Home
Your State Colleges/Grants & Loans
Trouble
With Student Loans
(Also Includes Default, Discharge & Bankruptcy)
Pay Off Your Student Loan Debt Years
Faster With Tricks That Anyone Can Do (Consumer-SOS)
Cut your loan repayment period by years even if you're dead broke and making
just the minimum payments. Skip this link if you're not making payments.
Student Loan Covid-19 Assistance (Google within the
past month)
New rights for
those with federal loans. May also have help for those with private loans.
Special Interest Groups To Pass
Pro Student Loan Laws (Consumer-SOS)
Get an advocate to lobby for you and others swimming
in student loan debt. These groups make national headlines as they lobby
for loan forgiveness, college tuition caps and other means of reducing the
student loan debt crisis. Currently there is an effort to provide tax free loan
forgiveness to students who have their loans discharged under the
IBR and
ICR programs.
Can't Repay Your
Student Loans? (FFEL & Direct Loan Repayment Plans For Those With Financial
Hardship)
Are you on the wrong payment plan? If so, you may be able to change to a better
one. Learn the pros and cons of "Pay As You Earn" and "Income Based Repayment
Plans". Both programs may require you pay
taxes on any loan amounts eventually forgiven.
Help With Private Student Loans: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's
Student Loan Complaint System
The federal CFPB was created in 2010 to protect borrowers from abusive lenders. Lenders
know that unresolved complaints could mean new laws very unfavorable to them; so
they have good reason to cooperate at least to some extent.
Help With Federal Loans: The Department
of Education's Federal Student Aid Ombudsman
The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group is
where individuals can turn after trying other ways to resolve a federal
student aid dispute. Assistance request are generated from phone calls, letters
and e-mails, and are classified as either general assistance or research problem
assistance.
Student Loan Help For Military Service Members
Whether it's loan forgiveness, deferments, 0%
interest caps or special repayment options, the
SCRA and and other laws can help those in military service.
Delay or
Postpone Your Student Loan Repayment If You're Pregnant, Unemployed, Etc.
There are good and bad deferments
that can stop your loan payments: In a good deferment, the government pays all the
accruing interest, so if you stop paying for 6 months, your debt is the same as
when the deferment began. (For example, with federal subsidized Stafford
Loans, the federal government pays your interest while you defer.) In a bad deferment,
your loan payments stop as well, but you're still responsible for all
the accruing interest, which is then tacked on to the rest of your student loan.
These deferments should be avoided because
this "quick fix" could get you into thousands of dollars of more debt.
Please look for better options with the
numerous student loan help groups listed here or elsewhere!
Common Situations Where You May Qualify For Some Kind of Deferment
Do I Have Private or Federal
Loans And Who Owns Them?
If you aren’t sure what kind of loans you have, visit the
National Student Loan Database System for Students and select “Financial Aid
Review” for a list of all federal loans made to you. (Enter in your Social
Security # and your PIN issued by the Dept of Education) Click each individual
loan to see who the servicer is for that loan (this is the company that collects
payments from you). It’s very important to know your servicer. This might be a
different company from the original lender.
When Your Social Security Benefits Are Taken to Pay Back
Money to the Federal Government
What type of benefits can be taken and how much. Applies only to federal
agencies and the IRS may be able to take more than other agencies can.
Special Interest Groups To Pass Pro Student Loan Laws
(Consumer-SOS)
Get an advocate to lobby for you and others swimming in student loan debt. These
groups make national headlines as they lobby for loan forgiveness, college
tuition caps and other means of reducing the student loan debt crisis.
Currently there is an effort to provide tax free loan forgiveness to
students who have their loans discharged under the
IBR and
ICR programs.
Loan Discharge After 25 Years On
Income Contingent Plan (Google)
Only For Certain Loans.
When You Can't Pay: Cancellation, Deferment and Forbearance
(Nolo.com)
How to postpone payments--and when you can cancel your loans altogether.
