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The College Investor Audio Show

The College Investor

The College Investor podcast is a daily audio show that"s dedicated to bringing you the best of TheCollegeInvestor.com. We discuss a variety of topics, all relating to millennial money - including student loan debt, investing, earning more money, and more! Robert Farrington, the founder of The College Investor and a Millennial Money Expert, shares how to get out of student loan debt so that you can start investing and building wealth for the future. Instead of cutting expenses and living a frugal

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All Episodes

08:10

89 Groups Demand Congress Take Action As Student Loan...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/10/05

A coalition of 89 advocacy groups, unions, and nonprofits is asking Congress to convene an emergency hearing on the student loan system, citing servicing errors and confusion that have followed the repayment overhaul that took effect July 1.The letter (PDF File), was led by Protect Borrowers and Young Invincibles and signed by groups including the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the NAACP, and the UAW.The letter went to the chairs and ranking members

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10:42

My Student Loans Are Finally Being Forgiven. Could I...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/10/04

I’m expecting to get my student loans forgiven soon. I’m at about $148,000. I borrowed $65,000 for a social work degree back in 2001 and I’ve paid something every single month since.A coworker mentioned you pay taxes on this and now I don’t know what to think. I make $58,000 a year. I’ve got about $14,000 in a retirement plan, $3,000 in savings, and other debt. I can’t afford to pay more taxes.Does this even apply to me? And is there something I should be doing before the end of the year?

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11:54

9.3 Million Federal Student Loan Borrowers Are Now In...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/10/03

Federal Student Aid posted its quarterly portfolio update on September 22, 2026, and the data through June 30 shows student loan defaults still rising. The number of borrowers with defaulted loans in the federally managed portfolio grew by about 400,000 during the quarter to more than 9.3 million. Those borrowers owe $234 billion, roughly 14% of the $1.64 trillion portfolio the Department of Education manages directly.That total now sits above the 9 million figure cited just last week when senators

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08:03

FAFSA Skipped The Asset Questions? Here’s When Assets...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/10/02

The 2027-28 FAFSA launches for everyone by October 1, 2026, and the beta version is already open. Parents working through the FAFSA step by step are reaching the signature page without ever seeing a question about savings, investments, or 529 plans. That’s on purpose.Nothing is missing and your application is not incomplete. Federal law says the Education Department “shall not use asset information” from families who meet one of three tests. A skipped section is not one of the FAFSA mistakes that

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06:49

Notre Dame Will Require SAT And ACT Scores Again...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/10/01

The University of Notre Dame will require SAT or ACT scores from undergraduate applicants beginning with the 2027-28 admissions cycle, the university announced on September 9. The requirement covers first-year and transfer applicants seeking to enroll in Fall 2028, which puts today’s high school juniors in the first affected class. Students applying this fall for Fall 2027 enrollment stay under the current test-optional rules.Micki Kidder, Notre Dame’s vice president for undergraduate enrollment,

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07:43

UVM Cuts Tuition By $18,000 For Students From Five...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/30

The University of Vermont announced on September 9 a Regional Tuition Break that drops annual tuition to $30,240 for incoming undergraduates who are permanent residents of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Rhode Island. UVM values the cut at more than $18,000 a year, or better than 35% off what non-residents normally pay at the school.The new rate starts with the fall 2027 entering class and applies to first-time first-year students and transfers. It covers 31 majors (close to a

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09:41

U.S. Teens Rank 23rd In Math, 10th In Reading On The...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/29

American 15-year-olds tied for 10th out of 91 worldwide school systems in reading on the 2025 PISA exam, released September 8. In math, they tied for 23rd. Science was the bright spot for the U.S. at 13th.U.S. reading dropped 14 points from 2022. New York Times reporting puts that near the worst American result since PISA began in 2000.But it’s important to note that the general learning decline is worldwide. Reading across rich countries fell 28 points from 2015 to 2025, and math fell 22 points

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15:44

How Much Should You Have In A 529 Plan By Age

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/28

How much should you have in a 529 plan? The short answer: about $96 a month from birth, or roughly $37,000 by the time your child is 18, if your goal is to cover a solid chunk of in-state tuition and fees.If you want to pay for everything at a public university, housing and food included, plan on about $630 a month gets you to $245,000 at 18. Everything in between helps, and so we break it odwn.The real trouble comes from rising tuition costs and how much every "college savings calculator" says you

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08:16

Who Wins College Scholarships? Sallie Data Shows...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/27

Sallie surveyed 511 U.S. scholarship applicants (both students who won at least one award and students who applied but never won) and published the results as The Scholarship Winner Playbook. The findings point to a short list of behaviors that consistently showed up among winners: starting early, applying in volume, getting essays reviewed, and reapplying after rejections. It’s a useful data set for anyone working through how to find college scholarships right now.The headline numbers: 63% of

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04:41

Student Loan Debt Reaches $1.86 Trillion, Up $55.6...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/26

