Posts Tagged With: college debt

Paying for College

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Melissa Hart

It’s more important than ever for students and former students to make smart decisions about financing their college education.  Whether you are attending college soon, are a current student, or already have student loans, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has put together some tools and resources to help you make the best decisions for you.

If you are considering student loans to help pay for school, you not alone—many students need loans to cover their full cost of attendance.  If you have to take out student loans, comparing your options can help you find the student loan best suited for your needs.

Consumer financial Protection Bureau has prepared student financial guides, financial aid shopping sheet adopted by more than 500 colleges and universities, and other helpful information on its website.

For more information, click here.

Teaching Suggestions

You may want to use the information in this blog and the original sources to

  • Help students appreciate that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau overseas private lenders, debt collectors, and loan services that manage borrowers’ payments and billings.
  • Describe why one-in-four student loan borrowers are past due or in default on a student loan.

Discussion Questions

  1. When borrowers default on a student loan, what might be some adverse consequences on their credit?
  2. Do you believe the student loan market lacks consistent standards that cover the servicing of all private and federal student loans?
  3. What can the federal and state governments to protect consumers in this market?
Categories: Debt, Wise Shopping, _Appendix A | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

The New Grad’s Guide to Student Loan Debt

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Melissa Hart

“Finishing college is surely cause to celebrate—but it is also time for some hard realities to hit.” 

This article provides information about what happens after graduation and you have to start paying back student loans.  Specific information includes:

  1. When you will start making payments
  2. How much you will pay and which repayment option to consider
  3. How to make your payments
  4. What happens if you want to change your repayment plan
  5. The importance of making a budget that includes your loan payments.

Note:  There are also links to a “very informative” video and additional articles at the bottom of this article that provide even more information about student loans and what happens if you don’t make payments.  Definitely worth a click.

For more information, click here.

Teaching Suggestions

You may want to use the information in this blog post and the original article to

  • Help students understand that student loans are one way to finance their education, but loans should not be considered free money that doesn’t have to be repaid.
  • Illustrate what can happen if student loans are not paid back.

Discussion Questions

  1. Many students obtain student loans to help pay for their college education. Are there other options that can be used to pay for college?
  2. Assuming that you decide a student loan is the best way to obtain the money you need to pay for college, what steps can you take to understand the conditions of the loan agreement that you will sign in order to obtain the loan money?
  3. What happens when someone finishes college, but doesn’t make the student loan payments that are required?
Categories: Debt, Opportunity Costs, _Appendix A | Tags: , | Leave a comment

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