Student Loan Archives

By Brian O'ConnellWith a college diploma comes a real world lesson in one of life’s most demanding subjects – debt. Read more»

By Althea ChangIf a sharply lower 401(k) balance has made saving for your kids’ college education the furthest thing from your mind, automatic college savings plans could be key. Read more»

Like a lot of graduates, Luke Livingston faced a mountain of student-loan debt when he finished up last spring at Clarke University in Worcester, Mass.   Unlike a lot of graduates, though, he's since cooked up an ingenious way to pay it back: Ask sponsors to pay his loan back for him. Livingston, 22 years old, says he "tried to think of something that hadn't already been done, and would also be beneficial to me and to the person who would be the source of my funding." Read more»

Instead of paying off your student loans, you can work them off with the government's help.   While most people know that the government offers various types of student loans, some may not be aware that Uncle Sam also offers graduates a number of ways to pay back loans. By volunteering, or working in community-service positions, graduates can have their debt paid for, diminished and sometimes eliminated by the government.   Read more»

By Allison Bisbey Colter The typical American family is on track to cover 24% of the cost of its children's college education, based on their current and expected savings, according to a survey by Fidelity Investments.   Read more»

By considering alternatives to the standard "four years and graduate" routine, you can find ways to cut costs and leave college with a degree debt-free. Read more»

I’ve been writing more and more lately about saving for college. That’s by design, and partly because I have a senior who is going to college next year and I have to pay for her tuition. Some of the unluckiest victims of the global economic meltdown are college graduates moving into a jobless employment market, even though they’re loaded down with student loan debt. Read more»

Many college students graduating in the next year face a double whammy: An average $20,000 in student loan debt and an overall shrinking labor market. For graduates in dire financial straits some lenders offer breathing room in the form of forbearance. Read more»

In a tough job market, having a degree is practically mandatory, but you don’t have to go to college anymore to get one. These days, you can have college come to you and get your degree online. Read more»