13 Key Realizations To Prepare Me for the Business World I wrapped up my time with a BA in marketing and an MBA after six long, rambling years of college life. Jumping headfirst into the “real world” was like, whoa, things aren’t exactly how they “would be” as portrayed in school. Seriously,while college laid down a bare … Read more
Thousands of students who took out tens of thousands of dollars in student loans to attended San Francisco’s California Culinary Academy, one of 18 cooking schools in the Le Cordon Bleu for-profit college chain, may be getting some of their money back. Under a pending $40 million settlement in state court, Career Education Corp., Le Cordon Bleu’s parent … Read more
Without additional taxpayer funds next year, the government’s “most important” federal financial aid program may be unable to provide Pell Grants to millions of eligible low-income students, likely pricing these students out of a higher education, according to an article in The New York Times (“Pell Grants Said to Face a Shortfall,” Sept. 17, 2008). In a … Read more
Do credit scores affect your eligibility for financial aid? And does taking out student loans impact your credit score later? These are common and important questions, especially as the cost of higher education continues to rise and financial literacy becomes essential for navigating college funding. Financial Aid and the FAFSA: No Credit Score Required To access … Read more
In 2009, the Texas Senate drew a line in the sand. After watching tuition and fees at the state’s 35 public universities skyrocket by 86% over just six years, lawmakers passed a bill to curb runaway costs. The legislation, introduced by Sen. Judith Zaffirini and supported by then-Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, sought to restore affordability to … Read more
This month, education loan giant Sallie Mae is launching its first fixed-rate private student loan to compete with federal student loans, which have historically been better deals for students because of low, fixed interest rates, as opposed to variable rates, and more protections for borrowers. The private loans will have a fixed interest rate from … Read more
The U.S. Department of Education has been busy transferring large collections of federal Direct student loans to new nonprofit loan-servicing companies in an effort to streamline how education loans are serviced. However, the massive transition is causing some borrowers to suddenly encounter problems with their college loans. The transition, which has been going on for … Read more
A 2005 law that prevented private student loans from being discharged in bankruptcy courts, thereby stripping a vital consumer protection from proprietary college loans that remains available to all other types of consumer loans, should be overturned, according to Sen. Dick Durbin. Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said at a hearing on Capital Hill last week … Read more
The messages of frustration and dissatisfaction from the Occupy Wall Street protests have targeted unemployment, economic inequity, and healthcare costs. But as the protests have spread to other U.S. cities, as well as cities in countries around the world, debt from student loans has became a larger and louder focus of the protests. The unemployment rate has … Read more
The subsidy that the U.S. Department of Education uses to pay interest on federal student loans for undergraduates while borrowers are enrolled in college has been placed on the table in federal debt limit negotiations. During budget negotiations last week between the White House and Congressional Republicans, Rep. Eric Cantor, the Republican majority leader, reportedly proposed ending … Read more
More than 15 years ago, it was rumored that the University of Michigan was going to go private. Reasons cited mainly related to state budget pressures. Mary Sue Coleman denied these rumors and reiterated the university’s commitment to its public mission. Today, UM remains a public institution primarily serving the Michigan community but attracting students … Read more
Democratic lawmakers in both chambers of Congress have proposed legislation that would make private student loans eligible for discharge under U.S. bankruptcy laws. Sens. Richard Durbin of Illinois, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, and Al Franken of Minnesota introduced the Fairness for Struggling Students Act (S. 3219) in the U.S. Senate on April 15, the same day that Reps. Steve … Read more
Nebraska’s three state colleges-Wayne State College, Peru State College, and Chadron State College-are continuing their commitment to college affordability through the Nebraska State College Tuition Guarantee. This program ensures that qualified Nebraska residents can attend these colleges tuition-free, making higher education more accessible for students from low- and moderate-income families. Who Qualifies? To be eligible … Read more
To help ensure that low-income students can afford a college education in the midst of a recession, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is committing nearly $70 million in grants toward its goal of doubling the number of low-income students who earn a college degree or vocational credential by age 26, The New York Times reports (“Gates Grants Aim … Read more
In the fall of 2008, with the U.S. economy teetering on the edge of collapse, a financial domino effect hit college campuses across the country — and students were caught in the crossfire. One of the most telling examples came from Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), where institutional leadership intervened after a major student loan provider … Read more
A growing trend in how students apply to college is changing the landscape of college admissions, forcing admissions offices to rethink the number of students the school needs to admit and, in turn, how the school awards its available federal grants, student loans, work-study, and other limited financial aid funds. As colleges and universities provide a … Read more
Unfortunately, high school does not typically prepare you for the transition to the college workload and life. New-found freedom comes with new burdens like planning meals, laundry, and time management. Success in the next level of academics comes from getting a variety of things right that often go well beyond studying. Here are some well-researched … Read more
These are typical of the comments we received in response to a list of characteristics of the visual-spatial learner that we posted on our website. Visual-spatial learners think in pictures and need more time to translate their pictures into words. If they have sequential weaknesses, they have difficulty with word retrieval, and struggle with sequential … Read more