FAP425: Student Loan Radio, Classical Music Edition

Out sick, but in place of a regular show, a compilation of great classical music.

Podsafe Music
+ Everly, Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusic
+ Mario Ajero, Beethoven’s Pathetique, Second Movement
+ Steven Kreinberg, Pachelbel’s Canon in D for Strings
+ In the Hands, Chopin’s Nocturne #55
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ 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 or 206-350-1208. AIM: FinAidPodcast Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

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FAP424: Making some beer money with gigs, Ursinus scholarship, tons of news, Enigma

Student Financial Aid News
+ From Banknet 360: SLM Corp. shareholders are beginning to question whether the Reston, Va.-based student lender is still a good investment.
+ Sallie Mae — SLM Corp.’s common name — controls $100 billion of the $380 billion student loan market, and its growth has been spurred by the rising costs of college tuition the subsequent increased reliance on debt to pay for it.
+ But since the November elections, which restored Democratic control of the House and Senate, Sallie Mae stocks have stumbled, dropping 5% the day after the election, and last week hitting a 52-week low of $45.20 per share.
+ Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz., is being criticized by peers, among others, for taking payments from San Francisco-based Education Finance Partners Inc. in exchange for sending it business.
+ ASU can receive a maximum payout of $40,000 through the deal if students borrow a minimum of $20 million per year.
+ The “preferred” lender arrangement with universities, known as “revenue reinvestment,” is a common practice for student lenders trying to secure private loan business.
+ The Democratic Congress has announced that it will not attempt to redo the 2007 budget, opting instead to work on the 2008 budget and keep federal funding at roughly 2006 levels. However, this change means that no significant new financial aid will be available, and a scheduled $100 increase in the Pell Grant also will not happen. Also, some higher education lobbyists predict that instead of an immediate cut in interest rates, the 2007 Congress will need to phase in rate cuts over a period of time to pay for them.
+ Need some relief for student loan payments before Congress gets to it? Student loan consolidation can help. 877-328-1565 or StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ About 70 community colleges will share nearly $125 million in grants awarded Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Labor in the second year of the Community-Based Job Training Initiative. The program awards competitive grants to two-year colleges to train workers in high-demand fields, such as health care, biotechnology and aerospace.
+ From the Chronicle of Higher Education: Officials at the University of California at Los Angeles have warned some 800,000 people — including students, alumni, and faculty and staff members — that their personal information was exposed when a computer hacker managed to break into a mammoth database used by campus employees.
+ The hacker first breached the database in October of 2005, exploiting a software flaw that UCLA’s computer-security technicians had not detected. Campus officials did not notice the breach until last month, when they identified “an exceptionally high volume of suspicious database queries,” according to a Web site the university set up after learning of the attacks. Over the year that he or she had access to the database, the hacker had “sought and obtained some Social Security numbers,” according to the site.
+ Do you get what you pay for? John Strassburger, the president of Ursinus College, a small liberal arts institution here in the eastern Pennsylvania countryside, vividly remembers the day that the chairman of the board of trustees told him the college was losing applicants because of its tuition. It was too low. So early in 2000 the board voted to raise tuition and fees 17.6 percent, to $23,460 (and to include a laptop for every incoming student to help soften the blow). Then it waited to see what would happen.
+ Ursinus received nearly 200 more applications than the year before. Within four years the size of the freshman class had risen 35 percent, to 454 students. Applicants had apparently concluded that if the college cost more, it must be better.

Scholarship Update
+ Zacharias National Scholarships from Ursinus College
+ $25,000 per year, renewable up to 4 years
+ For academic leaders with awards
+ $2,500 summer research grant
+ Requires FAFSA and interview
+ Deadline February 15 of each year
+ Details at our free scholarship search site

Beer Money
+ Tackling gigs
+ What’s your skill set?
+ What’s your spin?
+ Lots of gigs out on Craigslist
+ Develop a portfolio
+ Keep a spreadsheet of running gigs and a calendar
+ When you’re part time and freelance, reputation is even more important – even if you run late, keep in touch
+ What if you don’t have the skillsets? Develop them! They do pay.

Podsafe Music
+ Enigma, Principles of Lust
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ 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 or 206-350-1208. AIM: FinAidPodcast Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

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FAP423: How to write a great scholarship essay, our new education jobs board, inflation, cyber-crime, Jerzy Jung