Student Debt Alert
Student Debt Alert is a national campaign led by and for students. Our two main
goals: to educate the public about the growing necessity of student loans to pay
for college; and to directly address young people's concerns about the burdens
of student debt.
Paying
Back Your Student Loan
Describes the deferments and cancellations for teaching in low-income schools or
shortage areas and connects you to the Direct Loan Program, where you can
consolidate your existing loans. If your loan is in default, our Guide to
Defaulted Student Loans can tell you how to get out of default.
Guide To
Loan Disputes (US
Dept. Of Education)
Discharging
Student Loans In Bankruptcy (Google results in past year only)
Other Problems
Student Loan Collections
(Nolo.com)
What might happen if you fall behind on your payments.
Getting Out of Default
(Nolo.com)
How to rehabilitate your loans and get back on your feet. (Federal Loans)
Guide To
Loan Disputes (US
Dept. Of Education)
Avoiding Late Payments
(Consumer-SOS)
Back To Top
Financial
Aid Resources and Help With Loan Trouble
Student Loan Help Agencies When You're In Trouble
List legal help orgs, where to
get assistance from guarantors and lenders and even how to get in touch with
your legislators.
Help With Private Student Loans: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's
Student Loan Complaint System
The federal CFPB was created in 2010 to protect borrowers from abusive lenders. Lenders
know that unresolved complaints could mean new laws very unfavorable to them; so
they have good reason to cooperate at least to some extent.
The Federal Student Aid Information Center
(800) 433-3243
Note, that not all schools
qualify for federal loans and grants. Call this organization to find out which
schools qualify for federal aid and which do not. They will also tell you what colleges can and cannot do in
regards to loans, grants and work-study programs. You can even get the applicable regulation so you can quote
it to your advisor or financial aid office.
For example, did you know that you are entitled to a copy of your
expected award before the financial aid disburses your money?
Such is extremely important if you need to challenge your award or file
an appeal.
Contact their consolidation department to find out how to best consolidate your loans. They even have a borrower tracking service that can locate who is currently serving your loans and whether such are in default.
Special Interest Groups To Pass Pro Student Loan Laws
(Consumer-SOS)
Get an advocate to lobby for you and others swimming in student loan debt. These
groups make national headlines as they lobby for loan forgiveness, college
tuition caps and other means of reducing the student loan debt crisis.
Currently there is an effort to provide tax free loan forgiveness to
students who have their loans discharged under the
IBR and
ICR programs.
Nellie Mae Student Loan Financing Service (800) 988-4846
(800) 634-9308
Call them to order their free book "Be Wise Borrower or booklets
such as "An Early Planning Guide For Parents," "Steps to Success:
A Comprehensive Guide to Preparing And Paying For College," and "Take
The Right Road" (how to manage your student loans).
U.S. Department Of Education
(800) USA-LEARN
This federal agency offers a lot of information about college planning.
The "Think College Early" program encourages students and
parents to plan early, with information for middle and high school students.
is sponsored by the National Association of Financial Aid Administrators.
It contains information on scholarships and grants, as well as warnings
about fraudulent search firms.
The
College Board
Web site contains a database of scholarship sources called Expan Scholarship
Search. A similar database is
available in many libraries and guidance counselors' offices through a software
program called Fund Finder, also from the College Board.
The
Student Loan Marketing Association home page offers information on
scholarships, grants and student loans.
The College & Career Center
has sections on selecting a college, finding loans, careers, and a look at what
campus life is at various schools. The
site also has a loan center where you can learn how to qualify for financial aid
and get application forms and booklets.
The
National Association Of Student Financial Aid Administrators
Has extensive information on federal, state and private forms of financial aid.
http://www.petersons.com/
Search here to find the best schools and graduate programs for you as well
as information about financial aid. You can also apply to over 1200 schools
online using the CollegeQuest eApply feature.
