Fascinating and sometimes a bit frightening results of personal experiments in refinancing student loans without a six-figure income.

How long is it going to take kids before they realize that journalism as a paying gig is basically dead, therefore taking out a loan to go to journalism school means they are not good journalists?

What major IS worth taking out a loan for?

  It's not the major it's the plan... I'd be tempted to say medical school, but I know someone who went into low-money human service medicine that's broke... So, it's an evaluation of the ROI in combination with the creativity to find paths that don't require taking loans... I am a big fan of ROTC.  

I have known a LOT of very smart people who agree with you, Dawn. One of them is the Panda's brother! Also don't forget the Commissioned Corps: I have a friend who got his entire education as a dentist paid off by serving in Alaska.

More to the point: any plan is better than failing to plan. It's a mindset, right? But kids are so dependent on having the right guidance, which is largely a function of luck! How can PandaWhale help?

Why are the people most in need of refinance the ones most unable to get it?

When I mentioned to the reader above that, “it seems like the people who need it the most or who are on the verge of default have really no option,” she said: “For all that I’m broke and my people are broke, I do have the advantage of good credit and low cost-of-living that help me pay down my debt. I can’t imagine being in a really desperate situation and unable to get a loan.”

As I mentioned in my original post, one glimmer of hope is coming from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who earlier this summer chastised both Republicans and Democrats for standing in the way of moving forward with legislation to help college students and graduates. The Senate has twice blocked her student loan refinancing legislation, and according to Politico, “Republicans have staunchly opposed lowering interest rates for existing borrowers, though Warren notes some states — like North Dakota, under Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple — have done so on their own.”

Either the federal government will offer a reprieve one day, or one of these new financial services will finally decide to expand their offerings to a wider pool of customers. How long can we wait?