Student Loan Blog

For some students, four years of a college education is simply too much to afford. But by accelerating their college career to reduce the amount of time they spend in the classroom, these student are able to reduce their overall cost of college. How do they do it? For many students, the three-year college plan starts in high school. High ...

In another move to restructure the federal financial aid system, President Obama has proposed ending the government’s five-year foray into merit-based student aid and redirecting those financial aid funds to the need-based Pell Grant program, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education (“An Experiment in Merit-Based Student Aid Is Likely to End,” ...

A large proportion of students who only take out non-federal private student loans to finance their education aren’t applying for federal financial aid at all, and it’s the application itself that may be culprit, a new study suggests (“Nightmare Application May Be Driving Students to Costly Loans,” Forbes, June 9, 2009). In his study of 250,000 ...

College graduates who were lured into high-need fields, including teaching, nursing, and public service, by programs that would forgive a portion or all of their student loans are receiving this sobering news: The cavalry isn’t coming after all. These graduates, who in some cases were enticed by the loan forgiveness programs to take out ...

Students looking to finish their college degree, start a new career, or increase their earning potential now have a quick and easy way to find the best online education degree program that meets their needs, with NextStudent’s new eLearners college search program. This free interactive tool allows students to search for online colleges and ...

Students who receive above-average scores on standardized college admissions tests, such as the SAT, may benefit the most from commercial test preparation services, according to new report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, although the benefits of such test preparation may not outweigh the costs for ...

Last summer Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland offered American military veterans worldwide a no-cost education at any of Ohio’s public colleges. The state has just now finished tallying its number of veteran students in preparation for the program’s Aug. 1, 2009 start date, the same day the new GI Bill goes into effect, reports ...

Arizona State University officials have decided to rename the school’s largest financial aid program after President Barack Obama in honor of his commencement address to ASU’s 2009 graduating class, reports The Arizona Republic (“1,600 ASU Freshmen Will Qualify for Obama Scholarship,” May 7, 2009). Approximately 1,600 incoming ...

The Texas Senate has voted to limit future tuition hikes, including a 5–percent yearly cap for the largest universities in the state, after seeing the state’s 35 public universities increase tuition and fees 86 percent since 2003, reports The Dallas Morning News (“Bill Limiting College Tuition and Fee Hikes Clears Texas Senate,” ...

To combat one of the most severe budget crises in its recent history, the state of Arizona is considering opening a fourth major university or converting an existing community college into a four-year school, The Arizona Republic reports (“Regents’ Plan: A New College,” May 6, 2009). State legislators and Gov. Jan Brewer are pressing the ...