Comments on: The murky world of student-loan statistics

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:52:38 +0000

Very informative post on “The murky world of student-loan statistics”. I really like your helpful article. My son is studying in college and really wants to apply for student loans. Before reading your post I was unaware of student loan but after reading your post now I came to know about this loan settlement programs which are very beneficial for students.
http://www.studentsloansconsolidation.ne t/

By: ettucat

ettucat — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:41:40 +0000

I believe it would behoove the taxpayers who will be required to bail out students in arears, while trying to pay for the education of their own children, to demand the IRS tax returns filed by the parents of the indebted students are reviewed to determine if they can readily provide the payments needed to bring their student up to date. There are many who have taken these loans because it was cheaper to do so, than to use accumulated assets that were earning higher rates of return than what the student would be assessed for the student loan. Those having the assets to pay up should be required to do so, or have their assets attached by the IRS. We are tired of being taken for a ride by those who can pay their own way, but prefer to scam the system.

By: ZackNeeds

ZackNeeds — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:30:45 +0000

The Online Guidance services for Student Debt in the UK are building up all the time and it’s difficult to know which offer the best student loan consolidation advice.

Does anyone have any advice about good sites?

http://studentdebtrescue.com

By: suahh

suahh — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 02:21:06 +0000

I stumbled upon this article after reading some crazy stuff on the Huffington Post today in an article that said student loan totals had grown from $100 billion a year ago to $1 trillion this year. That is frightening enough. But then I read these comments and realize how “murky” it really is, and my head is about to explode. But here is a thought, many parents are not borrowing from their 401k accounts. They are withdrawing them outright, tax payments and all. It is the only way to ensure that your child will not emerge from college with his newly minted degree only to immediately become a wage slave for the rest of his life.

By: Eugene09

Eugene09 — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:11:27 +0000

This is definitely a great write-up. The murky world of student-loan statistics is actually a big factor for those who are searching for payday loans. I agree that payday loans loan providers which aren’t responsible can cause problems, which makes it even more important to look for responsible ones.Don’t take chances with payday loans. Always check the registration number of their company as well as whether or not you’re able to contact them. If something goes wrong, you want to be able to be in touch with them.
http://www.samedaypaydayloans.co.uk

By: mkant

mkant — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:51:48 +0000

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Q3 2011 Household Credit Report corrects the Q2 figure to $845 billion (a $290 billion increase) and provides a Q3 figure of $865 billion. See http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/natio nal_economy/householdcredit/DistrictRepo rt_Q32011.pdf

By: Ken55

Ken55 — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:41:33 +0000

Edububble is excellent, check out those links above.

It will be hard to calculate total outstanding private loan debt, however it’s dropped from the 2006-2007 highs of 20+ billion per year to probably around 10 billion this year in new origination. My Back of the envelope calculation is about $100 billion outstanding now, nothing compared to the outstanding Federal loans. How much longer can the fed keep guaranteeing loans to students at high fixed rates? Seems like the students should have access to a lower rate with the current environment. Unsubsidized Staffords are 6.8%, Parent Plus is 7.9%. Seems like a big spread for the Fed to make considering these are non-dis-chargeable in bankruptcy.

Crazy thing is that there are no student loan consolidators for private loans out there. If you are one of the large private loan providers and originated applications at 10.8% from 2002-2008, why would you ever want to help your customer to consolidate to current rates? Only Wells Fargo and the Credit Unions are taking private loan consolidations, they want to get more clients by volume. Too bad our direct loans program can’t consolidate loans for a lower rate for students: http://www.custudentloans.org/

By: Edububble

Edububble — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:57:41 +0000

Oh, it’s much deeper than this because the numbers only focus on official loans. There’s all sorts of off-balance-sheet debt that makes it much, much scarier. Between home equity loan, intergenerational loans and 401k borrowing, it looks like Enron-grade games that push the debt from sight.

Here are some of my unscientific speculations:

http://edububble.com/dpp/?p=2133

http://edububble.com/dpp/?p=575

http://edububble.com/dpp/?p=476

By: thruth

thruth — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:52:51 +0000

“But the Department of Education doesn’t publish numbers for the total amount of debt in that system”

Data on federal student loans outstanding is not hard to come by. For example, just go to the Budget Appendix (this one from 1998, but the same info is in every Budget):

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy98/p df/appendix/edu.pdf

p437 – Status of Direct Loans
p441 – Status of Guaranteed Loans

By: TFF

TFF — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 23:35:28 +0000

“And don’t try to tell me that the Feds don’t know that number, or that it’s a difficult ‘data set’. Hogwash. Totals are the EASIEST code to write so gimme a break…”

Easy to code if you HAVE the data set.

Is it possible that the data on the loans has never been collected in one place? That each originating entity retains its own information without reporting to a central repository?

Not that this would be an excuse. Any program receiving special federal treatment and/or subsidies ought to be carefully regulated.

“And even if no one got more of a loan than their first year’s salary”

I’m hardly an expert, but I would expect that the largest loans are taken by law school, B-school, and med-school students. It is hardly a homogenous population, and thus difficult to analyze on the basis of mere totals.

“In a previous post, I noted that there may be upwards of 30 – 40 million adults in this country who are NOT actively paying on their loans.”

Seems high… That would represent every man and woman between the age of 20 and 30, or half of those between 20 and 40. The *total* number of adults in this country with student loans is likely around that figure, and most of them are actively paying.

By: Dorothy95

Dorothy95 — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:05:21 +0000

I disagree… we need to find out HOW MANY PEOPLE this is really affecting. In a previous post, I noted that there may be upwards of 30 – 40 million adults in this country who are NOT actively paying on their loans.

And don’t try to tell me that the Feds don’t know that number, or that it’s a difficult ‘data set’. Hogwash. Totals are the EASIEST code to write so gimme a break…

And even if no one got more of a loan than their first year’s salary, it does not take into account the predatory and inflationary practices of the lenders, nor their mafia-esque collection powers.

“The problem is that when the new numbers are restated, the old numbers won’t be” – again, this is the INFORMATION AGE and of COURSE they have these numbers… it would be impossible to create the mathematical gyrations necessary to sell SLABS without them. Again, HOGWASH.

Those may be the best numbers we get, but they aren’t the best numbers available…

By: tgriffin

tgriffin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 22:15:30 +0000

More important is debt per student. It is not possible to grow debt per student from existing levels given the limits on the incomes of the person no longer in school. Tuition rises simply can’t continue to be funded with student debt as they have in the past. Student loans per student have reached fundamental limits.

“A common rule of thumb: Never borrow more than you expect to earn with your starting salary. For example, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, starting salaries for elementary school teachers, social workers and journalists are about $30,000 a year. A student who borrows that amount can expect a monthly payment of about $345, based on a standard 10-year payout. That’s about 17 percent of their take-home pay. That’s do-able, but with less than $2,100 montly earnings after taxes, it will leave little to spend on anything other than essentials and will make it almost impossible to save.” http://www.wwu.edu/soundings/fall11/loan s.shtml

Of course, if the student has no starting salary because they are unemployed the problem is even worse. Some students have much more than $30K in debt.