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

For the week ending Friday August 23, 2013

Student Loan News:

1. Student loan financial burdens pervasive: 

Attending college isn't cheap, and, for many students it's a major financial challenge. The good news is that loans are available. The bad news is that they might create huge financial burdens later in life for the people who take advantage of them.

“A student loan is a good resource, but we tell our students to be careful with the money,” said Linda Aubrey Higgins, who is the director of financial aid at USC Aiken. “We make sure they're aware of the interest rates. We also make sure they're aware that if they don't repay their loans, they can go into default and there will be negative effects.” Read full: http://www.aikenstandard.com/article/20130822/AIK0101/130829869/1004/student-loan-financial-burdens-pervasive

Student Loan

2. Student loan debt relief industry draws scrutiny: 

Nearly 7 million Americans have fallen behind on their student loans, and millions more are barely able to make their payments each month. A new industry has sprung up that offers to help deal with such debt, and that has consumer advocates concerned.

“Are you struggling with student loan debt?” the commercials ask. “Call right now for immediate relief.”

A myriad of companies now offer to help reduce or even eliminate debt from government-backed student loans (for a price, of course). They make it sound fast and easy. Relief, they promise, is guaranteed. Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100972782

3. Time to Bring Bankruptcy Back for Student Loan Debt: 

Thanks to some misguided moral philosophy and some excellent lobbying work, it is now almost impossible to discharge your student loans in bankruptcy. They haunt you forever, like the souls of those you've killed. As our national student loan debt balloons further into crisis territory, it become ever clearer that we need to change that rule.

The latest figures show that about one in nine student loans are now 90 days delinquent or more. (And delinquency rates in general are much higher.) Total student debt sits at about $1 trillion, more than either auto loans or credit card debt. The issue so consumes the middle class—from parents planning to pay for their children's college all the way down to debt-wracked recent graduates— that Barack Obama is setting off on a “bus tour” to tout his plans for making college more affordable. Visit: http://gawker.com/time-to-bring-bankruptcy-back-for-student-loan-debt-1177948307

Student Loan Blog Posts:

1. Student Loan Deal Doesn't Solve Problem:

When the president signed the student loan deal restoring lower rates for student loans, there was bi-partisan agreement and applause. The politicians should stop patting themselves on the back. While lower rates are important, the overwhelming problem looms large: There is more than $1 trillion in outstanding student loans, while a generation graduates into a slow job market that makes repayment not only difficult, but impossible, for many. Main site: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-savage/student-loan-debt_b_3742990.html

2. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in the Student Loan Deal: 

Over the past several weeks, the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act has made its way through the Senate, the House, and on to the president’s desk for his signature. The new law is a 10-year plan that was billed as making student loans affordable.

But it is impossible to reduce the student-debt burden without answering two key questions: What is the cost of running a student-loan program? And which interest rate is the best for running a student-loan program? Unfortunately, the most recent loan-reform debate left both of these questions unanswered. Fortunately, the new law calls for a study to find answers. Only once that has happened will congressional and administration leaders be able to hold an informed debate to reach a fair plan. Get more: http://congress.org/2013/08/16/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-in-the-student-loan-deal/

3. Easing the Student Loan Burden: 

Repaying student loans is a huge problem for many graduates. Two thirds of Americans leave college with debt every year, and according to the Institute for College Access and Success, the average debt amount is $26,600. But this is just the average; some people have $100,000 or more.

college grads With so many graduates entering the “real world” in debt, it’s no surprise that the United States student loan debt is over $1.2 trillion. Find out more: http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/five-steps-for-paying-off-student-loans/4594

PayMyStudentLoans.com Around The Web:

1. http://wellkeptwallet.com/2013/08/yakezie-carnival/

2. http://www.finetunefinances.com/epic-readathon-1/

3. http://moneyqanda.com/carnival-of-money-pros/

4. http://www.tortoisebanker.com/2013/08/the-tortoise-banker-carnival-6th-edition.html