The Federal Reserve’s G.19 consumer credit release published September 8 put outstanding student loan debt at $1,858.2 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2026. That is up $55.6 billion from $1,802.6 billion a year earlier, a 3.1% increase. This is also the first time the national student loan balance has gone above $1.85 trillion.Total consumer credit grew at a 4.2% seasonally adjusted annual rate in July to $5.19 trillion. Federally held consumer credit (Direct Loans, Perkins, and Ed-held

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09:03

New Bipartisan Bill Would Count SAVE Forbearance...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/25

Reps. Bill Foster (D-IL) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Inclusion Act of 2026, which would update what counts as a qualifying payment under Public Service Loan Forgiveness in two ways: it would let payments under graduated, extended, and the new tiered standard plans count during a borrower’s first 60 months, and it would treat months spent in administrative forbearance as qualifying payments for borrowers working in public service.It was referred to the

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08:03

Newsom Signs Laws Letting California Community...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/24

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 960 and Assembly Bill 2694 on September 18, 2026, rewriting the rules for bachelor’s degrees at California community colleges. Starting January 1, 2028, each district’s allowance of new bachelor’s programs will range from 2 to 12, and the number depends on how many of its students finish or transfer.The two measures, by Sen. Christopher Cabaldon (D-Napa) and Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-San Diego), are legally joined: SB 960 states it takes effect only if AB

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08:44

Why Elite Colleges Are Racing To Offer Free Tuition

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/23

Several of the most selective colleges have adopted generous financial aid policies that provide free tuition to low- and moderate-income students. Depending on the college, the income threshold for free tuition ranges from $100,000 to $250,000.MIT was the first to offer free tuition for families with income under $200,000 starting with the 2025-2026 academic year. Harvard matched the offer within months. Since then, other colleges have announced similar policies for the 2026-2027 academic year,

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05:10

New House Bill Would Make Farm And Ranch Workers...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/22

A bipartisan House bill would add farm and ranch work to the list of jobs eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. H.R. 9974, the Young Farmer Success Act, was introduced by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) alongside Reps. Joe Courtney (D-CT), Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), and Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), and referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.The text of the bill amends Section 455(m)(3)(B) of the Higher Education Act to treat full-time work as an “employee or manager of a qualified

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09:09

IRS Proposes Ending Tax-Exempt Status For 18,000...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/21

The Treasury Department and IRS released proposed regulations that would deny 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to any private school that “adopts, maintains, or enforces” a policy discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national or ethnic origin, including policies designed to benefit minority students.The proposed rule focuses on admissions, scholarships, student loans, athletics, and every other school-administered program. The agencies estimate it could affect as many as 18,000 private schools

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12:03

UC San Diego’s Remedial Math Class Is Full —...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/20

Both fall quarter sections of MATH 2 at UC San Diego are full, and 175 students are sitting on waitlists. A screenshot of the campus booking system posted this week to the r/UCSD subreddit shows one 180-seat section at zero availability with 99 waitlisted, and a second 10-seat section with 76 more waiting. That puts roughly 365 incoming students in or chasing a class that awards no degree credit. This aligns with what the college reported last year about collapsing freshman math skills.MATH 2 sits

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04:53

Texas State Doubles Free Tuition Income Cap To...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/18

Texas State University is doubling the income limits on its free tuition program. Starting with the Fall 2027 entering class, first-time freshmen who graduate in the top 25% of their high school class and have a family adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less will qualify for free tuition and mandatory fees under the expanded Bobcat Promise.That makes Texas State a part of a growing list of colleges that have made tuition free for qualifying families.The university expects the expansion to benefit

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10:32

Bill Gates Says Heavy AI Use Could Cause Students To...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/17

Bill Gates published a 6,000-word essay on the AI transition, calling it “one of the most turbulent times in human history” and arguing the world has no real plan for it. He organizes the essay around three key risks (permanent job losses, AI-empowered bad actors, and damage to how kids develop and their education), at a moment when AI anxiety is already boiling over on campuses.The line that should stop educators cold: Gates writes that the same tool that will allow people to learn more than ever

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07:04

ASU’s New “Influencer Degree” Costs Up To $60,000 A...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/16

Arizona State University has launched a Bachelor of Arts in Content Creation through its Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, available at its downtown Phoenix campus, online, and through ASU Local. Coursework covers video and podcast production, audience analytics, brand voice, monetization, copyright, plus hands-on work through a Los Angeles Content Studio and brand content projects.Critics immediately branded it the “influencer degree,” reviving the debate over whether

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07:34

Free Community College Pays For Itself, New NBER...

The College Investor Audio Show ·

2026/09/15

A new NBER working paper finds that Tennessee Promise, the nation’s first statewide free community college program, increased college enrollment, boosted degree completion, raised early-career earnings, and generated enough new tax revenue to more than cover its cost. The researchers estimate the program’s marginal value of public funds is infinite, meaning every public dollar spent produced positive benefits at no net cost to the government.The study, from economists at the University of Tennessee,

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1,093 results

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