Marian Wang

How Financial Aid Letters Often Leave Students Confused And Misinformed

The financial aid award letters that colleges send to prospective students can be confusing: Many mix grants, scholarships and loans all under the heading of “Award,” “Financial Assistance,” or “Offered Financial Aid.” Some schools also suggest loans in amounts that families can’t afford. Take Parent Plus loans, a federal program that allows families to take […]

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang
People are led on a tour group at the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

The financial aid award letters that colleges send to prospective students can be confusing: Many mix grants, scholarships and loans all under the heading of "Award," "Financial Assistance," or "Offered Financial Aid." Some schools also suggest loans in amounts that families can't afford. Take Parent Plus loans, a federal program that allows

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FAQ On US Aid to Egypt: Where Does the Money Go — And Who Decides How It’s Spent?

By Marian Wang and Theodoric Meyer The regime change in Egypt — and in particular, the riots outside the American embassy last month — have prompted renewed questions about American aid to the country. (A recent poll found that 42 percent of Americans supported cutting aid to Egypt; 29 percent supported cutting it off altogether.) We’ve taken a step back and tried […]

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang
In this photo released by Middle East News Agency, the Egyptian official news agency, President-elect Mohammed Morsi, front left, is accompanied by Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, third left, in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Middle East News Agency, HO)

By Marian Wang and Theodoric Meyer The regime change in Egypt — and in particular, the riots outside the American embassy last month — have prompted renewed questions about American aid to the country. (A recent poll found that 42 percent of Americans supported cutting aid to Egypt; 29 percent supported cutting it off altogether.) We've

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No Income? No Problem! How the Gov’t Is Saddling Parents With College Loans They Can’t Afford

By Marian Wang, ProPublica, Beckie Supiano and Andrea Fuller, The Chronicle of Higher Education This story was co-published with The Chronicle of Higher Education. More than a decade after Aurora Almendral first set foot on her dream college campus, she and her mother still shoulder the cost of that choice. Almendral had been accepted to New York […]

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang
Mary Huntley, right, and her daughter, Erin, pose for a photo at their home in Charleston, W.Va. (AP Photo/Jeff Gentner)

By Marian Wang, ProPublica, Beckie Supiano and Andrea Fuller, The Chronicle of Higher Education This story was co-published with The Chronicle of Higher Education. More than a decade after Aurora Almendral first set foot on her dream college campus, she and her mother still shoulder the cost of that choice. Almendral had been accepted to

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Banks’ Lending Frenzy Left Borrowers Buried In Student Debt, Report Details

Much like the mortgage market, the market for private student loans has gone through a big boom and a messy bust. Some banks and lenders played fast and loose with student loans, aggressively marketing them to borrowers who couldn’t afford that amount of debt, according to a new government report. “Borrowers who took out loans […]

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang
A commencement message is given to graduates. (Photo by Brian K. Slack/Maryland GovPics)

Much like the mortgage market, the market for private student loans has gone through a big boom and a messy bust. Some banks and lenders played fast and loose with student loans, aggressively marketing them to borrowers who couldn't afford that amount of debt, according to a new government report. "Borrowers who took out loans at the height of

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Grieving Father Struggles To Pay Dead Son’s Student Loans

A few months after he buried his son, Francisco Reynoso began getting notices in the mail. Then the debt collectors came calling. “They would say, ‘We don’t care what happened with your son, you have to pay us,’” recalled Reynoso, a gardener from Palmdale, Calif. Reynoso’s son, Freddy, had been the pride of his family […]

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang
Francisco Reynoso, with his wife Silvia and daughter Evelyn in the background, co-signed for his son's student loans. When his son Freddy was killed in a car accident after graduating from college, Reynoso not only had to deal with his grief but also with debt collectors constantly calling him to repay his son's loans. (J. Emilio Flores for ProPublica)

A few months after he buried his son, Francisco Reynoso began getting notices in the mail. Then the debt collectors came calling. "They would say, 'We don't care what happened with your son, you have to pay us,'" recalled Reynoso, a gardener from Palmdale, Calif. Reynoso's son, Freddy, had been the pride of his family and the first to go to

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