For families with children heading off to college, this has been the year from hell. First, a record number of applicants made 2008 the most competitive year ever for college admissions. Then the credit crunch hit the college market in a big way, igniting fears of a drought in financing for all students this fall.
For years, financial firms made good money making government-guaranteed loans to college students.
Patrick and Laura Matheny began saving early for their children's college education. After stashing some $50,000 in college savings accounts for their son Daniel, now 20, and their daughter Natalie, 18, they began paying down their mortgage in earnest with the intention of tapping their home equity once the bills began rolling in.
Paying for college is rarely easy, but this year parents and students could have a tougher time securing the necessary financing.
As college acceptance letters arrive this month, families will be celebrating the good news (we hope!), then bracing for the grueling process of figuring out how to pay for four years' tuition.
We can all count on the certainty of death and taxes. But many of us can add student loan debt to that list. The average student graduates with about $21,000 in debt these days.
The credit crunch is hitting the college classroom.
The credit crunch may be bleeding into the student loan industry. Here's what it could mean to your wallet and how to protect yourself.
Students relying on college loans will soon feel the pinch from the subprime mortgage crisis, according to a report by financial aid guide FinAid this week.
The chairman of the U.S. Senate education committee Tuesday introduced legislation to cut government subsidies to student loan companies, but the cuts were milder than some expected and lender stocks rose.
For families with children heading off to college, this has been the year from hell. First, a record number of applicants made 2008 the most competitive year ever for college admissions. Then the credit crunch hit the college market in a big way, igniting fears of a drought in financing for all students this fall.
For years, financial firms made good money making government-guaranteed loans to college students.
Patrick and Laura Matheny began saving early for their children's college education. After stashing some $50,000 in college savings accounts for their son Daniel, now 20, and their daughter Natalie, 18, they began paying down their mortgage in earnest with the intention of tapping their home equity once the bills began rolling in.
Paying for college is rarely easy, but this year parents and students could have a tougher time securing the necessary financing.
As college acceptance letters arrive this month, families will be celebrating the good news (we hope!), then bracing for the grueling process of figuring out how to pay for four years' tuition.
We can all count on the certainty of death and taxes. But many of us can add student loan debt to that list. The average student graduates with about $21,000 in debt these days.
The credit crunch is hitting the college classroom.
The credit crunch may be bleeding into the student loan industry. Here's what it could mean to your wallet and how to protect yourself.
Students relying on college loans will soon feel the pinch from the subprime mortgage crisis, according to a report by financial aid guide FinAid this week.
The chairman of the U.S. Senate education committee Tuesday introduced legislation to cut government subsidies to student loan companies, but the cuts were milder than some expected and lender stocks rose.
Question 1: We have over $23,000 in student loans. My husband has already consolidated when the rates were high. We are at an 8.5 percent interest rate. Is there nothing else we can do make the interest better? -Tracey, Colorado
It's a good thing you got that college education. You can put it to good use navigating the complex maze that is the student loan industry as you consider whether to consolidate your federal student loans.
The prospect is anything but appealing: You - and possibly your offspring - will have to borrow gigantic sums to pay those college bills soon coming due.
The lure for private-equity firm J.C. Flowers' $25 billion buyout of student-loan giant Sallie Mae may be its fast-growing and lucrative business providing private education loans -- loans that exi...
New York, Illinois and Missouri announced settlements Monday with three schools for participating in questionable student loan practices, marking the latest development in the widening student loan scandal.
Late Sunday night, student loan giant Sallie Mae, or SLM Corp. as the company is officially known, became the latest major American corporation to succumb to the advances of private equity. Sallie will be sold to a consortium of two private equity firms - JC Flowers and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe - and two banks that have their own student loan businesses - JP Morgan and Bank of America - for some $60 a share, or $25 billion. That represents a premium of almost 50 percent based on Sallie's stock price before word of the deal began to leak.
For many college students, being short on money and being away from home presents a dangerous temptation: credit cards.
Question 1: Next year, we'll be in the market for a home. Please cite any sources I might find useful to help me start my search. - Stephen, Minneapolis
Paying for college may get a little easier. Today congress voted to cut interest rates on the government's largest loan program. In today's top tips we'll tell you what you need to know.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted in favor of legislation that would cut in half the fixed interest rates on need-based Stafford loans for undergraduates over five years.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on legislation that would cut in half the fixed interest rates on need-based Stafford loans for undergraduates over five years.
Follow these steps to make sure you collect all that you deserve.
Follow these steps to make sure you collect all the financial aid you deserve.
In the corporate world, there's a short list of obvious suspects who may face tougher times under a Democratic Congress, including Big Pharma and Big Oil. Then there are the not-so-obvious suspects...
