American Student Loan DEBT Crisis

For-Profit College Recruiters Caught Lying on ABC News

debtprisoner — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 09:12:34 +0000

Though their policies are under fire, for-profit college leaders aren’t hurting for cash. Bloomberg reported this week that for-profit college executives earned $2 billion running the schools. Strayer Education Inc. CEO Robert Silberman earned $41.9 million last year — 26 times more than the highest-paid non-profit university president. Seventy-five percent of Strayer’s revenue comes from taxpayers.

LINK TO “FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE RECRUITERS CAUGHT GIVING FALSE ADVISE” ON HUFFINGTON POST

Killer Student Loans

debtprisoner — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 03:45:21 +0000

“This year Americans’ total outstanding student loan debt from federally funded and private loans was estimated at $833 billion, a sum that exceeds our credit card debt (though the two kinds of debt overlap, since, as the Smith study showed, credit cards are used to help pay tuition). The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in July that the 15-year default rate for federal loans is 20 percent; for loans to community college students, 31 percent; for loans to students at for-profit schools, 40 percent.”

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING if you are new to the Student Loan Disaster.

LINK to “Killer Loans: Student loan borrowers drown in debt as lenders make billions.” in Valley Advocate News

The Student Loan Disclosure Document You Should Read

debtprisoner — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 03:34:04 +0000

“Very, very few borrowers fully understand the potential ramifications of the loans that they are taking out.”

LINK to “The Student Loan Disclosure Document Every Borrower Should Read” by Zac Bissonnette at Huffington Post

VIDEO: U.S. Students Drowning In College Debt

debtprisoner — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 06:35:57 +0000

Bankruptcy Protection Bill for Private Student Loans Advances in Congress

debtprisoner — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 06:30:03 +0000

The Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act (H.R. 5043), originally introduced in the House on April 15 by Reps. Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Danny Davis of Illinois, was passed by a House subcommittee on Sept. 15. The proposed legislation would reverse a provision of a lender-friendly bankruptcy reform bill that, in 2005, created special protections for lenders of private student loans, making private student loans almost impossible to discharge in bankruptcy, unlike most every other form of private consumer debt.

LINK TO FULL STORY

Starting Life With Student Loan Debt

debtprisoner — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 12:01:15 +0000

Student Loan Scam: the fast road to Debt Slavery

debtprisoner — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 12:41:57 +0000

Student Loan Debt Clock — $848 billion and counting

debtprisoner — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 12:36:09 +0000

A new tool lets you watch the country’s collected student debt pile up in real time.

Sponsored by FinAid.org, the Student Loan Debt Clock tallies an estimate of total private and federal outstanding student debt. According to FinAid, now is peak time for debt growth, as more student loans are doled out at the semester’s start.

Link (to Huffington Post)

High Costs, Loan Defaults at For-Profit Colleges

debtprisoner — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 12:31:49 +0000

From USAToday:

According to the Department of Education, 77% of for-profit universities’ revenue — some $24 billion in the 2008-09 academic year — comes from federal grants and loans. Amazingly, even though the industry accounts for only 10% of students, it is responsible for 44% of all loan defaults. On average, more than one in five people who borrow to attend for-profit institutions is in default within three years of leaving school. The schools don’t care because the loans are federally guaranteed — an echo of the practices that led banks to issue subprime mortgages.

Link (to USAToday)

Meet Your New Roommate: Student Debt

debtprisoner — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:26:50 +0000