FAP293: Guest host Katie Dexter, 16 hours left to consolidate student loans, rates, Indian scholarship, 7 finance lifehacks, David Ippolito

FAP293: Guest host Katie Dexter, 16 hours left to consolidate student loans, rates, Indian scholarship, 7 finance lifehacks, David Ippolito

Student Financial Aid News
+ 16 hours left to consolidate federal student loans at today’s interest rates
+ Just a bit of amusement – Financial Aid Podcast listeners who consolidated through the links on the site got moved to the front of the line
+ This is the busiest I think it’s ever been
+ Fed moves funds rate to 5.25%
+ Recent indicators suggest that economic growth is moderating from its quite strong pace earlier this year, partly reflecting a gradual cooling of the housing market and the lagged effects of increases in interest rates and energy prices.
+ Education Secretary Margaret Spellings’ Commission on the Future of Higher Education released a draft report on Monday recommending “a substantial increase in need-based aid” and overhauling student financial aid to create a “streamlined” system. The draft harshly criticized the current financial aid system, describing it with words like dysfunctional, confusing, inadequate, unwieldy, inefficient, convoluted, counterproductive and redundant. It offered many general recommendations like consolidating the aid system and some specific recommendations like eliminating the FAFSA and using tax information to determine student need.
+ Education Department officials said Thursday that the department had approved alternative ways for residents of 37 states to qualify for a new federal grant program. In a telephone news conference, department officials said that they had granted requests from the states for additional ways that students could show that they had taken a “rigorous” high school curriculum, which is a requirement to receive the new Academic Competitiveness Grant created by Congress as part of budget cutting legislation last winter. In several states, the department approved dual-enrollment programs, in which students attend high school and community college at the same time, and in others it endorsed programs in which graduating students must take coursework that fulfills their state’s higher education admission requirements.
+ A brief mention about PodCamp – www.PodCamp.org
+ Looking for a venue

Scholarship Update
+ Scholarship to foster Native American Economic Development
+ Six graduate scholarships of $5,000 each will be awarded to Native American graduate students who are studying in the areas of law, business, or planning, and who are committed to economic development in Native American communities
+ enrollment in an American Indian tribe, recognition as an Alaska Native by an Alaska Native government, or status as a Native Hawaiian
+ experience and background in Indian Country or other Native communities
+ commitment to economic development in Native communities
+ potential for leadership in Indian Country or other Native communities
+ other available financial resources
+ Detailed information at our free scholarship search secrets web site
+ Search term: economics scholarship deadline

News You Can Use
+ 7 financial tips from a broke guy
+ Guest hosting today, Katie Dexter, our director of student loan origination
+ From LifeHack.org
+ Keep the change
+ 5% anti-raise
+ Pay debt first
+ Negotiate a better credit card
+ Plug for the Financial Aid Podcast 8% fixed rate card
+ Multiply expenditures
+ Consider entertainment options
+ Plug the holes
+ Additional tips – buy Treasuries, start saving
+ US treasury web site

Podsafe Music
+ Heard it on the Daily Source Code
+ Nearly fell out of my car laughing
+ David Ippolito, Tom Cruise Scares Me
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ Add us to your iTunes at www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 877-328-1565 x529. Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe/

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FAP289: Fed funds rate, FAFSA deadline, student loan consolidation deadline, scholarship deadline, jobcast on creative companies, Gainja

FAP289: Fed funds rate, FAFSA deadline, student loan consolidation deadline, scholarship deadline, jobcast on creative companies, Gainja

Student Financial Aid News
+ This week, the Fed will move to rate hike #17
+ Prime Rate to 8.25%, Funds Rate to 5.25%
+ No more FAFSA filing after June 30, 2006 for this year
+ You MUST have your FAFSA done.
+ FAFSAonline.com to file your FAFSA before the deadline
+ Commission on Higher Education having serious internal schism about tone of report
+ Which more accurately describes the situation: Does the United States have the best postsecondary education system in the world, but one that is facing some significant problems that need addressing? Or is it a once-great system that is under such stress that it needs a major overhaul to keep up with the rest of the world?
+ The fact that you have to ask the question leads me to believe the latter
+ HEA reauthorization again
+ Unlikely to be any changes in the 109th Congress to the HEA
+ No significant changes in student aid
+ 4 days, 16 hours left to file a student loan consolidation
+ 877-328-1565 x1 or StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Why everything on June 30? It’s the end of the fiscal year for gov’t and lots of agencies

