A new study from Bank of America reports that 47% of Americans with more than $250,000 in assets won’t pick up the full cost of their kids’ college degrees.
student loans
Budget Deal Forces Grad Students to Help with Spending Cuts
If you were a politician looking to raise a paltry sum of money to make it look like you’re serious about balancing the budget, there are a number of places you might look. Wasteful farm subsidies, defense spending, and tax …
Should You Buy a House with a Ton of Student Loan Debt?
Liz Weston, one of the best personal finance experts out there, recently received this question from a reader:
Next year we will be shopping for a house in the $150,000-to-$200,000 range and hope to have $20,000 to $30,000 saved for a down payment. We have about $75,000 in student loans we are paying down. Would it be better to
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Law School Grads Face Uncertain Prospects
The New York Times’ David Segal has a devastating piece on the economics of the law school business. Basically, law school programs are hugely profitable, and the schools have expanded — and jacked up prices — rapidly, leaving …
The Two Most Confusing Phrases in Financial Aid
There’s a lot of confusion and misinformation out there when it comes to college admissions and financial aid, and a lot of it surrounds terminology. One of the most common misunderstandings concerns a policy that most U.S. …
Why the Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is Unfair
You probably aren’t even aware of this, but there’s a special loan forgiveness program available for recipients of federal student loans — but if you work for someone who has the nerve to be seeking a profit, you’re not eligible.
The 24 Most and Least Affordable Public Colleges
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released a new web tool that lets users calculate the costs of getting a college degree. While much has been made of the highest and lowest tuition rates, you can also use the tool to …
One Really Bad Way to Overhaul the Student Loan Market
Jonathan Glater, a visiting assistant professor of law at the University of California, Irvine, and a former reporter at the New York Times, has published a paper called The Other Big Test: Why Congress Should Allow College …
Sallie Mae’s Misleading and Dangerous Press Release
Our old friend Sallie Mae is up to her old tricks again: trying to sell students on extremely dangerous variable rate private student loans with this press release, which touts “changes in the law and improvements in the economy that translate into student loans at among the best interest rates in the last five-year period.”
Why Sallie Mae Should Change Its Name
When the Student Loan Marketing Association was founded in 1972, it was a government-sponsored enterprise — like Fannie and Freddie.
Some Say Pay Off ‘Bad Debt’ First. But Why?
There’s a lot of personal finance advice in the blogosphere that I wish didn’t exist. And one of the most annoying pieces of advice is the constant yammering about “good debt” and “bad debt” and how that bad debt must be paid off first.
Be Skeptical of Colleges Providing Student Loan Assistance
USA Today reports on a popular new trend among pricey private colleges looking to compete with more affordable public colleges: promises to help students repay their loans.
