However, they provide no evidence that schools are planning to do this, and the Student Loan Ranger finds it far-fetched that schools would embrace such a logistically difficult and ethically and legally questionable scheme or that the Department of Education would allow them to do so. [Learn which law degrees have the best return on investment .] Based on these arguments, the authors propose capping Public Service Loan Forgiveness at $30,000 and instituting an aggregate limit of $75,000 for all federal loans. Capping Public Service Loan Forgiveness a broad-based program that is available to anyone, not just lawyers or graduate and professional students, willing to commit to a long-term public interest career would limit the ability of millions of middle- and lower-class students to dedicate their lives to public service. Limiting the availability of federal loans would force these students to rely on private student loans, which lack vital borrower protections and are the equivalent, as the Student Loan Ranger sees it, of paying for a higher education on a credit card. Isaac Bowers is a senior program manager in the Communications and Outreach unit, responsible for Equal Justice Works’s educational debt relief initiatives.
Source: http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/student-loan-ranger/2013/08/21/understand-calls-for-loan-repayment-reform
Government Switches Student Loan Servicers: What You Need to Know
Its counterproductive and ultimately not student-friendly to indenture the Dreamers to further debt and financial uncertainty; there’s a reason they are actively seeking financial assistance in the first place. They [the Dreamers] have already spent good money on their education and training and they should be empowered to use those skills to further their careers and better their lives, says Founder Casey Wallace. But Piglt is not just for individual Dreamers and Believers. Educational institutions and organizations (both for- and non-profit) can use Piglt as well. There are so many wonderful educational organizations that are unfortunately very underfunded, lacking alumni participation, http://www.obamastudentloanforgiveness.net and in of need assistance; from elementary school and beyond. Weve created the perfect solution to help anyone fundraise, build community, and improve the lives of people everywhere, says Founder Vidya Chokkalingam. If youre looking for the best and easiest way to raise money for your present or past education, network with members from your alma mater, or are looking for find qualified candidates with specific skills, Piglt is the answer.
Source: http://www.seattlepi.com/business/press-releases/article/Solving-the-Student-Loan-Crisis-Piglt-Campaigns-4752997.php
Solving the Student Loan Crisis – Piglt Campaigns are Live
If your reduced payment under IBR does not cover the interest on your loans, the government will pay that interest on your Subsidized Stafford Loans during your first three years in IBR. … A partial financial hardship is when the 10-year standard monthly payment on what you owed when you first entered repayment is more than 15% of discretionary income. You must have a partial financial hardship to be eligible for IBR. …
Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/08/the-white-house-wants-to-help-you-make-smaller-student-loan-payments/278948/
Student Loan Alliance (SLA) Partners with MortgageKeeper Referral Services to Provide Broad Resources to Distressed Borrowers
The MortgageKeeper platform puts these resources within reach for our counselors to provide comprehensive solutions and directly provide borrowers easy access. More information about the Student Loan Alliance can be found at http://www.studentloanalliance.org . About the Student Loan Alliance The Student Loan Alliance (SLA) is a nonprofit organization focused on developing long-term solutions to address the student loan crisis with a key focus on leveraging independent nonprofit counselors as trusted advisors. Alliance members deliver efficient counseling and timely assistance by implementing best in class systems and processes. The student loan crisis affects many households across the country and SLA is committed to addressing the crisis by promoting partnership, developing effective outreach and awareness campaigns, and providing streamlined education and counseling. About MortgageKeeper Referral Services: MortgageKeeper Referral Services is the only platform dedicated to connecting consumers to best-in-class local resources. Trusted by top servicers and housing counseling agencies, our applications power more than 3,500 referrals a day in 160 markets throughout the United States.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/press-releases/article/Student-Loan-Alliance-SLA-Partners-with-4750970.php
The White House Wants to Help You Make Smaller Student-Loan Payments
“Borrowers aren’t being notified until the transfer is just about to happen or has already happened. That can be really scary for borrowers.” How to Prepare for the Move Though the Education Department hopes the transition will go smoothly, as stated in the announcements, those with student loans may want to take a proactive approach to the changes. “People need to be careful and make sure everything transfers correctly,” said Heather Jarvis, a student loan expert. Jarvis said past transfers have yielded numerous reports of errors. “Whether or not their loans are transferred, people should periodically check that their loan servicers’ records reflect what they expect.” Many services, like automatic payments and correspondence preferences, will not carry over to the new servicer.
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/government-switch-student-loan-servicers/story?id=19975798
Obama tackles student loan crisis
Obama, in his shiny armoured bus, set off on a two-day tour of gritty upstate New York and Pennsylvania, trumpeting economic themes that helped him win re-election last year. The president announced what his aides billed as an ambitious plan to tackle often astronomical costs for college tuition, which are outpacing many families. He proposed measuring college performance through a new ratings system that would help prospective students decide which schools provide the best value. He called on Congress to tie federal student financial aid to those colleges which provide the best bang for buck. The ratings, which Obama wants to be in place for the 2015 school year, would calculate ratings on criteria including access, affordability of tuition, the amount of loan debt of students and graduation rates and graduate earnings. Obama said that a higher education remained the best ticket to upward mobility in America. But he warned that soaring cost of college in some cases up 250 per cent for a four-year course over the last three decades was pricing many families out.
Source: http://news.in.msn.com/international/obama-tackles-student-loan-crisis
The hidden truth about student loans
Even a very high default rate may not dissuade the government from continuing to make mountains of credit available to naive young people. If the DOE had any skin in the game, says [StudentLoanJustice.org Founder Alan] Collinge, if they actually saw significant loss from defaulted loans, they would years ago have said, Whoa, we need to freeze lending, or, We need to kick 100 schools out of the lending program. Turning down the credit spigot would force schools to compete by bringing prices down. It would help to weed out crappy schools that hawked worthless degrees in bullshit. It would also force prospective students to meet higher standards not just anyone would get student loans, which is maybe the way it should be. Much like the Affordable Care Act and the attempt at fixing healthcare, Obamas new proposals are barely even a stopgap compared with the enormous tidal wave of unsustainable debt young Americans are accumulating. Even if fully enacted, this would only be the tiniest first step down a very long road but if we want to fix the student loan crisis before it imperils the entire American economy, we need to introduce greater transparency and accountability to our unconscionably expensive (and secretive) university system.
Source: http://www.salon.com/2013/08/23/the_hidden_truth_about_student_loans/
Life With Monkeys 