Scholarship Update
+ Since we’re talking tight deadlines today, the AFSCME Jerry Clark Memorial Scholarship
+ For students in political science
+ Tight Deadline! July 1.
+ GPA 3.0 or higher
+ Must be in sophomore year
+ Detailed page at our free student scholarship search web site
+ Search term: scholarship deadline july 1

JobCast
+ Selling picks and shovels
+ Selling gold
+ Identify a business to get into
+ Identify a company you might want to work for
+ The reality is that if you want to get really ahead, you have to join a very forward thinking company or start your own
+ Not work in a cubicle mill where all you are is a cog in the machine
+ Rule #1 in the New Economy: You have only as much job security as you create
+ Rule #2: Creative companies are strong companies, flexible companies

Podsafe Music
+ Gainja, Flight
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ Add us to your iTunes at www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 877-328-1565 x529. Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe/

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Financial Aid Podcast #287

FAP287: 7 days to consolidate student loans, for profit college, retirement, international student stuff, mail bag, Natalie Brown

Student Financial Aid News
+ 7 days, 16 hours left to consolidate your federal student loans
+ The low interest rate party ends next Friday
+ Consolidate online or at 877-328-1565
+ 3 year anniversary – ha!
+ Three months after two private equity firms announced plans to spend $3.4 billion to buy Education Management Corp., one of the largest publicly held higher education companies, another investor said it would take one of the smallest such companies private.
+ Concorde Career Colleges, Inc., which operates 12 campuses in seven states and offers academic and vocational programs in an array of allied health fields, said it had agreed to be purchased by Liberty Partners, a private equity firm in New York that has invested in a range of education businesses, for $114.5 million.
+ The other 10 college companies that are traded on the three major stock exchanges are: Apollo Group, Career Education Corp., Corinthian Colleges, DeVry, EVCI Career Colleges, ITT Educational Services, Laureate Education, Lincoln Educational Services, Strayer Education, and Universal Technical Institute.
+ Only 21 percent of U.S. workers participate in defined-benefit plans, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet an incredible 61 percent expect to receive benefits from such a plan in retirement, according to recent research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
+ In weirder news, three Montana State University students are suing two professors for libel over a painting by an art professor that portrays the students as “foolish weasels,” the Associated Press reported. The painting was displayed prior the students’ being cleared over allegations of having cheated on an assignment.

Scholarship Update
+ Lots of mail every day from International students asking about International Scholarships
+ Detailed page at our free scholarships web site
+ Search term: international scholarships

Mail Bag
+ Cyd Cipolla writes in about military recruiters on campus
+ Question: if there ever is a draft, will being homosexual recuse you?
+ Audio feedback: where to send consolidation paperwork?
+ Zhou Ying asks about loans for international students in the US
+ International student loans at InternationalStudentLoan.com or 866-235-2255
+ Pattie writes in that she got married and her child was denied financial aid
+ You should refile your FAFSA with any corrections/updates
+ Go talk to your school’s financial aid counselor

Podsafe Music
+ She’s back from vacation and jumping out of planes
+ Natalie Brown, You Gotta Believe
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ Add us to your iTunes at www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 877-328-1565 x529. Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe/

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Financial Aid Podcast #286, June 22, 2006

Financial Aid Podcast #286, June 22, 2006

FAP286: ROTC, Flags, Professor pay and enrollment, medical school scholarships, jobcast, Brother Love, Becca Loebe

Student Financial Aid News
+ Erroneous listing in federal register about student aid and military recruiters
+ What’s the big deal? It’s pretty much a given – if you join the military, you will be seeing a lot of sand. You know what you’re getting into.
+ A student in Arizona pushing to have flags in every classroom
+ 1,220 flags needed for state colleges, made in the USA – probably about $10K
+ That’s a pretty hefty scholarship
+ Why not just print them out?
+ Daytona Beach Community College ties enrollment figures to salaries – 1% increase in enrollment equals 3 percent pay increase
+ Asking professors to be more proactive in recruiting students
+ Hey professors: MySpace.
+ Reporters who cover higher education believe that they spend too much time on student housing, international issues and rankings, and not enough time on retention and remedial education, according to a survey by the Education Writers Association.
+ At UTexas, satisfactory academic progress requirement changing from semester to year
+ In lighter news, Trump says the MBA is dead – innovation is what counts today, whereas administration is a given

Scholarship Update
+ Vivek Kalia writes in: I wanted to ask if you could possibly give more feedback or scholarship updates about scholarships for medical school. I will be going to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine next year, and I am really in need of some financial aid. As you know I’m sure, medical school is quite expensive (my estimated expenses are $56,000+ per year), so I’d love to hear more about any scholarships open to first year incoming medical students.
+ NIH Loan Repayment Program
+ Meta-directory of fellowships and scholarships
+ Hopkins also has a large list of internal scholarships that are part of the application process
+ Detailed information in our show notes
+ Search terms: scholarships for medical school johns hopkins
+ Alternative is to go for graduate/medical school student loans and then go after loan repayment programs
+ Check out medical school loans at GradLoans.com

