student loan interest rates

Moody’s Reviewing Some Student Loan Securities After Auction Interest Rates Rise

Moody’s Investors Service said higher auction rates for securities backed by student loans could lead to a downgrade of some that have low collateral.
The ratings agency said under-collateralized subordinate tranches of student-loan backed securitizations “have become vulnerable to downgrade risk to the extent that this higher than usual pricing is sustained.”
Student loan lenders package loans [...]

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

Lawsuit dismissed against student loan agency

A lawsuit seeking to stop Missouri’s student loan agency from supplying money to Gov. Matt Blunt’s college construction plan has been dropped.
A Cole County judge had denied a request in September to temporarily bar the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority from paying the first installment of Blunt’s $350 million plan. Although the initial request failed, [...]

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

Study up before taking out private-lender student loan

With college costs continuing to rise, parents and students are increasingly turning to private lenders to cover the cost of tuition.
From 1995 to 2006, the amount of money borrowed from private lenders to pay for college rose from $1.3 billion to $17.3 billion, according to MSN Money columnist Liz Pulliam Weston. Why should this concern [...]

Sunday, October 14th, 2007

House OKs Pell grant increase, lower college-loan interest rates

The House on Wednesday approved far-reaching changes in student aid programs, voting to slash $19 billion in federal subsidies to student lenders over five years, while increasing grants for needy students and halving interest rates on federally backed loans with the savings.
The bill passed 273-149, in a sometimes-raucous debate, with 47 Republicans joining Democrats, who [...]

Friday, July 13th, 2007

NextStudent Urges Wisdom When Considering College Debt Repayment Strategy

Graduating college students across the country recently have received their degrees and are taking their first steps into the real world, which includes repaying their student loans. According to NextStudent, a leading Phoenix-based education funding company, composing a strategy for repaying college student debt is simple, once borrowers are armed with accurate, easily applicable information.
Fortunately, [...]

Saturday, July 7th, 2007

Schumer pushes for college-loan disclosure

Charles Schumer learned about the misleading nature of college loans the hard way.
With his youngest daughter heading off to college and the older one entering law school, the U.S. senator knew he needed to look into loans.
“I tried to go through the process with her,” he said. “It’s totally confusing.”
Specifically, it was difficult to tell [...]

Saturday, July 7th, 2007

Student loan rate, financial aid up slightly

The engrossed budget proposal the state House of Representatives released at the end of March includes $8 million for college financial aid, an increase of $3 million from the previous school year.
It still didn’t meet the $13.4 million requested by Gov. Janet Napolitano and the Arizona Board of Regents.
“Our goal was to make sure that [...]

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007

Student Loan Industry Struggles Amid Controversy

A bill before Congress would cut billions in federal subsidies for the student loan industry and increase the amount of money available for needy students – with funding coming from the pockets of lenders. The industry is under assault after reports of unethical financial relationships between universities and private lenders.
Loan industry defenders say the [...]

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007

College-Loan Ploys Probed

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Thursday he has found problems with student loan practices at specific schools in his investigation with federal education officials into possible corruption in the student loan industry.
Blumenthal is conducting his investigation with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General. He declined to detail his findings, but said he [...]

Monday, June 25th, 2007

Student loan debt can burden borrowers

You’ve got the college degree, and now you’re stressed about the debt.
“Even if your student loans exceed your annual salary — which is, unfortunately, a common phenomenon these days — you can knock down those debts and start to regain control of your financial life,” Lynnette Khalfani writes in her new book, “Zero Debt for [...]

Sunday, June 24th, 2007

Senate Report Details Alleged Student Loan Company Enticements

One student loan company took university financial aid directors on a junket to Disney World. Another paid $500 to be placed on a school’s list of recommended lenders. And others showered tequila, wine and golf outings on college aid officers.
Those were among what Senate investigators called illegal enticements from loan companies to university officials to [...]

Friday, June 15th, 2007

Schumer asks for simpler college loan applications

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer on Wednesday unveiled a plan to make college loan applications easier to understand, arguing that high school students and their parents sometimes sign deceptive loan applications.
Schumer’s proposal, modeled after the “Schumer Box” now required on credit card applications, would require lenders to detail loan amounts, range of interest rates and any [...]

Friday, June 15th, 2007