The Senate, in the latest round of political maneuvering on a popular campaign issue, Thursday rejected competing Democratic and Republican proposals to prevent student loan rates from doubling to 6.8% in July.
For student borrowers, that pricey college education is going to cost a bit more next year.
With federal student loan interest rates set to double July 1, the Senate failed Tuesday to get enough votes to take up a bill to extend low 3.4% rates for another year.
CNN's Candy Crowley talks to House Speaker John Boehner about the threat of higher student loan interest rates.
Ryan Bryski tells the story of his brother Christopher, whose student loans persisted after he tragically passed away.
The threat of increasing loan rates on future college students has become the newest political cudgel. It shouldn't be. Lowering interest rates on subsidized student loans does little to address the real problems of higher education: rising tuition costs and diminishing returns.
President Obama targets the youth vote in calling for lower college costs.
The White House said Friday that President Barack Obama would veto a Republican measure passed by the House to extend lower interest rates on federal student loans because it takes money from a health care fund that benefits women.
For Republicans and certain presidential nominee Mitt Romney, the best defense appears to be a good offense on issues and themes being pushed by President Barack Obama and Democrats.
CNN's Jessica Yellin reports on President Obama's efforts to secure the youth vote in November.
This week President Obama did a swing through some college campuses talking about student loan debt. The immediate issue is the 3.4% interest rate on federal student loans. It's set to double July 1 unless Congress acts. Keeping the rate low in this still weak economy is, as the president said, a no-brainer. Even his opponent Mitt Romney has endorsed it. But the larger problem -- mounting college costs and a cumulative $1 trillion in student loan debt ? remains untouched.
The House will vote Friday to extend current rates on federally funded college loans for one year, Speaker John Boehner announced on Wednesday in what is seen as an attempt to blunt President Barack Obama's momentum on an issue popular with young voters.
Margo Balboni is cramming college into three years to cut down on the cost of her student loans. As it is, the University of North Carolina sophomore expects to graduate in a few years with $20,000 in debt.
On July 1, the interest rates on student loans subsidized by Uncle Sam will double to 6.8%.
President Obama will use his bully pulpit to urge lawmakers to prevent a doubling of interest rates on federally subsidized student loans.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday released a new online tool it's testing to help families compare the costs of attending different colleges and universities.
The cost of college tuition will continue to rise as long as federal student aid programs continue to increase with little or no accountability.
With little more than three months until the interest rates on federally subsidized student loans double, students are pushing lawmakers to help them out.
If you have a child headed off to college this fall, you've got an important item on your to-do list: the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which you can submit as early as Jan. 1.
President Barack Obama unveiled a new college affordability plan Friday, proposing to further expand student financial aid while providing more assistance to schools that hold tuition down and cutting aid to those that do not.
President Obama announces changes to make college more affordable to prepare young Americans for the future.
Attention college students: The interest rate on federal student loans is scheduled to double this summer unless Congress acts soon.
Thousands of college students may soon feel a financial pinch and another 100,000 may not be able to complete degrees after Congress pushed ahead with changes to federal student aid, education experts said.
Although more Americans are getting help from scholarships and tax breaks, the net cost of college is eating up a higher share of the typical family's income in 2011, according to a report released Wednesday.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan explains President Obama's plan to ease the student loan burden for graduates.
Figuring out how much college is going to cost you is about to get much easier.
The White House announced on Tuesday two new measures the Department of Education will start offering in January to help college graduates climb out of their student loan debt hole.
Some students will start owing more on their loans while they're in school under a last-minute debt ceiling deal to keep the country out of default and reduce deficits by at least $2.1 trillion over a decade.
College students heading back to school in the next few weeks could get caught in financial limbo if Congress doesn't make a deal to keep United States from defaulting on its debt.
As far as raising teenagers goes, Wade and Julie Scheckla can't complain. The California couple's oldest daughter, Paige, 19, is an honors student heading into her junior year at the University of California at Los Angeles, while 17-year-old Brett and 14-year-old Kennedy are straight-A students and standout athletes.
Campus protests against rising tuition fees are considered a ritual at South Korean universities.
What do you get when college costs skyrocket but incomes barely budge? Yet another blow to the middle class.
Sen. Tom Harkin criticized the business goals of for-profit schools at a hearing on the student loan industry Tuesday.
It takes a lot of guts to go up to Capitol Hill in the current budget-cutting climate and ask for more money, yet that's what Education Secretary Arne Duncan did at his appearance at the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday.
Nearly a quarter of the nation's parents saving for their children's college education intend to raid their own retirement accounts, despite increasing their tax liability, according to a new study released Tuesday.
Education stocks took a hit Monday after the government revealed data on student loan repayment rates that could impose hefty penalties on for-profit colleges and universities or make them ineligible for federal student loans.
A government investigation finds some colleges deceive students with dishonest recruiting. CNN's Lisa Sylvester reports.
Mike DiGiacomo graduated with a graphics design degree from Gibbs College, owing more than $30,000 in federal student loans and tens of thousands of dollars in private student loans -- a sum he's finding almost impossible to pay off with his $31,000-a-year job at a FedEx Office store in a Boston, Massachusetts, suburb.
Big changes to how student loans will take place July 1, and while the students themselves aren't likely to notice much, taxpayers stand to save $68 billion over the next 11 years.
