The Interest Rates On Federal Student Loans Essay

This report examines the increasing trends in the amount of debt students are graduating with. The purpose of this report is to prove why these trends need to be stopped, and how they can be stopped. After viewing the statistics from 1993 to the present it will be obvious that student debt is not rising at a steady pace, but that its growth is leading to large financial burdens by many students. Recommendations are given about the actions that can be taken by not only students, but everyone to help improve this dire situation. The changes that student loans have been through over the last couple of years will have a lasting effect on current students, prospective students, parents, and those who have graduated and

student loan interest rate from 3.76 percent to 4.45 percent starting this July 1. According to

Economic impact from rising student loan debt is being felt throughout the United States. According to research performed by the Pew Research Center and Rutgers, between 25-40% of 20- and 30-year-olds are delaying large purchases such as homes and cars (Daniels). The delay of such

As of 2016, the average college graduate owes thirty-seven thousand dollars in loans (Glum). As a whole, Americans owe a grand total of 1.3 trillion dollars. These are figures that grow every year, and worse, the number of people who are defaulting on their payments grows as well. The issue of the student loan crisis is serious, which is why potential solutions are now being discussed. Presidential candidates for the election of 2016 have discussed solutions that range from Hillary Clinton’s debt-free college plan to Bernie Sanders’ free tuition plan funded by taxing Wall Street, while numerous scholars and business intellectuals have suggested amending the bankruptcy code to allow for discharging student loans as a solution to the crisis (Josuweit). In this essay, I will primarily discuss the numerous but limited ways amending the bankruptcy code can alleviate the crisis, and then I will offer alternate solutions to supplement the aforementioned solution.

The decision to attend college for most individuals yield promise of advancement in being able to further one’s learning, and assists with developing a marketable educational portfolio from an institution of reputed academia. However, with the pursuit of obtaining a college degree from a university, there are augmented concerns with student loans and repayment issues. In electing to secure a student loan for college, prospective students or parents should realistically, forecast or measure probable (anticipated) student debt. In particularly, with students aspiring to attend college, several organizations or subsidiaries, and for-profit institutions cash in on unknowledgeable hopefuls contributing to the student loan debt dilemma/crisis (or student debt). The college costs and financial constraints for student borrowing, if ill-prepared will substantially effect students in pre-graduate or even post-grad status. The findings suggest that there is eminence of the possibility of default, with repayment behavior which effects long-term financial outlook. In examining the data on cumulative debt, number and characteristics of borrowers, types of institutions, and repayment dynamics there are unsettles that arise in the gest of student borrowing.

Private lenders are also attempting to step in with the impending rate hike on federal student loans. As stated before, the largest student lender, Sallie Mae, introduced fixed-rate loans. On May 21 2012, Discover Student Loans which is the third-largest education lender started a fixed-rate loan program as well. Wells Fargo which is the second-biggest lender launched fixed-rate loans last summer. (Weise) For prospective students who have good credit these private loans

According to Forbes, the U.S. has 44.2 million borrowers that still have to repay their student loan debts, this is about 8% of the population of the country. Borrowers, as of 2017, have accumulated 1.31 trillion dollars in student loan debt. Student loan debt has increased by 31 billion dollars since 2016. On average, borrowers have $4,920 of student loans debt, and in Florida, the debt per person is $4,480. For some borrowers, this debt puts them into poverty. Student loans are a major problem for the students, but may become a problem for the taxpayers in the U.S. because of recent bill proposals.

Student debt is becoming a big issue that is affecting many individuals in the United States, some having to decide between going to school or being in debt for years after they have finished their education. Most people want to have a great paying career and need to go to school for many years but do not have the financial means to pay for college or qualify for financial aid, seeking other options to get their education such as applying for student loans or credit cards. College students should not be worried about how much debt is being accumulated and how it can affect them in their future. This paper will examine the possible solutions to student debt such as student forgiveness, allowing bankruptcy, or eliminating private lending agencies. Having these options will help students with a good paying career from living paycheck to paycheck and become more financially stable.

An estimated 20 million Americans attend college each year, and 60% of those students borrow annually to pay for it (qtd. in asa.org, “Student Loan Debt Statistics”). Moreover, citizens continuing to pay off debt after schooling brings the overall number of student-loan-borrowers to about 40 million- with a collective 1 trillion dollars in debt (McCarthy, “10 Fun Facts About the Student Debt Crisis); a fourth of these borrowers owe over $28,000, a tenth owe over $54,000, 3.1% owe more than $100,000, “and 0.45 percent of borrowers, or 167,000 people, owe more than $200,000” (Haughwout, “Grading Student Loans”). While some view this predicament as the result of laziness or carelessness, the bulk of this substantial group are not at fault.

As Young teenagers become adults and start College, one issue that doesn’t seem as a big deal at the moment for many students are student loans. Young college students who don’t have the money, don’t have enough scholarship money, or family who doesn’t have the money to pay, will apply for student loans each year. They amount the student receives can vary depending on the college and what the student has achieved academically. Though interest rates are low with subsidized being 4.29% and unsubsidized being 5.84% ("Federal Student Aid" Interest rates and Fees), student loans still have a huge effect on college students once they graduate. One college graduate’s story helps explain the struggles for most students:

Student loan debt in the United States is expanding unrestricted each year. There are 36 million Americans today, holding over $740 billion dollars in student loan debt. (U.S. 2013) The current student loan system is intended to open doors to economic prosperity for those who could not otherwise afford to go to college. Research suggests that the unintended consequence of too much available student credit is real people losing prosperity and languishing in debt for extended periods of their lives. Reducing or eliminating the availability of student loans would have a tremendous impact on improving the lives of Americans. If things continue the way they are now, American’s will soon find college, and its implied ticket to economic

While higher education continues to grow in popularity as an important investment in American society, the student loan debt that accompanies this education also continues to grow as a burden to the American economy. Although the plethora of debt most commonly applies to graduate students and college dropouts rather than undergraduate students, student loan debt has accumulated to $1.2 trillion and continues to grow. Student loan debt made up 13% of the debt accumulated for adults between the ages of 20 and 29 in 2005, and has grown to account for 37% of the age group’s debt in 2014. Even though the government made $66 billion in profit on federal student loans from 2007 to 2012, the American economy shows very little positive feedback if any at all. About ten million federal student loans are taken out annually with an average loan balance of $15,900 in 2005 and up to $25,500 in 2014. The debt accumulated from these loans has made a larger gap in economic inequality, has limited entrepreneurship, and has prevented future loans from being taken out because of damaged credit ratings. Student loan

College student loans are the loans we receive when enrolling in college. Federal student loans are sponsored by the government and only available through your colleges financial aid office. There are two types of these loans. One is a subsidized loan, which you have to meet certain criteria of financial need in order to obtain and the second is an unsubsidized loan. An unsubsidized loan is open to all students regardless of financial need. There are maximum awards available depending on what year you are in the course of your college studies. Subsidized loans don 't begin charging interest until graduation or you cease to be at least a half time student and repayment begins 6 months after graduation or you cease to be a half time student. Unsubsidized loans begin accruing interest immediately although they will allow you to defer the interest payments until you begin making your loan payments (6 months after graduation or you cease to be at least a half time student). For most students, the easy part is qualifying for and receiving your college loans. The difficult part begins when repayment begins. The truth of the matter is that we take out student loans with unrealistic visions of how much money we will be making upon graduation and no real clue of the expenses we will face once college has

In the United States today, the number of students graduating college with student loan debt is quite astonishing. In the article titled, “How the $1.2 Trillion College Debt Crisis Is Crippling Students, Parents And The Economy”, we will examine and break down the student loan debt crisis by the numbers. Today, almost two-third’s of students graduating college are graduating with an average of $26,000 in debt. For most students, $26,000 is a lot of money when the average annual income for a first year graduate is only in the mid $40,000 a year range. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, student loan debt has reached a new milestone, crossing the $1.2 trillion mark (Denhart, 2013, Introduction, par. 2). With student loan debt levels

•     Subsidized Stafford Loan - (Formerly Guaranteed Student Loan) Federal Stafford Loan funds are borrowed from a lending institution (e.g., a bank or credit union). Eligibility for this low interest loan is based on financial need. Students must be enrolled at least halftime to receive a loan. The borrower should check with the organization that holds the loan for the interest rate. Repayment begins six months after enrollment drops below half time. The federal government pays the interest on this subsidized loan while the student is in school or in deferment.