federal student loans

Over the last two years, I have received more questions about student loans than I got in the previous two decades combined. The reason is brutally simple: Not only is college more expensive than ever, but because of the recession, it's also the hardest time in decades for college graduates to find...

On a recent Today Show Money 911 segment, a caller said she'd filed for bankruptcy -- but that didn't free her from her student loans. She then asked how bankruptcy would affect her ability to get more student loans. Clearly, she isn't learning the right lesson from Chapter 11.

Death and debt: Both can be uncomfortable subjects to discuss, but what happens to your financial obligations after you pass away is one uncomfortable conversation worth having with your loved ones. Survivors of the deceased can often fall prey to some common traps when it comes to "inheriting"...

A college freshman. A group of prison inmates. An elderly grandmother. They all have very different backgrounds. But they also share a common characteristic: Each was the victim of identity theft in which someone used their social security numbers to fraudulently obtain student loans. The...

When Ashley Overhouse's parents found out that the cost of her first year at the University of California-Santa Cruz would be almost 8% higher than they'd thought, she says they had an understandable reaction: "They freaked." Ashley's parents aren't alone. As tuitions and fees continue to rise both...