qualifying public service organization for a minimum of 10 years. This does not mean your specific role at the organization needs to qualify, you simply must work for a qualifying organization.

Qualifying organizations include:

• Federal, state, or local government organizations/agencies
• Non-Profit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501©(3) of the IRS guidelines

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Misty makes some excellent points in this video, especially for families who are applying for financial aid for the first time. She mentions that the FAFSA is free, and we can’t stress this enough! For families who have questions about the FAFSA, feel free to pose a question to the financial aid experts at FinancialAidForum.com, or check out some of the other common questions from families.
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The Department of Education has been making great strides in streamlining the often-confusing online FAFSA form. This year, students and parents should find it much easier to navigate through the process, as well as collect the information necessary to file the form.

Here’s what you can expect to find in the improved 2012-2013 FAFSA:

• Easier online navigation- The sections and questions have been reordered to make it easier to navigate. This best part of this is that the system now knows where you left off, so if you fill out the form over a few sessions, there’s no more searching for your next steps. Plus, it’s “skip logic” has been improved. This means that the system will eliminate unnecessary questions based on what you’ve already answered, making less work for you!

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This past Monday, President Obama held a roundtable to discuss the college affordability crisis. Attendees included Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and a dozen leaders in higher education from college presidents, to nonprofit heads. The list of attendees is noteworthy, because everyone in attendance has already made strides in making a college degree affordable and attainable for students.

For example, Dr. Robert Mendenhall, President of Western Governor’s University, was one of the presidents in attendance and has helped develop a tuition model unlike most others. Instead of charging tuition per credit, WGU charges a flat rate tuition for a six-month period. Here’s how WGU describes their tuition and costs:

“WGU treats all students as “full-time” and charges tuition at a flat rate regardless of the number of competency units (credit equivalents) attempted or completed by the student. The “standard term” is based upon a full-time enrollment of at least 12 competency units for undergraduate (bachelor’s) students and 8 competency units for graduate (master’s) students. Students who complete more or fewer units are charged the same tuition rates”

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