Resources Archive

No Way Out: Student Loans, Financial Distress, and the Need for Policy Reform

June 23, 2006

As the cost of financing our nation’s higher education system falls increasingly on students and families, student loan debt is rising at alarming rates. Most borrowers have to make some sacrifices to repay student loans. The problem, as discussed and documented in this paper, is the extent of these sacrifices. Many student loan borrowers face…

Finding A Way Out: Improving the Assistance Network for Financially Distressed Student Loan Borrowers

December 6, 2007

There is a severe shortage of assistance resources for the growing population of financially distressed student loan borrowers. This report investigates the student loan borrower assistance network. We review the following critical categories of relief: information and outreach, counseling, and direct assistance and legal representation. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of existing resource providers…

Paying the Price: The High Cost of Private Student Loans and the Dangers for Student Borrowers

March 3, 2008

Private student loans are made by lenders to students and families outside of the federal student loan program. They are not subsidized or insured by the federal government and may be provided by banks, non-profits, or other financial institutions. The borrowing limits in the federal loan programs, the skyrocketing cost of higher education and aggressive…

Income-Based Repayment: Making it Work for Student Loan Borrowers

July 15, 2008

As of July 1, 2009, a new income-based student loan repayment program (IBR) will allow most federal student loan borrowers with economic hardships to repay their loans based on a formula that takes income and total indebtedness into account. The government will cancel any remaining balances after twenty-five years of repayment. The program should bring…

Too Small to Help: The Plight of Financially Distressed Private Student Loan Borrowers

April 8, 2009

The private student loan industry generated huge profits for lenders and investors for many years. Over time, however, the defects in these expensive, unsustainable products became clear and the loans began to fail. The industry hit a wall, exposing the risks of making unsecured, expensive loans to borrowers with little or no ability to repay.…

Piling It On: The Growth of Proprietary School Loans And the Consequences for Students

January 28, 2011

Before the credit crash in 2008, many proprietary schools partnered with third party lenders to provide private student loans to their students. Private student loans are made by lenders to students and families outside of the federal student loan program. They are almost always more expensive than federal student loans. High rate private student loans…

State Inaction: Gaps in State Oversight of For-Profit Higher Education

December 1, 2011

The astronomical growth in for-profit higher education has exposed increasing numbers of students to the rampant fraud in the sector. Federal and state oversight has generally been lax. In a positive sign for students, the federal government has begun to act more aggressively, expanding disclosures for students, strengthening rules on incentive compensation and misrepresentations, and…

The Student Loan Default Trap: Why Borrowers Default and What Can Be Done

July 26, 2012

Despite the amount of attention garnered by student loan defaults since the 1990s, few studies provide answers about why borrowers default and how best to help them. The lack of research helps perpetuate unproven theories about default, including the idea that the recession is solely to blame for increased default rates. The stakes are high…

Borrowers on Hold: Student Loan Collection Agency Complaint Systems Need Massive Improvement

May 4, 2012

The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) relies on an increasing number of private collection agency contractors to recover defaulted student loans. Although the use of student loan collection agencies is not new, the impact of this policy on borrowers is greater than ever. By contracting out its defaulted loan portfolio and failing to provide…

The Sallie Mae Saga: A Government-Created, Student Debt Fueled Profit Machine

January 16, 2014

Student loan debt levels keep growing. There are nearly 39 million borrowers carrying over $1 trillion in federal student loan debt. About $120 billion of federal student loan debt was delinquent in 2012 — a 30.5% increase from fiscal year 2011. Most borrowers fall behind on student loan payments because they are unable to complete…

No Lost Causes: Practical Ideas to Help Low-Income Students Succeed in College

March 26, 2014

A college education usually pays off. According to College Board statistics, individuals with higher levels of education earn more money and are more likely to be employed. College is a key ticket to social mobility in this country, but punching this ticket is rarely straightforward. On one hand, the earnings advantage is due more to…

Going to School on Robo-signing: How to Help Borrowers and Stop the Abuses in Private Student Loan Collection Cases

April 1, 2014

Predatory private student lending has shattered the dreams of many individuals who sought to better their lives through education. These loans have become a curse, rather than an opportunity, for a large and growing number of private student loan borrowers who are defaulting on their loans. Data is not publicly available on precisely which borrowers…

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