All posts by Christine Alexis

5 Game Plan Tips To Keep Financial Resolutions

by Christine Alexis

Yes. I’m serious about my New Year’s resolutions this year and when my friends ask me about them, here’s what I say:

1. In 2015, I’m going to make healthier diet choices.
2. I’m going to go to the gym regularly. No excuses!
3. I’m going to travel and find new hobbies.
4. And of course, I’m going to save more money.

Saving comes in at No. 4. But I mean it, and a lot of people have goals just like mine.

 

 recent Fidelity Investments study shows consumers want to achieve financial stability in 2015. Fidelity found 31 percent of Americans made financial resolutions. And 41 percent say they feel more confident than they did around this time in 2013.

 

We all know that resolutions often fade by mid-February. But maybe if we start 2015 the right way, we’ll actually get to establish a foothold on the ladder to financial security.

 

As a former student-athlete, I know a good goal needs an effective game plan and that’s why we came up with 5 game plan tips to keep financial resolutions in 2015.

 

5 GAME PLAN TIPS TO KEEP FINANCIAL RESOLUTIONS

1. Open up all your bills.

Sure, we all wish we didn’t have bills to pay. But staring at the daunting pile of bills that we let add up won’t make them go away. Open each bill.

Make sure you pay each one on time. Write due-dates on your calendar at home or smart phone with alerts to remind you when the dates draw near.

Late payments negatively affect your credit score.

Even parking tickets and hospital bills that we forget about can have a long-lasting effect.

2 .Don’t let those interest charges add up

If you find yourself behind, you can do something about it now.

You have options!

The New Economy Project, an economic advocacy group, suggests  that you contact your creditor when you miss payments, or believe you might.

Tell them that you had a setback and are temporarily unable to make payments, but also say that you want to repay them as soon as you can. This can stop creditors from passing along your debt to collection agencies who may harass you.

The New Economy Project also recommends that you contact a community development credit union in your area. Member-owned community development credit unions serve specific neighborhoods and really want to work with you. They offer members a broad range of services, including financial counseling. If you qualify, they may also help you consolidate your debts and offer a fair interest rate.

 

3. Use a free online credit-report service.

Beware of sites that ask you to pay for your credit score. Credit bureaus are required by law to give you one free credit report a year. AnnualCreditReport.com allows you to view all three of your credit score reports for free.

Your credit score is based on your credit history and that’s listed on your credit report. Credit scores affect a lot of things in life. Employers consider them. Landlords check them and financial institutions look at credit reports before they give you credit or a mortgage.

It’s important to know your score so you can see if there is anything you need to correct, and knowing your score can help you understand where you need to make financial adjustments. ConsumerMojo has more information about this here:

Check Your Credit Report for Errors

And if you can’t seem to get your credit report online, here’s why and what to do. Why Your Credit Report May Not Be Available Online.

 

4. Have a student loan debt repayment plan.

If you’re a recent grad, chances are you may be obligated to begin repayment on your loans in January. Research from the U.S. Department of Education shows that 13.7 percent of borrowers defaulted on repayment of student loans. Many were unable to meet deadlines for repayment.

ConsumerMojo recommends that borrowers take a closer look at their student loan debt. Get in touch with your loan servicer and explore repayment options that fit your budget. You can avoid financial hardships by staying informed about what you owe, and make plans to repay in a way that’s right for you.

If you took a federal loan, studentloans.gov has a list of income-driven repayment options to help you stay on track.

 

5. Be realistic and have a Plan B.

Set aside money for a day when you need it. Remember, simply saying, “I want to save more money” isn’t going to make the numbers in your account go up.

It’s smart to sit down and make a list. See where your money goes each month. Decide where you can afford to cut back and come up with a realistic amount to save based on your income.

Many of us fall off the financial planning wagon when we get discouraged. You planned to save $200 this month, but something came up and you saved only $90. Congratulations! $90 is good.

Things happen. Do better next month. But stick with it.

