Student Loan News – November 29, 2013

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

For the week ending Friday November 29, 2013

Student Loan News:

1. No wonder people aren't paying back their student loans:

About this time last year I did a good, honest and potentially rather stupid thing: I phoned up the Student Loans Company, and told them where I was. In light of the revelation that 368,000 former students owing a total of £5bn are “at large”, their whereabouts unknown, I'm starting to think this was something of a mistake.

I hasten to add that I wasn't evading my student loan payments, because, while on the rock and roll, I wasn't earning anything in the first place. Informing them of this fact not only seemed futile but also too much like a hard day's work. I needed something called a “customer number” and a “secret answer”. Details here: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/28/paying-back-student-loans

2. Debt from student loans is having a profound effect on the economy:

Kristen Mercado is proud of her college and graduate degrees, but says the $100,000 in student loans are crushing her. She says “I'm sitting here sometimes wondering, oh, can i afford to go do food shopping today or do I need to wait until my next paycheck, and I'm sitting here feeling like what was the point?”

She says the loans take a quarter of her take-home pay as a social worker, leaving her barely enough money for living expenses.

Across the nation loans for higher education exceed all other consumer loans except mortgages. Study more: http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/problem_solvers/debt-from-student-loans-is-having-a-profound-effect-on-the-economy

3. Government books $41.3 billion in student loan profits:

The federal government made enough money on student loans over the last year that, if it wanted, it could provide maximum-level Pell Grants of $5,645 to 7.3 million college students.

The $41.3 billion profit for the 2013 fiscal year is down $3.6 billion from the previous year but it's a higher profit level than all but two companies in the world: Exxon Mobil cleared $44.9 billion in 2012, and Apple cleared $41.7 billion. Look at more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/25/federal-student-loan-profit/3696009/

Student Loan Blog Posts:

1. ‘Scary easy’ student loans ‘a trap’ for college students:

Student loans to attend a Tennessee college are too easy to acquire and sometimes given to students who aren’t college material, according to a small sampling of students at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

Grad cap and money Reported statistics might back up their claims.

Those loans don’t just burden students — to a degree, they also burden taxpayers. Click here: https://eagnews.org/scary-easy-student-loans-a-trap-for-college-students/

2. Student loan book sold off despite university protests:

A national day of action, co-ordinated by the Student Assembly Against Austerity, took place last Wednesday in reaction to the proposed move.

The National Union of Students (NUS) Black Students’ Officer and spokesperson for the Student Assembly Aaron Kiely said: “Our aim is simple: to force the government to back down and drop the planned privatization of student loans. The Student Assembly Against Austerity will be co-ordinating further actions on this issue in the New Year.”

The University of Sheffield’s Student Union’s education officer Sam Rae said: “The union supports all students’ right to protest, and opposes the privatisation of the student loan book.” Get more outline: http://forgetoday.com/news/student-loan-book-sold-off-despite-university-protests/

3. Resetting the Trillion-Dollar Student-Loan Debt Problem:

“In ever-increasing numbers, students enrolled in our nation’s colleges and universities are borrowing to meet educational expenses,” David A. Bergeron, Elizabeth Baylor, and Joe Valenti write for the Center for American Progress. “As college costs rise, so too does the amount each student is borrowing. While federal student loans can be consolidated, these and private loans cannot be refinanced. If refinancing of student loans were available, borrowers could see significantly reduced monthly payments; lenders—including the federal government—could see increased repayment rates; and we all could see more economic activity, as a portion of each student-loan borrower’s income could be spent in other sectors of the economy or saved for larger purchases. Click here: http://www.nasfaa.org/Main/fa-news/blogs/Resetting_the_Trillion-Dollar_Student-Loan_Debt_Problem.aspx