In recent years the United States government has taken a large position in the student loan industry in this country. An unintended consequence of government involvement is that tuition prices have risen. Education institutions on average raised their tuition rates based on the security of the government backed loans. This means that universities and colleges get more, but what about students? Students now must take out larger loans as opposed to the previous practice of letting private companies issue student loans. Not surprisingly, students now have more difficulty paying back loans, especially given the current economic downturn.
I recently came across an interesting article posted on the New York Times website regarding student loan settlement. http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/tips-on-settling-defaulted-federal-student-loans/ This article gave a few tips to help people manage student loan default situations. The author notes some simple, yet effective techniques to help reduce and payoff outstanding student loan debt.