Direct Loans (Lots of
Links)
Guidestar
(800) 421-8656
Guidestar gathers and disseminates information on over one million 501(C)(3) organizations. Their goal is to change
the culture of philanthropy by showing the public
who they can give to. Guidestar's
extensive database classifies each organization by subject and can find donor organizations
willing to assist you.
Sallie Mae Student Loan Financing
Service
Call their College Answer Program
Hotline toll-free for information about college costs and financial aid
programs.
They can direct you to funds
specifically earmarked for higher education.
How To Kill Off Your Student
Loan Debt and Pay It Off Years Faster
Lower Your Interest Rates Through Automatic Direct Withdrawals and Ask For Other Discounts
Just
Who Owns My Loans And What Types Do I Have-Federal or Private?
800-433-3243
If you aren’t sure what kind of loans you have, visit the
National Student Loan Database System for Students and select “Financial
Aid Review” for a list of all federal loans made to you.Click each individual loan to see who the servicer is for that loan
(this is the company that collects payments from you). It’s very important to
know your servicer. This might be a different company from the original
lender. If you can't find this info on line, call their helpline and ask for
the name and # for your Lender or
Guarantor.
Then contact your lender directly for more guidance.
Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (Private Student Loans)
The Federal CFPB was created in 2010 to protect borrowers from abusive lenders.
Back To Kill Off Your Student Loan Debt!
Pay Half The Monthly Amount
Every Two Weeks
Shave off years of payments. This works for two reasons.
1. By paying early, you're paying off on the principal, which then reduces the
accruing
interest.
2. You wind up making 26 bi weekly payments instead of 24. (If you get an
extra paycheck during the months with 5 weeks, apply such to your student loans)
Paying Off Your Debt Faster Through Bi Weekly Payments And Other Low Cost
Tricks
Pay off your loans months or years faster at almost no extra cost. Also has
other tips and a chart on the difference it will make.
Prepayments
Explained-Why It Reduces Interest And What To Tell Lender
Has charts with the interest
you'll save and how it reduces the over all length of your loan repayment
period-when you make extra
monthly payments periodically for various loans.
Is It OK If Lender
Simply Pushes Back The Date For My Next Loan Payment, or Should I Tell Them
Something?
Discusses what to
do if you make a prepayment. For example: you don't need to tell the
lender anything if you are making these prepayments on your own without the
lender prompting you to. (The lender still applies the payment toward your
principal), But it's different if you have the lender direct debit the monthly
payments from a bank account at prescheduled monthly intervals. In that case, delaying the next due date might
mean that you don't end up accelerating repayment of the debt. So it is best to
include a note requesting that the extra payment be applied directly to
principal and not treated as early payment of a future installment.
See Code of Federal Regulations at 34
CFR 682.209(b) and
34 CFR 685.211(a).
34 CFR 682.209(b)
(b)Payment application and prepayment.
(1) Except in the case of payments made under an income-based repayment plan,
the lender may credit the entire payment amount first to any
late charges accrued or collection costs and then to any outstanding interest
and then to outstanding principal. (2)(i) The borrower may prepay the
whole or any part of a loan at any time without penalty.
(ii) If the prepayment amount equals or exceeds the
monthly payment
amount under the repayment schedule established for the loan, the lender
shall apply the prepayment to future installments by advancing the next
payment due date, unless the borrower requests otherwise. The
lender must either
inform the borrower in advance using a prominent statement in the
borrower’s coupon book or billing statement that any additional full pay-
ment amounts submitted without instructions to the lender as to their
handling will be applied to future scheduled payments with the bor-
rower’s next scheduled payment due date advanced consistent with the
number of additional payments received, or provide a notification to the
borrower after the payments are received informing the borrower that the
payments have been so applied and the date of the borrower’s next scheduled
payment due date. Information related to next scheduled payment due date
need not be provided to borrower’s making such prepayments while in an
in-school, grace, deferment, or forbearance period when payments are not
due.
