The first comprehensive guide to researching and repaying student loan debt, this lively resource gives college graduates, as well as students and their parents, expert advice from loan officers, legislators, attorneys, collection agencies, consumer activists, and students who've been through the loan process themselves.

This illuminating investigation uncovers the full dimensions of the student loan disaster. A father and son team—one a best-selling sociologist, the other a former banker and current quantitative researcher—probes how we’ve reached the point at which student loan debt—now exceeding $1 trillion and predicted to reach $2 trillion by 2020—threatens to become the sequel to the mortgage meltdown. In spite of their good intentions, Americans have allowed concerns about deadbeat students, crushing debt, exploitative for-profit colleges, and changing attitudes about the purpose of college education to blind them to a growing crisis. With college costs climbing faster than the cost of living, how can access to higher education remain a central part of the American dream? With more than half of college students carrying an average debt of $27,000 at graduation, what are the prospects for young adults in the current economy? Examining how we’ve arrived at and how we might extricate ourselves from this grave social problem, The Student Loan Mess is a must-read for everyone concerned about the future of American education. Hard facts about the student loan crisis: • Student loan debt is rising by more than $100 billion every year. • Among recent college students who are supposed to be repaying their loans, more than a third are delinquent. • Because student loans cannot be discharged through bankruptcy, the federal government misleadingly treats student loan debt as a government asset. • Higher default rates, spiraling college costs, and proposals for more generous terms for student borrowers make it increasingly likely that student loan policies will eventually cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

In 1993, Congress created a student loan repayment plan intended to enable high-debt graduates to accept low-income, public service jobs by reducing their loan payments and eventually forgiving part of their debts. But this Congressional initiative only helps those with catastrophically low incomes. It has failed to attract many users because, as implemented through regulations of the U.S. Department of Education, it requires payment over too long a period (25 years before forgiveness). Many students go to graduate and professional schools in pursuit of careers in public service. But they often must borrow $100,000 or more to finance their education. Their loan repayment obligations become so high that they can no longer afford to follow their ideals, and they abandon their plans to have public service careers and seek employment with corporations or firms offering high salaries. The income-contingent repayment plan should have appealed to would-be public interest lawyers, who are among the graduates with the highest debt-to-income ratios; but the plan has failed them, and Schrag explores why and how the plan should be reformed, either by Congress or by the federal administration.

You don’t have to spend decades paying off your student loans! You can destroy your debt fast and live a life of freedom. You’ve been lied to: there’s no such thing as good debt. Debt sucks. Period. And that includes student loan debt. No matter what you believed—or were told—when you took out your loans, you need to get serious about getting rid of your debt fast, because it’s costing you more than you know. That’s why bestselling author Anthony ONeal wrote this motivating 64-page Quick Read—to show you why you need to dump your debt fast and how to do it. If you have student loan debt and have never heard of Ramsey Solutions or the 7 Baby Steps, this 64-page Quick Read is for you. Anthony will walk you step-by-step through Baby Steps 1 and 2 to show you how to dump your debt forever. You’ll learn: -The ugly truth about how debt hurts you -The importance of an emergency fund and how to budget (Baby Step 1) -The power of the debt snowball (Baby Step 2) -Exactly what to do to pay off your student loans faster -How to control your money so it doesn’t control you -You’ll also hear stories from real people about how they paid off their debt fast You don’t need relief from your debt, you need to get mad at it. Because the truth is, when you get mad enough, you can pay off your loans faster than you ever thought possible—and take control of your money, and your life, for good! Don’t let anything stand in the way of your future. This plan has helped millions get out of debt and you’re next. You can do this! (Ramsey Press)

NEW 2015 EDITION - CRITICAL UPDATES ABOUT FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT, FORGIVENESS, AND DEFAULT RESOLUTION PROGRAMS! In 2013, student loan debt in the US passed $1 trillion. That's more than our total amount of credit card debt and automobile debt. Graduates are starting out with poor employment prospects, obscene levels of debt, and few tools to help. Adam S. Minsky is a leading expert in student loan debt. He is renowned as a pioneer in student loan law as the founder of one of the first law firms in the country devoted entirely to helping student borrowers. With few resources available for student borrowers navigating byzantine repayment systems, he wrote this book as a practical, easy-to-read guide for managing your student debt. Whether your loans are federal or private, in good standing or in default, this guide identifies your options and helps you determine the best way forward.

With countless new ways to manage money and spend it, Chris Farrell provides what is most needed: reliable information on personal finance. In the tradition of the great “how-to” series on public television, Right on the Money! offers a practical, hands-on approach to making savvy financial decisions. In each chapter, finance expert Chris Farrell visits an individual or family facing a financial crossroads in their lives and, aided by a team of street-smart experts, helps them take control of their finances. From setting up a budget to saving for retirement, Right on the Money! not only gives readers the knowledge and tools they need, but also shows how to make informed decisions among the options at hand. Subjects discussed include balancing love and money, investments, the stock market, credit cards and how to get out of debt, buying a car, buying a home, creating a household budget, and paying for college. Informative and fun, with a “roll up your sleeves and solve the problem” attitude, Right on the Money! is destined to become a new classic of personal finance.

This debt-management book for student loan borrowers educates them on the usages and qualifications for forbearance and deferment. It is designed to assist the borrower in avoiding the economic hazards of capitalized interest, delinquency, and default. (Education/Teaching)