Student Financial Aid News
+ A national survey of freshmen has found that what they most value in a college education is professional preparation, followed by academic quality and affordability. The survey was conducted by Eduventures, a consulting company.
+ The importance of professional preparation as the leading value driver was consistent across all levels of academic preparation- respondents who scored below 1,000 on the SAT were nearly identical in the value they place on professional preparation as those who scored in excess of 1,500. A range of professional-related programs and services were viewed as valuable to respondents, including 1) access to internships, 2) quality of career office, and 3) placement record with employers, respectively.
+ From Bloomberg: Federal Reserve policy makers will probably leave their benchmark interest rate unchanged today and signal the economy isn’t slowing enough to diminish the risk of higher inflation.
+ The Federal Open Market Committee will keep the rate at 5.25 percent, according to all 101 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, extending a respite from two years of increases that ended in June.
+ From the Chronicle of Higher Education: If there’s still a perception that cybercrime is the domain of teenage collectives and rogue actors, it’s time to scrap that notion. According to McAfee, the Internet-security firm, well-organized gangs are using “KGB-style” strategies to recruit collegiate computer-science students.
+ Just as the Russian intelligence agency sought out skilled students during the Cold War, savvy Internet gangs are trawling for underpaid college-goers who can engage in some effective virus-writing, reports The New Zealand Herald. Some groups have even identified promising students in other disciplines, convinced them to take computer-science courses, and then planted those students in businesses as “sleepers,” says the McAfee report.
+ According to McAfee, cybercrime is especially lucrative and tempting in the eastern part of Europe — where students may see hacking and online money-laundering as viable alternatives to low-paying jobs.

Scholarship Update
+ What makes a great scholarship essay?
+ Obey the rules rigidly – if an application says 500 words, 501 words is not okay.
+ Hit the deadline
+ Identify values and themes of the institution
+ Do research
+ Tie together concepts that other candidates will probably miss
+ Ze Frank’s That Makes Me Think Of
+ Collaborate with Google Docs!
+ Would your essay make a good movie? A good podcast? Is it fundamentally a good story?
+ Read it to people. Watch carefully their body language.
+ Use story language and structure – what’s the plot of your story? Is it boy meets girl? Quest? Underdog bests leader?

Jobcast: Our New Education Jobs Board
+ Come on by our education jobs board at Jobs.Edvisors.com
+ Focused on education jobs
+ Sign up is quick and painless
+ Unlike other job boards, you just copy and paste your cover letter and resume
+ Copy and paste right from a LinkedIn.com profile page
+ Option to consolidate your student loans as well during application
+ Add this to your career search toolbox
+ Watch out for that Apply to Job link when you’re logged in – one click and you’ve applied!

Podsafe Music
+ Jerzy Jung, Lips of Your Gods
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ 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 or 206-350-1208. AIM: FinAidPodcast Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

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FAP422: The Overflowing Mail Bag, News, Anita Borg Google Scholarship, Hydrogyn

Student Financial Aid News
+ A financial aid officer reports that a consolidation lender is using public records laws to force a college to turn over its student database so that they can pursue the students as customers
+ Eww.
+ Houston area real estate agent Julie Upton has decided to throw down on the competition. Like any good salesperson, Upton is always looking for new ways to attract customers. Recently, she struck upon what she thinks is some tantalizing bait. Instead of a free toaster, TV or a stay at a luxury hotel, Upton, of Realty Associates, is offering buyers a free Glock pistol with any home purchase of at least $150,000.
+ In the wee hours of Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate joined the House of Representatives in passing legislation that will extend a slew of popular tax breaks, including two with coveted by colleges. The measure, passed by a 79 to 9 margin in the Senate, is on its way to President Bush, who is expected to sign it.
+ One provision would extend through 2007 a tax deduction for “qualified higher education expenses,” which is available even to taxpayers who do not itemize deductions on their federal returns. The provision, which expired at the end of 2005, applies retroactively to the current 2006 calendar year.
+ Indiana University at Bloomington has become the latest flagship institution to improve aid packages for low-income students. The university announced Friday that it would provide the balance of tuition and fees for students who receive Pell Grants, score 1,150 or higher on the SAT, and maintain a 3.0 grade-point average while enrolled at the university.

Scholarship Update
+ It’s been the talk of the town since it was announced
+ 2007 scholarship application period now open
+ The Google 2007 Anita Borg Scholarship
+ Scholarships will be awarded based on the strength of candidates’ academic background and demonstrated leadership. A group of female undergraduate and graduate student finalists will be chosen from the applicant pool. The scholarship recipients will each receive a $10,000 scholarship for the 2007-2008 academic year. Remaining finalists will receive $1,000 each.
+ Candidates must be entering their senior year of undergraduate study or be enrolled in a graduate program in 2007-2008 at a university in the United States.
+ be Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related technical field majors.
+ be enrolled in full-time study in 2007-2008.
+ maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale or 4.5 on a 5.0 scale or equivalent in their current program.
+ Complete the online application form and submit the requested documentation via mail. All applications must be postmarked by Monday, January 15, 2007.
+ Expanding the scholarship program to women students in Europe. These recipients will each receive a €5,000 (or equivalent) scholarship for the 2007-2008 academic year, and are invited to a retreat at the Google office in Zurich, Switzerland. Applications for the Google Europe Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship are due Friday, January 12, 2007.
+ Details at our free scholarship search site

