The Ultimate Guide to Buying a Car With Student Loan Debt

There’s no doubt about it – if you’ve graduated with significant student loan debt, that can absolutely complicate your ability to qualify for a car loan. But unless you live in a big city with a good public transportation system, you need a car to get to job interviews and back and forth to work. […]

What Happens When You Default on Student Loans

If you’re recently out of school, and you have student loan debt, you need to understand what happens when you are delinquent on a student loan and what happens if you default. And you need to do everything in your power to make sure that neither of these things happens. Delinquency If you miss a […]

Don’t Panic! Here’s How to Get Out of Default on a Student Loan

So you’ve defaulted on a federal student loan. Now what? Well, not too many people default on purpose. The federal government knows that good people can go into default for all sorts of reasons, including layoffs, income instability, medical issues, and poor financial organization skills. The good news is, there are three reliable paths out […]

The Trump Student Loan Plan – What It Could Mean For You

The Trump Administration released a series of education reform proposals this week that, if enacted, could have a substantial impact on college-bound students and student loan borrowers. The White House released the proposal as Congress prepares to reauthorize and amend the Higher Education Act. Both the Administration and Congress are grappling with a huge and […]

Legislative Hero: Julia Brownley

Congresswoman Julia Brownley has sponsored and co-sponsored legislation for people fighting student debt. In this post we show a quick and encouraging interview with Congresswoman Brownley. Her responses to our questions remind us that, yes, there are people actively working to solve the daunting issue of student debt. Because of the work in which we […]

Contact Your Congressmen: Inspiring Large-Scale Help With Student Debt

Much of paying off student debt is constructing reliable habits and routines to slowly but surely pay back those loans. However, there are times when the metaphorical bee gets in one’s bonnet (or sun hat or baseball cap—whatever you might wear on your head), and a desire to do something about student debt and do […]

Changing Perspectives: Behind Higher Education Policy Making

Amid discussions and news about higher education policy and student debt, do you ever take the time to step back? To find a moment to think, “What is driving all this and how will it affect me?” In this post, we will step back and use our panned-out perspective to form a foundation that can […]

The Upside of the Upswing of the Student Loan Interest Rate

Student Loan Interest Rate Increase One thing that necessarily shapes every student’s loan journey is their student loan interest rate. For federal student loans in the U.S., this rate has just gone up. Now, the idea of paying more on a loan does not elicit immediate joy and exclamations of, “Oh, thank heavens!” In fact, many of us shake […]

Private Loans vs. Federal Loan Benefits: What’s Best for Student Debt

Looking through news and blogs related to student loan repayments can be tiring. So trust me, I see the situational irony in adding another piece to the myriad of posts for us to read through. Our aim is a worthy one, however: trying to shed useful light on the big problem of a nation with […]

Responding to Uncertainty: Preparing for the PROSPER Act

The PROSPER Act may pass as is, and the PROSPER Act may not pass as is. Because of its uncertain standing, I thought we could go over possible positive responses to either outcome. Whether impending changes help or hinder us largely depends on how prepared students, families of students, advisors, advocates, institutions, aid programs, and […]

Student Loan Policy Help from Attorneys General

Watching changes in student loan policy in the U.S. is, I am finding, similar to watching this year’s spring weather try to make its official appearance in Northern California. We keep getting a few days bursting with light and gradual warmth. Then the week will turn suddenly, dropping to the 30s or 40s and dousing us […]

States Taking Reigns: Washington’s New Law for Student Loan Providers

Washington state has just joined a handful of states (including California) in applying specified regulations to student loan providers and requiring them to be licensed by the state. This law will pressure providers to proactively share more company information with borrowers. It is a response to complaints from student loan borrowers who feel poorly and, often, […]