Free Republic

Illegal immigrants will no longer receive in-state tuition at Kentucky’s public colleges after a federal judge ruled the policy violated U.S. law and permanently blocked its enforcement. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, hands a win to the Trump administration and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman after they challenged the policy as giving benefits to those in the country illegally that federal law does not allow. The decision forces Kentucky’s higher education system to end the discounted rates after a months-long legal fight. The lawsuit argued the policy violated federal law, which states that, "an...

A disgraced San Francisco human rights chief and her longtime beau have been arrested for allegedly grifting taxpayer funds for personal use through a city program intended to help the city’s black communities. Sheryl Davis, former heard of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, and her nonprofit boss partner James Spingola were taken into custody Monday on suspicion of multiple felony counts of misappropriating public funds and conflicts of interest. “Public integrity matters because our communities must be able to trust that government agencies treat everyone fairly and serve all members equally,” said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins at a press...

Bad news: Tax Day is just one month away. But the U.S. Department of Treasury just announced a rare gift for taxpayers: A dose of sanity on college loans. Today, the U.S. Department of Education and the Treasury Department signed an agreement that helps wind down the education agency, moves more responsibilities over college loans to Treasury, and simplifies the college lending process. This is the 10th interagency agreement between the Education Department and other federal agencies. These agreements follow the White House executive order issued one year ago this week, calling for the end of the Education Department. And...

Jessica Iannacchino landed on Madison Avenue in New York City, but a career in her chosen field just wasn’t in the cards.The 21-year-old from Poughkeepsie, New York, attended public colleges in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, to complete a bachelor’s in advertising, paying out-of-state tuition and committing to monthly student loan repayments for years to come.She moved to Manhattan to get her foot in the door somewhere, but none opened.Iannacchino delivered food to pay the rent and found enjoyable work in acting, appearing in a few small roles. She has several friends who also haven’t secured jobs in their fields,...

More older student loan borrowers are struggling to pay their monthly bill, as the Trump administration ramps up its collection efforts. Nearly 1 in 5 — or roughly 18% — of student loan borrowers who are 50 and older became “seriously delinquent,” or 90 days or more late on their payments, in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The rate for that age group was closer to 10% in 2019. For comparison, closer to 8% of student loan borrowers between the ages of 18 and 29 became seriously delinquent during that time...

The student debt crisis isn’t a natural market phenomenon; it’s the predictable result of decades of government interference. Since 1980, average tuition and fees have increased by 1,200 percent, while consumer price inflation has risen only 236 percent over the same period. This massive increase has left students and families struggling to keep up, often forcing them to take on substantial debt just to attend college. Today, over 42.7 million Americans owe a combined $1.69 trillion in federal student loan debt. A combination of federal policies, including subsidized loans, government grants, bloated university budgets, and a complete lack of accountability,...

NEW YORK (MainStreet)— The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra recently responded to those who asked the CFPB about the status of the $1 trillion that has already been borrowed to pay for college tuition. An August 5 article by Chopra paints a bleak portrait. Chopra found ...

Two of the nation’s Ivy League institutions have yet to produce documents related to a congressional tuition price-fixing investigation launched earlier this year. This, according to a subpoena issued by House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University, both of which have been accused of colluding with the nation’s six other Ivy League schools to inflate tuition prices and maximize profits. Citing authority vested by the U.S. Supreme Court, committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said the documents requested – regarding communications with other universities – will give lawmakers insight into crafting legislative reforms. Some may...

Millions of federal student loan borrowers are just weeks away from default as serious delinquencies surge to record highs after the Trump administration resumed debt collections, economists say. Nearly one-third (31%) of federal borrowers with a payment due were at least 90 days late in April, according to a new report from TransUnion released on Tuesday, June 24. That's nearly triple the pre-pandemic rate of 11.7% and the highest figure on record. Just 0.3% of borrowers were in default by April, but with nearly 5.8 million now more than 90 days late, many are on the brink of defaulting. Once...

A federal judge on Wednesday permanently blocked Texas from enforcing a state law allowing illegal immigrants living in the Lone Star State to pay in-state tuition rates for public universities after the Trump administration challenged the statute. The two-decades-old law was overturned after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a motion in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas agreeing with the Justice Department’s contention that the statute “expressly and directly conflicts” with federal immigration law. “[T]he Court hereby declares that the challenged provisions … as applied to aliens who are not lawfully present in the United...

Here's an economics lesson that belongs in the textbooks. Student loan debt soared to more than $1.5 trillion during the Biden presidency, and the response by Washington was to "forgive" hundreds of billions of these unpaid loans by deadbeat borrowers and let the taxpayers pick up the tab. It was never clear why the universities that charge exorbitant tuitions that have reached more than $75,000 a year at many elite schools shouldn't bear the cost of the program -- but that's another story. Those of us who watched these events unfold predicted that one result of this policy would be...

