Financial Aid Podcast #320 : July 31, 2006

FAP320: Missouri, Preferred Lender, MRU, SLN sites, Oil and the Deficit, Medical Student Scholarships, Jobcast basics, Super Lucky Catz Band

Student Financial Aid News
+ Cash-strapped college students may soon get some help under a plan for more financial aid being developed by a task force of Missouri public university presidents. University of Missouri system President Elson Floyd met this week with the presidents of Truman State University, Missouri State University and Southeast Missouri State University, as well as other campus presidents by conference call, in the first of several planned meetings to figure out how to create more financial aid and aim it at needy students.
+ John Wasik from Bloomberg has this story: “My client approached a school for a loan and was told by the school that his loan would be processed faster if he went with a lender on the preferred list,” said John Pearson, a certified public accountant and certified college-planning specialist in Norwalk, Connecticut. “The preferred system can often deter students from getting the best deal on a loan.”
+ By the way, that includes the Student Loan Network’s sites
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ PLUS loans for parents at ParentPLUSLoan.com
+ Graduate student loans at GradLoans.com
+ Private student loans at AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ More on this later in the week when we talk to Raza Khan of My Rich Uncle
+ Oil-producing nations are challenging Asian central banks as the biggest source of cash in world financial markets. One result may be higher U.S. borrowing costs. Asian central banks tend to invest their surpluses in U.S. Treasury securities, helping to finance the U.S. current account deficit. The U.S. must import $1.72 million of capital every minute to finance its current-account deficit, according to Paul Donovan, an economist at UBS AG in London. Motivated by a desire to keep their currencies weak and exports competitive, Asian central banks generally use the revenue received from selling goods to the U.S. to buy low- yielding, dollar-denominated Treasuries, he said. By selling their own currencies to buy dollars, Asian central banks keep the U.S. currency stronger than it would be otherwise, fueling more purchases of Asian goods. The purchases of Treasuries help keep U.S. interest rates low.
+ In other words, our fiscal irresponsibility as a nation does more than just pass along a deficit to the next generation – it costs real US jobs right now by making overseas goods even cheaper
+ In beer news, perennial college favorite Rolling Rock has announced that it’s moving operations from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where is has brewed since 1939 to Newark, New Jersey.

Scholarship Update
+ Jeannie Bradley writes in: “I have 2 daughters in medicine. One begins her first year at the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine in Glendale, AZ, the other is in her second professional year of pharmacy at the University of Washington. So any scholarship info in the health care professions would be much appreciated.”
+ It’s your lucky day – AACOM has a HUGE directory of scholarships neatly packaged in a couple of files. The biggest one is 39 pages of scholarships, which I’ll bundle into one PDF and put in the feed. If you’re not subscribed to the show, now would be a good time to do it.
+ Today’s search term: osteopathic scholarship

JobCast
+ Revisiting the basics of cover letters and resumes
+ It’s been illuminating, reviewing the resumes for IT Director
+ About half include no cover letter at all or “here’s my resume, thanks”
+ The cover letter is your best chance to make a solid first impression and convey your overall communications skills
+ A bad cover letter or no cover letter may just have your resume thrown in the trash unseen
+ I’ve gotten well over several hundred resumes in the past week – and ones without a cover letter get scrapped immediately. Why? Because it says you don’t care about the details and you’re not willing to go the extra mile for yourself – so why would you go the extra mile for our company?
+ Put all your contact information on your resume!
+ If you’re in the technology field and you don’t have a personal web site of some kind… why not?

Podsafe Music
+ Super Lucky Catz Band, What’s Your Name?
+ 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 #18 : Financial Aid Podcast #319 : July 30, 2006

FAP319: Student Loan Radio #18 : Michelle Cummings Live at Toad 7-27-06

Today’s show is Michelle Cummings live from Toad, in Porter Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thanks to Michelle for allowing me to record and publish the show – be sure to buy her new EP from her site, www.MichelleCummingsMusic.com.

New Music
+ Michelle Cummings
+ 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 #17 : Financial Aid Podcast #318 : July 29, 2006

FAP318: Student Loan Radio #17 : Rebecca Loebe Live at Toad 7-27-06

Today’s show is Rebecca Loebe live from Toad, in Porter Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thanks to Rebecca for allowing me to record and publish the show – be sure to buy her album, Hey, It’s A Lonely World, from her site, www.RebeccaLoebe.com.

