Tenn. Community College May Cut Federal Student Loans

Nashville State Community College is weighing the decision to eliminate federal student loans from its financial aid programs.

The school is assessing the number of its students who have defaulted on their federal student loans and believes it may be in a better position to preserve other types of federal financial aid if it exits the student loan program. Schools whose students default at consistently high rates lose eligibility for all federal student aid — not just loans, but also federal grants and work-study funds.

About 25 percent of NSCC’s students currently take on federal college loans as part of their financial aid package. The school’s 2008 default rate on federal education loans was over 13 percent.

This default rate — the current standard calculation used by the U.S. Department of Education — measures how many students have defaulted on their federal college loans within two years of having begun repayment. Schools whose two-year default rate exceeds 25 percent lose access to federal student aid funds.

Under new federal regulations which are set to take effect next year, however, the student loan default rate will be measured over three years, with a new financial-aid eligibility threshold of 30 percent.

Measured over three years, NSCC’s default rate nearly doubles to 25 percent. If the school’s three-year default rate climbs just 5 percent more, NSCC could lose access to all federal student aid, including Pell Grants and work-study funding.

NSCC officials say they’re more interested in preserving federal grants and work-study options for their students and don’t want jeopardize these forms of student aid in order to keep a federal loan option available.

In Tennessee, more than one-fifth of the state’s public community colleges and vocational education schools already don’t participate in the federal student loan program for that very reason.

Tennessee already has one of the highest federal student loan default rates under the Department of Education’s current two-year calculation — hovering just under 9 percent. When the new three-year measure takes effect, most state college officials expect their default rates to rise significantly.

“What are we going to do? We have no control over who’s eligible to receive a [federal] loan, we have no control over the collection process, but we’re going to be held responsible,” NSCC’s president, George Van Allen, told The Tennessean. “Our option is to disengage ourselves from the loan program in order to protect the financial aid programs that benefit the majority of our students.”

The most common federal college loan for undergraduates, the federal Stafford loan, requires neither a credit check nor a co-signer and is awarded to students who meet basic eligibility requirements, such as U.S. citizenship or residency and a minimum courseload.

However, although schools don’t control which students meet federal loan eligibility guidelines, the financial aid office must sign off on any federal education loan by certifying it before those loan funds can be disbursed to a student. In that sense, the school can still control which students receive federal loan funds and how much.

Financial aid officials at NSCC say that one of the problems with offering federal school loans is that the funds can be used for ordinary expenses. Although tuition at NSCC averages just ,500 per semester, students can borrow up to ,500 in federal Stafford loans in their first year of studies.

The extra cash may be used to pay for books, fees, and living expenses, but it adds significantly to the student’s overall level of student loan debt. Counselors at NSCC say they advise students to borrow only what they need for educational expenses, but some students are so cash-starved that they ignore the warnings.

At the same time, the NSCC financial aid office always has the option to certify any Stafford loan or other federal school loan for less than the amount requested by the student.

The nonprofit advocacy group, The Project on Student Debt, estimates that the average Tennessean is carrying ,678 in student loan debt and that 53 percent of the state’s residents have taken out a student loan at some point.

If NSCC moves forward in withdrawing from the federal student loan program, it will join several other community colleges nationwide that have done the same.

In neighboring North Carolina, 34 community colleges have opted out of the federal loan program, leaving more than 40 percent of the state’s community college students without access to federal student loans.

Although the North Carolina legislature passed a bill last year that would have forced the state’s community colleges to participate in the federal student loan program, the state House of Representatives recently passed a GOP-sponsored bill that rolls back the 2010 measure, allowing North Carolina’s community colleges to continue opting out of the federal loan program as they see fit.

Consumer Law Report Blasts For-Profit Colleges for Private-Label Student Loans

A new report issued in January by the National Consumer Law Center accuses for-profit colleges of saddling their students with unregulated private-label student loans that force these students into high interest rates, excessive debt, and predatory lending terms that make it difficult for these students to succeed.

The report, entitled “Piling It On: The Growth of Proprietary School Loans and the Consequences for Students,” discusses the boom over the past three years in private student loan programs offered directly by schools rather than by third-party lenders. These institutional loans are offered by so-called “proprietary schools” — for-profit colleges, career schools, and vocational training programs.

Federal vs. Private Education Loans

Most loans for students will be one of two types: government-funded federal student loans, guaranteed and overseen by the U.S. Department of Education; or non-federal private student loans, issued by banks, credit unions, and other private-sector lenders. (Some students may also be able to take advantage of state-funded college loans available in some states for resident students.)

Private student loans, unlike federal undergraduate loans, are credit-based loans, requiring the student borrower to have adequate credit history and income, or else a creditworthy co-signer.

The Beginnings of Proprietary School Loans

Following the financial crisis in 2008 that was spurred, in part, by the lax lending practices that drove the subprime mortgage boom, lenders across all industries instituted more stringent credit requirements for private consumer loans and lines of credit.

Many private student loan companies stopped offering their loans to students who attend for-profit colleges, as these students have historically had weaker credit profiles and higher default rates than students at nonprofit colleges and universities.

