Student loans

Published on: July 14, 2021

Re-Visiting ACICS – Accreditor of Many For-Profit Schools

Now that the Department of Education (“ED”) is committed to revamping the Borrower Defense to Repayment rules and procedures, I thought it was time to re-visit an old foe. I was disappointed to find Accrediting Counsel for Independent Colleges and Schools (“ACISC”) was STILL in business. Despite the sudden closures of ITT Tech and Corinthian Colleges under its watch, it’s still out there, in part due to Secretary DeVos’ leadership of ED and former President Trump reinstating the accreditor in 2018.

This year, career staff at ED have again recommended that ACICS lose its accreditation power because it failed to demonstrate that it has competent and knowledgeable individuals, qualified by education and experience. For example, when ACICS visited Reagan National University and didn’t locate any instructional material, it didn’t even note the lack of materials as a deficiency in its report. ED stated that several other red flags were overlooked as well during site visits, USA Today reported in March 2021.

There are two levels of reviews and appeals available to ACISC which they are certain to use if nothing else to run out the clock.

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Published on: April 14, 2021

Student Loan Planner Podcast

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Are you wondering about what to do with your student loan debt? Student Loan Planner had me on as a guest on their podcast talking about the student loan system in general, how we got here, what to expect from a Biden Administration and how to settle or obtain forgiveness of your student loan debt.

Here is the link to your episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/can-you-settle-your-debt/id1446453497?i=1000516901444

Christie Arkovich who has specialized in helping clients get through financial hardships since 1995. Christie was a champion of the student loan system working for Sallie Mae during the early stages of her career but came to realize that the system is broken. We talk about her work for Sallie Mae and why she “switched sides” to help borrowers navigate the many complexities of the student loan industry.

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Published on: April 9, 2021

Boy, we’re gonna be busy…. student loans, elder care planning and bankruptcies

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

We have five seminars that our attorneys are presenting at this month and next!

Bankruptcy Updates: COVID-19 Changes to the Bankruptcy Code – The Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020, April 26, 2021
SD FL Student Loan Program Virtual Workshop, May 10, 2021.

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Published on: April 7, 2021

CRASH COURSE IN COVID-19 STUDENT LOAN RELIEF

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Free course available on April 7, 2021 at 4:00 EST by Student Loan Attorney Christie Arkovich.

Everyone is asking what they can expect from a Biden administration’s student loan relief. In this course, you will learn about the CARES Act and its extensions, including COVID-19 forbearance; interest waiver for direct loans; rules for ongoing collections; and other nuances of these new federal laws protecting borrowers during COVID-19. We will also discuss the tax forgiveness waiver for all student loans provided by the stimulus bill and anticipated forgiveness in future bills. Traps for the unwary will be identified, and solutions will be provided by a nationally known student loan attorney.

Learning Objectives:

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Published on: April 6, 2021

Crash Course in Covid-19 Student Loan Relief

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

For our CPA and financial planner friends, tomorrow I’m giving a FREE crash course in Covid-19 Student Loan Relief — what’s already happened, what can be expected from the Biden Administration.

You can sign up for Wed. April 7 at 4:00 EST. You can watch it later also and 1.0 CPE credit is available for this. Here’s the sign up page: https://www.cpaacademy.org/webinars/a0D2S00000puV4rUAE

Hope to see you there!

Published on: March 17, 2021

How Did I Get Into This Student Loan Mess You Ask?

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Here is an advertisement that a client sent me today from a loan she took out when she was 19 years old and didn’t know any better. She regrets it now when the balance has ballooned for her private loans to 100k and she only makes 35k after being out of school for many years now. We won’t discuss the additional 350k of federal loans, but at least there are income driven plans to fall back on for those.

There is no safety net for private loans and many lenders took advantage.

Looks like an exhibit to me… and what about this one:

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Published on: March 17, 2021

How Important Are Student Loans in a Credit Report?

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

We recently filed a dispute for one of our clients for student loans that were not accurately reported on her credit reports following our settlement. What a difference it made — 595 to 749!

I’ve received a letter today from Equifax stating that the 4 disputed XXXX accounts have been “Deleted from the credit file”. I checked my Equifax report through credit karma and they are indeed gone making my score jump from 595 to 749!

One giant leap for studentkind! Over 150 points in one fell swoop. If you need help addressing your student debt or debt that is incorrectly being reported on your credit reports, please reach out to us.

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Published on: February 16, 2021

Have You Wondered Why You Can Never Seem To Get Ahead?

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Inflation and interest rates are the two primary culprits.

Bankruptcy can actually be a fix to this problem and is something that everyone should evaluate NOW. Does it make sense to clear the deck and start fresh? Especially when that deck is stacked against most Americans who are not otherwise wealthy. Especially, for anyone who has private student loans, the decision is pretty much a no brainer — bankruptcy can result in a full discharge of many private student loans or a very low payment plan, with very low interest. Basically, a way out.

High credit card balances, underwater vehicle loans, unpaid rent — bankruptcy can easily fix this.

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Published on: February 8, 2021

Great Start to a Monday!

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Elon bought $1.5 billion of Bitcoin. I own Bitcoin. This makes me happy.

What else makes me happy is a private student loan settlement offer we received on one of our adversary cases this morning. Our client will only have to pay back $22,000 rather than the whopping $300,000 she currently owes. That’s 7% by the way. Whooo hoo! Very reasonable and very affordable payments as well. We understand the student debt crisis out there and are doing our part in helping our clients with student loans to deal — and to get out of debt!!

While I acknowledge everyone should repay their debt, the problem with much of the student loan debt out there is the lack of benefit received, and in many cases the predatory nature of the schools and many of these loans. This settlement was for a private debt — not government. If she had had federal student loans, there would have been income driven debt forgiveness programs to at least address the lack of income her education has provided. Return on investment – that’s the true test of what a college student should borrow. If no return, then bet on Bitcoin. You’d be better off.

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Published on: January 25, 2021

What Sets us Apart as Bankruptcy Attorneys?

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

There are so many things that set us apart and in my opinion make us one of the best law firms in the Tampa Bay area that you can choose to file your bankruptcy. Whoever you are looking to hire to file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you should ask these questions:

What kind of lawyer and staff turnover do you have? (our bankruptcy paralegal and attorney have been with us for five plus years – nearly ten in fact – it helps to speak with the same person as your case progresses, who knows you and your situation)
Can you help me with my student loans (this is where we really stand out — we own student loans – every day, we are reducing or outright eliminating student loan debt in one form or another)

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