STAY CONNECTED WITH US

Tell us about your financial journey. Which techniques work for you? We want to know!

Best of luck in 2015!

 

 

 

 

 

Who’s Hiring the Class of 2014?

by Christine Alexis

You went through Craigslist for the millionth time today.

You updated your profile on Monster.com and LinkedIn.

You reached out to former college professors for referrals and  recommendations.
You attended those job fairs and made sure your resume is up to date.
But nothing seems to work.

Which employers hire the class of 2014?  People, like me, who want to build careers, wonder where we can find real opportunities. Does this sound familiar?

Photo by ConsumerMojo
Photo by ConsumerMojo

 

So ConsumerMojo set out to find out who’s hiring the class of 2014 and a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) made me very happy.

Turns out  financial and insurance industries want to hire recent college grads. Researchers found, “Employers who responded say they plan to hire 8.6 percent more graduates from the Class of 2014 than they did from the Class of 2013. ” This means companies like J.P. Morgan Chase, AIG  and AllState will take on people with little or no experience who commit to  work hard and learn the business.

The average salary starts at a little over $57,000.

We talked to Steve O’Halloran at J.P. Morgan Chase and he said Chase made a commitment  to help young people find jobs. Over the next five years, J.P. Morgan Chase plans to invest $250 million and it launched something it calls the New Skills at Work Initiative. The program aims to help young people build skills for jobs employers need.

JOBS ELSEWHERE

Back to the NACE survey. It  also found that federal, state and local governments want to hire recent grads and employers in healthcare and social work also are looking for entry level people.

NEW YORK CITY MAY HIRE YOU

I did a quick Google search for jobs in NYC, and NYC.gov‘s career section calls for a wide range of entry level positions.

You can develop a career in one of New York City’s public services like the FDNY, NYPD, Sanitation, Corrections, and Health and Hospitals Cooperation (HHC). The application process for these jobs requires a civil service entrance exam. NYC.gov lists testing locations, dates and information on their website.

HOW TO TAP INTO WHAT’S OUT THERE

Use your college resources. You paid for it. Why not?

Natalia Guarin-Klein, Interim Director of the Brooklyn College Magner Career Center, helps graduates as well as current students.

Guarin-Klein gave ConsumerMojo these tips:

1. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR COLLEGE’S RESOURCES.

2. UPDATE YOUR RESUME.

3.  USE YOUR COLLEGE CAREER CENTER FOR COACHING, EVEN AFTER GRADUATION. BUT TRY TO CONTACT THEM AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE TO GET A BETTER PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT YOU NEED TO STAND OUT TO EMPLOYERS.

4. FOR CURRENT STUDENTS, GET AT LEAST 2 INTERNSHIPS BEFORE GRADUATION. A COLLEGE DEGREE ALONE IS NO LONGER SUFFICIENT.

4. IF YOU CAN’T FIND YOUR DREAM JOB, TAKE WHAT’S AVAILABLE AND USE IT AS A STEPPING-STONE. YOU CAN LEARN A LOT AND BEGIN TO BUILD A PROFESSIONAL NETWORK.

5. USE YOUR TACTICS FOR FINDING A JOB AS A REFLECTION OF WHO YOU WILL BE AS AN EMPLOYEE. DON’T BE AFRAID TO DO THE HARD WORK AND GO THE EXTRA MILE TO GET NOTICED.
BE CREATIVE. EMPLOYERS WILL ACKNOWLEDGE IT.

SHARE WITH US!

Have you landed your first job since graduation? Was it in your field of study? What were key factors in landing this job? Comment below, and share with a friend! Let’s keep the conversation going.

Rolling Jubilee Crowdsources to Eliminate Student Loan Debts

by Christine Alexis

 

Finally, some bright news for college graduates and students burdened by student debt.

The Rolling Jubilee Fund recently purchased $4 million in private student loan debt and relieved thousands of students of staggering financial burdens. And they did it for little over $100,000 because they bought the debt at a discount.

Yes, you read that correctly!

