student debt

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One Public College Really Racks Up Grad-Student Debt

That would be New Jersey's well-regarded Rutgers University

(Newser) - Just one public university made it on the list of the top 20 US colleges receiving the most graduate-student loan money—an elite group that received 20%, or $6.5 billion, of the total amount of funds loaned to graduate students in the 2013-2014 academic year, the Washington Post reports....

Feds to Forgive Loans of Scammed Students

Corinthian debt relief could cost $3.6B

(Newser) - In what Education Secretary Arne Duncan says is "our first major action on this but obviously it won't be the last," an expanded—and expensive—debt relief plan has been approved for former Corinthian Colleges students. Some 16,000 were affected when the for-profit company closed its...

Students in Debt, It&#39;s Time to Strike
Students in Debt,
It's Time to Strike
OPINION

Students in Debt, It's Time to Strike

Essayist: Modest tweaks to the system aren't enough

(Newser) - More than a dozen students who say they got suckered into big student loans launched a debt strike last week and are refusing to make payments on their federal loans. It's a good move, writes Astra Taylor in the New York Times , but it's not nearly enough. These...

Student Debt Hurts Mental Health, Study Suggests

It's the first study to actually look at the link

(Newser) - People have been railing against student loans for a while now, but a new study gives you another reason to complain: Loans, it suggests, can also hurt students' mental health. The study looked at survey responses from nearly 5,000 Americans born between 1980 and 1984, and found that the...

We've Overlooked a Major Student-Debt Problem

We fret about undergrads, but grad students are deeply in debt

(Newser) - Undergrads, don't worry too much about the loans you'll be saddled with after college—there's a group that might need to worry even more. Even though the National Center for Education Statistics shows that grad students accounted for just 14% of university enrollees in 2012, the New...

Student Debt Driving Elderly Into Poverty

Number with benefits cut to repay loans soars

(Newser) - A soaring number of Americans are facing an old age of poverty because they are still saddled with student debt, according to a Government Accountability Office report released yesterday. The government has the power to slash Social Security or disability benefits to pay off federal student loans, and the number...

Many Parents Have to Pay Off Dead Kids' Student Loans

Families often have little legal recourse in these cases

(Newser) - Probably the last thing parents mourning a deceased child want to do is deal with late notices from creditors—especially when those notices are for a student loan taken out by their lost loved one. That's what happened to pastor Steve Mason, who found himself saddled with a $100,...

How a Simple Letter Cut Student Borrowing by $31M

'Know before you owe' policy works for Indiana University

(Newser) - With US student debt at a staggering $1.2 trillion—including an average $30K each for member of the class of 2012 —Indiana University has set an example a lot of places could learn from. The seven-campus system managed to slash student debt by far more than the national...

Obama Signs Order Capping Student Loan Payments

Payments limited to 10% of monthly income for more people

(Newser) - President Obama today signed an executive order that will cap student loan payments for as many as 5 million borrowers. Obama is extending an existing rule capping student loan payments at 10% of borrowers' monthly income to those who took out their loans prior to 2007, the AP explains. For...

Students Default on Loans Over Obscure Provision

... even if they've been paying on time

(Newser) - Because the nation's student-debt situation wasn't enough of a mess: A new federal report warns that some students are going into default even when they've been paying back their loans on time, reports USA Today . It's because of an obscure provision covering private student loans—if...

Hey Colleges: Stop Asking Broke Grads for Money

Schools have a lot of nerve given recent grad unemployment, Alexander Aciman writes

(Newser) - At the end of senior year, Alexander Aciman made the mistake of donating $25 to his college's alumni fund. Now, he knows that's "a lot like inviting a vampire into one's home," he writes at the New Republic . He's now constantly bombarded by calls...

Obama, Make These 5 Tweaks to SOTU

Ian Bassin lists 5 'bold' moves president could make at State of the Union

(Newser) - President Obama will announce a number of executive actions at tonight's State of the Union Address—but though the writing and planning of the speech likely started months ago, there are probably a number of aides considering last-minute additions even now. Ian Bassin should know: He used to be...

Applying to Grad School? Do This Homework First
Applying to Grad School?
Do This Homework First
OPINION

Applying to Grad School? Do This Homework First

Columnist says spreadsheet on debt should be required reading

(Newser) - It's sound advice that anyone thinking about grad school should be "fully funded," writes Megan McArdle at Bloomberg . That is, your tuition should be covered by a research or teaching stipend. After all, if a Ph.D. program accepts you without such funding, what that really means...

Class of 2012 Owes Almost $30K Each

Tuition rising faster than family incomes

(Newser) - The class of 2012 entered a tough jobs market buckling under an average debt load of $29,400, according to the annual report from the Institute for College Access and Success. That's up from an average $26,600 in 2011, and the rise can be blamed on rising tuition...

Current Grads Will Retire 12 Years Late

Thanks to student debt, study predicts new median retirement age of 73

(Newser) - Your student loans won't just cost you money, they'll cost you years of labor. A new analysis from Nerd Wallet estimates that today's graduates won't be able to retire until they're 73, a full 12 years later than the current average retirement age of 61,...

Obama: Make Law School 2 Years, Not 3

President makes the case during town hall on college costs

(Newser) - As President Obama continued his swing through upstate New York yesterday to talk about college debt , he offered a concrete suggestion to the nation's law schools: Ditch the traditional third year. “This is probably controversial to say, but, what the heck, I’m in my second term, so...

Obama&#39;s College Plan Is Smart, but Maybe Doomed
Obama's College Plan Is Smart, but Maybe Doomed
OPINION

Obama's College Plan Is Smart, but Maybe Doomed

Congress would have to go along with ranking system: Jordan Weissmann

(Newser) - President Obama's plan to ease the student debt problem is "simple, powerful, and long overdue," writes Jordan Weissmann at the Atlantic . It's also probably doomed. As he spelled out yesterday , Obama wants to help students figure out which schools give them the best value, factoring in...

House OKs Lower Student Loan Rates (for Now)

President Obama expected to sign measure into law

(Newser) - Congress has sent its student loan fix to President Obama for his expected signature, and it contains a mix of good news and bad news for college students. The good news is that freshmen this fall will pay an interest rate of 3.9%, down from the 6.8% that...

Art School Is a Tragic Ripoff
 Art School Is a Tragic Ripoff 
OPINION

Art School Is a Tragic Ripoff

Noah Bradley: It's a crime to pay $246K for an art education

(Newser) - Move over, law school : There's a new worthless degree in town, at least according to Noah Bradley. The artist, writing on Medium.com , gets right to the point: "Art school is a waste of your money" (emphasis his). Though Bradley himself attended two prestigious art schools, he's...

Student Loans Are Set Up to Screw Students
Student Loans Are Set Up
to Screw Students
OPINION

Student Loans Are Set Up to Screw Students

We need to fix the system now, argue two op-ed writers

(Newser) - One fundamental reason the nation's student debt problem is so awful is that these loans "aren't loans, at least in the traditional sense," writes David Dayen at Salon . Thanks to misguided laws, they can't be refinanced and the debt can't be shed through bankruptcy....

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