New Music
+ Rebecca Loebe
+ 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 #317 : July 28, 2006

FAP317: LONG show today, Expert Interview with Francine Jackson of Harrisburg University, PSU online, research, home sales, Becca Loebe live exclusive

Student Financial Aid News
+ Reminder – if you filed for consolidation prior to July 1, you’re still eligible for last year’s rates – but we don’t know when they’ll be revoked
+ Visit us at www.StudentLoanConsolidator.com or call 877-328-1565
+ The Federal Public Research Access Act would require federal agencies to publish their findings, online and free, within six months of their publication elsewhere. Proponents of the legislation, including many librarians and professors frustrated by skyrocketing journal prices, see such “open access” as entirely fair.
+ The House of Representatives is expected to give final approval today to legislation to extend the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act. The Senate passed the compromise measure on Wednesday, and upon House passage, which is expected, the legislation will go to President Bush for his signature. The Bush administration has proposed wiping out the program’s funds in recent years, but the president is expected to sign the bill, which would, among other things, maintain a separate stream of funds for the Tech-Prep Program.
+ This fall, Pennsylvania State University is requiring all tuition bills to be paid online
+ Cool… but what if parents and students don’t have Internet access?
+ New home sales showed weakness in June, down 3.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.131 million, 19,000 lower than expectations and including sharp downward revisions to May and April that totaled 88,000.
+ High supply in the housing market, the result of high interest rates, points to an end to the boom in home prices and in turn more limited gains in consumer spending. High supply also points to a slowdown in construction, at least on the residential side. Bonds firmed and the dollar eased in reaction to the data.
+ Crude oil stocks were unchanged in the July 21 week at 335.5 million barrels, but a sharp 3.2 million drawdown in gasoline stocks is certain to put new pressure on oil prices. Gasoline demand, up 1.8 percent year-on-year, is outpacing production which was down in the week and up only 0.2 percent year-on-year.

Scholarship Update
+ Berklee College of Music Scholarships
+ $10.5 million available
+ Application and audition required
+ Accepting applications beginning August 15, 2006
+ You’ll see some popular names there, like the Aerosmith Scholarship, the Jimi Hendrix Scholarship Fund, the Charlie Parker Scholarship Fund, the Avedis Zildjian Memorial Scholarship Fund, and a host of others
+ Details at our free student scholarship search web site
+ Search term: Berklee Scholarships

Expert Interview Series
+ Ms. Francine Jackson, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology

New Music
+ Not podsafe yet, but from last night’s concert
+ Rebecca Loebe, Homeless (Live)
+ 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 #316 : July 27, 2006

FAP316: Fraud, access, graduate students, FOMC, housing bubble, scholarship search secret, how to determine what your salary should be, Becca Loebe

Student Financial Aid News
+ One thing that amazes me is the number of people who say that the Financial Aid Podcast is their sole source for financial news
+ I can understand it – we called the housing bubble a year ago, 5% on the federal funds rate a year ago, $3 gasoline
+ Five officials at Metro Technical Institute, a technical school in Detroit, have been accused of falsifying student information and records in order to obtain $557,000 in loans. Two owners of the school were arraigned in U.S. District Court on Tuesday. The school’s admissions director, education director, and registrar were allegedly involved in the scam to bilk the Department of Education for loan and grant money. All defendants face a conspiracy charge, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence. Three face an additional wire fraud charge, which could land them in jail for 30 years. The private school has been shuttered.
+ “Congressionally approved increases in loan interest rates are hitting college students and their families just as campaigns for fall elections are getting under way,” The Baltimore Sun reports. “Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to either offer relief or justify their actions before students and parents turn into angry voters. Politicians may be right to pay attention to middle-class voters, but the constituency they should really focus on is low-income students.”
+ “Is access to graduate education in America exclusively for the upper class?” a single mother who discovered that qualifying for the maximum amount of federal aid does not cover her cost of attendance asks in The Washington Post. “As a first-year graduate student struggling to make ends meet, I believe the answer is yes. In my experience, searching for funding to pay the extensive costs of my higher education has been an upward climb leading only to dead ends.”
+ “While I have applied for a few scholarships, I have yet to be awarded one, and I have found that they are an extremely limited and unreliable resource to use to fund graduate school. Scholarships represent less than 4 percent of the total aid available each year for college students, and much less than that for graduate students. Contrary to popular belief, there are not millions of scholarships out there going unused every year.”
+ No, but there are enough.
+ Will the FOMC take a hike break on August 8? More economists think so – giving some relief to people with adjustable rate loans indexed to the prime rate
+ Weaker growth in consumer spending and housing punctuated the slowing of growth. The Fed noted that consumers were spending less in stores and auto showrooms in part because of high gasoline prices. With the exception of luxury retailers, many stores reported weak or flat sales. Car dealers, the report said, had “undesirably high” inventories of sport utility vehicles.
+ Foreclosures also on the rise – up 66% in Massachusetts. Housing bubble popping is fully underway in the Bay State, with sales down 14% month over month

