What Student Loan Borrowers Need to Know about Obama’s Student Loan Initiatives
Don't miss the updated and expanded version of this post: Will the President's Student Loan Initiatives Help You? If you can’t work with them, work around them. Yesterday President Obama’s administration announced student debt relief initiatives that don’t depend upon getting Congress moving. Unfortunately, there is only so much executive action can accomplish, and the initiatives are limited in scope. The changes will reduce interest rates for some graduates, and will have a significant impact…
Student Loans Aren’t Rocket Science, They’re Worse*
by Heather Jarvis, originally posted October 4, 2011 as guest blogger on Binksty.com Our system of access to higher education is debt based. Want an education? Buy it. Don’t have enormous piles of money lying around? Borrow it. Trying to make good decisions about the best options for paying back that money you borrowed? Good luck! In order for a student to understand his or her options and make good decisions about how best to repay student loans, the first thing every borrower must do is understand exactly…
The Unpleasant Truth about the Effect of Losing the Interest Subsidy on Student Borrowers
Subsidized loans have historically been available to students with demonstrated financial need. Subsidized loans help students manage the cost of education, because in the case of subsidized loans, the government pays the interest that accrues on the loan while the student is in school. When students borrow unsubsidized loans, interest will begin to accrue immediately, and any unpaid interest will be capitalized, or added to the principal of the loan. Capitalization is bad, assuming you don’t want to pay interest on interest. …
