The federal Department of Education last week froze two Obama-era changes in student loan programs aimed to protect students against predatory for-profit schools. The first program allowed students to have their loan debt erased if the school acted fraudulently or otherwise cheated the student. The second program, known as the Gainful Employment Mandate, cut off federal loan funds for colleges…
Today’s post is written by a fellow fee-only advisor, Greg Phelps, CFP®, CLU®, AIF®, AAMS®, of Redrock Wealth Management. Saving for a child’s college education is perhaps one of the most noble things a parent will ever do. It’s also one of the toughest financial goals to tackle, because similar to healthcare costs, college expenses have risen across the board at…
The AAUW recently released a report titled, “Deeper in Debt: Women and Student Loans.” The report points to a side effect of women’s increased educational attainment in recent decades: College-educated women hold a disproportionate share of outstanding student loan debt. While the AAUW’s report focuses on women, it points out that most historically under-served college populations have seen their share…
The May Treasury Note auction is done; one of its results is an increase in student loan interest rates for the coming school year. Direct student loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) disbursed between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018, will carry an interest rate of 4.45%, up from 3.76% in the current year. PLUS loan interest rates went up as…
Further confirming that college can be a buyer’s market, the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s annual College Openings Update: Options for Qualified Students (a list of schools still accepting applications after May 1) shows an increase in the number of schools still accepting applications compared with last year. In fact, the number has gone up every year since 2013;…