The College Investor Audio Show

President Trump generally does not support student loan forgiveness and would likely seek an end to some student loan forgiveness programs. But can the President claw back student loan forgiveness that has already been granted? It's sparked a lot of concern in recent weeks, especially as President Biden has continued to propose new student loan forgiveness plans and already has set a record during...

It really is possible to make money in one hour. You've heard of money making ideas like starting a blog or starting a business, but those ideas take time. While they have great long term potential to earn extra money, sometimes you need to earn that extra money fast. And it can be hard to find ideas where you can actually do that. Maybe you have a bill coming due, or you're looking for some extra...

The only way I see myself escaping my student loan debt is to kill myself. I want you to read that again:  The only way I see myself escaping my student loan debt is to kill myself. Reading that sentence gets me emotional. I can sense the pain. I can feel the despair in the words. It creates a tightness in my chest as I hold back tears thinking about what that means. You can sense the burden...

What is a grandparent-owned 529 college savings plan? How do they work? What do you need to know about them and what changes should you know about?  A grandparent-owned 529 plan is a type of 529 college savings plan where the account owner is a  grandparent , as opposed to a parent. The grandchild is the beneficiary.  Another alternative would be a custodial  529 plan account ,...

As the  cost of college continues to rise , more students and families are turning to employer tuition reimbursement programs as a way to fund education without debt. These programs, offered by companies ranging from  fast-food chains  to tech giants, provide employees with financial support for accredited degree programs, professional certifications, and even graduate degrees like&...

Student loan debt  is one of the most complex financial products in the United States, shaped by constantly changing federal programs, complicated  repayment plans , and rules that differ based on the year you borrowed, income, marital status, and type of employment.  In today's world, so many people default to “just ask ChatGPT” for quick answers. But what happens when you do? I po...

After several years of delayed rollouts, the U.S. Department of Education has  confirmed that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will be available  on time this fall.  Secretary of Education Linda McMahon certified to Congress  that the 2026-27 FAFSA will launch by the statutory October 1 deadline, restoring a timeline that families had long relied upon when a...

If you drop a class or drop out of college, you may have to repay all or part of the financial aid you received. How much depends on the type of financial aid and when you dropped the class or left school.  Even though the  Federal Pell Grant  is a grant that  normally does not need to be repaid , you may have to repay all or part of it in certain circumstances.  And let's...

Public Service Loan Forgiveness  is one of the most sought-after federal  student loan forgiveness programs , promising debt cancellation after 120 qualifying payments for borrowers who work in government or nonprofit jobs. But this program has also been plagued by years of confusion, regulatory changes, and uneven implementation. The whiplash for some borrowers has been intense. With AI...

As student loan borrowers brace for  the full impact of the OBBBA to take effect , questions are swirling about whether forgiveness has been completely suspended across the board. Some  headlines suggest  that no one is getting debt relief.  The reality is more complicated. Whether student loan forgiveness is processing or not depends on the  loan forgiveness program &nbsp...

The Department of Education has confirmed that it will transfer an unspecified number of student loan accounts away from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, better known as  MOHELA , by the end of the year. This was  revealed in a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren  (PDF File), who was asking for information from the Department of Education about the current status of repa...

The future of student loan repayment for  SAVE borrowers is now caught between a pending court ruling  and how quickly the Department of Education can execute on  the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) that just passed . Borrowers in administrative forbearance under the SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) plan know the future now,  but they don't know when . The OBBB makes it clea...

Barely weeks after Republicans secured passage of the  One Big Beautiful Bill Act , the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) is calling for a follow-up effort. Its  memo , circulated among congressional staff, recommends that lawmakers use another reconciliation package to reshape parts of higher education and financial regulation. This comes after a House member  announced &nbs...

The Department of Education has  issued new guidance  (PDF File) clarifying how colleges should use  Federal Work Study (FWS)  funds. The updated guidelines emphasize placing students in jobs that offer hands-on, career-relevant experience tied to their studies, while prohibiting the use of FWS wages for voter registration or election-related activities. The FWS program, create...

College meal plans are a way to prepay for your meals while on campus. This can be a convenient way to get food, as most college dorm rooms do not have kitchens.  Depending on the college, they may offer a variety of different college meal plans, ranging from pay as you go to an all-inclusive meal plan that covers all of your meals. However, meal plans are an added expense, so understanding h...

Free community college  is currently offered to some or all students in 33 states. With  college costs  and  student debt  on the rise, students and their parents need to think about ways to cut the overall cost of higher education.  Even if a student wants to attend a four-year university, starting at a two-year university can conservatively lead to five-figure savin...

Being a college student may require you to figure out ways to pay for school without taking on a huge amount of debt. Perhaps it means working part-time or longer hours in the summer. It may entail researching for  scholarships  and  grants . Some students use the GI Bill to cover the costs after deployment. It's a challenge to cover your tuition and living expenses when you’re a&nb...

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form that needs to be filled out for you to receive financial aid from the government for college. But filling out the FAFSA for divorced parents isn't always straightforward.  The FAFSA  is set to launch on October 1 , and this year marks the second year that parents and students will experience the  simplified FAFSA . The...

A new  Fidelity Investments study  finds that economic conditions over the past several years are influencing how high school students plan for life after graduation and what they're willing to  pay for college . More than half said living through recent financial instability has changed their view of higher education, prompting many to focus on affordability, career readiness, and...

The United States’  gross national debt has surpassed $37 trillion , marking an all-time high and raising concerns about the speed of borrowing and its economic consequences.  The Treasury Department’s daily financial  report released Tuesday  recorded the total at $37,004,818,000,000. This milestone arrived years sooner than expected, with the Congressional Budget Office’s (CB...

A new rule from the Department of Education could reshape the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF) by redefining which employers qualify. The new rule,  published today in the Federal Register  (PDF File), would allow the Secretary of Education to block PSLF eligibility for organizations determined to have a “substantial illegal purpose.” The definition covers a wide range of a...

The college admissions process is notoriously competitive. The last several decades might even indicate that getting into college has become harder, overall. College acceptance rates hover at a national average of 68%, though the rate at some of the nation’s top institutions is a shocking 3%. Let’s put that into perspective, though. Of course, acceptance rates drop when more students are applying,...

The Department of Education’s ombudsman office, which handles disputes from student loan borrowers, is facing a backlog exceeding 27,000 cases, according to  a recent data sent to Senator Elizabeth Warren  (PDF File). The surge comes after the office lost nearly two-thirds of its staff in sweeping  layoffs authorized by the Trump administration  earlier this year. According to&...

In the three months ending June 30, 2025,  529 college savings  and prepaid plans saw one of their strongest periods of growth in years. The latest data from  ISS Market Intelligence  shows 17.3 million accounts holding $568 billion in assets, up from 16.8 million accounts and $508 billion a year earlier. That’s a  7.9% increase in accounts and an 11.8% jump in total asset...

The week began with  anticipation for the August 4 court status report in the lawsuit over the SAVE repayment plan . Borrowers hoping for clarity instead saw a short update from the parties indicating that discussions continue, with no agreed-upon timeline for next steps. The SAVE plan, designed to lower monthly payments for millions of federal student loan borrowers,  has been blocked b...