Politics as Usual in Washington Hurts Students and Families
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), joined by fellow Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Angus King (I-Maine) will introduce a proposed compromise plan today tying the rate for undergraduate Stafford loans (both subsidized and unsubsidized) to the 10-year Treasury bill plus 1.85 percentage points. As an advocate for student borrowers, I don't like it. Any student loan interest bill that reduces the deficit (including this latest version), does so by adding additional costs for students…
Caught in the Middle: Too Rich for Financial Aid, Too Poor to Afford Tuition
Tuition hikes in Washington state are being disproportionately felt by students of middle-class families, The Seattle Times reports in an article today. “We’re on the cusp of creating a higher-education model in this state that only works for the very wealthy and the very poor,” said state Sen. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane. Not long ago, students could reasonably expect to work 1-2 jobs throughout the summer to cover in-state tuition, student fees, and living expenses for each upcoming school year at a public university…
Congressional Joint Economic Committee Issues New Report on Student Loans
The Congressional Joint Economic Committee released a new report Tuesday on student loan borrowing as debates continue on the future of subsidized Stafford loan interest rates. Student loan debt has risen nearly two-fold in five years, according to the report, “The Causes and Consequences of Increasing Student Debt.” Among the report's key findings: Two-thirds of recent graduates have student loans, with an average balance of more than $27,000. On average, recent graduates left college with student loan debt of 60% of their…
Senators Reintroduce Bill to Standardize Student-Aid Award Letter
U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IOWA) and Al Franken (D-MN) reintroduced legislation Friday that would require all American colleges and universities to issue a standardized student finanacial-aid award letter to students and their parents applying for such aid. The Understanding the True Cost of College Act (S. 1156) would require institutions to use a standardized letter that would specify financial factors like the cost of attendance, grant aid, eligible amounts of federal student loans, expected monthly loan-repayment amounts, and disclosures…
Sen Warren Speaks Out on Student Loan Rates Increase