Scholarship Search Secret
+ Long tail scholarship hunting
+ From The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
+ Short head – big prizes
+ Create detailed queries looking for exactly what you want
+ Expand from there, broaden your queries
+ Example: “single mother” scholarship deadline “graduate student”
+ 867 very specific results including scholarships for single mother graduate students
+ Stop by our free scholarship search web site

JobCast
+ What are you worth? The age old question
+ You are worth exactly what someone will pay
+ How do you get that? Negotiation
+ How do you know what to ask for? Ask people in your profession
+ Boards like Craigslist, sites like Salary.com
+ Get a ballpark range and then consider add-ons
+ What skills do you have beyond the basic job description? Degrees? Certifications?
+ A Master’s Degree in your field will, on average, pay more (sometimes a lot more) than a bachelor’s degree
+ Extra certifications matter to some employers, not as much to others
+ Years of experience count – the magic number seems to be 3 – 5 in whatever role you’re doing – at which point you may want to strive for the next rung on the ladder
+ If you apply for a job and you are underqualified, expect to be offered much less – if it’s a good company and the range is still what you can afford, consider taking it to grow into the role, deliver results, and then ask for performance-based increases
+ When you ask is important – standard sales – ask after the buyer has an emotional commitment

Podsafe Music
+ Becca Loebe, There Tonight (live)
+ Tonight live at Toad in Cambridge
+ 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 #315 : July 26, 2006

FAP315: Back in the saddle, private student loans, college access, teacher scholarships, mail bag, loan scams, Lovespirals

Student Financial Aid News
+ Back in the saddle, lots of catching up to do
+ Private loans propelled second quarter student loan-backed securitization volume to its highest-ever level last quarter: $27.8 billion. So far this year, $41.5 billion of student loans have been securitized — another record — according to Fitch Ratings. That compares with $31.4 billion of volume for the first half of 2005. Of the $7 billion of private student loan transactions securitized so far this year, $6.1 billion worth were transacted last quarter.
+ Our private student loans at www.ActEducationLoans.com
+ The Student Loan Network rolled out a graduate PLUS loan product today. The federally backed loan touts an 8.5% interest rate, but could be lowered as much as two percentage points depending on the school. Students may also tack on borrowings for books, fees, supplies, and computers. The graduate PLUS loan application is available at www.GradLoans.com.
+ Providence College will announce today that it will no longer require undergraduate applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores. Officials said that they feared the test score requirement — even though it has not been a major focus of the admissions process — may have discouraged some low-income students from applying. The move follows an earlier announcement that the college was shifting funds from merit to need-based aid as part of a campaign to close the “student accessibility gap.”
+ Canada’s student aid system faces a “looming crisis” because of its lack of emphasis on helping the neediest students, the rising costs of student loans, and interest in Ottawa in shifting responsibility for student aid to the provinces, warns a new report, “Student Aid Time Bomb,” released by the Educational Policy Institute.
+ Hispanic students are under-informed about financial aid, according to a June survey of California youth by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, a nonprofit research organization with headquarters at the University of Southern California.
+ A new NASFAA research report examining the effects of foster care on college access and success for undergraduate students found that despite receiving more financial aid, students who enter college from the foster care system are less than half as likely to complete a postsecondary education program.
+ The report, College Access, Financial Aid, and College Success for Undergraduates from Foster Care, found that only 26 percent of foster care alumni who entered postsecondary education in 1995 completed a degree or certificate program by 2001, compared to 56 percent of other students. In addition, foster care alumni were more likely than their counterparts to leave school without earning a degree or certificate (53 percent versus 31 percent).
+ “The cost of higher education can set students back for years, but it is worse when a student is lead astray by companies offering consolidation loans,” NBC10.com reports. “‘It’s been a devastating six months,’ said John Horture, a student. …Horture said he found a loan with a lower rate, filled out application and got a call telling him he was approved. …Horture said that, as instructed, he sent $1,500 by Western Union. But months later, there was no loan, and he said he couldn’t get the company, Lotus Financial from Atlanta, on the phone.”
+ Loans should never have out of pocket costs – if they do, most likely it’s a scam

