Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for the ‘Student Loan Consolidation’ Category

99% of Student Loan Forgiveness Applicants Denied

Less than 1% of borrowers nationwide have been able to take advantage of federal public service loan forgiveness, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Education. As of the end of 2018, there have been 65,500 loan forgiveness applications filed by those with outstanding student debt. The Education Department has processed 58,000, so […]

Number of Senior Citizens with Student Debt Quadrupled in Last 10 Years

The past decade has conjured up a Mortgage Meltdown, a colossal Financial Crisis and the Great Recession. As a result more and more Americans in their golden years have taken on student loan debt for their children or grandchildren. According to a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the number of people aged 60 […]

Lenders Look to Student Loan Refinancing Again

After several years of shying away from any extra risk, many banks and lenders are now starting to refinance student loan debt again. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Discover Financial Services said it will begin consolidating private student loans later in 2014 and RBS Citizens Financial Group Inc. has already started refinancing private […]

The Need for Student Loan Consumer Protections

The federal student loan system has become fundamentally predatory due to the Congressional removal of standard consumer protections, combined with Congressionally-sanctioned collection powers that are stronger than those associated with all other loan instruments in our nation’s history. These actions by Congress have, predictably, created an inherently predatory, state-sponsored lending and collection system where the […]

Student Loan Forgiveness on the Chopping Block

An article in the New York Times  today put fear into the hearts of many people trying to get their student loans forgiven. Basically all across the nation, programs designed to entice people into low-paying but very important jobs like teaching and community health are being cut or reduced due to the current volatile economy and […]