NextStudent Web Marketing Team Shifts Direction of Student Loan Blog

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:02:00 GMT

To better serve you and carry out our mission of being your one-stop destination for all your education financing needs, the NextStudent Web Marketing team is moving our Student Loan Blog in a whole new direction.

In the days ahead, you’ll see the Student Loan Blog shifting from a focus on general-interest news and trends to what’s happening in the world of financial aid, student loans, and the congressional legislation that affects you and how you’ll be able to pay for school.

You’ll still be able to find the college advice, smart shopping tips, and lowdown on student life we’ve been bringing you — we’re just moving things around a little bit.

Keeping You Up-to-Date on Financial Aid and Your College Financing Options

Our news-savvy writers on the NextStudent Web Marketing team will be scanning the latest headlines to keep you informed about the legislation changes that could affect your education and the financial aid options that help you pay for school.

We’ll let you know about schools that are trying to make a higher education more affordable, from offering free tuition to low- and middle-income students to eliminating student loans from their financial aid packages.

We know you’re busy and have a million things battling for your time. That’s why we’re making our blogs shorter and more direct, so you can get the news you need faster.

The NextStudent Web Marketing team is committed to helping you make informed decisions about your education through our revamped college-related blogs.

Student Life and Your Pop Culture Fix

But if you think you’ll miss our old stuff, don’t worry. You’ll still be able to find our stories about things like death by popcorn and the short life spans of rock stars.

These blogs will be going on our sister site, The Students Blog, which focuses on college life and technology. Read about how to pimp out your Firefox browser, five free online tools to help you cite your research papers, or the six college dropouts who made millions.

You can also check out our NextPath online newsletter for tips on everything from traveling the world rent-free to buying a digital camera.

So sit back and enjoy the work of our Web Marketing writers who spend hours trolling the Internet to bring you the trends and stories that are fresh and new.

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Library Book Past Due: Loan Denied

Student Loan Girl — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 23:00:00 GMT

Chances are you have overdue library books laying around in your dorm room or apartment. Maybe the book you checked out six months ago has become a part of your décor—a handy paperweight on your desk or an unconventional coaster on your coffee table.

You’ve thought to yourself, no biggie, right? Not quite. You might want to dust off the CD’s, DVD’s and other library materials you have and drop them off. Return them before the fines you’ve racked up get turned over to a collection agency.

Turns out, more and more libraries think their missing property and your laid-back attitude about it are quite a big deal. And they’re hitting you where it hurts the most, your wallet.

If you’re not careful that overdue book could prevent you from getting a loan for a car or a house.

Libraries Collecting on Overdue Fines with Big Help

Many libraries have teamed up with Unique Management Services, Inc., a collection agency that specializes in recovering library books and late fees.

The company based in Jeffersonville, Indiana, tracks down late accounts for more than 850 clients (libraries of all sizes) in the United States, England, Canada and Australia. Its goal is to shock library abusers—most of whom are average, well-meaning people—into action, Kenes Bowling, the company’s manager for customer development, tells The New York Times.

The debt collector’s website states it send letters that gently nudge people into returning items that rightfully belong to the library and the people it serves.

New York Times reporters Anne Barnard and Jo Craven McGinty write that included in one of the company’s standard letters is language like: “Once reported, this adverse information can stay on your record for seven years!” The letter goes on to warn that car dealers, department stores and banks may learn of the library users’ misdeeds. “Why allow this to happen?”

The company typically sends out two letters and follows up with a phone call to your home. It claims phone calls improve results as much as 30 percent over letters alone.

The Moral: Be a Good Patron

With such verbiage, it’s hard not to see that your local library means business.

It’s not that libraries want to be seen as bullies. But when you consider that in a little over a decade, Unique Management Services has managed to retrieve $5.8 million for the New York Public Library System alone, you can see why libraries are turning to debt collection agencies like UMS for help.

Libraries want to penalize people who believe items can be checked out to infinity and beyond and those who simply want to sell them or keep items for their personal collections.

If you’re reported for owing a library fine, you could see your credit rating drop by 100 points or more, Craig Watts a spokesperson for Fair Isaac, the company that scores your credit history, tells CNN.com.

So don’t wait to be tattled on. Just take your library items back and pay up before you pay too much.

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Student Loan Blog : News

NextStudent Web Marketing Team Shifts Direction of Student Loan Blog

Library Book Past Due: Loan Denied