Scholarship Update
+ The HOPE Teacher Scholarship Loan for Graduate Study in Critical Shortage Fields
+ Eligible Recipients – The HOPE Teacher Scholarship Loan Program assists a broad range of individuals, including: Teachers Without a Master’s Degree. This includes teachers who have a Bachelor’s Degree and are seeking an advanced degree in a critical shortage teaching field. Teachers and Individuals With a Master’s or Specialist Degree. Georgians With a Bachelor’s Degree Who Are Not Currently Teaching or Who Have Not Taught. This includes individuals who have a Bachelor’s Degree who are seeking an advanced degree in a critical shortage field.
+ Be a legal resident of Georgia; and
+ Be admitted for regular admission into a graduate school and into an advanced degree teacher education program leading to certification in a critical shortage field. Students whose admission status is provisional are not eligible.
+ Business Education (Grades 7-12)
+ Education for Exceptional Children (Grades P-12): Behavior Disorders, Hearing Impaired, Interrelated Special Education, Learning Disabilities, Mental Retardation, Orthopedically Impaired, Visally Impaired
+ English Education (Grades 7-12)
+ Foreign Language Education (Grades P-12): French, Spanish
+ Health Occupations (Grades 7-12)
+ Mathematics Education (Grades 7-12)
+ Middle Grades Education (Grades 4-8) with a primary concentration in: Math, Science, Math and Science
+ Science Education (Grades 7-12): Broad Field Science, Biology, Chemistry, Earth/Space, Physics
+ Trade and Industrial Education (Grades 7-12)
+ Apply online
+ Learn more at our free scholarship search web site
+ Search term: graduate teaching scholarship

Mail Bag
+ Audio feedback from Anji Bee
+ Dave writes in: It seems you have nailed down a (video) podcast method (that works well). Do you have any posts or other suggested sites explaining your process?
+ Full credit goes to Steve Garfield from SteveGarfield.com for his methods
+ Brian Flechtner writes in: I have recently been listening to your podcast and have found it helpful and encouraging. I am entering a M.A.T. graduate program this Fall and have been encouraged by your program to not just take loans and go further into debt. I was wondering if you could suggest some places to look for grants and scholarships for adults who are going back to school?
+ Be sure you’re subscribed to the show using iTunes – I’ve got a PDF in there on Teacher Loan Forgiveness

Podsafe Music
+ Lovespirals, Sandcastles
+ Becca Loebe will be at the Toad tomorrow night in Cambridge
+ I’ll be there recording it – stop by and say hi. Look for the guy with all the recording gear dragging behind him
+ 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 #311 : July 21, 2006

FAP311: SLM Profits, NASFAA and MRU, MSU, SoCal Edison, tuition hacks, the alternative student loan bridge, rewards hack, Black Lab

