Posts Tagged ‘student loans’
Half of Recent College Grads Unemployed/Underemployed
According to the Associated Press, half of recent College graduates are either unemployed or underemployed. Young adults have been hit extremely hard by the weak economy and are having a hard time finding work in their field. The “lost generation” as many label them are having a harder and harder time entering the workforce.
With high tuition and student loans, many recent graduates are barely scraping by working lower-wage jobs such as retail clerk, bartender or server. As the loan payments pile up, your local barista might be standing at work wondering why he majored in a liberal arts field.
The prospects for graduates are highly uneven depending on what field they studied in school. There are significantly more opportunities in the sciences, education and health fields, while those who studied arts and humanities are finding opportunities scarce.
The median income for those with bachelor’s degrees is down from where it was in 2000. Another bad sign is that projections are showing that many of the futures jobs will be in low-skilled fields.
Harvard economist Richard Freeman notes, “you can make more money on average if you go to college, but it’s not true for everybody. If you’re not sure what you’re going to be doing, it probably bodes well to take some job, if you can get one, and get a sense first of what you want from college.”
According to Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, “simply put, we’re failing kids coming out of college. We’re going to need a lot better job growth and connections to the labor market, otherwise college debt will grow.”
The AP states “About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years. In 2000, the share was at a low of 41 percent, before the dot-com bust erased job gains for college graduates in the telecommunications and IT fields.”
This is why it is so important to search for as many scholarships as possible to make college as affordable as possible!
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15 Financial Aid Terms Cheat Sheet
As a high school junior or senior, you’ve probably heard a lot of talk about “financial aid” and “student loans.” Your counselor is on your back about filling out a FAFSA, your parents are asking about interest rates, and all the fancy paperwork with charts and numbers about loans and grants and whatnot makes no sense to you.
It’s no surprise that you aren’t familiar with a lot of the terms being thrown around. As a high school student, you probably don’t have any loans yet. You likely don’t have a credit card yet. You may not even have a checking account or bills to pay. To save you from having to smile and nod through conversations about paying for college, here is a cheat sheet of the most common financial aid terms you need to know.
Financial Aid: Money the government lets you borrow for college if it’s determined your family is unable to afford it on their own. Need is based on your family’s income.
Interest Rate: The cost of borrowing money, expressed as a percentage of the total amount owed. This amount is paid back, on top of your total loan amount. The more money you borrow, and the longer you take to pay it off, the most interest you’ll be paying.
Loan: Money you borrow and will pay back with interest.
Stafford Loan: The most common form of student loan.
Subsidized Loan: A loan the government pays interest on while you’re in school. You’ll be responsible for the rest of the interest once you’ve left school.
Unsubsidized Loan: A loan you’ll pay the accumulated interest on once you’ve left school. You’re responsible for all of the interest.
FAFSA: An acronym that stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Think of it as a long job application you and your parents will fill out together, only instead of applying for a job, you’re applying to borrow money from the government to pay for school.
Academic Year: The school year, usually two semesters (Fall and Spring) or three trimesters.
Borrower: This is you. If you’re borrowing the money, you’re the borrower.
Master Promissory Note: A contract that states you’ll pay back the money you borrow.
Award Letter/Award Package: Documents your college will use to outline how much money you’ll receive for that school in loans and scholarships.
Grace Period: A six month period between when you leave college and when your first student loan bill is due. It’s a time to get your living situation and a job in order before you have to start paying money back.
Work Study Program: A program that helps students earn financial funding through a part-time work program at their college.
Default: Defaulting is officially defined as 270 days without making loan payments when you haven’t qualified for deferment.
Deferment: Pausing your student loans for a six month period when you’re incapable of making payments.
You can also pay for college with scholarships! Apply to scholarships that best match you by making your profile at Cappex today!
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The Story on Stafford Loans: What Is It & Do I Want One?
The Stafford Loan is the most popular student loan, and possibly the first loan you’ll have. For that reason, you might want to become acquainted with the seemingly invisible green that allows for most Americans to receive higher education.
Do I want a Stafford Loan?
Unless you privately have the funds to pay for college, you want a Stafford Loan. Stafford Loans are government loans with low interest rates. You don’t have to make payments on them until six months after you’ve left college and the payment plans are flexible.
Do I want subsidized or unsubsidized loans?
You want to take subsidized loans first because the government pays the interest on those while you’re in school. You are required to pay all interest on unsubsidized loans.
How do I apply for a Stafford Loan?
By filling out a FAFSA online at www.studentaid.ed.gov., your college will create an “award package” that may include Stafford Loans as well as other loans and scholarships you may be eligible for. You do not have to take all that is awarded to you in your award package; however, you will be responsible for what you do take.
How much money will I get?
There are a variety of factors that determine how much money you will be eligible for, including whether you are a dependent or independent student, your parents’ or your income, the school you’ve applied to, the date you’ve submitted your FAFSA, the amount of student loans you’ve taken out previously, and many more. Your college will determine the amount you’ll receive. While there is a maximum amount of money you can borrow from student loans, certain health professionals such as those pursuing a medical degree, can borrow more.
