GradCentric

The Biden administration's new IDR plan, called SAVE, is going to be a sweetheart deal for many borrowers. If you are a borrower of federal student loans, especially undergraduate ones, this episode is worth a listen.

Since our last episode, quite a few things have occurred in the college and student loan planning space. In this episode, I mention a few of those changes, including the IDR payment adjustment and Biden's SAVE plan. More episodes - with more detail - are coming!

This is the third of a three-part series explaining Biden’s student loan debt relief announcement.

This is the second of a three-part segment explaining Biden’s student loan debt relief announcement.

This is the first of a three-part segment explaining Biden’s student loan debt relief announcement.

Clergy now qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), so they might need to take action under the new PSLF waiver program. Forward this episode long to any clergy you know when your life, and let them know that they can reach out to me at jason@gradmetrics.com if they have any questions.

Yesterday, the Biden-Harris administration announced sweeping loan forgiveness for federal student loan borrowers. This unprecedented program will allow up to $20,000 of loan forgiveness based on income levels and financial need. Specifically, households with an individual income of less than $125,000 or a household income of $250,000 will get $10,000 in debt cancellation. Borrowers who received Pell Grants while in college will get $20,000 in loan forgiveness.

Teacher Loan Forgiveness is a program designed for teachers with federal student loans. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (commonly shortened to PSLF) is the more commonly recognized of the two programs. According to the Department of Education, borrowers cannot pursue both of these programs simultaneously. Under the new PSLF waiver program, the double-counting restriction is temporarily waived, as are many other normal PSLF requirements. Check out the full blog post here: https://gradmetrics.com/teacher-loan-forgiveness-and-pslf/.

Will the Biden administration offer blanket loan forgiveness? Hear my thoughts in this most recent episode of the Gradcentric podcast.

If you are going to take out student loan debt, it is best to do so for a field with good earning potential and high demand. Nursing is one of those fields. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook reports nurses had a median pay of $75,330/year and the field was growing at 9% in 2020. Not bad at all. In addition to great earning potential and career opportunities, nursing has lucrative loan forgiveness programs available to those willing to meet the requirements. Check out the blog post with links at: https://gradmetrics.com/nurse-loan-forgiveness Check out the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/umHAn5IZ7KY

As you might imagine, doctors exit their education with a lot of student loan debt. This debt load is exacerbated with the elongated timeframe between graduation and becoming a practicing physician. These intervening years are extremely important for managing debt over the long haul. Doctors will generally take one of two pathways in dealing with their student loan debt. The first is payoff outright. The second is loan forgiveness in its many forms, most notably Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Luckily, most doctors will make a very respectable income after training is complete. In other words, they have options other borrowers do not in terms of payoff. This does not mean, however, that mistakes will not be costly. In fact, since doctors are working with larger loan balances, missteps can easily cost thousands.

A common question I get from families is: can my student can gain residency and qualify for in-state tuition? The answer is, unfortunately, it depends. The rules vary state-to-state and college-to-college. Some states make this an easier process whereas some make it near impossible. Also, keep in mind that state (i.e. public) colleges are primarily concerned with serving the residents in their state so typically make it hard for out-of-state students to qualify for in-state tuition rates. This is especially true if the student is without some type of merit or affiliation. Read more at: https://gradmetrics.com/establishing-residency/ Watch the video at: https://youtu.be/HRwN8EOlg3w

Lately, I’ve had an increasing amount of student loan consultations with Parent PLUS loan borrowers. More parents are looking toward retirement with a significant amount of debt from financing their children’s educations. This dynamic can be stressful for parents hoping for a peaceful retirement after many decades of hard work. Parent PLUS loans can throw off even the best-laid plans for retirement.

Dentists have to make huge sacrifices to practice their trade. One of those sacrifices is the duration of education: surviving a bachelor's degree + dental school + specialized training and residencies takes a long time. Another sacrifice is the amount of student loan debt. According to a recent article published by the American Dental Education Association, the average new dentist comes out with $304,824 in student loan debt, with private school graduates coming out even worse at $349,730!

If you haven’t been tracking recent changes in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, I’m glad you’re reading this post. The Department of Education recently released a bombshell update that could be a great help to many borrowers. For some, this could mean hundreds of thousands in loan forgiveness.

Adjusted Gross Income, or AGI, is the all-important line item on your tax return. According to the IRS, AGI represents your total income minus certain adjustments given by Uncle Sam. But we don't have to get too technical at this point; basically what you need to know is you can find your AGI on your most recent tax return. plays a huge role in the calculation of your monthly payment for federal student loans if you are in an income-driven repayment plan (PAYE, REPAYE, IBR, ICR). AGI isn't the only factor in the calculation of your monthly payment, but it certainly is a big one.

Let’s be honest; in today’s technologically driven society, it’s easier than ever to cheat on assignments, tests, and projects. Online learning has made cheating commonplace. Even so, plagiarism is no joke. It has real and severe consequences. Summary: do not cheat. Your future career could depend on it.

Textbooks are ubiquitous in college. They are also extremely expensive, especially in certain disciplines like business, engineering, and nursing. Considering how much money you spent to get it in your hands, shouldn’t you know how to best use this resource? What’s the best way to learn from a college textbook? In this video I will teach you how to use this very important learning medium with which you will become quite familiar in the coming years.

Public speaking is hard. In fact, research shows 75% of the population struggles with a fear of public speaking. However, there is no easy way around the fact that public speaking is an important life skill, both in college (you will likely have a required class on the topic) and life in general (most of us have to communicate our ideas to an audience on a regular basis). Luckily, with a few strategies the pain of speaking in front of others an be minimized.

The research paper is truly an art form. Hopefully, your high school training up until this point has prepared you for the college research paper. It is a conduit to express your insights, defend your believes, and extend the light of logical reasoning into the expanse of the unknown. In most high school settings, you would have already written several research papers before leaping to college. If this is the case for you, congratulations! If not, here is a quick lesson.