California May Join List of States With “Student Borrower Bill of Rights”

California may be about to become the newest in a growing number of states to have passed a “Student Borrower’s Bill of Rights.” About 3.2 million Californians currently owe a total of $133 billion in outstanding student loan debt. Nationally, the average balance for those who owe student loans is $37,429. One out of every […]

Julian Castro’s Student Loan Plan

Former Obama housing Secretary, San Antonio mayor and Democratic Party presidential candidate Julian Castro has proposed a detailed plan for student loan forgiveness. It’s part of what he calls his “People First” plan for education reform. Since this is primarily a student loan blog, we’ll focus first on the aspects of his plan specific to […]

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Ends “Gainful Employment Rule”

In 2014, the Obama Administration attached some strings to federal student loan aid going to for-profit colleges and universities. This was the deal: In exchange for continued access to student loan dollars, for-profit schools had to show that students were finding gainful employment upon graduation and paying off their loans. Additionally, the new standard required […]

The Kamala Harris Student Loan Forgiveness for Entrepreneurs Plan

California Senator and Democratic Party presidential candidate Kamala Harris just proposed offering up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness to Pell Grant recipients. Yesterday I announced that, as president, I’ll establish a student loan debt forgiveness program for Pell Grant recipients who start a business that operates for three years in disadvantaged communities. https://t.co/ldwuC9RiIE — […]

The Perils of Navigating Federal Debt Forgiveness Programs on Your Own

On the surface, student debt relief programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness look like win-win projects. With Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), students who accept in-demand jobs in public service fields can have their federal student loans forgiven after 10 years of on-time student loan payments. If you meet these qualifications, your loans will be […]

Republican Senator: Make Colleges Pay Half of Graduates’ Defaults

If a college or university alumni defaults on student loans, the college should pay at least half of the amount in default. That’s the premise of the latest student loan bill on the Senate floor, the Skin In The Game Act, courtesy of Senator Josh Hawley (R – Missouri). The bill would also prevent educational […]

Maryland SmartBuy Program Will Pay Off Up to $40,000 in Student Loans If You Buy a House There.

The Maryland SmartBuy Program Looking to buy a home with student loan debt? Consider moving to Maryland. A government initiative there will pay off and eventually forgive up to $40,000 in student loan debt. The catch: You have to buy a home in Maryland. And you have to live in it for at least five […]

It’s 2019. Have you checked on your PSLF eligibility status?

Make sure your PSLF eligibility is on track at least every year. Don’t rely on people you’ve never met to win a lawsuit in order to qualify for public service loan forgiveness. You can’t control what happens in a courtroom, and you can’t control what a judge says. If you want to ensure you receive […]

Feds May Crack Down on Student Loan Fraud

This here is why we can’t have nice things. At least two of ‘y’all tried to reduce your monthly student loan payments by reporting a household size of 93. And the federal General Accounting Office is calling BS. That’s one of the more egregious findings from a recent GAO report. The gist: Thousands of student […]

Disabled Veterans May Receive Automatic Student Loan Forgiveness Under New Bill

‘FREED Vets Act’ Would Provide Average Benefit of $24,000 in Loan Forgiveness Per Eligible Disabled Veteran Nearly 34,000 disabled veterans may receive automatic and total forgiveness for federally-guaranteed student loans. That’s the object of new legislation introduced in the House. The bill, entitled the Federally Requiring Education Debt Discharges for Veterans Act, or FREED Vets […]

Teachers Union Sues Dept. of Education Over Denied Public Service Loan Forgiveness Claims

Imagine being a schoolteacher, cop, firefighter, social worker or some other public service worker with a big student loan debt. You went into the field a decade ago knowing the pay wasn’t the greatest. But you expected you’d be able to discharge your remaining student loan debt after ten years in public service. That was […]

Kamala Harris on Student Loan Debt

Kamala Harris on Student Loan Debt By most polls, California Senator and former state attorney general Kamala Harris is currently running third in the Democratic primary. She’s behind former Vice President Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders. She’s ahead of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren in some polls and behind in others.  We tackled Biden’s track long […]