I’m often asked about the long term effects on our culture from the huge student loan scam. I don’t have a crystal ball, so I have only conjecture, but a recent article from Buzzfeed (bear with me, I’ll be making corrections) tries to address this problem: Jen’s story is like a lot of people’s stories. […] … learn more→
Tag Archives: student loans
Student loans warping society
Losing your job to student debt
Government stupidity clearly knows no bounds. We have tens of millions of people now with student loan debt, a debt which is often too large to pay back thanks to government interference, and cannot be cleared via bankruptcy. But the government wants “its” money, and gets to create the laws. We’re already seeing students loans […] … learn more→
A look at the most predatory student loan lender
Most people are entirely unaware of how serious the student loan problem is, so allow me to put it in context. Smoking tobacco is universally agreed to be a very bad thing to do. We have almost 38 million smokers in this country, and over 80% of smokers regret taking up the habit. We have […] … learn more→
Ulterior motives may lurk behind new debit card for federal student loan borrowers
The U.S. Department of Education is about to pilot test a new debit card for students who get federal student loans. For the federal government, it means less hassle and a way to get a glimpse at whether students are spending their student aid wisely. For the bank that gets to issue the card, it […] … learn more→
Columbia MFA students demand tuition refund
I know this is something of old news…but today’s topic just strikes me as a more important phenomenon for higher ed than anything in the “top 10” of last post. We now have nearly an entire class of students at a good school asking for refunds. When it comes to student loans, the most painful […] … learn more→
7 ways to pay for College without taking out Federal student loans
There are plenty of reasons why you would want to avoid taking out Federal student loans. Here are 7 alternative ways to pay for college. The idea that will have to spend decades paying for their college education is a concept many students can’t wrap their mind around. More and more students are refusing to […] … learn more→
The student loan scam explained
It’s been a while since I discussed the core issue which has done so much harm to higher education: the student loan scam (so long, in fact, that a reader asked me to explain what I meant by it, and so here we are). The Rise of the Jumbo Student Loan Most students with loan […] … learn more→
Fix for borrowers with loan discharges comes up short in tax reform
For all the tax reform provisions that will take away benefits from borrowers and colleges, there’s one important addition in the House legislation–excluded from the Senate’s version of tax reform that was published over the weekend–that will help vulnerable students and their families: making student loan discharges due to death or disability nontaxable income. Currently, […] … learn more→
Avoiding the PSLFiasco: Part Three
In our last posts, we gave recommendations for the Department of Education as it heads into the first year of granting forgiveness to public service employees who fulfill the requirements of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and recommendations to improve outreach, including tips for borrowers. But those questions are only a part of the […] … learn more→
Avoiding the PSLFiasco: Part One
This fall, for the first time ever, borrowers who have made 120 qualifying payments can avail themselves of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF) to eliminate their remaining federal student loan debt. Ahead of its implementation, we’ve drafted some recommendations to ensure smooth sailing and a better, more targeted program. This post, detailing recommendations […] … learn more→