Pennsylvania : where students graduate with some of the highest debt in the nation. Student Loans |
- Pennsylvania : where students graduate with some of the highest debt in the nation.
- In the middle of refinancing my student loan, and the original loan company changed who my loan was being services by. How much of a hassle will this be?
- Philly Inquirer: Not only is FedLoan loathed by many but also running out of $$$$
- Having student loan anxiety
- Hello r/studentloans. I am filling out a OMB No. 1845-0058(OAN DISCHARGE APPLICATION: SCHOOL CLOSURE). School closed down due to fraud(ATI). Looking for advise.
- Paying for Rent w/ Student Loans
- Canada/Alberta Student Loans Questions
- Earnest (Navient) customer survey
- Can I save for my kids college fund knowing I will have a tax bomb when my loans get forgiven?
- PSLF NON PROFIT COMPANY, BUT FOR PROFIT DIVISION?
- Can anyone let me know if this information is true? Im currently living abroad and looking at all options.
| Pennsylvania : where students graduate with some of the highest debt in the nation. Posted: 24 Feb 2019 09:56 AM PST Pennsylvania : where students graduate with some of the highest debt in the nation. State-supported colleges, such as Pennsylvania State University and Temple, charge tuition higher than those in other states, and the loan servicer PHEAA is a major cog in the nation's byzantine college lending system. Based out of a gray-stone, six-story mid-rise, a short walk from Harrisburg's Capitol Building, PHEAA was created in 1963 to originate and service loans for the state's students. It financed its own operations like a bank: borrowing money at prevailing interest rates and lending it to Pennsylvania students at higher ones. Like most commercial borrowers, PHEAA found itself frozen out of debt markets. The U.S. government helped bail out banks by taking over responsibility for lending to college students through the U.S. Department of Education. But the federal government lacked a key function as the key student lender: how to service loans for millions of American borrowers with loan statements, calculating interest charges, principal reductions, tracking documentation, and many other tasks. PHEAA presented itself as an answer. It services its loans for Pennsylvania students and those in other states. It offered to do the same on a massive and more complex scale for the Department of Education. PHEAA bid and won the first of its federal contracts in 2009, branding its service as FedLoan. PHEAA today services $320 billion in student loans, or $1 in $5 of the nation's student debt, and graduates know the servicer as FedLoan. But the contracts came with strings. As Congress and the Department of Education responded to concerns over student delinquencies and defaults, they devised an expansive menu of repayment options through FedLoan, which added to servicing costs without raising the per-borrower fee paid to PHEAA. More Loans Serviced, But Dwindling Profits The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) services 20 percent of the nation's student debt. While the value of the loans it services has grown steadily, PHEAA's profits have dropped sharply, due in part to federal regulations that added to servicing costs without raising per-borrower fees. SOURCE: Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency Staff Graphic Lawsuits also exposed PHEAA to scrutiny, raising questions about the management of its loan-servicing operations. According to a 2013 suit filed in federal court in Richmond, Va., PHEAA had no formal procedures to investigate, report, or deal with identity theft. Plaintiff and victim Lee Pele first learned that his identity had been stolen for two student loans amounting to $137,000 after a debt collector called him. In a deposition, Pele's lawyer, A. Hugo Blankenship, elicited that the PHEAA employee who wrote the agency's manual for "default collections" wasn't an expert in debt collection, but was instead a high school graduate who had gone to trade school for massage therapy. Asked why she was chosen to write the manual on default collections, she responded: "I have no idea." PHEAA settled the case, Blankenship said. Terms weren't disclosed. Last year, five federal lawsuits against PHEAA and FedLoan alleging a host of servicing problems were consolidated in federal court before U.S. District Judge C. Darnell Jones II in Philadelphia. The suits claim that PHEAA has posted misleading information on its website, fails to respond to complaints and process forgiveness applications, puts borrowers into repayment plans without consent, or improperly places them in deferment, letting students temporarily stop or temporarily reduce federal loan payments. 'Jaw-dropping' In August 2017, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed suit in state court, alleging that PHEAA's had failed to service the Public Service Loan Forgiveness and TEACH grant programs, in violation of Massachusetts and federal law. PHEAA has the nation's exclusive contracts to service these two loan-forgiveness programs. PHEAA's failures "have harmed Massachusetts student borrowers, depriving them of months that should have counted toward their loan forgiveness, causing them to lose financial grants, and saddling them with debt," the Massachusetts suit says. The case is still in litigation. In Kentucky, PHEAA fought the production of documents for that state's attorney general investigation, claiming it has sovereign immunity as an arm of the Pennsylvania government. "It's a jaw-dropping claim if they are right about that," said Ben Carter, an attorney with the Kentucky Equal Justice Center, an advocacy group that has intervened in the case. "Every state could start a bank and immunize it and open a branch in another state and then claim it can't be