Keeping Up with New Federal Student Loan Policy Changes

11/3/2011

Hey all, today I just wanted to drop a note on the changes that have taken place regarding Federal Student Loans. Last week President Obama passed new legislature affecting people with Federal Student Loans. This article by Ron Lieber of the The New York Times explains in detail the changes that will be going into effect.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/your-money/student-loans/explaining-new-federal-student-loan-rules.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=student%20loan%20forgiveness&st=cse

Essentially, if you have Federal Student Loans you will be able to consolidate them into one loan. However, if you have private loans, the new law will not have any impact on them.

As I start exploring Student Loan Debt more this month, I want to share with you the places I've discovered while digging. Some great resources so far have been:

FinAid.org
http://www.finaid.org/

Project on Student Debt
http://projectonstudentdebt.org/

Coming up soon, we'll take a look at the argument that Student Loan Forgiveness is a horrible economic policy. Is it really? We'll explore soon. Keep chipping away at that debt!

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As a kid I moved all over the country due to my dad being in the Army. I had the good fortunate to see a lot of the US and even spent 3 years in Germany when I was young, which my parents made sure my brother and I saw different parts of Europe. All of that moving and travelling led me to studying International Studies (IS) and Spanish in college at the University of Iowa. In May of 2010, I graduated with B.A.s in both IS and Spanish and an International Business Certificate. On the surface, that all looks great, but as I soon found out, applying for jobs with abstract, theoretical-based degrees, I wasn't quite suited for any particular job. My skill set invloved reading theoretical texts on human rights issues, speaking a somewhat decent Spanish, and basic knowledge of international finance. Again, that sounds great, but I didn't have any practical skills to bring to the table. After being shut down by all the companies that I applied to during my last semester of college- I say shut down not because I was told they weren't interested in me, they just never responded back to my cover letters and emails- I decided to apply for a teaching English position in Spain. Not having any teaching experience, I applied to a program run by the Spanish Ministry of Education that contracts people from all over the world to come and work as language assistants that work alongside language teachers in elementary schools, high schools, and in higher education settings. The only requirements needed are any type of Bachelor's degree, a good bill of health and not have committed a serious crime. Luckily, I fulfilled all of those (they didn't catch me!) and spent the last year, from October to June, working in a city called La Coruña, in the northwest part of Spain.

At the moment I'm unemployed and without health insurance, however, I do have another contract as an English language assistant that begins on October 1st, this time in a suburb of Madrid, Spain. As I'm writing this, I'm in the process of finding an apartment in Madrid and plan on making Madrid my home until my contract runs out at the end of June, 2012. Over the course of the next year, I'll be trying to shed light on the economic issues going on over here in Spain and in Europe in general. Even though I have a job, I'm like any other recent college graduate, broke, scraping by, and from time to time, relying on help from my family. I've got the good fortune of having a supportive family amidst these turbulent economic times. However, like other, middle-class kids, I struggle with the guilt of having to ask for help from my parents, even when they're eager to help. I hope this blog and project can be a place where all of these issues are confronted and explored.

Cheers to All,
Will

Keeping Up with New Federal Student Loan Policy Changes

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