They helped 2,761 students at Everest College say goodbye to debts they couldn’t afford to pay.

In September, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Everest’s parent company, Corinthian Colleges, and accused the group of predatory lending tactics, false promises of job placement and career services to lure hopeful students to their schools.

ConsumerMojo reported that the CFPB asked for repayment from Corinthian Colleges for past and present students who, collectively, took out more than $500 million in private student loans.

In addition, the federal government sued Corinthian, and Corinthian Colleges responded by shutting their doors and selling off their debt.

This is where Rolling Jubilee came in, and purchased a portion of the debt at a fraction of what the students owed.

As a recent college grad, I applaud Rolling Jubilee. The activist group Strike Debt set up the online crowdsourcing campaign Rolling Jubilee specifically to raise money and buy debt from schools, hospitals or collection agencies for pennies on the dollar.

In November 2013, it bought  $14.7 million in consumer medical debt and now focuses on student loans.

The national student debt still totals over $1 trillion. This makes $4 million seem like just the tip of the iceberg, but to the students who got a break at Everest, it makes a world of difference.

Strike Debt’s Rolling Jubilee project wants to pay off debt, but it also aims to highlight the underlying problem. The group hopes to shine a light on the underside of the debt market and educate consumers about predatory loan companies and the difficulties they create for students who want to improve their lives and get an education.

STAY CONNECTED

Strike Debt created a page for Corinthian students and borrowers to get information about federal legal action against Corinthian. They also list FAQ‘s so students can stay informed about the next phase of the Rolling Jubilee project.

ConsumerMojo will follow this story.  Are you attending a for-profit college?  Share your story with us!

 

 

 

Is College Really Worth It?

By Christine Alexis

If you read my last post about borrowing to pay for college, you know how much my student debt surprised me. I’m 22 years old and $22,000 in debt. Call me naive or foolish, but I thought things would be different by now.  I thought that my degree would lead to a job immediately and I’d make enough money in a job in my field to pay my loans.

Millions of us wonder if college is still worth it. Do the benefits outweigh the costs? A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York tells us that we’re making the right choice. They say that people who earn their Associate’s or Bachelor’s degrees make 15 percent more than those who do not earn these degrees.

But with tuition rising each year and a sluggish labor market, it’s hard to feel confident about paying so much for school.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York uses data from 1970 to 2013  to analyze, on average, how much “15 percent more” actually means.

The average annual income for people who earn their high school diploma is about  $40,000.

If you earned an Associate’s Degree, it’s $50,000. Those with a  Bachelor’s Degree earn more than $60,000.

So there is a difference for college graduates and that’s good news. But those of us in the swamp of debt really do wonder if we will ever get out of it.

ConsumerMojo talked with social worker Nicole Falkman. She’s a graduate of St. Joseph’s College and earned a Master’s Degree at Stony Brook University and at 28 years old is $30,000 in debt. She put her loan in deferment, but knows that eventually she will have to face the music.

The reality of her situation got to her when she received multiple notices from her loan servicers in the mail. “I received my first loans which came in seven different envelopes,” she said. “It was $100 here, $200 there. It was very overwhelming.”

She told us, “It’s definitely something that hangs over our heads. It’s something that you feel like is always going to be there. It’s not like a car payment when you feel like there’s a short term with an end in sight. It almost buries you, like there’s no way out.”

Nicole’s colleague Mary Denning finds her student loan debt terrifying. Mary is 33, married with four kids and carries a student loan  debt that almost hits the $200,000 mark.  She told us that it prevents her and her husband from purchasing a home for their family. “I would be afraid of potentially losing that house if I have to go into student loan default. Anything your name is attached to is up for grabs if you can’t make those student loan payments,” she says.

Mary wonders if she would have been better off without a college education. “I have friends that are not college-educated who are doing better financially than I am,” she explains.

These are not isolated stories. Two thirds of those who graduated this year left school with some kind of debt.  And the total student debt in the U.S. is more than $1.2 trillion.

