Navigating the New Direct Consolidation Loan Application Process
You’ve done your homework and determined that you are ready to consolidate your federal student loans. Okay, so how do you do it? Good question! To begin with, a new electronic consolidation loan application process was launched on the StudentLoans.gov Web site on January 2, 2014. If you do not have one or more defaulted loans assigned to the Department of Education, you will use the new Direct Consolidation Loan application process. Here’s what you need to know The Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Application…
Is a Direct Consolidation Loan Right For You?
You have a handful of federal student loans and you’re wondering whether it makes sense to consolidate them. Good question! Let’s begin with the basics. A Direct Consolidation Loan allows you to combine your federal student loans into one loan. You can have the convenience of one loan and one loan payment, you can switch older variable interest rate loans to a fixed interest rate, and consolidation can also give you access to alternative repayment plans and forgiveness provisions you would not have had…
Will Proposed Cuts to Public Service Loan Forgiveness Impact Existing Borrowers?
Us student loan borrowers are understandably concerned about parts of President Obama's proposed budget, but we would do well to remember that the budget proposal itself cannot, does not, and never will determine whether any future cuts to student loan forgiveness would apply to existing borrowers. The offending document, the Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2015, is a political document. It consists of 212 pages of budget overviews organized by agency and summary tables of the dollar amounts in question.…
President’s FY 2015 Budget Recommends Tax Breaks For Students
On Monday, White House officials outlined in broad terms several of the President's tax priorities from his proposed fiscal year 2015 federal budget. Among the key provisions, his FY 2015 budget asks Congress to make permanent the American Opportunity Tax Credit, currently set to expire in December 2017. The administration says the credit will provide an average benefit of $1,110 to 11.5 million families. The benefit provides up to $2,500 in partially refundable tax credits for tuition. President Obama is also proposing a simplification…
U.S. Will Earn $66 Billion From Student Loans
Thanks to our friends at The Chronicle of Higher Education for bringing this story to our attention. In an article by Mark Keierleber, the Chronicle notes that a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office projects that the U.S. will generate nearly $66 billion in income from loans issued from 2007-2012. The report, "Federal Loans: Borrower Interest Rates Cannot Be Set in Advance to Precisely and Consistently Balance Federal Revenues and Costs," highlights the difficulty in trying to predict what cost of future…