Jason Collier, a special education teacher in Virginia, often needs to wait until payday to fill up the gas tank of his car — and in the meantime hopes he doesn’t run out. “Money is tight when you’re a teacher,” Collier, 46, said. Now he’s afraid that the U.S. Department of Education will soon garnish up to 15% of his wages because he’s behind on his student debt payments. Collier said he hasn’t been able to meet his monthly bill for years, while juggling the expenses of raising two children and medical expenses from a cancer diagnosis. If his paycheck...

Millions of student loan borrowers are expected to see their credit scores drop by summertime, reversing progress made under pandemic-era protections that lifted credit scores but expired last year.New York Fed research released Wednesday found that over 9 million borrowers with past-due balances could see "significant" decreases in their credit scores. The warning comes after many student loan borrowers' credit scores increased during the period of federal student loan forbearance, which temporarily suspended payment requirements and interest during the COVID-19 crisis. The typical borrower's score jumped 11 points in 2020, rising from 662 to 673.Ads by Money. We may be...

Last week we shared some charts on the utter failure and folly of federal intervention in education for K-12.An even bigger failure has been the $1.5 trillion student loan boondoggle. As even more federal dollars have flowed into higher education in grants and (largely forgivable) loans. This is the result:We got a lot of praise and criticism from readers for our call to impose an excise tax on university tax-free endowments above $1 billion. But what is clear is that almost none of these treasure chests of wealth are being used to make college more affordable. Shameful.

Harvard undergraduate tuition will be free for students from families making $200,000 or less, starting next fall, the university announced Monday in its latest effort to provide an Ivy League education to those who might otherwise be priced out. Attending Harvard will be completely free for students from families making $100,000 or less, with the university committing to cover housing, health insurance and travel costs between campus and home. Undergraduate tuition at Harvard College was more than $56,000 this year, while total cost of attendance was almost $83,000, according to the institution’s financial aid website. (Harvard College is the undergraduate...

Columbia University is one of the most prestigious universities in the world, attracting students from over 120 countries. However, with its elite status comes a hefty price tag. In this article, we’ll break down the costs of attending Columbia University for a semester, covering tuition, fees, housing, and other expenses. Tuition and Fees The first and most significant expense is tuition and fees. For the 2022-2023 academic year, the cost of tuition for Columbia University is: Full-time students: $71,832 per year Part-time students: $4,844 per credit hour

You cannot make this stuff up? USAID, which blessedly is no more, paid for a radical Islamic terrorist’s college tuition. Past receipts show that the former agency footed the bill for Anwar Awlaki’s higher education. Awlaki lied about the country of his birth to obtain funds for college through the State Department. Awlaki later became the point of the lance for al-Qaeda’s digital jihad arm. Investigative Catherine Herridge has more: Looks like USAID supported college tuition for Anwar Aulaqi (Awlaki) who later became a high level al Qaeda terrorist. Aulaqi falsely claimed he was born in Yemen to secure the...

America’s youth are being pushed into a one-size-fits-all college track that saddles many with debt — without preparing them for careers.A few months ago, a handful of lucky Gen Xers virtually won the lottery when the White House directed the Department of Education to “adjust” their student loan accounts, in some cases down to zero. Joel Lambdin, a 49-year-old string musician from New York City, became a poster child for this one-time forgiveness measure, as Business Insider reported. During his studies and bohemian career, Lambdin had accumulated $250,000 in student debt that remained in forbearance for more than 25 years...

Like any Ivy League school, a degree from Yale University has the potential to help you go very far in life. The New Haven, Connecticut-based university has a long list of notable alumni, including actors Angela Bassett and Jodie Foster, Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, and billionaire businessman Tom Steyer. Those are just some of the undergraduate alums — the list of notable alumni from Yale's graduate programs is even longer and includes several other U.S. presidents, Supreme Court justices, actors, founders and more. Plus, Yale students go on to command a median salary of $95,961...

A recent Tweet by Elizabeth Warren and a short rebuttal to her inspired this post. Let’s take a look at the Tweet and my 10 reasons.Deeply UnfairThere is something about this "cancel" student debt bill that just feels *deeply* unfair to me. Why have taxes from plumbers & electricians go towards paying the unpaid bills of college & masters grads?I wish we were building a safety net for ppl in poverty with the $167B. https://t.co/lSJE5Psde1 — Michelle Tandler (@michelletandler) May 28, 202410 Reasons Why Student Debt Cancellation is UnfairIt is unfair to those who sacrificed to pay off their student...