The National Defense Education Act (NDEA) was signed into law on September 2, 1958, providing funding to United States education institutions at all levels.
A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest rate may be substantially lower and the repayment schedule may be deferred while the student is still in school. It also differs in many countries in the strict laws regulating renegotiating and bankruptcy. This article highlights the differences of the student loan system in several major countries.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form completed by current and prospective college students in the United States to determine their eligibility for student financial aid.
Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the pursuit of post-secondary education. Financial aid is available from federal and state governments, educational institutions, and private organizations. It can be awarded in the form of grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships. In order to apply for federal financial aid, students must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
A Federal Perkins Loan, also referred to as a Perkins Loan, was a need-based student loan offered by U.S. Department of Education from 1958 until 2017. Created as part of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, the Perkins Loan served to assist American college students fund their post-secondary education. The program was named after Carl D. Perkins, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky.
The Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) was legislation signed into United States law on November 8, 1965, as part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society domestic agenda. Johnson chose Texas State University, his alma mater, as the signing site. The law was intended "to strengthen the educational resources of our colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance for students in postsecondary and higher education". It increased federal money given to universities, created scholarships, gave low-interest loans for students, and established a National Teachers Corps. The "financial assistance for students" is covered in Title IV of the HEA.
A PLUS Loan is a student loan, which is part of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, offered to parents of students enrolled at least half time, or graduate and professional students, at participating and eligible post-secondary institutions. The original, now obsolete, meaning of the acronym was "Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students".
The Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program was a system of private student loans which were subsidized and guaranteed by the United States federal government. The program issued loans from 1965 until it was ended in 2010. Similar loans are now provided under the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, which are federal loans issued directly by the United States Department of Education.
The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program provides "low-interest loans for students and parents to help pay for the cost of a student's education after high school. The lender is the U.S. Department of Education ... rather than a bank or other financial institution." It is the largest single source of federal financial aid for students and their parents pursuing post-secondary education and for many it is the first financial obligation they incur, leaving them with debt to be paid over a period of time that can be a decade or more as the average student takes 19.4 years. The program is named after William D. Ford, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan.
A private student loan is a financing option for higher education in the United States that can supplement, but should not replace, federal loans, such as Stafford loans, Perkins loans and PLUS loans. Private loans, which are heavily advertised, do not have the forbearance and deferral options available with federal loans. In contrast with federal subsidized loans, interest accrues while the student is in college, even if repayment does not begin until after graduation. While unsubsidized federal loans do have interest charges while the student is studying, private student loan rates are usually higher, sometimes much higher. Fees vary greatly, and legal cases have reported collection charges reaching 50% of amount of the loan. Since 2011, most private student loans are offered with zero fees, effectively rolling the fees into the interest rates.
Federal Student Aid (FSA), an office of the U.S. Department of Education, is the largest provider of student financial aid in the United States. Federal Student Aid provides student financial assistance in the form of grants, loans, and work-study funds. FSA is a Performance-Based Organization, and was the first PBO to be established in the US government.
Medical University of the Americas (MUA) is a private for-profit offshore medical school in Charlestown, Nevis. It is owned by R3 Education, Inc. which also owns St. Matthew's University and Saba University School of Medicine MUA confers upon its graduates the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree.
Graduate PLUS is a type of federal student aid, in the form of student loans, which is available to graduate and professional students. Similar to the Parent PLUS loan for parents of dependent undergraduate students, the Graduate PLUS loan is an unsubsidized federally guaranteed education loan with no annual or aggregate limits. It has no grace period and it goes into repayment as soon as the funds are disbursed to the borrower. It has the same deferment and forbearance options as the federal Stafford loan program. As such, graduate and professional students can postpone repayment using in-school deferment while enrolled at least half-time in a degree or certificate program of study.
In the United States, the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDLP) includes consolidation loans that allow students to consolidate Stafford Loans, Graduate PLUS Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans into one single debt.
The Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri, also known as the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority or MOHELA is one of the largest holders and servicers of student loans in the United States. Its headquarters are in St. Louis, Missouri.
In the United States, student loans are a form of financial aid intended to help students access higher education. In 2018, 70 percent of higher education graduates had used loans to cover some or all of their expenses. With notable exceptions, student loans must be repaid, in contrast to other forms of financial aid such as scholarships, which are not repaid, and grants, which rarely have to be repaid. Student loans may be discharged through bankruptcy, but this is difficult. Research shows that access to student loans increases credit-constrained students' degree completion, later-life earnings, and student loan repayment while having no impact on overall debt.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program is a United States government program that was created under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 signed into law by President George W. Bush to provide indebted professionals a way out of their federal student loan debt burden by working full-time in public service.
The Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013 was a bill signed into law by President Barack Obama on August 9, 2013, which, after more than a month of contentious debate between both parties about higher education and how the government should distribute loans, sets federal student loan rates to financial markets on all DIRECT student loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2013. There are maximum rate caps for Undergrad, Graduate PLUS and Parent PLUS loans. Democrats had originally planned to extend the low 3.4% rate for another 1–2 years but the bill, sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), was filibustered. Republicans in the House created a market-based approach, and the two sides eventually reconciled, after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Sen. Angus King (I-ME) broke away from the Democratic Caucus to side up with the Republican bill, to prevent undesired gridlock.
Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is a federal student loan relief program signed into law on December 21, 2012, by President Barack Obama. It is one of four income-driven repayment plans.
A repayment plan is a structured repaying of funds that have been loaned to an individual, business or government over either a standard or extended period of time, typically alongside a payment of interest. Repayment plans are prominent within the financial industry of a national economy where liquid funds are in high demand to assist in investment opportunities, governmental expenditure or personal finance. The term first saw prominence with its use by the International Monetary Fund to describe its form of financial loan repayment from individual nations. Typically, the term "repayment plan" refers to the system of Federal Student Aid in the United States of America, which assists in covering tertiary education expenses of domestic students.