All of us want to do the right thing and pay, we just need help figuring a way out.  President Obama’s Pay As You Earn repayment plan keeps your student loan payments affordable. It caps your monthly payment at no more than 10 percent of your monthly income.

The Pay As You Earn plan helps, but the real problem is interest rates. Undergraduate borrowers face interest rates as high as 6.8 percent and graduate student borrowers face up to 7.9 percent if you borrowed money between 2006 and 2013.

This is higher than most rates on mortgages and car insurance.  Homeowners and businesses are allowed the option to refinance but students can’t. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) introduced a bill called the Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act in June, but Senate Republicans killed it with a filibuster.

Mary Denning told us she blames high interest rates for her staggering student loan total. “My student loan debt is so high because of interest, that’s not what my actual education costs. But you know, when you have a principal [balance] and then $50-60,000 in interest, that’s another education. That’s got to stop.”

Mary, Nicole and I face the reality of our student debt every day. Our stories are not cliches, we are real people.

Help me tell your story.  Comment below and let us know if you think college is really worth it.

Caught in College Loan Servicer Hell

by Christine Alexis

College graduation is three months behind me and the glow is almost gone. My student debt looms large and I want to get a handle on it. That’s why I was pretty surprised that my loan servicer, FedLoan Servicing, didn’t contact me.  And then I discovered I’m caught in college loan servicer hell.

Just a quick explainer here. I borrowed money from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) through the Direct Loan program. The DOE uses four non-bank, private companies called servicers to collect the money.  Mine got assigned to FedLoan Servicing.

I realized that even though they didn’t get in touch, it might be a good idea to check my account online.  And I was shocked when I found  $508 in unpaid interest on the loans totaling $21,506. And worse my interest charges went up about $75 since I checked two and half weeks earlier. It’s awful.

The call center number listed on the FedLoan Servicing website directed me to an automated system that tried to solve all of my problems without directing me to an actual person. That took a half an hour. I didn’t give up and Googled how to get directly to a human being.

When I finally got through to a representative, he failed to answer my questions or explain the repayment process clearly.

I wanted to set up a custom repayment plan through the FedLoan Servicing website. None of the options fit what I wanted to do. So, I told the representative that I want to pay $100 a month and asked how the money would be applied to the loan.

He said what I pay now will go toward the interest charges. Once the interest goes down, then the majority of the money will go toward the principal balance of about $22,000.

But here’s the bad thing. He couldn’t tell me the formula for reducing the interest payments. So I don’t know when my money will get applied to the principal.  Doesn’t interest add up as long as the loan lives?

It doesn’t make any sense. I hung up  and felt more frustrated and  helpless.  I was angry enough to see what’s out there on Google and found hundreds of pages with posts and articles like, “Why I Hate FedLoan” and “Got FedLoan Servicing? Run far, far away!”  The search told me that FedLoan Servicing generates a lot of complaints from borrowers.

To try to get a handle on what all of us who share the Fed Loan Servicing problem should do, ConsumerMojo spoke with Farouk Abdullah, a program director at New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG).  He told us it’s really important to do your homework, “People need to stay informed before AND after taking out loans. That’s the key to staying on top of it,” he said.

Of course, this is a giant Catch22. If the servicer doesn’t give you the straight story, you can call a million times and still remain in the dark.

NYPIRG’s Abdullah suggested contacting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to file a complaint when things get really confusing, or bad. Abdullah told  us NYPIRG  tries to help students and graduates who struggle to navigate their loan repayment issues.

As a proactive step, if you are still in school and thinking about taking a loan, NYPIRG also recommended checking  National College Finance Center (NCFC). They offer information that compares the rates of different servicers. I tried it out and found the site easy to use.

QUICK TIPS FOR DEALING WITH YOUR LOAN SERVICERS

1. Keep a record of the date and time when you speak with a representative and get their name.  Take notes on your conversation. This may come in handy when filing a complaint later on.