In the corporate world, there's a short list of obvious suspects who may face tougher times under a Democratic Congress, including Big Pharma and Big Oil. Then there are the not-so-obvious suspects - like what might be called Big Education.
When Jessica Barba was deciding where to go to college, she didn't factor how much she'd have to borrow into the equation.
The deadline to consolidate your student loans is two days away...Friday, June 30th.
After July 1, rates on student loans are set to be their highest in six years. But there are steps you can take to limit the damage.
TIP 1 Rent, drive, enjoy
What scares parents most when it comes to the safety of their family? Terrorism? No. Crime? Negative. Violent video games? The environment? Not even close.
If you've borrowed money from Uncle Sam to finance your education or your child's, you might be able to save yourself thousands of dollars.
What scares parents most when it comes to the safety of their family? Terrorism? No. Crime? Negative. Violent video games? The environment? Not even close.
Mayrose Wegmann, 25, should have been starting on her dream career as a political consultant by now. And saving toward her first home.
Dick Schwartz always knew that C-day - as in college - would come.
In just a few weeks, millions of college kids are going to be venturing off to corporate America.
Congress cut funding for federal student-loan program on Wednesday, raising the cost of attending college for many future students, according to a published report.
For millions of Americans, the first big financial decision in life is whether to take on a student loan. Student loans are debt, of course, but they represent something different than credit card debt or a car loan: They are part of a quest for a better future.
If you are planning college visits with your kids this fall, you are probably anticipating the thrill of strolling across campus together but fearing the financial ramifications of your kid's higher education.
Three months ago you were gearing up for your last set of finals and now you've secured the job you always wanted and a salary you're happy with.
Dear Armchair Millionaire: I have a ton of student loans, and I've been hearing about the advantages of consolidating them. Is this something I should consider?
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Come July, the rock-bottom rates on your federally guaranteed, variable-rate student loans will be going up.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - All good things usually come to an end. So, come July, don't be surprised if the rock-bottom rates on your federally guaranteed, variable-rate student loans go up.
Still sighing with relief after your college-bound senior got her applications out the door? Well, don't relax yet.
The California attorney general's office is looking into allegations of consumer fraud at student loan financing firm Sallie Mae, according to a report published Tuesday.
I'm a 25-year-old college grad who's built up some savings by living at home for a couple of years and then renting cheap. I started a Roth IRA three years ago and have contributed the max every year, but all my money sits in a money market account that earns a measly 2.1 percent.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE FREE OF CREDIT-CARD DEBT? To have a financial cushion to fall back on? To know you have the skills to save and invest for any goal—and to guarantee your financial future?
You have one opportunity to roll all your federal student loans into one and to lock in a rate that's at or near a historic low. (The rates change each year on July 1.)
It's the end of the school year. The good news? It's the end of the school year. The bad news? It's time for college graduates to begin paying back student loans.
In today's five tips segment we dug into our e-mail bag and hit the street to find out what your biggest financials concerns are.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Many Fed watchers anticipate a rate hike by summer and a gradual rising of rates in areas that directly affect consumers. But in at least one rate-sensitive area, interest rates will be setting yet another record low.
ANGELIQUE ROBERTS
In the next couple of months, students all over the country graduate from college. For them, the security of the university is about to be replaced by a world full of debt, student loans, bills, and let's face it, responsibility.
You continue to write in and we listen. Here are answers to five of your e-mails.
It's that time of year again when colleges and universities start sending out admission acceptance letters and financial aid awards. And if you're like most American families you'll probably need some help with the hefty college tuition bill.
BEND, Ore. (CNN/Money) - Parents, if you hope to qualify for financial aid, apply for certain student and parental loans or put your collegiate in the running for merit-based awards, it's time to tackle financial aid forms.
Few investors have been hit as hard by the market free-fall as parents saving for college. If you were stashing money in stocks, you have been set back two or three years--and you may have only a s...
Ten years ago grunge musicians and college-age Cassandras who had never held a day job preached that corporate America would crush their generation's soul and leave them without a pension plan. Fil...
Thanks to recent short-term interest-rate declines, many college grads will pay the lowest interest on federal student loans since the loan program began in 1965. On July 1, the rate for those curr...
You've repeated the mantra since the kids were in diapers: Save for college, save for college. Oh, you didn't accumulate enough? Join the club. "Out of the more than 50,000 families we've worked wi...
Attention, parents of college-bound kids: A financial aid formula used by hundreds of private colleges has recently changed. As a result, some families will get a better deal; others will fare wors...
Between now and March, parents of many current and future college students will fill out a critical financial aid form: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is required for a...