At long last, your child's efforts have been rewarded -- a flock of college acceptances have arrived. But your joy is mixed with anxiety as you ask yourself a question echoed by parents across the country: How will we ever pull this off?
President Obama signs the final changes to health care reform into law.
The federal government makes big changes to student loans, as financial planner Karen Lee explains.
Tucked into the legislation President Obama signed Tuesday is an important change that didn't get near the attention of health care reform: a sweeping overhaul of the nation's student loan program.
Congress passed a bill Thursday to make Washington the one-stop shop for cheap student loans and to boost need-based scholarships.
The House voted 220-211 on Sunday to make Washington the one-stop-shop for cheap student loans and to boost funding for need-based scholarships.
On Sunday, the House is set to vote on an historic overhaul of the nation's health care system. It will also take up an issue that will get far less attention but could affect the wallets of millions of Americans.
When the House votes on a health care package this weekend, it will also consider a proposal to make the federal government the one-stop-shop to get cheap student loans.
President Obama has been waging a war with banks over who gets to dole out cheap student loans backed by the federal government.
Students can now pay their college loans and save with Sallie Mae.
Despite losses in their own investments, 65% of grandparents plan to help their grandkids pay for college, reports the College Savings Foundation. That may spell relief for parents squeezed by the economy. But handled incorrectly, such giving could hurt your child's chances for financial aid, says Joe Hurley of savingforcollege.com. Here are the best ways for Grandma to give.
It's only a couple of weeks or even days until school begins. And if you don't think you'll be able to get a handle on your college tuition bill, here with your guide to last minute money.
HLN Money Expert Clark Howard advises a mother on how her son should pay off his student loans
Do you need to borrow to fund a college education for yourself or your child? Be sure you're taking my "Clark Smart" approach to borrowing.
The government's new student loan reform plan gets good grades from graduates with low-paying jobs struggling under a lot of debt. But it's on probation from some borrowers, including married couples and those who will be subject to a new tax liability.
College tuition increases about 5% to 8% a year. And most students are now just beginning to get their financial aid packages.
Colleges aren't getting any cheaper, but federal student loans are.
Today the government will begin offering a repayment plan that lets graduates reduce their monthly student loan payments based on their income. It's called the income based repayment plan and it's available to borrowers who took out federal loans or used a federal consolidation loan to combine their debt.
One of the great headaches of the American dream is about to get less painful.
By now, most college-bound high school seniors have accepted an admissions offer and are cruising blissfully toward graduation, summer, and their chosen campus come fall. For parents, on the other hand, the hard work of financing this education is just beginning.
You've been waiting for this moment for nearly 18 years: Your baby is almost ready for college. Your finances, not so much. The market's protracted free fall means that your college fund is now worth just a fraction of what you need. Your home's value has no doubt dropped sharply too - no help there. The only thing that keeps going up, you guessed it, is college tuition. So it's goodbye, Dream School U., hello, Central State, right?
Many students are now receiving their college acceptance letters and with that comes offers of financial aid. Here's how to compare your financial aid offers.
An increasing number of students aren't making their student loan payments according to the Department of Education.
There could be help on the horizon for families worried about paying for college tuition if Congress passes the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Here is what this bill may do for college students.
Carl, a Florida native now living overseas, is afraid to move back to the United States. That's because he can't afford to pay his student loans.
Given the recent wave of lay offs, people around the country are contemplating their next step. Hiring has slowed. Job seekers are taking an average 4.5 months today to land a new gig, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So more adults are thinking now is the time to return to the classroom.
CNN's Tom Foreman takes a look at how big business affects consumers.
Eric Hahn thought his financial situation was set after he was approved for a private student loan with an 8 percent interest rate to supplement his federal education loans.
The student loan market is rejecting more applicants because of too-low credit scores, but the market is still advancing money, even as colleges prepare to resume classes. Some tips from CNN's Gerri Willis on how to nab a loan.
Since their introduction in 1996, the now ubiquitous state-sponsored 529 college savings plans have been lauded again and again as one of the best tax breaks since the IRA.
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.
From groceries to gasoline, everything is costing more. As schools compete to be the best by expanding campuses and adding research centers, the cost of an education is growing.
CNN's Tom Foreman looks at the soaring prices of college and what the candidates are planning to do about it.
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 average total cost of a private four-year college rose to $32,307 for the current school year, but the rate of increase has slowed compared to public school prices, according to a report released Monday.
House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement Wednesday to boost aid to college students, a deal that calls for slashing roughly $20 billion in government subsidies to banks that issue student loans.
Parents beware - financial aid scams are growing. Complaints are up 60 percent last year, according to the Better Business Bureau. Here's what you need to watch out for.
Parents beware. Financial aid scams are growing. Complaints were up 60 percent in 2006, according to the Better Business Bureau. Here's what you need to watch out for.
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.
Moving the U.S. Congress closer to overhauling the troubled student loan industry, the chairman of the Senate Education Committee Monday unveiled proposals that would affect major lenders.
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.
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.
A college education may be getting less expensive at some of the most prestigious schools.
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
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.
When Jessica Barba was deciding where to go to college, she didn't factor how much she'd have to borrow into the equation.
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.
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.
