Research + News | Topic: Debt

I Killed My Teenager’s Fancy College Dreams. You Should, Too.

Forty-five million Americans owe a collective $1.6 trillion in student debt. One columnist describes why her daughter won’t be one of them. Read the article here.

As College Debt Rises, So Does Interest In Teaching Financial Literacy

After languishing for a few years, support for teaching money-management skills to high school students has reignited, financial literacy advocates say. They attribute much of the newfound interest to worries about mushrooming student debt. Read the article here.

Students Want Faster Degrees. Colleges Are Responding

Colleges are offering accelerated degrees, giving students the opportunity to graduate sooner and with less debt, but is this a good idea? Read the article here.

Distressed Borrowers Say Student Debt Help Was Anything But

USA Today highlights experiences with so-called student loan debt help companies. Read the article here.

High Cost Of Education Limits Career Choices For Millennials

We’ve all seen the staggering student loan debt statistics: It averages more than $20,000 and 69% of Millennials have student loan debt, according to the Federal Reserve of New York. What the numbers don’t tell us is what is going on in Millennials’ minds before they take on this debt.

Read the rest of the article here.

You Won’t Believe What Some Students Blow School Loan Money On

About half of students blow some of their school loan money on non-educational expenses, including 3% who spent it on alcohol and drugs, according to a new Student Loan Hero survey.

Read the full article here.

If There’s One Thing Millennials Regret, It’s Going To College

More than a third of 18- to 35-year-olds say they wish they had not gone to university, according to a new survey, while almost half say they would have got to where they are now without a degree.

Read the article here.

Four Myths About College You Should Reject

Tim Elmore has spotted four myths people tend to buy into about post-secondary education—and he’d like to help you avoid them.

Read his blog post here.

Millions of Students May Never Repay Their Student Loans

More than 40% of Americans who borrowed from the government’s main student-loan program aren’t making payments or are behind on more than $200 billion owed, raising worries that millions of them may never repay.

Read the article here.

The Many Pitfalls of Private Student Loans

From the article: “Many student borrowers often accept the financial aid packages set before them, which may include piles of private loans that cover what federal loans do not. But students often do not realize that private loans can cost more and come with few escape valves if they can’t afford their payments.”

Read the full article from The New York Times here.