Student Financial Aid News
+ Reston, Va.-based student lender SLM Corp. posted net income of $724 million for the quarter ending June 30, up from $297 million — a 144% increase — from a year ago.
+ At quarter’s end, SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, has a total student loan portfolio of $130.1 billion, up 12% from the second quarter of 2005.
+ The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill Thursday that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said “constitutes a disintegration in the appropriate federal role in education, health and worker safety.” The $148.2 billion spending bill is virtually identical to the one passed Tuesday by the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies subcommittee, which Specter leads.
+ The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators is planning a formal response to MyRichUncle’s aggressive ad campaign, and is contemplating barring the company from its next annual meeting.
+ A new student aid program at Michigan State University (MSU) will offer the neediest students enrolling this fall enough grant and work-study aid to graduate without taking out any student loans. The MSU Board of Trustees approved the Spartan Advantage program as part of its 2006-07 budget during its July 17 meeting. The program will ensure enough aid to cover the average cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board.
+ “Offering access to world-class opportunities for success is an important part of the value of an MSU education, and this program is a beacon for those Michigan students with the greatest financial need who want the benefits of a world-class education,” said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon in a press release. “Since about half of our students receive some kind of financial aid, we’re really excited about the Spartan Advantage, a bold step to reduce the amount of debt our neediest students will accumulate during their time here.”
+ “Internships have displaced casual hourly jobs as the more typical summer experience for college students – one that may provide valuable professional contacts or even lead to full-time employment after graduation,” The New York Times reports. However, “as many as half of all internships are unpaid or low-paid, career counselors say. Some students even effectively end up paying tuition to do unpaid internships because some companies, concerned about labor laws, require students to receive academic credit for the experience.”
+ Tiered structure utility companies are giving a whammy to the biggest users of their services, from water to gas to electricity. Some, such as SoCal Edison, have 20 percent of their customers paying 80 percent of the bills. “But Ponce says she’s not sure where to cut back. She’s already running just two of her three pool pumps for only five hours a day, an hour less than what’s recommended during the summer, she said.”
+ In lighter news, the O’Reilly Podcasting Hacks book is pretty good

Scholarship Update
+ What else happens to your electric bill money?
+ Edison International Public Scholarship
+ 30 awards of $10,000 over four years for undergraduates
+ Internships and summer employment opportunities
+ 2.5 GPA
+ CSU placement standards for getting into college
+ Plan to major in any of the following disciplines: Math, Science, Engineering, Computer Science/Information Systems, Business or Economics
+ Plan to attend a four-year college in or adjacent to Edison’s service territory
+ Live in or attend a public high school in an area served by Southern California Edison
+ April 7 deadline
+ Detailed page at our student scholarship search web site
+ Search term: southern california edison scholarship

Financial Hacks
+ Tuition hacks today
+ The Alternative Student Loan Bridge
+ College or university late with federal aid but not bills?
+ Take out a private student loans to pay the bills on time
+ Then take the federal loan proceeds and pay off the private loan
+ Private student loans require no FAFSA and often fund faster than federal student loans
+ Act Education Loans can fund in as little as 5 business days
+ The Rewards Hack
+ Similar idea but you need to have the cash available
+ Pay with a rewards based credit card
+ Immediately pay off the credit card while the charge is in the grace period
+ Use federal or private student loans to pay off the tuition charge
+ Collect your rewards

Podsafe Music
+ Black Lab, See the Sun acoustic edition
+ 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/

Direct file download: MP3 file

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Financial Aid Podcast #310 : July 20, 2006

FAP310: MyRichUncle, Credit card debt, Missouri scholarships, audio feedback, mail bag, THE James Brown

Student Financial Aid News
+ Lender MyRichUncle has been questioning the integrity of financial aid administrators and their schools in newspaper ads (including a two-page spread in the July 16 Sunday New York Times) and on its Web site. (Samples: “Inducements. Also known as ‘payola’. Make sure that none of the administrators or counselors have received any gifts, expense paid trips, etc. from lenders.” Also, “Giving up your choice and blindly trusting your Financial Aid Office could cost you thousands of dollars and years of unnecessary hardship.”) NASFAA and its members are outraged at the MyRichUncle campaign and are preparing a detailed response to the misinformation it contains.
+ Let’s see if I can get both parties on the show.
+ A pair of U.S. senators and several Democratic governors pledged support for a federal funding plan introduced Wednesday by the Democratic Leadership Council that would give $150 billion in block grants to states over a 10-year period in an effort to help them keep college costs down.
+ The grant would award states money each year based on two variables: the number of students who attend two- and four-year colleges and the number of students who graduate. According to the proposal, states would agree to maintain current higher education spending and hold tuition increases to the overall inflation rate.
+ Despite a growing economy and low unemployment, nearly one in four Americans say they frequently fall behind in their monthly bills because they’re in debt, according to a national survey being released today. Worries over debt are so pervasive that 82 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed said debt is a “very serious or somewhat serious problem” that’s growing worse. The survey, conducted by a Republican pollster and a Democratic pollster on behalf of the Center for American Progress and the Center for Responsible Lending, shows the country’s growing “economic anxiety.”
+ U.S. credit card debt, cited as the No. 1 source of people’s debt in the survey, stands at $813 billion, according to John Halpin, a senior fellow at American Progress. He said the average American family is carrying more than $8,000 in credit card debt. Personal savings, meanwhile, is at seven-decade low, with Americans dipping into their savings or borrowing against lines of credit. Despite those sobering statistics, Americans actually are carrying debt well beyond credit cards, the study found. More than half of those surveyed said they owe more than $10,000. Two in 10 of those are $20,000 in debt, the survey found. Mortgage debt is not included in those figures.
+ That’s $122 billion in interest paid each year