2. Make copies of any letters, bills or notices sent to you by your loan servicer and copies of anything you send back to them.

3. If a customer service representative cannot help you, ask to speak to a supervisor on staff. They may be able to help you.

4.  Other students may face the same problems. Use social media to find how others deal with these faceless loan companies. 

BOTTOM LINE

Keep in touch with your loan servicer. And look out for news about developments in Washington that can help us.

It’s the people in Congress who can make difference for us.  We need help and they need to hear our voices. Let’s keep the conversation going.  Look out for more updates from me!

Tell me your story.  And share with a friend!

Is College Really Worth It?readmore

 

 

Broken Promises At For-Profit Schools

By Christine Alexis

Derek looked up at an ad on the subway for a for-profit trade school and shook his head. “I owe them $18,000 for nothing,” he said.  

The 19-year-old explained he enrolled hoping to learn a trade. But after two semesters he quit because he felt he hadn’t learned anything that he could use. “I wasted my money,” he said. “Now, I’m trying again. I moved to North Carolina and I want to learn to be a plumber because people always need someone to repair their toilet.”

Many like Derek find broken promises at for-profit schools. Flashy ads on the subway, on the Internet and in commercials on TV and radio catch the eyes of young people looking for quick solutions. They make for-profit schools sound like the answer to a prayer.

These schools promise hopeful students a fast track to a degree and job opportunities after graduation. Some schools even offer financial aid, “for those who qualify.”

This really bothers me because they appeal to poor African-Americans and Latinos who make up 28 percent and 15 percent of their enrollment.

Many for-profit schools live up to their label. They are publicly traded companies that benefit investors.  And their interest is the bottom line. The focus is often on making money rather than educating.

 

Even the schools that go beyond teaching a trade and offer a broader education often deliver less than they promise.

College GraduationGraduation rates at four-year for-profit colleges are 32 percent compared to nonprofit private and public schools at 66 percent, according to a report by the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC). 

These statistics make me wonder why people enroll. If you drop out before you finish, you’re left with debt instead of a job like they promised you. It just seems like a lose-lose situation.

 

Courtesy Wikimedia
Courtesy Wikimedia

Online education is a hot trend. But you need to be careful because it’s the same kind of deal.

The NCLC urges states to take a hard look at online schools and profit-making institutions.

Its report says, “States have not kept up with this trend: many do not regulate any segment of for-profit schools exclusively offering distance education, making expanding oversight laws to include these for-profit schools a priority.”

Criticism of for-profit schools is not new. Since 2004, federal and state regulators initiated over 61 investigations into their practices and some brought lawsuits against companies and schools.

If you’re thinking about going to a for-profit-school, investigate these things before you sign up.

1. Do they ask for credit card and banking information upfront? That’s a red flag. It shows they are more interested in money than in education.

2. Ask if the school is accredited and if you can transfer the credits to a state or city school. Check with a state or city school in your area to verify that the credits will be accepted.

3. If you want to become a teacher, find out if your local school system recognizes the degree from the school you’re considering.

4. Research the graduation and job placement rates that for-profit schools advertise. Many of these colleges have been sued for using fake statistics that put a positive spin on their job placement rates.

5. Think about the money you’re investing into a for-profit school program. If you plan to become an electrician or maybe a plumber like Derek, research the average salaries they make.

Ask yourself if a for-profit school is worth the money.

You may be able to take courses at a public community college to learn the trade and skills to get you started on a career.  

Comment below and let us know your story! Share these tips with a friend or anyone considering a for-profit school. 

readmoreJust Graduated And I’m Facing My Student Debt

Just Graduated and I’m Facing My Student Debt

By Christine Alexis

My photo is funny, but my situation is not. After listening to President Obama talk about student loan debt, I decided to look into my own situation. It’s been about two weeks since graduation. And I expected my loan servicer to knock on my door immediately about my student loans.  But no one did.

The last time I received any notice about my student loans was in October 2013. FedLoan Servicing notified me that they paid my tuition.  They wrote,  “As of today, your current principal balance for the loans we service is $16,106.00.” So that’s what I thought I owed.