What do I have to sign?
Before you take out a Stafford Loan, you will be required to sign an MPN- Master Promissory Note. This is essentially a contract that outlines your loan and the amount you’ll be required to pay back with interest. By signing this document, you’re agreeing to pay your student loans, even if you drop out of college, can’t find a job in your field, or were unsatisfied with the education you received.
How do I use the loan?
Your school will use the loan money to pay for your tuition, your dorm room, and your meal plan. You may also ask the school to use it to pay for your textbooks. After several weeks, usually the second or third week of classes, you will be refunded with any amount leftover to use for school supplies and other school-related costs.
When do I pay up?
You will be given a grace period (six months after leaving college) before you’re required to make any payments on a Stafford Loan. You won’t be surprised by this bill, as you will receive in the mail several notices counting down when your first payment will be due. If you’re unable to make payments, you may have the option to defer the loan temporarily (which will accumulate interest) or adjust your payment plan.
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New Student Loan Complaint System
Lenders provide BILLIONS of dollars in private loans to undergraduate students, and yet there has never been much oversight, leaving borrowers (you students) without a reliable resource to seek help when it comes to private student loan lenders.
Many students who take out loans from private lenders don’t realize that once they graduate and have to pay back the loans, have very little wiggle room. A late payment can have disastrous effects on their credit, and lenders have never really had the motivation to respond to borrowers’ concerns before.
But good news: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on Monday that it has opened a student loan complaint system for issues regarding, you guessed it, private student loans. Now there is a system in place for students to air out their issues with lenders and actually have the resources to do something about it.
While previously, private student loans were overseen by a patchwork of government agencies, there is now one central agency for private student loans within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to assist borrowers with private student loan complaints. So, instead of a bunch of decentralized and separate agencies trying to keep track of private student loans, there is now one single federal agency now responsible for watching out for all students and families who choose to borrow private student loans.
Why is this important? Well, unlike federal student loans, private student loans don’t necessarily carry the same consumer protections as federal student loans and borrowers can wind up hurting their financial futures.
According to CFPB, borrowers (you students or recent grads) can file a complaint, and they will then work with your lender to get a response–something that is awfully difficult to get without some backup. Obviously, the new agency can’t just wave a wand and make your debt disappear–that’s not what it’s been created to do–but they can make your voice a lot louder and get the attention of the financial institution.
The Consumer Bureau is dedicated to “gathering facts and providing tools” for students who need to take out private students loans. An online tool you can take advantage of now is the Student Debt Repayment Assistant, to help students understand the labyrinth of student loan repayment options.
Complaints can be filed at the Web site or by calling (855) 411-CFPB toll-free.
And remember, scholarships can be a big help in keeping down the amount of loans you might have to take out.
Do you think this is an effective answer to problems with private student loans? What’s your experience with taking out loans? Leave a comment in the section below!
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Friday College Town Hall
In Friday College Town Hall, we post a question about college, and you leave an answer in the comment field.
Today’s question:
Total outstanding student debt has passed $1 trillion, more than the nation’s credit card debt.
Do you think students are fully aware of the scale of debt they’ll accrue paying for college before they’re already standing knee deep in it?
Have a thought or an answer? Leave a reply below.
We’ve also asked our @Cappex Twitter followers to chime in! Here’s what people are saying on Twitter:
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11 Most Economically Diverse Colleges
As college tuition becomes a steeper mountain to climb every year, it’s nice to see that some schools value economic diversity. After all, there has to be some place the rest of the 99% can enroll in a higher education.
The US News and World Report created this list of the most economically diverse student bodies by researching the percentage of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants for low-income students. Pell Grants are generally given to undergrads who come from families with incomes under $20,000.
So, it’s not the perfect measure, because, who knows, there may be some schools out there admitting thousands of kids just above the Pell Grant line, but it’s still a pretty good barometer to see how many low-income students are on a given campus.
So here are 11 universities who have made a big commitment to economic diversity:
1. New Mexico State University
Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: 87%
Quick fact: NMSU is the only research-extensive, land-grant, USA-Mexico border institution classified as Hispanic serving by the federal government.
2. Jackson State University
Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: 81%
Quick fact: A member of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, JSU holds an important place in the history of US civil rights.
3. South Carolina State University
Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: 80%
Quick fact: Quick fact: It is the only state funded, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina and is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.
4. Texas Southern University
Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: 78%
Quick fact: As a result, of Heman Marion Sweatt, an African American man, who applied to the University of Texas School of Law but was denied admission because of race,the state founded Texas Southern University under Senate Bill 140 by the Fiftieth Texas Legislature on March 3, 1947 as a state university to be located in Houston and to serve African Americans in Texas.
5. Kent State University
Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: 77%
Quick fact: During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the university was known internationally for its student activism in opposition to US involvement in the Vietnam war, due mainly to the events of May 4, 1970 where Ohio Army National Guard unit fired at students during an anti-war protest on campus, killing four and wounding nine.