Back To Kill Off Your Student Loan
Debt!
Direct Your Extra Payments To Student Loans With The Highest Interest Rates-How
to Make Sure The Lender Is Doing So (For Consolidated Loans)
Providing Instructions To Your Lender When You Have Consolidated Your Loans
If you direct any extra money to your highest interest rate loan first, you may
save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in extra interest payments. Don't
assume your lender is doing this automatically. In fact, your loan servicer
could be spreading your payments out across all of the loans on
your account. The lender is fine with this because it means your high interest
loans get no more money than your low interest loans (i.e. they make more money
in interest).
Sample Letter to Your Loan Servicer (Consumer-Finance Protection Bureau)
This form letter directs your lender to apply extra payments to the loan with
the highest interest rate first.
Just
Who Owns My Loans And What Types Do I Have-Federal or Private?
800-433-3243
Student Loan
Complaint Form (US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) Back To Kill Off Your Student Loan
Debt! Use the ulators below to see the real difference it makes to
increase your payments early on.
Then
plan how you can creatively free up your money to make it happen. For example:
Put your Federal Loans on the IBR
program for three years (during this time you pay very low monthly installments
and the Government pays off all the accruing interest) and use the extra money you
just freed up to pay down your private loans that don't qualify for IBR.
Because of reverse compound interest, even if you do this for just three years,
it could shorten your loan by 6 years! Prepayment
Calculator-The Difference Extra Payments Can Make Over Lifetime of Student Loan
Tips From People with 6 Figure Student Loan Debt
How I'm Paying off 120K in Student Loans (Huffington Post Blog) 15 Ways
To Pay Back Student Loans Faster Back To Kill Off Your Student Loan
Debt!
Budget Better And Save
Money-Learn Simple Tips To Free Up More $ For Student Loan Debt
Free Student Loan Counseling Session
(Clear Point Credit Counseling
)
Tips From People with 6 Figure Student Loan Debt
How I'm Paying off 120K in Student Loans (Huffington Post Blog) 15 Ways
To Pay Back Student Loans Faster Back To Kill Off Your Student Loan
Debt! You may be eligible for loan forgiveness if you are:
Public Service Guide To Loan Forgiveness (Consumer Finance Protection Gov
Website)
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Help
Tool
Loan Forgiveness For Teachers
Jobs
That Help You Pay Back Student Loans
(Google)
What Types of Public Service Jobs Will Qualify a Borrower for
Loan Forgiveness
under the PSLF Back To Kill Off Your Student Loan
Debt! Back To
The Public Service Loan
Forgiveness Program And Similar Programs.
Law School Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (Google)
Law School Public Interest Programs-Loan Forgiveness For Public Interest
Lawyers (American Bar Association Links To School Programs) Loan Forgiveness
Programs (Includes Law School Debt)
Google Searches Worth Looking Into (Includes Guidestar and Foundation Center)
Grants For Lawyers, Public Service, Student Loans (Google)
Foundation Grants For Lawyers-Public Interest (Google)
Foundations, Grants For Lawyers Student Loans (Google)
URL Search Within "Foundation Center" For Grants To Lawyers With Student Loan
Debt (Google)
URL Search Within "Guidestar.org" For Grants To Lawyers With Student Loan Debt
(Google) Back To Kill Off Your Student Loan
Debt! Get Your Loan Forgiven in 25 Years
Through IBR, ICR and Pay As You Earn Affordable Payment Programs
Pay As You Earn Plan
Income Contingent Repayment Plan Back To Kill Off Your Student Loan
Debt! Student Loan
Special Interest Groups
How to Write a Letter to Congress About Student Loan Issues Equal Justice
Student Debt Alert American Student
Assistance (Information & Advocacy) Student Loan
Justice
The Project on Predatory Student Lending at Harvard University (617)
390-2669
Institute for College Access and
Success (TICAS)
Student Loan Advocacy Groups Active Within The Last Year (Google Advance
Search)
Student Loan
Complaint Form (US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) Back To Kill Off Your Student Loan
Debt!
