Whether you’re planning a ski trip in Vail, partying with MTV in Cancun or volunteering at an orphanage in South America, Spring Break is that blissful week in March when memories are made. While Spring Break may seem far off, and you’re just trying to survive finals, two words of advice can mean the difference between spending your break dog-sitting or letting loose at Daytona Beach — plan ahead.

By planning your trip early, you’ll be able to find the best airfares and hotel deals. March is infamous for Spring Break, and tourist companies nationwide bump their prices up for student travelers. So, resist your urge to procrastinate and start thinking about Spring Break now.

Unless you’re the Olsen twins, the number-one question looming in your mind is most likely, “How am I going to pay for this?” When Mom and Pop run dry and your sole hope of having enough cash to pay for Spring Break is based on your tax refund, it’s time to take matters into your own hands. The first step in saving is to create a budget spreadsheet.

Write down your income (paychecks, scholarship kickbacks, allowance, etc.) in one column and write down your expenses (food, rent, books, etc.) in another column. Then start slashing unnecessary spending. Rent movies instead of going to the theaters or limit yourself to one latte a week. Other helpful tips for saving include: (more…)

The wrong way to become a lender of choice SERVING borrowers with patchy credit histories has never been more perilous. America’s “subprime” mortgage providers have been hounded by congressional committees and face regulatory clampdowns.

Now the $85 billion-a-year student-loan industry is joining them in the dock. Its accuser-in-chief is New York’s attorney-general, Andrew Cuomo, who, following in the footsteps of his bank-bashing predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, claims to have unearthed a latticework of suspicious links between lenders, university officials and a government department.

The focus of the investigation is the “preferred lender” lists that financial-aid officials compile to help students choose loan providers. These lists are supposed to be based on merit, but some lenders appear to have secured a place on them by paying kickbacks in the form of shares, free travel, debt write-offs and phoney fees.

More than 100 higher-education colleges and several lenders have received subpoenas or requests for information. A senior official from the Department of Education, who oversaw the industry, and financial-aid officers from Columbia University, the University of Texas, the University of Southern California and Johns Hopkins University, have all been suspended pending the outcome of the probe. (more…)

You need to find an International student loan if you are a prospective overseas college student who is now a United States resident, or if you are thinking about returning to a college or university overseas. Just like here in the United States you will need to apply for and qualify for various student loans to help you make your way through school and pay for your tuition after you have graduated.

When you are applying to study overseas you need to find International student loans that you will qualify for and start applying for them.

According to the International Student Loan Center, each year over 190,000 Americans study abroad and over 550,000 international students come to the USA to study. However, studying abroad often requires financial assistance for extra expenses such as travel, accommodations and materials, which can make it a greater financial commitment.

What Is An International Student Loan?

An International student loan is for you if you are currently an American citizen and you plan to enroll in a college or university in another country, usually overseas.

What Is The Process Of Getting Approved? (more…)

The Student Loan Default Story Legally, a default occurs the first time you fail to make a payment when it is due. But if you fail to make your student loan payment for 180 days, your loan will enter the “official” default status and take on a life of its own.

This is the point at which the lender will report your student loan as defaulted to the credit bureaus. It is also the point at which a long list of bad things can start to occur. Your tax refund checks can be seized and your wages can be garnished.

What Happened?

Why are student loans so different from all other debts? Well, prior to 1991 the U.S. Department of Education was empowered to collect delinquent student loans for only six years. But in 1991 an amendment to the Higher U.S. Department of Education Act lifted all time limits for collection. And the amendment was retroactive; student loans that were past the statute of limitation for collection prior to the amendment became collectable again. And to further reinforce the longevity of student loan debt, a 1998 change in federal law made it virtually impossible to discharge student loan debt in a bankruptcy. (more…)

The student-loan industry is under a cloud, hit by allegations that some firms have been paying college financial-aid personnel to steer business their way. The scandal is just the latest twist in what has become an increasingly complex and frustrating process for parents and students in their quest to find ways to fund pricey college educations.

The growing concern over student lending has produced new regulatory proposals aimed at reining in the increasingly sophisticated marketing efforts used by private lenders. It has also sparked calls for parents and students to be more vigilant in looking after their own interests in the financial-aid process.

Bills Introduced

Companion bills have been introduced in the U.S. Senate and House that aim to protect students and parents from exploitation by requiring more disclosure from lenders about the deals they craft with colleges and universities. The bills would encourage families to maximize their borrowing through the government’s loan programs.

“Lenders are increasingly using questionable methods to persuade colleges to steer students to their loans,” Sen. Edward Kennedy (D., Mass.) wrote in an email response to questions. “In return, the colleges give an unfair advantage to the lenders.” A co-introducer of the Student Loan Sunshine Act in the Senate, Sen. Kennedy says that too many students don’t exhaust their federal-loan options, simply because they don’t know what funds are available or how to obtain them. (more…)

There are a wide variety of reasons why you could be considering student loan bankruptcy as a solution to your student loan debts. Even though this should be your last resort to paying off your student loans, you might find yourself in a situation that could require you to file for student loan bankruptcy.

Can You Declare Bankruptcy For Student Loans?

You can, but there are certain laws, rules and policies that you must follow. There are also certain qualifications that you must be able to prove in order to even qualify for a student loan bankruptcy. As far as qualifying to declare bankruptcy, this could be different for almost everyone.

Undue Hardship: You must be able to show that you have an undue hardship in order to qualify for this type of bankruptcy. The only way you can prove an undue hardship to declare bankruptcy for your student loans is if you are physically unable to work and you will not be able to work for the rest of your life. This is a rare occurrence, and difficult to prove to a court. You should choose this method of applying for bankruptcy if you meet the qualifications for it.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: You shouldn’t expect to be able to get rid of all of your student loan debts by filing under a chapter 13 bankruptcy, but you could get rid of some or most of it. The best way to apply for this one will be to expect to have your student loan debt consolidated, because that is likely what the court will do (as well as eliminate some of it). To qualify for chapter 13 you will need to prove that you have the disposable income available to pay back at least most of your student loan debt.

Are There Any Alternatives To Bankruptcy? (more…)

The costs of a college education continue to rise like a hot air balloon and many fear that they will soon be beyond their reach. Some experts have estimated that the cost of an average four year program at a public college or university may cost as much as $100, 000.00 in fifteen years from now. That’s a lot of money, regardless of your current income.

The good news is that you can play now to avoid that super-hit later on. You may not be able to control the costs of a college education, but you can find ways to lesson that blow. One way is through a 529 college education savings plan and even if your child does not decide to go to university later on you can roll it over to someone else in the family who does.

A 529 plan is named after its section number in the IRS code is a savings plan for college education and when you open an account you have a number of options to choose from.

Those options include prepaying tuition at a qualified educational institution at today’s tuition rates or you can save money in a tax-deferred account that can only be used to pay for education at future tuition rates. (more…)

The average student loan debt depends on the institution and the course which the student is studying. The National Post-Secondary Student Aid Study has calculated the following statistics for average student loans for the academic year 2003-2004.Twenty-one percent of the students attending certificate courses at community colleges had borrowed loans at a median average of $5,307; while 78% of those attending certificate courses at private schools borrowed at a median average of $5,705.

These figures show that the number of student borrowers at the private schools was marginally higher than the number at community schools. Among the associate degree students at community colleges, 28% had borrowed a median average of $5,879.

The statistic among bachelor’s degree students was still higher. For the four-year bachelor’s degree course at public colleges, 58% of students borrowed at a median average of $14,671; while at private colleges, 69% borrowed at $17,125. (more…)