Managing Your Student Loans: July 1 College Affordability Benefits Every Borrower Should Know About
The cost of paying for college is becoming even more burdensome for Americans in this economy. While families are losing income, benefits and jobs, college tuition prices continue to rise. The average student now graduates with over $22,000 in total student debt, including federal and private student loans.This year’s class of graduating college seniors also enters one of the toughest jobs markets in decades for recent graduates. Of the 1.2 million jobs lost last year, 60 percent were held by workers aged 25 or younger. Their wages may also suffer: Economists have found that workers who graduated during recessions typically earn less over a lifetime than workers who graduate in better economic times. Many borrowers already spend high percentages of their paychecks making student loan payments – and it’s only likely to get worse.
Given these challenges, it’s critical for current college students, new or soon-to-be graduates, and workers to know about new benefits that went into effect July 1, 2009 that will make student loan payments manageable for millions of Americans. (These benefits were signed into law in 2007 as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.) They include: