Sallie Mae to Open a New Branch in Delaware

Sallie Mae is the latest student loan lender/collection agency to expand operations; MarketWatch.com reports that Sallie Mae has announced plans for a new credit center that will create about 1100 jobs.  Premiere Credit, which specializes in collecting on delinquent loans, also recently announced plans to open a new location, expected to create 300 jobs. 
It’s hard not [...]

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Houston Church Leaders Charged with Student Loan Fraud

Eric and Sheila Washington, pastors of Texas church Fishers of Men Worhsip Center, along with the church’s secretary and treasurer,  have been charged by federal prosecutors with student loan fraud.  From KHOU.com:
Prosecutors claim the accused would recruit church members who were students, file for student loans in their names and pocket the cash.
They are also accused [...]

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South Carolina’s Largest Student Loan Lender to Quit Lending

The South Carolina Student Loan Corporation, the largest lender in that state, has announced that it will stop making private loans.  In the current year, about 12,000 students rely on those loans to fund their education.

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“I never slept, but at least I made the Dean’s List a few times.” – James’s Student Loan Story

Guest Post by James Scott
This is a difficult story to tell – in part because I have to live it all over again, but also because it sounds like an exaggerated Lifetime movie, and I wonder at times if people think I made it up. I never put college on a pedestal or had the [...]

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Barack Obama Talks Student Loans with a Real Live Student!

There is an excellent video clip on YouTube that shows Obama talking to a Wayne Community College student and her financial officer about her loan debt.  Apparently, this is from this past June, but I didn’t come across it until today (thanks to Financial Aid Finder), and I thought it was worth posting. 
At one point [...]

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Student Loan Debtors Running Out of Consolidation Options

The Department of Education is rapidly becoming the only student loan consolidation option for new graduates, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports today.  The article noted that many lenders, including Sallie Mae, which I reported on previously, have suspended their consolidation programs because in the current credit climate, they say, it is no longer economical:
The Pennsylvania Higher [...]

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Bankruptcies on the Rise…But Student Loans Still Not in the Mix

The New York Times reports that bankruptcies rose nearly 8% between September and October, due to the ongoing economic crisis, particularly dropping home values and the credit crunch.  Over 100,000 filings were made in October, the first time the number has gotten that high since the new, harsher bankruptcy law was passed in 2005.  Additionally, [...]

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Hunt and Powell out as Secretary of Education?

Amid speculation that Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson are on Obama’s shortlist for Secretary of State, news about who will be the next Secretary of Education has taken a back seat.  Still, a few updates:  
First, Jim Hunt, former North Carolina governor declared last week that he is out of the running.  From Hunt, who has worked on [...]

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Students Protest Student Loan Debt

A group of about 50 students protested student loan debt outside of the Department of Education in Washington D.C. Saturday, reports WTOPNews.com:
They danced and chanted “Education is a right! Student power! Fight, fight, fight!”
The protesters also had letters delivered to national education officials requesting that they ease student college debt.
Good for them!  It’s always great [...]

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CitiBank Offering 100% Loan Forgiveness on Silver State Helicopters Loans

*Update – A commenter has provided a lot of additional information on this issue; I encourage readers of this post to check out the comments section. 
Michael Berger, one of the lawyers in the lawsuit against Silver State Helicopters Flight Academy, reported on his blog November 10th that one of the lenders in the case, Citibank, [...]

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