Jobcast
+ Now more than ever, it’s your network
+ Also, three jobs open at the Student Loan Network

Promo
+ From Brother Love – Arlene’s Grocery on 6/27

Podsafe Music
+ More live music from Becca Loebe
+ Becca Loebe, Grace (LIVE)
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ Add us to your iTunes at www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 877-328-1565 x529. Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe/

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Financial Aid Podcast #285 : June 21, 2006

FAP285: First day of summer, international student loans, UNC athletes, graduation and diplomas, women pilots, shopping for computers, Becca Loebe

Student Financial Aid News
+ It’s officially the first day of summer
+ Get your fall student loans taken care of
+ Stafford loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Parent loans at ParentPLUSLoan.com
+ Graduate student loans at GradLoans.com
+ Private student loans at AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ InternationalStudentLoan.com introduces a new international student loan called the Foreign Enrolled Loan
+ Funding limits up to $50,000 per year for undergraduate and graduate, and up to $70,000 per year for business, dental, law or medical school
+ Intended for US students studying abroad without being enrolled in a US school
+ The U.S. Education Department has rejected a petition from a coalition of student groups, lenders and others that asked the department to consider rewriting its regulations for repaying student loans. Department officials said that while they were concerned about the debt burden faced by many students, they did not consider it appropriate to begin a formal process for reviewing their rules now.
+ Last month, the groups, led by the Project on Student Debt, filed an unusual “petition for rule making” urging the department to review and change some of its “inconsistent, confusing and contradictory” rules governing how and when students repay their loans. Specifically, the groups called for changes in the government’s regulations governing income contingent repayment and “hardship relief,” to make them more helpful to a broader array of students.
+ Legislation in North Carolina that passed based on claims that it would help the state recruit top students is actually helping pay the tuition of out-of-state athletes at the University of North Carolina system, The Raleigh News & Observer reported.
+ A recent study by Education Week magazine revealed that in 2003, high school graduates earned, on average, 34 percent more than those without a high school diploma. College graduates made a whopping 132 percent more. Students who don’t finish high school also are four times more likely than college graduates to be unemployed. They are far more likely to wind up in prison or on welfare, and they die, on average, at a younger age. Beyond the individual costs, the United States’ failure to graduate so many young people takes a huge societal toll in lost tax revenues and increased expenditures for health care, corrections, food stamps, subsidized housing, and public assistance.
+ In lighter news, libraries are discussing the role of MySpace and Facebook – should they have profiles?

Scholarship Update
+ A directory of scholarships for women pilots
+ Some examples:
+ SANTA ROSA 99s SCHOLARSHIP – $3000 – Funds to be used for academic tuition, fees for technical school or flight training. Criteria: 17 years old, female, private pilot, current medical and flight review. Must live within 150 miles of Charles M. Schulz, Sonoma County Airport (STS) and be working toward a career in aviation.
+ MARIAN DELANO MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP – EL CAJON VALLEY 99s – $750 – Criteria: female who has passed the written examination and soloed in CA, NV, AZ, UT or HI. Scholarship awarded on the basis of a written essay and need.
+ Plus many, many more
+ Detailed information at our free student scholarship search site
+ Believe it or not, I started out looking for a Yahoo corporate scholarship, since we’ve covered Google’s Anita Borg scholarship and Microsoft’s corporate scholarship
+ Search term: Yahoo Scholarship deadline

Welcome to Frappr members!
+ Vivek Kalla from Birmingham, AL
+ Armando from Dallas, TX
+ Jon Burrill from Pensacola, FL
+ Alison from Portland, OR
+ James Benton from Baton Rouge, LA
+ Mario Ajero from Norman, OK

News You Can Use
+ Shopping refurb can save you a ton of money
+ Examples: Dell, Apple
+ Same exact systems
+ Same warranty
+ Probably some cosmetic issues
+ When it comes to paying – why would you buy full price?

