Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Annual Report on Student Loans
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act established an ombudsman within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Pursuant to the Act, the ombudsman prepares an annual report and makes appropriate recommendations to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Secretary of Education, and to Congress. The first annual report on student loans was issued yesterday and for those of us who follow the industry closely and who listen to frustrated student loan borrowers…
Student Loan Default Rates Rise, Income-Based Repayment Can Help
The Department of Education just released statistics showing that student loan defaults rose to an average of 13.4 percent last year, with 22.7 percent default rates for students who attended for-profit colleges. But the data we have on student loan default rates isn't anywhere close to complete. Meet the “Cohort Default Rate,” that measures only those defaults that occur soon after a student loan borrower begins repaying his or her loans. At least the cohort has recently been expanded to include…
Heather shares advice with Idealist on how to make graduate school a reality
It’s back-to-school time! To help you prepare, Idealist will feature advice on finding, applying, and paying for graduate school. In their first post, Heather shares tips on how to manage your undergrad loans and make sense of your graduate school loans. You can also learn more by listening to The Idealist's podcasts on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and Income-Based Repayment Plan. Check it out here!
Don’t Get Your Legal Advice from Your Loan Collector
Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that a debt collection agency working to collect federal student loans misled borrowers by telling them their debt was not dischargeable in bankruptcy. The appellate court allowed a lawsuit against Collecto (really? Collecto?) to proceed in Federal District Court. Plantiff's attorney Brian L. Bromberg said of Collecto,'They were giving incorrect legal advice in an attempt to coerce money out of these people,' reports the New York Times. …
Private Student Loans Boom & Bust: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Report
I have a generally low opinion of private loans, as they are typically risky and expensive for borrowers. Unfortunately, higher education is so expensive that many of us cannot cover the costs of our dream school while still avoiding private student loans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today released the most comprehensive study of private student loans we’ve seen, including a large set of quantitative and qualitative data. The study was informed by data provided by lenders in the marketplace, existing…