Scholarship Update
+ How’s this for irritating? I went to search for scholarships for people returning to school after time off and got an ad for an e-Book for $40 about scholarships for them
+ $40? Come on! I call bull.
+ Charles Gallagher Student Financial Assistance Program
+ Can be used at any Missouri school that is accredited
+ FAFSA is required
+ $100 – $1,500
+ Deadline is April 1 of each year
+ Details at our free scholarship database
+ $1.67 billion in our database
+ Search terms: non-traditional student scholarships missouri

Mail Bag
+ Quick followup from yesterday’s show – Ed Gleason reminds us that if you’re not eligible for deferment, there are forbearance options as well.
+ Doc Bates writes in: I am starting back to school in January after a 15 year break. I am looking at a huge expence obviously. I have been accepted to Rockhurst University in Kansas City, MO. Do you have any advise for me on how to pay the 22 grand a year. Do you only handle student loans?
+ They have a Dean’s scholarship for incoming students there – $11,000
+ Yes, student loans are available
+ Stafford loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Private student loans at ActEducationLoans.com
+ Audio feedback from Steve Garfield
+ Audio feedback from Ross Mason

Podsafe Music
+ Heard this on the Jersey Todd show…
+ James Brown on the PMN?
+ Yes, THAT James Brown
+ Podcasting has hit the mainstream
+ James Brown, Gutbucket
+ 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/

Direct file download: MP3 file

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Financial Aid Podcast #309 : July 19, 2006

FAP309: DC Update, Retraction, Inflation, PPI, Quarter Million Dollar Scholarship, Mail Bag, Hungry Lucy

Student Financial Aid News
+ Retraction! The FAFSA for the 2006-2007 school year is very much still available. Thanks to listener Cassie Bound who pointed out the error
+ Without its chairman and a handful of other members present, the Senate subcommittee that determines funding for education programs and the National Institutes of Health passed a 2007 spending bill Tuesday that largely resembles legislation passed last month by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations.
+ The Senate version calls for a slight increase in NIH funding, and would sustain (at their 2006 levels) funding for several programs intended to prepare low-income students for college that were slated for elimination under President Bush’s budget request.
+ One noticeable difference: Where the House committee called for a $100 increase in the maximum Pell Grant award, the measure approved by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies calls for level funding at $4,050 for the fifth consecutive year. The government’s largest student grant program has been the subject of much debate throughout the appropriations process.
+ Among other education programs, funding for TRIO would be maintained at its 2006 level of $828.2 million. Like the House’s version of the bill, the Senate plan rejected the White House’s more-than 50 percent cut to the program. Gear Up would be financed at $303 million — equal to the House’s spending request and program’s 2006 funding. The Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program and funds for Perkins Loans would both remain roughly steady at $65 million. Upwards of $980 million is set aside for Federal Work Study in the bill.
+ The Campaign for America’s Future, a Washington-based policy group, estimates that some 200,000 Americans are being priced out of college education annually. Tuition at four-year colleges alone has climbed 40 percent since 2001.
+ Inflation is on the rise… but some analysts think the Fed wields less influence over inflation these days, making higher interest rates less effective as a tool to control it. They fear that further hikes could end up slowing the economy and hurting consumers without constraining prices.
+ Today’s inflation, these economists believe, is driven substantially by the value of commodities and basic materials — oil as well as copper, aluminum, steel and others. That commodity inflation, they argue, is the result of forces largely beyond the scope of high U.S. interest rates: volatile politics in the Middle East, for example, and rising demand for materials from the rapidly growing economies of China and India.
+ Yesterday, the PPI hit 0.5%. What does an unusually strong Producer Price Index mean for you? It’s an inflation indicator – which in turn means more interest rate hikes on Federal funds rate, which in turn affects Prime Rate, credit cards, mortgages, and so forth.

