Student Loans : News, Updates and Blog Posts

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.

Many FAFSA deadlines have come and gone. While there is still time to file (the federal deadline is not until June 30th) many state and college deadlines are quickly approaching.

For states like Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland and Michigan, the deadlines have passed. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t file, it’s just that you may be out of the running for any state and local grant/scholarship programs. For the full list of state deadlines, visit FAFSAOnline.com.

For those of you who haven’t filed, make sure you do and soon! The earlier you file, the better chance you have at receiving state, school, and local aid. If you’re waiting until taxes are filed, you don’t have to. File your FAFSA with estimated numbers based on last year, or select “will file”. This way, you can get your FAFSA filed on time, and simply file a FAFSA correction when you’re ready.

So find your FAFSA deadlines before it’s too late!

Student loans can be a crucial part of paying for college, but don’t forget there are other options that should be exhausted first- like scholarships. Many students know they should apply for scholarships, but either don’t have the time or get frustrated when they don’t win. We want to help, because let’s face it, free money for college is better than high-interest money for college.

StudentScholarshipSearch.com has developed an awesome infographic to help students win money: The Top 5 Scholarship Application Mistakes. Learn about some of the most common reasons why students are unable to snag a scholarship, and what you can do to turn your luck around.

While you may not win all of the scholarships you apply for, hopefully the tips from this infographic will get you on your way! And remember, apply apply apply!

We’re in the midst of FAFSA season, and while some of you early birds may have already filed and gotten your Student Aid Report, there’s still plenty of time to file before the federal FAFSA deadline of June 30th.

So if you procrastinate like I do, and have not filed your FAFSA yet, this tutorial may be a great asset for you. UC Santa Barbara developed this great video series to help students answer the FAFSA questions that might not be so straight forward. Take a look, and make sure to get your FAFSA filed before your state or school deadlines!

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.
(more…)

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.

In a recent State of the Union Address, President Obama mentioned a Special Direct Consolidation Loan available to some borrowers with federal loans. This loan is not your typical Direct Consolidation Loan, and is only available for a brief period this year. This is a great opportunity for borrowers with the old, FFEL loans, as it will make managing repayment a much simpler task. Let’s take a look at how this loan works.

Background

First, let’s understand a little bit about historical student loans. Before Direct Loans came into play, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program included four types of loans: Stafford, Unsubsidized Stafford, PLUS, and Consolidation. These loans, while still federally guaranteed loans, were made by private lenders and serviced privately. Now under the Direct Loan Program, federal loans are funded directly through the government (though there are four companies who service the loan on behalf of the Dept. of Education).
(more…)

With all of the recent changes made by the Department of Education, the FAFSA has gotten easier for families to file. Having said that, there are still some questions that remain difficult to answer for many students.

One question I see a lot from dependent students is “whose information do I use for the FAFSA?” With all of the different family situations out there, it can be difficult to tell who the FAFSA considers a parent, and unfortunately, it’s not always who claims you as a dependent on taxes! If you’re not sure whose financial information to enter on your FAFSA, take a look at this flow chart to help you determine the answer!
(more…)

Happy February! While we still have to wait one more day to find out if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, you do not have to wait any longer to use FAFSA’s IRS Data Retrieval option! Starting today, February 1, students and parents who have filed their taxes can pull this information directly into their FAFSA.

In the past, filling out the financial information on the FAFSA has been a hassle since parents and students had to manually enter all of the information. Plus, this information would then need to be cross-referenced with the IRS by the financial aid office. This new IRS data retrieval option takes the some of the burden off of the families, allowing for an easy way to fill out the FAFSA.

If you haven’t filed your taxes yet for the year, no worries. You can select the “Will File” option, then when your taxes have been filed, log back into your FAFSA and update using the IRS Data Retrieval tool. To learn more about the IRS Data Retrieval option read, “IRS Data Retrieval Tool for FAFSA”

Remember, if you haven’t filed your FAFSA yet, get started! The earlier you apply the more likely you are to receive certain types of aid! If you need help, make sure to download our free FAFSA Guide ebook, or head on over to FAFSAOnline.com for step by step instructions to this year’s form!

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

(more…)