Sallie Mae to Pay $97 Million Fine for Overcharging Troops
As some of you may know, in addition to being Heather's Communications Director (and husband), I am also a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, so this story hits a little close to home. Sallie Mae and Navient, previously a loan servicing unit of Sallie Mae, have agreed to pay $97 million to settle allegations by federal regulators that military service members were charged excessive interest and fees on student loans, according to an article by Tara Siegel Bernard in Tuesday's New York Times. The U.S. Justice Department…
What Every Class of 2014 Graduate Needs to Know Right Now
Student loan borrowers have about 6-months following graduation before they have to start making payments on their student loans - a grace period. For the class of 2014, that means their grace period for their federal student loans will end around October. The first step is to get a clear picture of your situation. Get a clear inventory of your loans It's always important to start by figuring out exactly what kind of loans you have and what the "status" is of your loans. You can look up your federal loans on the National…
Heather Joins ABA Task Force to Address Legal Education Costs
The American Bar Association announced last week that it has formed a new task force to examine the costs of obtaining a legal education in the United States. The ABA Task Force on the Financing of Legal Education is charged with looking at the cost of legal education for students, the financing of law schools, student loans and educational debt. It will also consider current practices of law schools regarding the use of merit scholarships, tuition discounting and need-based aid. Heather will join 13 esteemed colleagues…
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…