Scholarship Update
+ I made an incredibly lame PHP joke about the Graduate PLUS Loan
+ From Grad+ to Grad++
+ What the heck, let’s find a good C++ scholarship
+ 3 year stipend for $93,000 total
+ PLUS full tuition and required fees (figure $50K/year)
+ 466 awards given
+ Probably about $250,000 per award
+ $116.5M in awards
+ Deadline of January 6 of each year
+ It’s a DoD scholarship, but you are not required to serve in the military
+ Details at our free student scholarship search web site
+ Search term: C++ scholarship deadline
+ Reminder: Scholarship Points now in open beta

Mailbag
+ Cassie Bound saves the day and earns a $15 iTunes Gift Card
+ Clyde Buffington writes in to ask – how do I defer my loan payments for a little while?
+ Deferment forms available at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Someone from Kyrgystan writes in to ask about financial aid for US study
+ Check out StudyAbroadLoans.com or InternationalStudentLoan.com
+ Leah Lage writes in: I was wondering if you had any insight as to what else I
could do after graduation given my financial aid/student loans background.
+ Well, we’re hiring
+ Also, check out the Financial Aid Professional mailing list – jobs are posted pretty frequently on it
+ Check out school financial aid offices

Podsafe Music
+ Hungry Lucy, Fearful (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/

Direct file download: MP3 file

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Financial Aid Podcast #308 : July 18, 2006

FAP308: Identity theft all over the place, roads for sale, pricing, Louisiana return to learn, Belladonna

Student Financial Aid News
+ Graduate PLUS loan doors are FINALLY open!
+ Get it at GradLoans.com
+ One gotcha: you must have filed your FAFSA for this year
+ No FAFSA? Try a private student loan at AlternativeStudentLoan.com or ActEducationLoans.com
+ Selling off the country, piece by piece? Roads are going fast!
+ Student loan company Nelnet said on Monday that a computer data tape containing the personal information of approximately 188,000 customers is missing. The tape, in the possession of United Parcel Service (UPS), included data on loans serviced by Nelnet that were previously serviced by the College Access Network between Nov. 1, 2002, and May 31, 2006, the Lincoln, Nebraska-based company said.
+ Northwestern University officials are trying to contact about 17,000 students and applicants to the school after discovering hackers broke in to nine desktop computers on campus that contained personal information, the school said Friday. The university also is advising anyone who provided Social Security numbers to the admissions and financial aid office to contact the fraud departments of the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. The precaution is recommended by the Federal Trade Commission. Further, the school said those affected may want to ask credit bureaus to issue fraud alerts on their accounts.
+ The FTC has a very good ID theft site
+ According to the College Board’s latest Trends in College Pricing study, over the past decade the average inflation-adjusted published price of a private four year college (including room and board) has risen 32% to $29,026, while the net price an average family pays each year after all grants, discounts and tax benefits–has risen 21% to $19,400. During the same period, the average published price for a four-year state college has climbed 42% to $12,127, and the average net price to families has gone up 29% to $8,800. By contrast, in the decade ended in 2004, the median inflation-adjusted income for families headed by those aged 45 to 54 rose a paltry 3% to $61,111, the U.S. Census Bureau reports.

Scholarship Update
+ Return to Learn Rebuild Louisiana Student Financial Assistance Program
+ Many of the fall enrollment figures are in for Louisiana institutions that were emptied almost a year ago by Hurricane Katrina. Understandably, the numbers — especially students from out of state — are down, in some cases sharply. But colleges are now using $8.5 million in federal funds to offer special $1,000 need-based scholarships for displaced students to return to Louisiana.
+ The “return to learn” scholarships will be spread across the 30 public and 11 private institutions in the state according to the number of students they had in fall 2004 who were from areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
+ According to Theresa Hay, assistant commissioner for the Louisiana Board of Regents, the scholarships will be available to students who have not yet enrolled who were: at Louisiana institutions and were displaced; recent high school graduates who were displaced; citizens from affected areas who want to attend a Louisiana institution.
+ Details including eligibility and application at our free scholarship web site
+ No search term today, either

News You Can Use
+ Review of top tips to protect yourself from identity theft

Podsafe Music
+ Belladonna, Foreverland
+ 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/

Direct file download: MP3 file

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