Student Loan Blog

It’s “all hands on deck” for federal student loan lenders. The banks and third-party student loan providers that make up the Federal Family Education Loan Program have made it abundantly clear that they’re not going to roll over and accept the terms of the Obama administration’s proposal to axe their loan program in favor of the Education ...

In what is being viewed as a direct hit to private third-party lenders in the Federal Family Education Loan Program who are fighting to keep the program alive, the U.S. Department of Education’s preliminary data paints the FFEL program as a costly and ineffective system with a 7.3-percent student loan default rate, two whole points higher than ...

In economic downturns, colleges and universities become flooded with students of all ages looking to better prepare themselves for an increasingly competitive job market. But these schools haven’t been immune to the effects of today’s recession. Fortunately, for every recent economic downturn in higher education — tuition hikes, state budget ...

According to a regional survey of financial aid officers from 214 New England colleges and universities, students and parents have had few problems accessing federal student loans this year, but financial aid administrators have lingering doubts about how easily students will be able to secure college loans next year (“Student Loan Availability ...

Students attending colleges and universities in Kentucky, many of whom have already begun their fall semester, will soon receive their federal student loans now that the state has finalized its $50 million bridge-loan deal with the state’s nonprofit student loan provider, according to an article in the News-Democrat Leader (“Public, ...

Some financial aid administrators have lingering concerns that students may not be able to get the student loans they need to pay for college this year despite recently passed federal legislation designed to improve students’ access to those loans, according to a recent survey. The survey, released this week by the National Association of ...

Pennsylvania State University said its transition over to the federal Direct Loan Program is going “smoothly.” Already about 3,000 borrowers have taken out $5 million in student loans under the new program this summer, according to an article in The Daily Collegian (“PSU Direct Loan Program Successful,” July 11, 2008). The university made the ...

To ensure all students have access to student loans regardless of what type of school they attend, two Democratic senators introduced legislation Tuesday that would prohibit banks and other lenders from “picking and choosing” which institutions of higher education they do business with, according to a New York Times article (“Bill Promotes ...

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., sent a letter Monday to the American Association of Community Colleges, urging its members to enroll in the government’s Direct Loan Program in order to ensure community college students have access to student loans for the 2008–09 academic year.Kennedy, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, ...