Student Loan Blog

The largest university in the nation, Ohio State University, has taken steps to ensure that its students who rely on financial aid will still be able to complete their degree program in spite of the economic recession, the school announced in a press release this week (“Ohio State Assisting Students Facing Economic Difficulties,” Dec. 22, ...

The student loan crunch that began this past spring failed to become the widespread crisis that experts predicted, according to the results of a survey by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. Still, the NAICU reports, some of the private colleges surveyed have had to scramble to help their ...

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, ...

As cash-strapped lenders continue to drop out of the Federal Family Education Loan Program, the number of student loans originated for the 2008–09 school year through the government’s Direct Loan Program has increased by 43 percent, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education (“As ‘Crisis’ Deters Loan Companies, Direct Lending Sees ...

A third attempt to generate liquidity for the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority may be too little too late for some 40,000 Massachusetts college students, reports The Boston Globe (“Student Loan Authority May Not Get State Aid,” Aug. 14, 2008).In late July, MEFA announced that it wouldn’t have enough money to fund any new private ...

The Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, the state agency that provides college loans to students attending colleges and universities in Kentucky, will “effectively run out of money” Friday while it waits to receive a $50 million loan from the federal government on August 21, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader (“Student Loan Agency ...

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has set up a financial assistance website to help the 40,000 families who were previously served by the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority to find a new student loan provider for the 2008–09 academic year, following MEFA’s announcement on July 28 that it was suspending its private student loan ...

After posting an $8.9 billion second-quarter loss in July, Wachovia Corp. announced on Tuesday that it would stop making private student loans to undergraduates (“Wachovia to Stop Writing Private Undergrad Student Loans,” CNN Money, Aug. 5, 2008).Wachovia representative Ferris Morrison said the company’s student loan lending subsidiary, Wachovia ...

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, ...