Instead, I was shocked to sign into my student loan account after the President’s speech and see that my total loan balance was now at $21,506 with $488.56 in unpaid interest charges.

Let’s put this into perspective.
$21, 506 + $488.56 = $21,994.56
This translates to $1,099.72/yr. over 20 years at $91.64 per month.

Two things jumped out at me. My first question is, why didn’t I know about this sooner? If my loan servicer contacted me sooner or someone had really explained this to me, I would’ve taken steps to pay off my interest charges while I was in school.

My second question is, what do I do now? Obviously I have to pay this off. But what’s the best way to go about it? Small monthly payments to get rid of interest charges first, or begin paying off the entire debt?

I work part time as a waitress. With a very small flow of money coming in every week, I’m worried that I will not be able to make significant monthly payments. The bottom line is, I just graduated and I’m facing my student debt and I’m worried about how this will effect my future. 

ConsumerMojo looked into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s investigation of loan servicers. The CFBP  is a watchdog agency that works to get consumers the information they need to make the financial decisions they believe are best for themselves.

President Obama’s executive order, linking monthly payments to your salary, won’t go into effect until December 2015. In the coming weeks, I will be  searching for answers about how to take control of your student loan debt now as I begin to take control of my own and writing about it here. If you have any ideas or resourceful tips, please comment below and share!

Quick Cash Scam Leads to Ruined Credit for College Students

By Christine Alexis

Scammers will stop at nothing to find ways to get your money. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns about the latest. This targets college students or recent grads like me looking for ways to make money fast. 

Here’s how it works. The scammers approach people and ask you to act as a “credit mule.”

They use your personal information to open wireless contracts with different carriers for mobile devices. The point is to take advantage of promotional offers for smartphones and tablets and get these devices at relatively cheap prices.

Then, the scammer takes the phones or tablet,  unlocks it and sells the device on the street and makes a profit.

The scammers make it really appealing and easy for you to do. They pay you cash upfront and tell you to cancel the contract within 15 to 30 days. But here’s where it gets tricky and financially dangerous for you.

The FTC says when people who did this tried to cancel the contracts, they realized it was going to cost them and they couldn’t cancel the contract easily.  Wireless carriers require you to return a phone, or device, to cancel a contact. And it gets worse! You’re not only responsible to pay them back for the device but are also stuck with the monthly service fee for the length of the contract YOU opened. Those contracts are generally for two years. 

And one of the most outrageous things about this is that these scammers, or “recruiters” as they call themselves, tell you that this scheme can help you boost credit rating. In fact, if you don’t pay the fees for the contract that you sign up for, you will lower your credit score.

College students need to pay attention and protect themselves from schemes like this. Have you been approached by scammers promising you cash and better credit? Got any tips to spot a fake? Share your story with us. Comment below and let us know!

How Safe Is Your Mobile Banking Service?

by Christine Alexis,

Today, it seems like everyone has a smart phone.  Well, maybe not everyone.

But consider that 90 percent of Americans own cellphones and 50 percent of that group owns a smart phone, and another 50 million people own tablets . We’re mobile in a big way, and all these mobile devices helped create a revolution in the way we bank.  But how safe is your mobile banking service?

Many banks give customers the opportunity to deposit checks, transfer money between their accounts, and check their balances through smart phone apps.

With the innovation comes the potential for error, both human and technical, and maybe fraud.  That’s why the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is looking into the benefits and possible problems of mobile banking.

The CFPB plans to investigate procedures banks use when mobile banking services go offline and customers want access to their accounts. A frequent complaint with mobile banking is that it becomes harder to get customer service from a real person.

Security is another major concern. The CFPB wants to make sure consumers’ private passwords and information are protected and is looking into security techniques that banks use.

In the meantime, here are 7 tips from the CFPB to help you protect yourself.

