Student Loan Consolidation Programs

According to the report Nelnet was lobbying against legislation affecting the student loan industry that would require clearer disclosure of rates and terms on private-student loans and require a 30-day comparison shopping period after loan approval, during which time the offer terms could not be altered.

So basically Nelnet was lobbying against legislation that would hinder their ability to make misleading statements to borrowers. They want to continue to trick people into higher interest rate loans and other catch 22 practices.

Additionally records do not indicate that Nelnet filed a lobbying disclosure for the first half of 2007 which is required by law. If that's not enough Nelnet is the same company that settled in 2007 with the New York Attorney General's office following the famous investigations involving conflicts of interest in student loan lenders (they were giving kickbacks to college administrators and alumni for steering borrowers their way).

We told you it was dirty.....

Posted by nicod3mus at 08:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It is becoming increasingly hard to secure private student loans qas a direct result of the new student loan legislation that has recently passed. We have been saying this since the legislation was in early consideration but more and more is being said about it lately.

The middle class was hit the hardest once again under the new legislation because federal subsidies for private student loans were cut. What this  means is that it is going to be harder to get a student loan for any student who does not qualify for the need based assistance.

Here is a link to a great article on the Chicago Tribune website that once again reitterates the problems with the legislation.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/chi-ym-started-0203feb03,1,6155987.story

Posted by nicod3mus at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Business New Zealand says both parties are just trying to get votes and I think that is probably true but the fact remains that the voters care about the issue. From matching lump sum payments to widened eligibility for aid there are several so called "solutions" flowing from the mouths of the candidates. Here's a link to the full article at scoop.co.nz:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0802/S00013.htm

Posted by nicod3mus at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Drier LLP alleges that the SLM corporation violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The class action lawsuit alleges that the company made intentionally misleading statements about its performance and financial results.

We aren't finance or securities experts but really, does this surprise anyone?? Chances are it doesn't surprise anyone who has actually borrowed from Sallie Mae as I have personally. At-any-rate here's the link to the full story at Fox Business.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/finance/article/dreier-llp-announces-class-action-lawsuit-slm-corporation-slm_466266_9.html

Posted by nicod3mus at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued a great statement about the US Department of Education allowing seven Federal Family Education Program lenders to resume billing on their loans with the ridiculously high interest rates of 9.5%. Get the full quote in this edition.

Here's Kennedy's full quote on the issue according to the website AllAmericanPatriots.com:

“It’s long past time for the Department of Education to end this scandal. Auditing every lender to identify abuses of the 9.5% provision is a welcome start, but the Department should also insist that every past taxpayer dollar inappropriately paid to the abusers be repaid. I applaud the Department’s Inspector General for opening a new investigation into the 9.5% loan issue, so that the lenders can be held accountable and students and taxpayers can finally learn how much was wasted through this corrupt scheme.”

Posted by nicod3mus at 08:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Read this full story to get a link to a list of the College Opportunity and Affordability Act amendments expected to be considered.

This is a really great resource from the AACRAO covering all of the amendments expected to be debated during consideration of H.R. 4137 the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007. Link below, enjoy!

http://www.aacrao.org/transcript/index.cfm?fuseaction=show_view&doc_id=3773

Posted by nicod3mus at 08:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here is an except from the Reuters.com article on the subject covering the specific student loan rate and fee cuts:

"Chase Education Finance said it will waive the origination fee on Stafford loans and the 1 percent default fee on Stafford, Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS loans.

Tlegraph.co.uk reports that a loophole in the UK student loan system allowed prisoners to claim funds designed to pay for rent and food.

The payments have been halted but what a loophole and what a story. 500,000 pounds down the drain and some faces sullied on this one.

Students are going to be outraged and rightly so but we agree with the Telegraph in that education helps break the cycle of re-offending. Prisoners shouldn't be getting money for food and rent but they should be getting the financial aid and student loans they need. We would argue that society as a whole benefits a great deal in keeping these prisoners from committing future crimes.

Posted by nicod3mus at 08:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

During Monday's protest students said they would not stop until their demands were met according to the IOL (iol.co.za). The whole mess appears to have been caused in part by students being mislead into believing that they had tuition 100% paid for by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

Bottom line is that students did not know they owed any funds until they showed up for registration and by that time it was to late to make a plan. All-in-all it sounds like a pretty big  mess and I know that if I were one of those students I would probably be right out there with them and we wish everyone affected the best of luck.

Posted by nicod3mus at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This legislation was designed to benefit the lenders, just like virtually every other piece of legislation passed by the Bush administration it benefited big business and put another straw on the backs of the middle class.

Robert Shireman, executive director of the Project on Student Debt is quoted as saying this by News-JournalOnline.com, “To treat the person who borrowed on the student loan more harshly than the one who borrowed on credit is backwards. … We want to be encouraging people to go to college.’’

News-JournalOnline.com also reported that the issue is being reviewed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday. Let's hope for some sanity on this issue.

Posted by nicod3mus at 09:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The experts said that the people with significant student loan debt tend to be younger, more female than male, and have lower incomes. They urged the government to stop punishing bankrupts with student loan debt.

On another note they added that one branch of the Canadian government prefers proposals over bankruptcies but another branch prefers the opposite. They stated that the government should work together towards the same goal.

Bankruptcy reform is needed both in the US and Canada regarding student loan debt. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction as the new legislation has not come into effect yet in Canada and hearings are continuing.

Posted by nicod3mus at 08:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Kevin Wilhelmy, a student at the flight school, said he was referred to Student Loan Express for his more than $70,000 in loans (which have been converted to American Education Services of Harrisburg, Pa.). According to Union Tribune website SignOnSanDiego.com it is unclear whether or not the Student Loan Express Wilhelmy used is connected to the Student Loan Xpress in San Diego, an education lender operated by CIT Group of New York.

SignOnSanDiego.com also reports that they have not reached the lender to determine whether or not students will have to continue paying on these loans. Hopefully these students will get some relief as this is one of the worst situations regarding student loans that we have seen recently.

Posted by nicod3mus at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Finance vice-president Matthew Granville calls for an overhaul of the Canadian provincial student loan program and goes on to say that, "''This is not asking for a free handout, this is asking for a grant program that will meet the needs of every single student."

The Canadian student loan systems have been far from adequate for some time now. Hopefully protests like this one will help make way for some change.

Posted by nicod3mus at 08:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)