Here are the best articles from around the web this week talking about student loans…

For the week ending Friday  April 26, 2013

Student Loan News:

1. Student Loan Borrowers Need Enforcement and Repayment Flexibility: 

Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) asked for public comments on private student loan debt affordability. By the April 8 deadline, more than 4,300 organizations and consumers answered. The volume of these requests suggests that the more than $1 trillion of debt already incurred by student loans is on the minds of many Americans. Clearly, consumers want repayments to be manageable, but there are also concerns for fairness and enforcement.

As a nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting family wealth and working to eliminate abusive financial practices, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) had strong advice to offer CFPB. Find out more: http://www.atlantadailyworld.com/201304245517/Business/student-loan-borrowers-need-enforcement-and-repayment-flexibility

Loan News

2. Student loan debt putting damper on housing demand: 

Stephanie O'Donnell-Peters isn’t exactly sure how much she and her husband owe on their student loan debt, but she estimated it’s around $125,000.

“We’re paying about $1,300 a month, plus our rent, plus other bills. If we didn’t have that we’d easily be able to save for a down payment.” As it is, O’Donnell-Peters said it could take another decade before she and her husband are able to own their own home.

A new study indicates that she’s not alone. Ballooning student loan debt is dampening young adults’ appetite for mortgages and car loans, potentially threatening the fragile recovery. Look over more: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/student-loan-debt-putting-damper-housing-demand-6C9525090

3. Battle starts to mount on student loans: 

Congress is headed for another showdown on student loans.

With just over nine weeks to go before rates hike, Congress seems nowhere close to finding a solution to stop student loan rates doubling from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1.

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) told The Hill that there isn’t enough time to get a long-term fix at this stage and expects any solution to come at the last minute.

“If you look at last year … It got dealt with at the end. It took a while for the political temperature to boil,” Courtney said. Click to continue: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/295015-battle-starts-to-mounts-on-student-loan-rate

Student Loan Blog Posts:

1. The Shame of Student Loans: 

There is more student loan debt outstanding — $1 Trillion — than credit card debt! And the government is making a huge profit on it — an estimated 36 percent profit margin.

Here's the real shame: The government gets to borrow for 10 years paying less than 2 percent interest on U.S. Treasury notes, while students must pay 6.8 percent interest on the loans they get from the government!

The government is ripping off college students, leaving them with a burden of debt that averages $27,000, and for many exceeds $100,000, while they are forced to pay above-market interest rates. Examine more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-savage/the-shame-of-student-loan_b_3127099.html

2. Arizona students nervous with interest rate set to double on need-based loans: 

Putting herself through school, Shayna Stevens relies heavily on student loans to pursue a degree in secondary education at Northern Arizona University.

Currently a sophomore, Stevens said she is already $40,000 in debt. She works part-time during the school year and plans to take two jobs over the summer to keep that amount as manageable as possible.

“If I didn't have to take out these loans then I wouldn't have to work all these extra jobs on the side and I could focus more on my studies and actually getting the education that I’m paying for,” Stevens said. Get More Outline: http://cronkitenewsonline.com/2013/04/students-nervous-with-interest-rate-set-to-double-on-need-based-loans/

3. More bad news for student loan borrowers: 

Graduation season is upon us. It used to be that in the years after hopeful twenty somethings bid farewell to campus life, they'd start borrowing to buy many things typically associated with adulthood — namely, a car and a home. Many had college loans to repay, but that's partly what made brainy go-getters so attractive to banks and lenders. They typically earn more over a lifetime, so they seemed like a safe bet.

They may still be, but times have changed. College debt may have once been the good kind of debt, but the scale has grown so big that in many cases it has become more burdensome than helpful. Details here: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/22/student-loan-debt-borrowing/

PayMyStudentLoans.com Around The Web:

1. http://www.makingsenseofcents.com/2013/04/carnival-of-moneypros-2.html

2. http://thirtysixmonths.com/yakezie-carnival-theres-a-blizzard-in-april-edition/

3. http://freeat33.com/lifestyle-carnival-april-21-2013/

4. http://myuniversitymoney.com/carnival-of-financial-camaraderie-78/