Author's articles

Does Parents’ Divorce Translate Into More Student Loan Debt?
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
A study conducted by researchers at Rice University and the University of Wisconsin and published in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Family Issues concludes that college students whose parents are divorced or ...
Government’s PLUS Program Offers More Than Parent Loans
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
Although most undergraduate students must provide their parents’ financial information when applying for federal financial aid for college, not all parents may want or be able to help their children pay for college. Colleges and ...
Paying for College: 5 Tips for Minimizing Student Loan Debt
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
If you plan to attend college at some point in your life, you should have a plan to keep your student loan debt to a minimum. Knowing how you’ll be paying for college before you ...
The Pros & Cons of Private Student Loans
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
College students are often cautioned to avoid private student loans unless absolutely necessary, urged instead to take advantage of all other financial aid options first. The advice is sound. Generally speaking, private student loans, which ...
Meeting Your College Expected Family Contribution
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
With the financial aid season in full swing, a lot of families are becoming anxious about the expected family contribution (EFC), which is the amount of money you and your family will be expected to ...
The Hunt for Student Loans, Grants, and Scholarships Begins
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
If you plan to attend college for the first time in 2011 or have a family member who will, you’re about to embark on student financial aid season. If you’re looking for money for college ...
Employment Outlook: Do Student Loans Make Sense?
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
A new report by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity suggests that more than one-third of people who graduated from college during a recent 16-year period are underemployed and that the government policy of ...
Florida College Must Repay Over $3M in Wrongly Awarded Financial Aid
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
The State College of Florida has a student loan debt problem of its own. SCF must repay the U.S. Department of Education more than $3 million in federal student loans and grants that it mistakenly ...
Iowa Student Loan Grant Program Will Assist First-Year Teachers
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
A new grant program from Iowa Student Loan will provide $2,000 cash grants to first-year teachers in Iowa who accept assignments in certain "shortage areas," as designated by the state Department of Education. The $2,000 ...
How Would Tying Student Loans to Repayment Rates Affect Higher Education?
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
As the U.S. Department of Education considers linking colleges’ and universities’ eligibility for federal student financial aid to the school’s student loan repayment rate, some analysts are looking at just how large the student loan ...
Credit Unions Challenge Big Banks for Private Student Loans
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
Big banks that offer private-label college loans are facing new competition from credit unions that are looking to issue their own private student loans. Credit unions, in increasing numbers, are developing partnerships with private student ...
Health Workers to Get Help With Student Loan Debt
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
The National Health Service Corps is accepting applications from primary medical care professionals who are willing to work in underserved areas in exchange for a reduction in their student loan debt. Through the NHSC student ...
New Regulations Could Tie Student Loans to Post-Graduation Employment
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
The U.S. Department of Education is considering a new regulation that would tie a school’s ability to offer federal grants and college loans to proof that its alumni can find gainful employment after graduation. Colleges ...
Report: College Students Relying More on Student Loans
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
A new report by the Pew Research Center shows that reliance upon student loans among college students increased dramatically between 1996 and 2008. The survey, analyzing data collected by the U.S. Department of Education for ...
Graduate’s $200,000 Student Loan Debt Spurs New Website
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
Kelli Space is just 23 years old and is already $200,000 in debt. The Northeastern University graduate figures that without help, she’ll never be able to repay the nearly $190,000 in private student loans she ...
Obama Commission Recommends End to Subsidized Student Loans
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has issued a report that recommends the elimination of subsidized federal student loans in order to reduce federal spending. The recommendation is one of 50 that the ...
Private Student Loans Set to Stage a Major Comeback
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
Industry analysts speculate that the volume of private student loans, which had dropped in 2008-09 and 2009-10, is poised to make a comeback as federal funding for education declines, especially among private, for-profit institutions. Recent ...
Can’t Repay Your Student Loans? 5 Ways to Get Help.
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
For college students, November and December are filled with research projects and final exams. For recent graduates, however, these months can be exceptionally stressful, especially if a post-graduation dream job hasn’t materialized on schedule. For ...
Student Loan Debt Highest Among Middle-Income Students
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
According to a new report issued by the College Board, students from families whose median annual income falls between $60,000 and $90,000 leave school owing about $35,000 in student loans, compared to students from lower-income ...
Paying for College: 4 Tips for Parents
By Jeff Mictabor · 13 years ago
Going to college during a recession is getting more difficult for U.S. students. The national unemployment rate is hovering around 10 percent, college costs are rising much faster than the rate of inflation, and college ...