If you don't know who your lender is or aren’t sure what kind of loans you
have, visit the
National Student Loan Database System for Students and select “Financial
Aid Review” for a list of all federal loans made to you. Click each individual loan to see who the servicer is for that loan
(this is the company that collects payments from you). It’s very important to
know your servicer. This might be a different company from the original
lender. If you can't find this info on line, call their helpline and ask for
the name and # for your Lender or
Guarantor.
Then contact your lender directly for more guidance.
Here's where to complain if your student loan payment is not allocated properly.
Making Slightly Higher Payments
The rate in which a student loan can be paid off more quickly varies depending
on the additional amount paid and when it is applied to the account. The earlier
a larger extra payment is applied to the loan, the faster it cuts down the
principal and saves you thousands of dollars from the compound interest that
would otherwise accrue throughout the life of the loan.
To see just how much it will shorten the life of your loan, fiddle with interest rates and extra payments
for how your loan will be affected by the frequency of your extra payments. (you
can choose between extra annual, extra monthly, extra quarterly, and extra
semi annual payments) .
Yes it's depressing, but they offer valuable tips from real people dealing with
real debt. Take any small steps you
can to free up money and Do Not
Despair.
Smart tips on how to save extra and knock off student loans.
Includes IBR and getting help from your employer and public service programs.
Now Your Monthly Payments can be based on a percentage of your discretionary
income, and not on the total amount your owe! Option available for
federally-guaranteed student loans and Direct
Student Loans. And if your monthly IBR payment
does not cover the monthly interest that accrues on the loans, the government
will pay your unpaid interest on
Subsidized Stafford Loans (either
Direct Loan or
FFEL) for up to three consecutive years from when you first enter IBR
repayment. May not apply to private loans that were not previously Federal
Loans. Use the
Income-Based Repayment Calculator to see how much you would have to pay
each month based on your income, your loan amount, marital status and family
size.
1. Confirm You are
not disqualified based on types
of loans or other criteria and then re-confirm with your lender.
2.
Get Proper Forms
and Procedures from
Federal Student Aid Information Center
800-433-3243.
These may include a written letter from you requesting IBR, filling out a
form 4506T, and
providing proof of income such as your pay stub, or a copy of your unemployment check.
3. Find out From Lender or Fed Student Aid Center Where To Send Forms-Expect
10 Business Days To Process.
Yes it's depressing, but they offer valuable tips from real people dealing with
real debt. Take any small steps you
can to free up money and Do Not
Despair.
Smart tips on how to save extra and knock off student loans.
Includes IBR and getting help from your employer and public service programs.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Program
Allows certain federal student loans to be forgiven after 10 years of on
time, qualifying monthly payments. To
benefit, you need to have a qualifying loan and sign up for a qualifying
repayment plan.
You can use the PSLF Help Tool to search for a qualifying
employer, learn what actions you may need to take to be eligible for PSLF or
TEPSLF, and generate the form you need.
Which Loan
Forgiveness Is Not Taxable?
Generally, student loan forgiveness is excluded from income if the forgiveness
is contingent upon the student working for a specific number of years in certain
professions.
Loan discharges for closed schools, false certification, unpaid refunds, and
death and disability are considered taxable income.
The forgiveness of the remaining balance under income-contingent repayment and
income-based repayment after 25 years in repayment is considered taxable income.
Loan Repayment Assistance Available for State and Federal Defenders and State
Prosecutors (The John R Justice Repayment Program)
Funds are allocated annually from the Bureau of
Justice Assistance and awarded and administered by designated state agencies.
Repayment and awarded benefits cannot exceed $10,000 in any calendar year or an
aggregate total of $60,000 per attorney.
Explains who is a teacher, how long you must teach and how to apply.
