Student Loan News, Updates and Blog Posts

Yes, your federal loan details can be accessed online through the Department of Education’s National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) database.

The NSLDS database holds all your federal loan details. If you’ve just applied for aid, don’t expect to find any information on NSLDS yet. NSLDS gets its information from schools guaranty agencies and U.S. Department of Education programs after your funds have been disbursed.

The loan details you can expect to find include Pell Grant amounts, Stafford loan, Perkins loan, and Plus loan disbursements. You can log on to www.nslds.com. You will need your four digit FAFSA pin number to access your details.

Forget a big league contract.  Sign your John Hancock to the bottom of a learning contract.

Did you know that many schools negotiate learning contracts with their students?  The next thing you may be thinking is great, what the heck is a learning contract?

A learning contract is a formal, negotiated agreement between the student and the school , stating that if the student successfully completes certain tasks the school will award an agreed-upon number of credits.  Ok, now you are wondering what I mean by “tasks?”

Tasks are very much the same as what you would be expected to do in a traditional classroom setting.  You may have certain required reading, essays to write, labs or seminars to attend, or even a timed exam.

Learning contracts can be written for a few units, or an entire degree program.  Often times a school or university will appoint a faculty member to guide the course of study.

For those with a hectic, unpredictable schedule this may work for you.  I know years ago when I was working a rotating schedule this would have been ideal, though nowadays you also have online classes.

We want it all, and we want it yesterday.

My Dad often talks about the “ME generation with contempt. Cell phones, emails, texts, and twitter status updates make him cringe. He looks back at his younger days with nostalgic eyes (just as we all do) and enjoys a simpler time. Heck, I’m 33 and have seen things change drastically over the past 16 years let alone the past 46 when my Dad was a teen. But as we bathe ourselves in this magnificent age of technology, it may just be an old fashion practice that saves our electronic butts one of these days.

If you’re having difficulty making your monthly student loan payment and are looking to either negotiate a more manageable payment schedule with your lender or see if you qualify for an income sensitive repayment plan it would be prudent to conduct all of your business in writing. Those records could prove to be invaluable down the road in the event the lender contests you. The automated services and second-rate customer service representatives are frustrating, and more importantly, undocumented. Having that written correspondence could serve to be the key to your case should it land on the desk of the Better Business Bureau.

You’ll also want to make copies of your payment stubs and the checks you send the lender with your account number listed along with instructions on how you want the payment applied (principal and interest). Yes, these measures are time consuming and even require some snail mailing but it is time well spent to protect yourself.

Don’t get me wrong I love the carousal of progress we are spinning on, but there is a time and place for each mode of communication.

One, Two, Three O’clock, Four O’clock rock,

Five, Six, Seven O’clock, Eight O’clock rock

Nine, Ten, Eleven O’clock, Twelve O’clock rock

We’re gonna rock around the community college tonight!

The expression ‘burning the midnight oil’ is one the staffers at Bunker Hill Community College have taken quite literally.

According to the Boston Business Journal administrators at the college, straining to fit the influx of students entering Bunker Hill, are implementing a late-shift this fall where the start of class will be at 11:30pm with an end time of around 2am. I hope they allow students to bring their Starbucks and Pepsi’s into the classroom. That is a long night indeed.

You may want to inquire with your school to see if “midnight courses” are on the agenda for the future. Midnight classes are perfect for those working a second shift, or those like my brother who go to bed at 3:30am normally.

Between flexible class times and online education options school is more accessible than ever before. Where will you be when the clock strikes twelve?

You might think that if you have recently filed Ch. 13 bankruptcy that this will automatically disqualify you for a Parent Plus loan. Some parents even count on this, so their child can get more in the unsubsidized Stafford loan.

Well this is not always the case. I have found recently that Direct loans approves people who have a bankruptcy status because they do not consider it to be an adverse action on your credit report. I had a lengthy exchange with a very frustrated mom who searched for answers as to why she got approved for this loan when the terms of her bankruptcy clearly stated they couldn’t take on any more debt. To read the exchange click here.

Also keep in mind that I have found most FFEL lenders will not approve someone for a Plus Loan with a recent bankruptcy showing, so clearly they US Dept of Education and the private lenders do not use the same criteria for Plus loan approval.

State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky announced the launch of the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation’s (HESC) Student Loan Marketplace site to help college students comparatively shop for private loans.

June 4 (Bloomberg) — New Jersey sold the largest issue of fixed-rate, tax-exempt bonds backed by student loans since the federal stimulus eased tax rules on such deals in February.

June 4 (Bloomberg) — A New Jersey lender leads tax-exempt borrowers today with the largest issue of fixed-rate municipal bonds backed by student loans since the federal stimulus eased tax rules on such deals in February.

Graduates should be able to manage their student loans as easily as their bank accounts, Finance Minister Bill English says. Answering questions after delivering a post budget speech in Wellington this morning Mr English was asked…

It depends when the child is going to be born if the student will earn a dependent or independent status.

The relevant language from the Application and Verification Guide states, “Students who have legal dependents are independent. Legal dependents comprise children (including those who will be born before the end of the award year) of the student who receive more than half their support from the student.

So if the baby will be born before the end of the award year than you may be granted an independent status to get more funds for school, provided you are supporting yourself.

If you still live at home and Mom and Dad are supporting you than the unborn child will most likely be listed under “family size” and that would keep your status dependent as you would still be dependent.