Saturday, November 28, 2009

Student Loans: The Feds are Back in the Saddle. And What's On Your Tivo?

Boy, when we pointed out a couple of weeks ago that the average burden of student loans for graduating students is something like $32,000, did we get an earful. Some of you called about loan burdens of more than $100,000.

So when the House of Representatives voted for a bill to take the middleman -- the banks -- out of the student loan business, we figured, ''Aha, another opportunity to hear from you!''

We did, and how. After New York Democratic congressman Tim Bishop laid out the skinny on the bill -- which the Congressional Budget Office estimates could save $13 billion by keeping loan origination in the hands of the government -- we summoned our student loan expert, Mark Kantrowitz of www.findaid.org, to take your questions about consolidating loans, the public versus federal loans, and the rather stupefying intricacies of getting money to go to school.

Several of you called to say that getting loans through federal programs was easier than going through banks -- even though most of the money is federal money anyway. And several of you said you were saddled with what Rep. Bishop called ''Wild West'' loans, bank loans with no limit on the interest rates and discouraging prospects of repayment.

There are links on the Patt Morrison page so you can find out more about the particulars of loans, of consolidation and repayment, and what if anything a new federal bill would mean to you.

What does the new fall TV season mean to you? Our critics said this season might be a bit better than some previous ones, with potential hits like ''Glee'' and some recycled [and not in a good way] themes like ''Melrose Place.'' I say ''our critics,'' including Brian Lowry at Variety, but when it comes to your own Tivo, or Hulu, or old-fashioned TV set, you're all critics. So have at it, and leave a comment here about where you're putting your bets, and your eyeballs, when it comes to new TV shows.

Let's check in in a few months and see what shows are still standing. My money is not on ''The Beautiful Life.'' In the first episode, actress Mischa Barton, a size minus something, can't fit into the dress on the runway. When Brian Lowry said this show was targeted to 20-somethings, I wondered aloud whether that was their age or their weight.

Next time, why does Los Angeles resemble Rome? All those fountains springing up -- actually the spate of broken water mains. Is the whole H20 infrastructure giving way at once?


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Sunday, November 15, 2009

How To Find A Low Interest Student Loan

Education is one of the most vital investments that you will ever make, it is an investment into your future and sadly, it is an investment that you can't exist without.

The sole problem is that there are several of us who cannot survive a Ptivate Student Loan thanks to the exorbitant rates. Now that money is even tighter with the world fiscal crisis an education is even more important than ever to secure a place in a good job, so a student loan is even more critical than ever.

So how does one go about surviving your student loan as well as weathering the money crisis? The answer's straightforward ; you end up a student loan that has low IRs. This is 1 way of cutting back student loan costs when you nee something you can barely afford. It is also a great way to make sure that you can pay off your student loan and avoid entering into student loan consolidation.

You can see your journey through your educational career as a road trip and the expenses that you incur amount to the fuel that you would use to finish that trip. Without enough fuel, you cannot complete your trip. Your university trip is going to be n significant one, but it may also be a very expensive one so you are going to require a student loan to help along your way.

When you're looking out for a student loan to finance your college tuition there are three options open to you. You can pick between Fed. student loans, non-public instructional loans and fixed student loans. The type of student loan that you need to select will be set by your own financial capacities.

When you look at private loans for scholars, these come from banks as well as certain loan firms. When buying this type of student loan, it is critical that you do some comparative shopping to ensure that you get the top deal with the lowest interest rate and best repayment options. An institutional school student loan comes out of a specific academic institute itself.

This is where the school offers student help to its prospective and current students. Different varsities will have different necessities that need to be met before you can sign up for financial help from them. The last type of direct student loan is the Fed student loan. This kind of loan is by far the hottest and well used by students across America. When shopping for Fed. student loans it's also smart to do some comparative shopping to get the best deals available to you.


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