investigated." The former federal regulator Frotman calls PHEAA's immunity claims "outlandish." "It's imperative for residents of Pennsylvania to say they'll no longer tolerate this massive financial services entity behavior in their name," he added. President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaks during a roundtable discussion in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) EVAN VUCCI / AP President Donald Trump listens as Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaks during a roundtable discussion in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) More than 7,000 complaints have been filed against PHEAA at the Consumer Financial Protection Board since 2012, when the database was launched. But the CFPB itself has been defanged under the Trump administration and his secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. An additional 1,000 people complained to PHEAA itself over the last three years, according to data obtained by an Inquirer Right to Know Request. The only student loan servicer with more complaints is Wilmington-based Navient Corp., which has 17,000 complaints and runs a big call center in Wilkes-Barre. Navient is now fighting off a proxy battle by an activist hedge fund. 'Not sustainable' PHEAA spokesperson Keith New rebuts sharp criticism of the agency's customer servicing, saying 99 percent of its borrowers are happy and haven't complained to its hotline or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CEO Steeley said FedLoan's customer complaint metrics are distorted by the two programs for which FedLoan has exclusive contracts. These contracts — the TEACH program (the one for which Gammill was eligible) and the Public Student Loan Forgiveness program — can have complex issues. The latter program offers forgiveness for public defenders, nurses, first responders, and others working for qualifying nonprofits, after 120 consecutive payments. Mistakes can reset the clock on earning loan forgiveness, which can add months or years of payments. "Especially with Public Loan Forgiveness, often borrowers are coming to us after they have been with other servicers that don't really know the rules of the program," Steeley said. "So then suddenly we're the ones telling them that, 'oh, your prior servicers didn't have you on the right repayment plan for the last seven years.'" The basic problem with the servicing business, Steeley said, is that the Department of Education doesn't pay enough for what it now requires of servicers, a concern echoed by the publicly traded Navient. Based on public data, the education department pays the equivalent of about $70 to service every $10,000 in federal student loans. By comparison, commercial banks earn about $250 in servicing fees for every $10,000 in mortgages, industry sources say. And home mortgages are simpler to service because they lack the complex repayment options for student debt. Steeley said the agency views itself as engaged in a public-service mission to help college students and it doesn't have the same Wall Street pressures as the publicly traded firms, such as loan-servicer NelNet or Navient, which answer to shareholders. PHEAA contributed 27 percent of the funds in Pennsylvania's tuition grant program this fiscal year, or $101 million of the $374 million program. More than 100,000 Pennsylvania students got grants up to $4,123. This is money that PHEAA can no longer afford to pay, Steeley said. CEO James Steeley wants PHEAA to offer student loans again. State lawmakers are cautiously optimistic, while others predict more consumer angst and risk for taxpayers by the troubled state-run agency. JESSICA GRIFFIN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER CEO James Steeley wants PHEAA to offer student loans again. State lawmakers are cautiously optimistic, while others predict more consumer angst and risk for taxpayers by the troubled state-run agency. In his budget, Wolf has proposed increasing the state contribution to the state grant but not enough to offset the loss from PHEAA. Lawmakers will have to decide if they will cut the size of the grants. Steeley's plan to lend again needs a stake. So PHEAA has gotten state approval to issue $50 million in tax-free agency bonds in 2019, and can request more, if needed. Outside experts are skeptical of PHEAA's reinvention plan. "I would be cautious of anyone's plans to make big inroads into the private student lending market," said Moshe Orenbuch, analyst with Credit Suisse Securities who covers PHEAA competitor Navient Corp. Lending for college "is not a simple business." Competitors such as Sallie Mae, Discover, Wells Fargo, and start-ups such as like College Ave are striving for the same borrowers, marketing themselves on social media and the internet. [link] [comments]  | ||
| Posted: 24 Feb 2019 08:42 PM PST I am refinancing my loan with Earnest. It started about two weeks ago. A couple of days after I accepted my agreement, the original loan company sent me an email that my loan was switching to be serviced by a company called Firstmark. It wasn't until 3 days after that Firstmark contacted me that my account was set up. Earnest had already sent the payoff amount to the original company. I have contacted Earnest and am waiting on a response. But I just want to know how annoying this is going to make the refinancing. [link] [comments]  | ||
| Philly Inquirer: Not only is FedLoan loathed by many but also running out of $$$$ Posted: 24 Feb 2019 05:02 AM PST | ||
