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Student Loan Insanity: Recommended Reading
In between the recent Popemania and Pennsylvania primary blitzkrieg, you might have heard murmurs about the student loan industry being in a kerfuffle. It’s just one of the many residual effects of this recession business, which means it’s time to hit the books.
Here’s a quick roundup of what you need to know if you have a student loan, are looking to take one out, or are just really into reading about this kind of thing.
-The AP via HeraldNet has a quick-and-dirty FAQ about what the student loan news boils down to for parents and students.
- Here’s a big roundup from the WSJ about how and why private student loan lenders are dropping like flies. Friend of FiLife Mark Kantrowitz offers some nuggets of advice toward the bottom of the article.
-Speaking of Kantrowitz, his site FinAid.org has a great guide to the basics of student loans.
- The Juggle blog at the WSJ has a lively discussion about the anxiety of paying for college. Nice to know you’re not alone.
-Student loan consolidation is a thing of the past at student loan giant Sallie Mae. Read more about it at Consumerist.
-The Dallas Morning News offers advice on how to stay afloat when student loan companies are in peril. Don’t forget to max out on federal loans first!
-And for the contrarians, here’s a column at Yahoo Finance arguing that the student loan crunch doesn’t exist.
- If you’re looking for more positive reading about the changing contours of college finance, both the New York Times and the WSJ and had fabulous spreads on the topic on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
-And if you’re not ready to cope with any of this, here’s a link to online Tetris.
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(1) Comment
Hi Mary,
Thanks for putting all these resources in one place - I’ve recommended FiLife to our customers and will certainly refer to this post in particular.
I work for a company that built a nifty website that allows borrowers to search for and compare student loans at http://www.SimpleTuition.com.
Since all the data on the site is “real-time,” we are keeping up with all the changes in the industry - who is still offering loans, who isn’t, and what the loans themselves look like, since many lenders are also changing their benefits or incentives. And since the site works like a gigantic calculator, you get a complete picture of the total cost of the loan, APR, monthly payment and the range of rates (that, for private loans, depend on credit score/history). We’ve found that it really helps student borrowers see - before they apply - what their debt commitment is going to be and be careful about over-borrowing, as well as understand the differences in types of student loans.
Hope it’s useful for your readers, too!
