Student Loans : Blog, News and Updates

Take a Deep Breath and Beware of the Annual U.S. News College Rankings

David Levy — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 16:17:32 +0000

Now that the college rankings season has resumed, it's a good idea to take a deep breath and consider the timely advice offered by Dr. John Tierney in The Atlantic.

Converse College Slashes Tuition

David Levy — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 22:48:25 +0000

Converse College, a small independent women's liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, announced that it is cutting its tuition by 43% for the 2014–15 academic year. The one-time tuition reduction or "reset" from $29,124 in the 2013–14 academic to $16,500 in the coming academic year affects both continuing and incoming full-time undergraduate students.

Why More Parents Might be Planning to Pay for College: The Rest of the Story

David Levy — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 21:09:38 +0000

An annual survey commissioned by Discover Student Loans shows that the number of parents who plan to help their children pay for college is up from last year.

Obama Proposes to Shake-up Higher Education

David Levy — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 16:34:26 +0000

Citing "higher education as the single most important investment students can make in their own futures," the Obama administration offered a plan to make college more affordable for American families.

Federal Government Reports More Students Receiving Financial Aid

David Levy — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 19:28:05 +0000

The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released new data showing that more than seventy percent of undergraduates received some type of student aid (including student loans) during the 2011-12 academic year.

On vs. Off-Campus Housing

samantha b — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 16:27:31 +0000

With the fall semester of college starting up in a few weeks, college students are working towards finalizing their housing situation for the upcoming year. Unfortunately, you're running out of time to answer the looming question: "Do I want to live on campus or off campus?" To help you to answer this question, we've weighed some of the crucial factors to consider while making this decision.

Top Twelve Tips for Repaying Student Loans

Mark Kantrowitz — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 14:22:22 +0000

These 12 helpful tips will help you manage your student loan repayment, making the the whole process hassle-free!

Student Loan Servicer Transfer

samantha b — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 17:44:28 +0000

Last week, the United States Department of Education released a newsletter informing students and their schools that federal student loans handled by four nonprofit servicers would soon be transferred to new servicers. Over the next two months, the majority of loans that are currently serviced by COSTEP, EDGEucation, and EdManage will be transferred to MOHELA, while those serviced by KSA Servicing will be transferred to Aspire Resources Inc.

Measure Twice: The Impact on Graduation Rates of Serving Pell Grant Recipients

David Levy — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 21:27:55 +0000

The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, an independent committee providing expertise on student aid to Congress and the Secretary of Education, has recently released a policy bulletin, “Measure Twice: The Impact of Graduation Rates of Serving Pell Grant Recipients.”

The Usual Mistrust or a Preview of More Bipartisanship?

David Levy — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 15:03:52 +0000

With bipartisan support, on July 31, 2013, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act (also known as the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act, as amended by the Senate), by a vote of 392 to 31. President Obama signed the legislation into law on August 9, 2013. Under the new law, interest rates on new loans each July 1 will be based on the last 10-year Treasury auction in the previous May.