Here are several
occupations that may help you get some of your debt forgiven:
Program? (From studentaid.gov)
You must be employed full time (in any position) by a public service
organization, or must be serving in a full time AmeriCorps or Peace Corps position. Organizations that meet
the definition of “public service organization” for
purposes of the PSLF Program are listed below.
A government organization (including a federal, state, local, or tribal
organization, agency, or entity; a public
child or family service agency; or a tribal college or university).A not for
profit, tax exempt organization under section
50\(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, A private, not for profit organization
(that is not a labor union or a partisan political organization) that provides
one or more of the following public services:
funded
pre-kindergarten)
time
professionals engaged in health care practitioner occupations and health care
support occupations)
What is fulltime employment?
You must meet your employer’s definition of full-time. However, for PSLF purposes, that definition must be at
least an annual average of 30 hours per week.
For purposes of the full-time requirement, your qualifying
employment at a not
for-profit organization does not include time spent participating in religious
instruction,
worship services, or any form of proselytizing.
If you are a teacher, or other employee of a public service organization,
under contract for at least eight out of 12
months, you meet the full-time standard if you work an average of at least 30 hours per week during the
contractual period and receive credit by your employer for a full year’s worth
of employment.
If you are employed in more than one qualifying part-time job
simultaneously, you may meet the full
-time
employment requirement if you work a combined average of at least 30 hours per
week with your employers.
What is a qualifying repayment plan?
To maximize your PSLF benefit, repay your loans on the
Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan,
the Pay As You
Earn Repayment Plan, or the
Income
Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan, which are three repayment plans that
qualify for PSLF.
PSLF
is best under IBR, Pay As
You Earn, or ICR.
Other PSLF-qualifying repayment plans are the
10-Year
Standard Repayment Plan or any other
repayment plan where your monthly payment amount
equals or exceeds what you would pay under a
10-Year
Standard Repayment
Plan.
What are on-time, full, scheduled, monthly payments?
On-time payments are those that
are received by your federal
loan servicer no later than 15 days after the scheduled payment due
date.
Full payments are payments on your Direct Loan in an amount that equals or
exceeds the amount you are required to pay each month under your repayment
schedule. If you make a payment for a month that is less than what you are
required to pay for that month, that month's payment will not count as one of
the required 120 qualifying payments. If you make multiple, partial payments
in a month and the total of those partial payments equals or exceeds the
required full monthly payment amount, those payments will count as only one
qualifying payment.
Scheduled payments are those that are made under a qualifying repayment plan
after your federal loan servicer has billed you for the month's payment. They
do not include payments made while your loans are in an in-school or grace
status or in a
deferment or
forbearance period.
You must make separate monthly payments. Lump sum payments or payments you
make as advance payments for future months are not qualifying payments. There
are special rules on lump sum payments for borrowers whose public service
employment is with AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps.
Law Grads: Find Out About Loan Forgiveness Programs and How To
Qualify
Treat it like a research project and get creative. The links below include not
only law school programs, but also tap into foundations and not for profit
databases where you can search for grants to help attorneys with student loan
debt. For example,
Guidestar.org lists over 5 million non profits, and you can search for who
they give grants to. Once you have the non profit's name, Google it for more
info.
Loan Repayment Assistance Available for State and Federal Defenders and State
Prosecutors (The John R Justice Repayment Program)
Funds are allocated annually from the Bureau of
Justice Assistance and awarded and administered by designated state agencies.
Repayment and awarded benefits cannot exceed $10,000 in any calendar year or an
aggregate total of $60,000 per attorney.
LRAPs provide financial aid (i.e. loan forgiveness) to law school graduates
working in the public interest sector, government or other low-paying legal
fields. Use this list to find your law school or other law schools that offer
loan repayment assistance programs. Even if your law school is not listed,
Call and ASK them if they have a program.
Do Not
Despair my fellow lawyers. Move forward and at
least ASK.
