This paper provides a guide to the quest for loans, grants, fellowships, and the like. The three major areas include: (1) general reference works devoted to financial assistance, (2) financial assistance in specific fields of work and (3) additional channels for search. (Author/MF)

Provides a model of student loan defaults using a panel data file. Identifies a variety of individual variables associated with loan defaults; however, researchers found that the variable with the largest effect on default is continuous enrollment. Students who are continuously enrolled or complete their programs are far less likely to default…

Describes how, as new competitors lobby for legislation for further open the student loan market to them, Sallie Mae and other lenders have responded by attacking the loan consolidation program. (EV)

The Guaranteed Student Loan program is big business and risky for everyone except the lending institutions. Students who default on their loans now risk tougher penalties, and the federal government must foot the bill when students don't repay. The default problem varies by state and lending institution. Some California figures are provided. (MLH)

Most college students who default on federal loans come from low-income families and drop out of school within a year. Borrowers from more affluent families take out bigger loans, but stay in school longer, and are likely to secure steady employment and repay their loans. The Guaranteed Student Loan program seems designed for borrowers least…

Supporters of the new direct student loan program are critical of the private loan-guarantee agencies that cover lender losses on defaulted loans, portraying them as greedy, inefficient, and plagued by conflicts of interest. In turn, the agencies and banks doubt federal capacity to manage student borrowing. (MSE)

Although student loan option remains a useful adjunct to federal grants, work/study programs, and cooperative education programs, the country should learn from the Higher Education Assistance Foundation default difficulties. The student loan program is best suited for middle-income students and parents; scholarships, training grants, and…

Reports on continued growth of Sallie Mae, the nation's largest financer of federal student loans. Notes the company's purchase of the USA Group, the nation's largest student loan guarantee agency, competition with the federal direct loan program, political contributions to legislators who set loan policies, and development of Laureate, a…

The cost of attending college has surpassed federal financial aid limits and fewer parents are paying the balance. As private lenders have been targeting undergraduate students to obtain private (alternative) loans to fill the financial gap, many students do not have parents or other adults to help them navigate one of the largest financial…

Student loans are a rapidly growing $85 billion a year industry fueled by the substantial higher economic returns associated with a college education, increased demand from students and their parents, and grant and scholarship funds that have not kept pace with rising school tuition and fees. This report describes federally subsidized and…

The credit market in the United States currently suffers from a rare and serious disruption. Once flowing with liquidity, the creativity and vibrancy of these markets helped fuel an economy that had been the envy of the world. Poor repayment performance in the subprime mortgage market has now reduced the availability of funds needed for other…

Faced with having to make a decision between the career they want and one that will pay enough for them to climb out of debt, many college students are choosing the latter. This trend has alarmed some observers and has revived interest in an idea once thought to be a relic of the Clinton administration: income-contingent repayment. Legislation…