Are you thinking of going back to school to refresh your computer know-how or enrolling in a financial planning course to acquire new skills? Does the idea of earning your M.B.A. online intrigue yo...
If you're the parent of a college-bound high school senior, you've probably endured the tedium of filling out intrusive federal and college financial aid applications. Assuming you've sent in all t...
College-bound high school seniors and their parents may have months to file financial-aid forms, but you can boost your chances of getting the aid you want if you submit forms, including the Free A...
If you're looking for a way to cut student-loan costs, and the buzz about loan consolidation has left you confused, that's understandable. Over the past nine months, the business of consolidating s...
If you haven't saved enough for your child's college bills, you may need a loan. Here are the three top deals for students and parents:
THIS MONTH: --"Smart cards" aren't that smart yet --Why you should join a credit union now --Whether to swing at a bank's insurance pitch
THIS MONTH: --Meet a teen Donald Trump. --Individual investors get more protection. --Using your computer to buy a car SENATE MAJORITY LEADER BOB DOLE MAY NOT electrify his stump audiences with ne...
YOU CAN BE PRETTY sure that Mick Jagger, one rock relic the Gen X crowd really digs, wasn't crooning about personal finance when he sang, "Time is on my side." But time is one of the two things twe...
WHEN DANIELLE ARCARO ENTERED George Washington Medical School in Washington, D.C. in 1989, she anticipated a long and lucrative career. Now, with 18 months to go as a hospital resident, the would-b...
NO DOUBT YOU'RE READING THIS article because you have a friend who needs a money makeover. Certainly you don't need one. No, sirree. You're in fine financial shape, with not a worry in the world. I...
WITH TUITION RISING ABOUT 6.5% A year and Congress assaulting federal financial aid, you might wonder whether your son or daughter can graduate from college without a ball-and-chain debt to drag th...
When savings and financial aid fall short of your child's college costs, you can usually borrow the difference. (See the table below for your best loan choices.) Before you do, however, carefully c...
Starting July 1, students at 104 colleges and trade schools, including Harvard, Rutgers and Memphis State, will apply for federal loans directly through their school's financial aid office rather t...
A new federal financial aid law is beginning to make it easier for college students to manage their debt loads. "Now all students will have more reasonable payment schedules," says David Longanecke...
President Clinton's sweeping deficit-reduction plan, which was enacted in August, included a money-saving break for families whose children win federal financial aid for college. Such awards typica...
The federal student loan program is widely conceded to be a mess in need of reform, but the view around our house is that the reforms now being proposed by Bill & Co. will only make matters messier...
Home owners applying for federal college financial aid for themselves or their kids after Jan. 1 may qualify for larger government loans and grants for college than in the past. That's because, sta...
What can you expect from President-elect Bill Clinton's first 100 days? For starters, don't expect economic miracles. It could take as long as a year, for example, to put Clinton's proposed $20 to ...
Middle-income parents of college-bound children finally got a break this year. Congress voted to cut the rates on subsidized Stafford Loans and make more families eligible for them. The changes wil...
It took 10 years, but last fall Gary Lynn (right), a 34-year-old marketing consultant in Troy, N.Y., finally paid off his $9,959.62 in student loans. Or so he thought. The U.S. Department of Educat...
Education is, as most Americans will readily admit, one of the big issues of the '90s. And now the twin questions of how to improve our troubled public schools and make top-quality higher education...
Last July, shortly after Lauren Davis, 33, and David Toups, 29, became engaged, they decided to reverse the traditional order of nuptial events by buying the nest before cooing ''I do.'' The New Or...
Last July, shortly after Lauren Davis, 33, and David Toups, 29, became engaged, they decided to reverse the traditional order of nuptial events by buying the nest before cooing ''I do.'' The New Or...
If you are among the 2.2 million graduates who are not keeping up with your government-backed student loan payments, here are two lessons out of school that you should learn fast: 1) the IRS is on ...
If you're a parent, the goal of raising the money to send your child to college may seem achingly unattainable. After all, four years at a private college now costs more than $45,000 on average ($1...
Thank you for ''How to Cope After A Spouse Dies'' (June). Your readers may be interested to learn that federally insured student loans such as Guaranteed Student Loans (GSLs), Parent Loans for Unde...
Daniel and David Huff, 22-year-old identical twins from Ithaca, N.Y., just graduated from Cornell University, each with a bachelor's degree in hotel administration and an $11,000 federally guarante...
Lending money to needy college students may not sound like an easy way to make big profits, but the Student Loan Marketing Association -- Sallie Mae, for short -- has prospered at it. During the pa...
Tony and Sally Jannetta's older sons could not have reached college age at a worse time. In 1984, Tony, an executive at a computer leasing company, was squirreling away money to start his own busin...
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