These moves made it difficult for proprietary schools to comply with federal financial aid regulations that require colleges and universities to receive at least 10 percent of their revenue from sources other than federal student aid.

To compensate for the withdrawal of private student loan companies from their campuses, some for-profit colleges began to offer proprietary school loans to their students. Proprietary school loans are essentially private-label student loans, issued and funded by the school itself rather than by a third-party lender.

Proprietary Loans as Default Traps

The NCLC report charges that these proprietary school loans contain predatory lending terms, charge high interest rates and large loan origination fees, and have low underwriting standards, which allow students with poor credit histories and insufficient income to borrow significant sums of money that they’re in little position to be able to repay.

In addition, these proprietary loans often require students to make payments while they’re still in school, and the loans can carry very sensitive default provisions. A single late payment can result in a loan default, along with the student’s expulsion from the academic program. Several for-profit schools will withhold transcripts from borrowers whose proprietary loans are in default, making it nearly impossible for these students to resume their studies elsewhere without starting over.

The NCLC report notes that more than half of proprietary college loans go into default and are never repaid.

Recommendations for Reform

Currently, consumers are afforded few protections from proprietary lenders. Proprietary school loans aren’t subject to the federal oversight that regulates credit products originated by most banks and credit unions.

Moreover, some proprietary schools claim that their private student loans aren’t “loans” at all, but rather a form of “consumer financing” — a distinction, NCLC charges, that’s “presumably an effort to evade disclosure requirements such as the federal Truth in Lending Act” as well as a semantic maneuver meant to skirt state banking regulations.

The authors of the NCLC report make a series of recommendations for reforming proprietary school loans. The recommendations advocate for tough federal oversight of both proprietary and private student loans.

Among the NCLC’s favored reforms are requirements that private student loan companies and proprietary lenders adhere to federal truth-in-lending laws; regulations that prohibit proprietary loans from counting toward a school’s required percentage of non-federal revenue; implementing tracking of private and proprietary loan debt and default rates in the National Student Loan Data System, which currently tracks only federal education loans; and centralized oversight to ensure that for-profit schools can’t disguise their true default rates on their private-label student loans.

Other proposed reforms the NCLC supports include modification of federal bankruptcy laws and expansion of federal student loan debt relief programs.

The NCLC argues for a modification of current bankruptcy laws that would allow student borrowers to discharge onerous student loan debts in a bankruptcy petition without having to meet the current, nearly-impossible-to-satisfy “undue hardship” tests. Amidst more relaxed bankruptcy rules and strengthened non-bankruptcy alternatives, the NCLC maintains, fewer borrowers would find themselves hopelessly mired in student loan debt.

How to get student loans

Consolidating Federal Student Loans

A college graduate faces many difficult financial decisions upon graduation, but luckily consolidating federal student loans will rank as one of the easiest decisions they will ever have to make. Federally backed student loans are commonly referred to as Stafford loans, and with a Stafford loan the federal government backs the loan and guarantees payment to the bank. The government would prefer that the student pays back the loan, but if the student defaults then the government will step in and compensate the bank. Because of this federal backing, consolidating student loans is an extremely easy process.

To consolidate your federal student loans you simply fill out the paperwork, and then wait for the bank to set up your new loan. The interest rate for a federal loan consolidation is the average of all of the interest rates for your current federal student loans. This means that you will not be saddled with a consolidation loan that is significantly more than your individual loans combined. When you consider that you are taking several monthly service charges and reducing them to just one service charge, you begin to realize the monthly savings a federal student loan consolidation program can be. It saves you money, reduces the number of loans you have to pay, and it eliminates excess service charges. A federal student loan consolidation program is one less thing a new college graduate will have to worry about. Since it is backed by the federal government, your approval is almost guaranteed. Talk with your bank about consolidating your federal student loans and making your life easier

Student loan nightmare may be fraud
Dear Dr. Don, I recently applied for a college loan to go back to school. I found out that a previous student loan that I had taken out is in default. I attended a private college, but withdrew after a week after I realized that I wouldn’t be happy in that line of work.
Read more on Bankrate.com

Private Student Loans – What You Should Know About Using This Loan For College

Private Student Loans – What You Should Know About Using This Loan For College

Key Facts On Private Student Loans

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Private Student Loans Or Alternative Education Loans Can Fill The Gap To Pay For College

Private Student Loans Or Alternative Education Loans Can Fill The Gap To Pay For College

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Question by Steve S: What happens if a student private loan cosigner passes away?
Just curious about what happens, I have a $ 50,000 private student loan out and it was cosigned by my grandmother so I could recieve a much better interest rate. I am wondering what happens when she passes away? Assuming I make my payments and my account is in good standing, they wouldnt take it away from her retirement accounts or any savings she has right? Any details are appreciated.

Best answer:

Answer by dtgciy y
here is a great artice on student load consolidation that may help you;

http://beezjazz.com/2008/03/18/studen-loan-consolidation-insider/

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Remember the Student Debt Factor
Before choosing a school, consider the amount of student debt you’ll likely take on.
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