Podsafe Music
+ becca loebe, There Tonight (LIVE)
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ Add us to your iTunes at www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 877-328-1565 x529. Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe/

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FAP284: Ashland U and UCSD welcome, MOHELA, Arizona grants, UCSD scholarships, StudentATM, Flickr, mail bag, David Spak, today’s show dedicated to CC Chapman and family

Show notes, June 20, 2006

FAP284: Ashland U and UCSD welcome, MOHELA, Arizona grants, UCSD scholarships, StudentATM, Flickr, mail bag, David Spak, today’s show dedicated to CC Chapman and family

Student Financial Aid News
+ Big welcomes to Ashland University and UCSD
+ MOHELA loan sale shelved
+ Are high gas prices keeping students away from commuter colleges?
+ New power adapter from Apple
+ Whether you need it or not, $2,000 grants available in Arizona for 2,400 students regardless of need – file your FAFSA to qualify
+ We just shoveled out $6,400 to StudentATM participants
+ Limited beta, invitation only to our new scholarship program
+ The first prizes in the beta will be iTunes cards or gas cards
+ Want to be a participant? Email me.
+ Photo of our wall of competition on my Flickr page now
+ In lighter news, FOX trying to round up professors at colleges for Trading Spouses and movies on iTunes?

Scholarship Update
+ UCSD scholarship directory
+ Tons of scholarships available through UCSD and other organizations
+ Detailed page at Student Scholarship Search web site
+ Unsurprisingly, the search term was: UCSD scholarships

Mail Bag
+ Jim McLeish – you can go to jail for falsifying your FAFSA
+ Bob Bednar replies back with responses about a realtor’s value in rental transactions

Podsafe Music
+ Dedicated to CC Chapman and his family
+ David Spak, Amazing Grace
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ Add us to your iTunes at www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 877-328-1565 x529. Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe/

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Today’s show

Show Notes, June 19, 2006

FAP283: Binary Star, budget cuts, Tylenol, mail bag and FAFSA verification, consolidation benefits, Comeg

+ Binary StarCast Intro

Student Financial Aid News
+ Maintenance notice this weekend
+ In a year in which virtually all states are expected to increase spending on public colleges, some of them significantly, New Jersey’s colleges are facing proposed cuts of more than $300 million, which would reduce state support for some campuses by a third and have led at least one college to warn of furloughs and layoffs.
+ Even if a partial restoration should occur, New Jersey remains what Travis Reindl, director of state policy analysis and assistant to the president of the American Association of States Colleges and Universities, calls a “island of misery in a sea of plenty.”
+ Degrees from elite private colleges are increasingly limited to those who enroll as freshmen, even though increasing numbers of undergraduates nationally start their higher educations at community colleges, according to a summary of a report being released today by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
+ Recently, the Arizona Students’ Association issued a call to arms, asking college students to phone their legislators and demand more state funding for financial aid. That’s because in the process of hammering out next year’s state budget, it had appeared that legislative funding would pass over the Arizona Financial Aid Trust, ASA interim director Serena Unrein said.
+ Some education leaders in Utah estimate as much as 50 percent of scholarships and financial aid goes untapped, leaving students little option but to take out loans.
+ In lighter news, and to the distress of some traditionalists, the University of St. Andrews, in Scotland, has given official recognition to a Pagan student group and will provide space on campus for student members to perform various rituals, The Times of London reported. However, the Pagans were barred from performing any incantations or spells that might be viewed as harmful to others at St. Andrews.

Scholarship Update
+ Got a headache? Get a Tylenol Scholarship
+ 150 $1,000 and 20 $5,000 scholarships will be available for undergraduate and post-graduate study.
+ Applicants will be judged on leadership qualities and academic performance.
+ Applications must be received by September 30, 2006.
+ No purchase necessary
+ Detailed page at Student Scholarship Search web site
+ Now with 220 resources worth $1.494B
+ Today’s search term: Scholarship Deadline $100,000

Mail Bag
+ I was told by a Sallie Mae and a Dept. of Education advisor that a student in school in deferment can request that their consolidation be held until they graduate and no interest will accur during in school and they will still get their 6 months grace after graduation. Do you have any information on this? I can’t find confirmation on the Sallie Mae site but the Dept. of Ed site does state this. – Anonymous
+ Angela Gary writes in: How do you know which offer to take when it comes to consilidating your loans. Do you suggest or recommend any company that students can use. I would like a more less rate.
+ Compare benefits, customer service, reputation
+ Compare the Student Loan Network’s benefits for consolidation here
+ Jamie Ellman writes in: I was chosen for verification. I’m not sure what exactly that means but my school said it’s required by the government for my Pell grant and any loans. They have asked for my signed tax-returns, which I gladly produced. They also need transcripts from a university that I attended 13 years ago. The university will not send my transcripts because I owe money to the school. What is verification and how can I get my Pell without it?
+ FAFSA verification is the Dept. of Ed. version of an IRS audit. Tips:
+ Produce only what is requested
+ Do it as fast as possible
+ Pay the money you owe to the previous university
+ You cannot sidestep the audit