1.  Use a reputable company and to go through the company’s website, not through a link sent by someone else that could be fraudulent. 2.  At free or public Wi-Fi sites, try to use a private network and go to a secure site that begins with HTTPS.3.  Don’t share PINS or Passwords.

4.  Don’t save PINS or Passwords  on phones or tablets.
  
 5.  Use strong passwords.

 6.  Report the loss of a device to your financial institution and credit card companies.

 7.  Log out when you finish a transaction. Don’t leave the browser open.

 
 The CFPB’s investigation is ongoing and we hope to learn more from them soon. In the meantime, let us know what you think. Do you feel safe using a mobile banking app? How does it make your life easier? Comment below and let us know!

Obama Takes Executive Action on Student Loan Debt

By Christine Alexis

Recent college grads, like me, got a gift from President Obama. He signed an executive order to make it easier for college graduates to pay off their student loan debts. It’s a great timing for those of us who just graduated and millions who came before us. We feel trapped by student loan debt.

President Obama’s plan gives about 5 million people an opportunity to tie their monthly payments to what they earn.  This means your loan payment could be capped at 10 percent of your monthly income starting December 2015.  The order covers those who borrowed money between October 2007-October 2011.

The burden of the nearly $1.2 trillion student loan debt ripples through the economy and is preventing many from buying cars and homes according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  69 percent of  twenty-five-year-olds who took student loans are now in debt for, on average, about $20,926.

President Obama’s order supports the efforts of Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) who proposed a bill  earlier this year to allow students to refinance their loan payments the same way a person would refinance mortgage payments.

Republicans in the House of Representatives oppose the idea and say it’s too expensive. They accuse borrowers of “looking for a handout.”  In his speech today President Obama responded by saying, “They think young people aren’t trying hard enough… no one’s asking for a handout. They’re just doing what they’re supposed to. They just need help to move on with their future.”

President Obama’s order doesn’t require congressional action and those of us who have debts are still worried, but this at least gives us a chance to try to manage our payments in a reasonable way.

 

When Will the DREAM Act Become a Reality?

 

by Christine Alexis

When will the DREAM Act become a reality? The New York State Senate has Dreamers crossing their fingers and hoping that this time it’s for real. The State Assembly passed its version of the DREAM Act again. It aims to allow undocumented college students to apply for financial aid.  When the Assembly passed the bill in March, the Senate rejected the proposal by two votes.

Now students and advocates hope that the New York State Senate will take up the DREAM Act again and pass it. They also hope Governor Cuomo will put money in the budget to fund a program that helps undocumented students.

Funding for the  DREAM Act was not included in New York’s 2014-2015 budget.  Opponents say it’s too costly to support undocumented students. But the Fiscal Policy Institute says the DREAM Act would cost taxpayers less than 87 cents a day. That translates to  an estimated $20 million a year.

New York Immigration Coalition spokesperson Thanu Yakupitiyage told ConsumerMojo, “Immigrants have been waiting too long for financial aid. It is a moral and economical advantage to support undocumented students who will contribute to the state’s economy.”

The New York Immigration Coalition is lobbying in Albany with  the NYS Dream Coalition and they hope to persuade senators to pass the DREAM Act before the Senate summer recess begins in July.

In the meantime, check out some useful resources for undocumented college students.

RESOURCES FOR UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS

There are resources for undocumented students locally and nationally. It’s a great idea to try to find those resources and take advantage of what’s available.

Maldef, a national Latino immigrants’ rights group based in L.A., keeps a list of scholarships available for undocumented students.

The College Board also put together a valuable list of resources for undocumented students. They break it down according to state and explain who to contact about the various programs.

A group called Educators for Fair Resources also lists scholarships and advocacy for immigrants.

In New York, CUNY offers free immigration services to students and there is help available in all five boroughs of the city.

In California, UCLA also provides resources for non-citizens.

What do you think?  Comment and let us know.

 

watchmoreHow to Apply for Deferred Action 

 

watchmoreNo-Interest Loan for Deferred Action Application