Loan repayment assistance programs ("LRAPs") provide financial aid to law school
graduates working in the public interest sector, government, or other
lower-paying legal fields. In most cases, this aid is given to graduates in the
form of a forgivable loan to help them repay their annual educational debt. Upon
completion of the required service obligation, the LRAP administrator will
forgive or cancel these loans to program participants. Most LRAPs contain limits
on the amount of income a recipient can earn while participating in such a
program. There are various types of LRAPs, administered by law schools, state
bar foundations and federal and state governments, providing debt relief to some
law graduates.
Supposedly searches within their database of over 5 million non profits to see
if there are grants for lawyers with student loan debt. Visit Guidestar.org
directly and do a search within their website as well.
You may still have to pay the taxes on any loan that's forgiven. To keep track
of new legislation or lobbying efforts, See
Student Loan Special Interest Groups.
Now Your Monthly Payments can be based on a percentage of your discretionary
income, and not on the total amount your owe! Option available for
federally-guaranteed student loans and Direct
Student Loans. And if your monthly IBR payment
does not cover the monthly interest that accrues on the loans, the government
will pay your unpaid interest on
Subsidized Stafford Loans (either
Direct Loan or
FFEL) for up to three consecutive years from when you first enter IBR
repayment. May not apply to private loans that were not previously Federal
Loans. Use the
Income-Based Repayment Calculator to see how much you would have to pay
each month based on your income, your loan amount, marital status and family
size.
How Do I take Advantage of This Program?
1. Confirm You are
not disqualified based on types
of loans or other criteria and then re-confirm with your lender.
2.
Get Proper Forms
and Procedures from
Federal Student Aid Information Center
800-433-3243.
These may include a written letter from you requesting IBR, filling out a
form 4506T, and
providing proof of income such as your pay stub, or a copy of your unemployment check.
3. Find out From Lender or Fed Student Aid Center Where To Send Forms-Expect
10 Business Days To Process.
The Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan helps keep your monthly student loan
payments affordable, and usually has the lowest monthly payment amount of the
repayment plans that are based on your income. Currently can get loan
forgiveness (still taxable) after making 20 years of payments.
This plan is based on your adjusted gross income,
family size, and the total amount of your Direct Loans.
The groups below, are active in lobbying for loan forgiveness, college tuition
caps and other means of reducing the student loan debt crisis. Currently there
is an effort to provide tax free loan forgiveness to students who have their
loans discharged under the
IBR and
ICR programs.
Other ways to reduce costs could include
making higher education more subject to market forces like other businesses, so
it's more affordable. This could
mean emphasizing community college for the first two years (require
Universities and 4 year colleges that accept federal aid, to also accept x
percent credit from cheaper community colleges. It could also include a freeze on
federal aid for universities that have excessive yearly tuition costs beyond
that of their region. (Universities could not use federal loans to subsidize their
price increase and would either have to lower their tuition, or assist students
with
grants and private unsubsidized loans.)
Includes
a sample letter plus tips and links to your representatives. Good to speak
with and refer to special interest groups below so your letter carries more
weight.
The high cost of education and the burden of
student debt prevents many from pursuing and remaining in public interest
careers. Their Educational Debt Relief program is devoted to advocating for
student debt relief and spreading the word to make sure those who need relief
are taking the right steps to qualify. Resources are available to help
prospective students, current students and graduates; school advisors and
administrators; and employers. Even has Free Student Debt Webinars!
Student Debt Alert is a national campaign led by and for students. Our two main
goals: to educate the public about the growing necessity of student loans to pay
for college; and to directly address young people's concerns about the burdens
of student debt.
Search their website for advice, legislation, tips to cut down debt. See also
Project Student Debt for
statistics and advocacy.
A grassroots group of significant size that lobbies for
student debt legal reform. They have been on national news and are behind
bills that would make it easier for students to discharge their debt in
bankruptcy.
Free legal help from Harvard if your debt was from a for profit
college! They represent thousands of former students across the country and
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