Podsafe Music
+ Comeg, Summer Rain
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ Add us to your iTunes at www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 877-328-1565 x529. Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe/

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Student Loan Radio #1

SLR11: Student Loan Radio #11 / Financial Aid Podcast #282

What’s Fun
- Google Earth and Sketchup
- audio podcasting for the Financial Aid Podcast
- Video podcasting
- This show
- July4US
- Believe it or not, student loan consolidations
- SteveRunner.com and Phedippidations
- Training in ninjutsu at the Boston Martial Arts Center and with Stephen K. Hayes
- Podshow ads

What’s Not Fun
- September 11 conspiracy theories

Podsafe Music
+ Laura Clapp, Let it Rain
+ Heather Sullivan, Love Come Down
+ Black Lab, Learn to Crawl
+ Rebecca Loebe, Grace
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ Add us to your iTunes at www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 877-328-1565 x529. Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe/

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Show notes, June 16, 2006

Show notes, June 16, 2006

FAP281: Goodbye Single Lender Rule, IU grants, Law school scholarship, financial hack for apartment rent, Matthew Ebel

Student Financial Aid News
+ Goodbye Single Lender Rule
+ President Bush signed HR 4939 into law last night at 7 PM ET
+ Now is the time to consolidate
+ For listeners who have applications with us, and you applied through FinancialAidPodcast.com, you should have received an email from me
+ I will be putting through everyone who is eligible myself
+ Check your email
+ If you want to do eSignature, reply back with your references
+ We will get this done!
+ IU has had to readjust grants downward by as much as $1,100
+ Reason? More students applying for the same pile of money
+ In somewhat lighter news, the NSA is financing research on how to collect data from sites like MySpace to map personal networks

Scholarship Update
+ The George Hutchinson Writing Competition
+ $3,000 award
+ Deadline June 30, 2006
+ Open to all law students in ABA schools
+ Entries to the contest may discuss any topic that lies within the procedure, substance, or
scope of the jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.
+ Detailed information at our free scholarship web site

Financial Hack
+ I’m going to save you hundreds, perhaps even thousands of dollars in today’s financial hack
+ Rents are going up
+ For listeners who are renting, as we warned about on Wednesday, rents are going up a lot
+ Lots of apartments changed to condos during the housing bubble
+ Lower supply
+ Lots of people who can’t afford their mortgages are now renting
+ Why pay a finder’s fee?
+ Start with HousingMaps or Craigslist
+ Registry of deeds
+ Search it up
+ Find the deed owner
+ Examine and make your calls

Podsafe Music
+ Matthew Ebel, I Know You’re There
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
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+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

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From the Chronicle of Higher Education

Loophole Could Increase Some Students’ Eligibility for Financial Aid

By KARIN FISCHER

Under a little-noticed loophole in a new federal law, money set aside in college-savings plans will not be counted in determining a dependent student’s eligibility for need-based financial aid if the account is in the student’s name, according to guidance released last week by the U.S. Department of Education.

The loophole — created by Congress in February when it passed deficit-reduction legislation — is reflected in a proposed revision of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or Fafsa, which the U.S. Department of Education published last Tuesday in the Federal Register.

The Fafsa is the standard application form that the federal government, state governments, and most colleges use to determine a student’s eligibility for financial aid.

In the draft revision of the Fafsa, instructions direct applicants to report the value of assets in college-savings plans and other education accounts owned by their parents. But, the instructions state, “Do not report the value of these accounts if the student is the owner.”

It is unclear how many families the change could affect, said Joseph F. Hurley, an accountant who tracks the plans for his Web site, Savingforcollege.com. While New York State does allow parents to act as custodian of a dependent student’s plan, many states do not permit accounts to be opened in a minor’s name.

There is also some confusion about whether Congress meant to create the potential loophole or whether it arose from a legislative drafting error. “I’m not sure how many people who are rushing out to open plans because there is some skepticism that’s what was intended,” Mr. Hurley said. Still, he added, “on an individual basis, this certainly could be a substantial benefit.”

Under previous law, money placed in college-savings plans, even under a student’s name, could shrink a student’s financial-aid award, although the size of the reduction depended on factors such as family income and the cost of attending a particular institution.

The Education Department is seeking comment on the revised Fafsa through August 7.

Investors have opened about 8.6-million college-savings accounts, with a total value of more than $89.46-billion, according to the College Savings Plan Network, the association that represents state-run college-savings plans. All 50 states and Washington, D.C., now offer the plans.