| Posted: 24 Feb 2019 07:25 PM PST I'm currently a student at a university and I come from a very low income family. I have 3 semesters left and I already have 35K in student loan debt. I have rent and a car payment so I have a hard time saving for tuition and loans are pretty much my only option. I have so much regret for not thinking more into the student loan debt before going back to school. (I'm 27) I'm to the point where I don't even want to finish because I don't want to have more debt. I know I don't have long left, but it just seems like I made a huge mistake. Does anyone have any advice for me? Thanks in advance [link] [comments]  | ||
| Posted: 24 Feb 2019 07:05 PM PST Back in 2011 - 2012 I attended ATI for the Medical Assistant program. Long story short I attended the school for a few months but never graduated because it wasn't for me anymore and I dropped out(around Jan 2012) I recently found out the school closed Dec 2012 due to fraud. Ever since I've been paying the school back through Navient sporadically. At one point I was struggling and started garnishing my wages to pay them back. I've done forebearing which I'm now realizing was a horrible idea. Now I'm filling out Form OMB No. 1845-0058. One of the issues I have is I don't remember the dates that I attended there, only an estimation. On Section 6: this is the requirements for the discharge:
Due to the aforementioned requirements, I should have a legit reason why the loans should be discharged? [link] [comments]  | ||
| Paying for Rent w/ Student Loans Posted: 24 Feb 2019 05:29 PM PST I attend a private school and I am currently a "freshman" although credit wise I am a junior. I am already maxed out on my government student loans. Thus, I am taking out private loans to help cover the rest of tuition. My parents do not contribute towards my tuition, although pay for some of my expenses (I.E. food and other things sometimes). I have to make the decision whether to live on campus next year or live off campus with three other roommates. The cost for living on campus is nearly $10,000 for the academic year (both semesters). Which loans would, of course, be used to cover this cost. OR I could pay around $350-450 per month on rent and commute about 25-30 minutes to classes everyday. I would use refunded student loans to cover the cost of rent/utilities. Although, I would have to buy a new (to-me) car, which will hopefully be paid off by the end of summer 2019. And pay car insurance. I would work part-time to help cover these costs as well as my other monthly costs. Keep in mind I would only be paying for this apartment during my NINE months at school. Currently my monthly expenses include: $75 for interest repayment on loans (which will increase to $125 fall 2019) and about $15 for monthly subscriptions. I realize that living off-campus will leave me with expenses such as gas, groceries, etc. SO, my question is, which option is better for me? I have been weighing pros and cons but need others to weigh in. EDIT: I do not qualify for ANY financial aid or grants besides federal loans. Parents make way too much money but again they do not contribute towards any of my college tuition. [link] [comments]  | ||
| Canada/Alberta Student Loans Questions Posted: 24 Feb 2019 08:03 PM PST So I am an Alberta resident who is moving to Ontario in September to start school. I am in a degree/aviation program, so I will have flight fees, as well as tuition/books, and rent/living expenses to think about. I have been out of school for two years, and will have about $10000 in my own savings (had some personal issues the first year off where I wasn't able to save as much as I would have hoped), I also will have a small RESP to draw from, and so far about $6000 in scholarships. I think I may be able to scrape by the first year, but I know I will need student loans after that. I already plan to get a special student line of credit offered to aviation students which gives $60000, but that will go entirely to aviation, so I still need to consider living expenses, tuition/ books, insurance payments ETC. SO to get to my question...my parents make a decent income (about 130K gross/year between them), and they are supporting me partially (what is in the RESP), but how much do you think I could expect to get from student loans? After that, I would have to just resort to a student line of credit, but I was hoping to get by with the aviation line of credit, my savings, and then provincial and federal student aid. I am pretty clueless about this all, so any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. [link] [comments]  | ||
| Earnest (Navient) customer survey Posted: 24 Feb 2019 10:37 AM PST | ||
| Can I save for my kids college fund knowing I will have a tax bomb when my loans get forgiven? Posted: 24 Feb 2019 11:51 AM PST I have two kids. I want to do a 529 for both. But I'm thinking of doing it in my parents name because I am guessing that the IRS would just count it against me in 13 years when I am up for forgiveness. My current balance is ~256k and I just don't want my kids to follow in my shoes. [link] [comments]  | ||
| PSLF NON PROFIT COMPANY, BUT FOR PROFIT DIVISION? Posted: 24 Feb 2019 07:56 AM PST I've been a part of PSLF for almost 4 years now. I've recently accepted a new job with a large non profit academic medical center. I was ensured I was a non profit employee before accepting the job. Recently, I went to have my form filled out to update my employment. My HR division told me they couldn't sign it because my specific division I fall under is for profit. However, our overall company is non profit and has a 503c FEIN number when I google it. Yet, I was told my EIN that will be on my w2 is under a for profit code and they do not use their parent FEIN number. Yet, my benefits include my retirement plan are under a 403b, which is the non profit version of 401k. Is this right? I feel like I should still be eligible for PSLF, but not sure if anyone out there had a similar experience. I'm not sure [link] [comments]  | ||
| Posted: 24 Feb 2019 05:09 AM PST
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