6. Texas A&M University
Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: 73%
Quick fact: The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M’s enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school history.
7. Florida Institute of Technology
Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: 69%
Quick fact: Florida Tech’s curriculum is largely focused on engineering and science fields.
8. Tennessee State University
Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: 66%
Quick fact: TSU is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee.
9. Our Lady of the Lake University
Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: 61%
Quick fact: OLLU was founded in 1895 by the Sisters of the Congregation of Divine Providence, a religious order originating in Lorraine, France, during the 18th century.
10. University of Texas – El Paso
Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: 60%
Quick fact: UTEP is the largest university in the U.S. with a majority Mexican-American student population (about 75%).
11. North Carolina A&T State University
Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: 56%
Quick fact:North Carolina A&T athletic teams are referred to as the “Aggies,” which is a diminutive name for “Agriculture” which is the “A” in A&T.
How are you paying for school? Leave a comment or question below.
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Obama to Announce New Student Debt Plan
Students, you can issue a minor sigh of relief (emphasis on ‘minor’). The White House is thinking about your student debt, and President Obama, bypassing Congress, is set to announce a plan today that allows for students to lower payments and consolidate their student loans.
It’s a fairly specific new plan for people who hold the two types of loans, but according to the Wall Street Journal, this means that 5.8 million Americans with both direct government student loans and government-backed private loans can now consolidate their debts into one government loan. Woo!!!! Wait. What does that mean?
Well, for the 5.8 million who this applies to, the new plan makes it so borrowers will wind up receiving a reduction of up to 0.5% in their interest rates since the private loan would be refinanced at the lower government rate.
Still, some question, as with any political move, is it just another step to secure young voters for the 2012 election? Maybe it is. But isn’t everything done for that reason? Or maybe it’s not. Either way, student loan debt is foreseen to be the next “bubble” to burst and a common concern among Occupy Wall Street protesters. At least someone is addressing this ginormous mutated pink elephant in the room.
With the nature of the current economy, many college-bound students are wondering if going into debt for a college education is even worth it with prices skyrocketing. Nobody, not even someone with a college degree can be assured a job. And with student loan debt second behind mortgages and actually ahead of credit card debt, students are fearful of taking on such debt without being certain they can repay it. It’s a huge, looming problem.
Along with the loan consolidation plans, Obama plans to accelerate a program to cap repayments. Currently, the rule on payment limits is that graduates can pay only up to 15% of their income with all debt forgiven after 25 years of payments. The rule Obama wants to put into place would lower the cap to 10% of a graduate’s income and loans would be forgiven after 20 years. Not too shabby…but, still, student debt is way too high for a nation with this much unemployment.
What can you do to lower your student debt before you’re already 15 feet in it? Scholarships. Apply for some.
Does student debt concern you? Does Obama’s plan sound good to you? Leave a comment about it below.
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What the Debt Ceiling Legislation Means for Your College Education
This has been the summer of the debt crisis and a seemingly never-ending debate on raising the debt ceiling. Even if you didn’t really quite understand–or care to understand–the impact of the resulting bill signed by President Obama earlier this week, one of the biggest public concerns throughout the debate was how it would harm access to higher education. So was the future of college and graduate education harmed or protected?
Nothing is ever completely black or white, but here are some details of what the legislation will do:
Overall, the legislation will couple an increase in the government’s borrowing cap with more than $2 trillion in budget cuts over the coming decade, including cuts to federal education spending. So, do you want good news or bad news first?
If you chose “bad news,” skip to the section that says “bad news.” For “good news,” keep reading.
Good news:
Despite the nail biting induced by fear that the Pell Grant program would encounter extremely deep cuts, the program was salvaged. Need a reminder of what the Pell Grant program is? Basically Pell Grants are designated to students from low-income families. They are grants for college that do not have to be repaid. According to the U.S. Despartment of Education, more than 19 million undergraduate students are expected to be awarded Pell Grants in the upcoming academic year. That’s a lot of students and a lot of education.
Instead of harmful cuts to the program, as was expected, the Pell Grants progam will receive $17 billion in funding at no additional cost to taxpayers.
Which leads us to the bad news:
If the Pell Grant program is safe, and at no additional cost to the taxpayers, where does the $17 billion come from? No, not a money tree. Those don’t exist yet (I’m currently working on it in the secret laboratory in my basement). With a money tree out of the picture, money has to be cut from elsewhere. In this case, saving the Pell Grant program came at the cost of government-subsidized loans for graduate and professional students. The loans will be eliminated in July 2012, which means that graduate students would have to pay interest on their loans while still in school. On top of that, the rate reduction on student loan interest for on-time payments will be eliminated.
Together, these two changes are expected to generate $22 billion in savings, with $17 billion allocated for Pell Grants and the remaining $5 billion helping to reduce the deficit.
Nobody was expecting a win-win situation to come out of the legislation, but it will definitely be interesting to see how pitting undergraduate education against graduate and professional education will work in the long run.
Is this good news or bad news? Share your opinion by leaving a comment below.
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