Mail Bag
+ Julian from MySpace writes in: i heard a lil of your show for the first time and it was very informative. i have a question for you. i am wanting to go back to school and get a degree and i haven’t been to school for about 7yrs. does that affect my chances to try and get help with school. i am working a sub-par job and wanting to further my life and do something i enjoy. how would i go about doing so. i cant afford school and so i might have to take 1 class since i cant afford a stronger schedule. i would appreciate your feedback if you can help me out. thank you for listening.
+ Pete from MySpace writes in: do u do anything for us students in the UK, preferrably England
+ Gary Lofurno writes: I am returning to school in January at UMass Boston to get a MS in Accounting. I am not your traditional student in I have been out of school for 20 plus years (yes, I am an aging baby boomer). I have taken a few courses recently in the last year in accounting to brush up on the subject.
+ I would like to try and get some scholarships to pay for my graduate education. Since my wife and I are working full time, have a house, savings, etc., and we do pretty well financially, I am leary to fill out the FAF or other government forms because many times they require you to go through your savings before you can get aid.
+ Obviously, my wife and I are saving for our retirement, and since its a lot closer off in terms of years than say your average listener, we do not want to have to tap into any of that money or our emergency savings funds.
+ I know the mass society of accounts or something like that has a schollarship for returning students like myself, and, I am registed on findaid.com, but, do you have any suggestions as to where I can look for scholarships that would be appropriate. I have very good grades, and certainly, we can afford to pay for it, and I have help with tuition reimbersement from my company, but a scholarship award or two of even a little money would help us be able to save more for retirement now since we need to catch up in our retirement saving to be ready to retire.
+ Any help would be greatly, appreciated.
+ Alicia Thompson calls in
+ The basics of the Financial Aid Process:
+ Get tips and tutorials, then file your FAFSA at FAFSAonline.com
+ Find scholarships with our scholarship site, StudentScholarshipSearch.com
+ Get a Stafford federal student loan at StaffordLoan.com
+ Get a private student loan at AlternativeStudentLoan.com

Podsafe Music
+ Hydrogyn, Breaking Me Down
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ 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 or 206-350-1208. AIM: FinAidPodcast Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast

FAP421: Free stuff Friday focused on video on the net, video scholarship, tax breaks, FFELP, Nathan Anderson

Student Financial Aid News
+ The Democrat-led push to make college more affordable by cutting interest rates, expanding Pell Grants, and making tuition tax deductible could cost more than $60 billion over five years, according to an estimate by Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at Stanford Washington Policy Research.
+ Congress may look to take some of those funds from private lenders’ interest rate subsidies and federal loan guarantees, Seiberg added.
+ However, according to analysts at Prudential Securities, even if Congress eliminated the entire Federal Family Education Loan Program — the program under which private lenders operate — it would not produce enough savings to cut interest rates in half to 3.4%, raise Pell Grants, and create the new $3,000 tax credit for college tuition costs that Democrats are proposing.
+ As deans gathered in Washington for the annual meeting of the Council of Graduate Schools, one topic of concern buzzing through the air was how much borrowing students must do these days.
+ “We have seen much more emphasis on borrowing, especially among underrepresented minorities,” said Kenneth Redd, director of research and policy analysis with the Council of Graduate Schools. Redd noted that funding from grants and assistantships has not risen fast enough to cover increasing educational expenses.
+ For the 1995-6 academic year, the average price of attendance for a master’s program was $9,272 and $13,423 for a doctoral program. By 2003-4, the annual price of attendance had jumped to $14,825 annually for a master’s and $20,803 for a doctoral program – a rise of 60 percent and 56 percent, respectively. Across this same time period, an increasing proportion of students began taking out loans to finance their education. Around 43 percent of minorities took out an average of $19,103 in loans annually to finance a year of doctoral study in 2003-4, while only 34 percent of white doctoral student required a loan, averaging $17,987. The size of these loans, Redd mentioned, is almost double the amount from the mid-’90s.
+ Need graduate school funding? Stop by GradLoans.com for graduate student loans
+ From NASFAA: “‘If you make more than $60,000, you’re probably not going to get any need-based aid,’ said Murray Haberman, executive director of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, which advises lawmakers on higher education issues,” The Sacramento Bee reports. “Several private, elite schools have been ramping up financial aid packages to moderate-income families. … The state’s college systems, with rising fees and housing costs, aren’t keeping up, Haberman said. He said families are taking on too much debt to cover the gap.”
+ More from NASFAA: “Congress is running out of time to preserve a tuition tax break that allows millions of families in Michigan and nationwide to deduct the cost of college tuition and fees on their 2006 federal taxes,” reports MLive.com. “The U.S. House rushed to finish work on the legislation Wednesday. Senate approval will also be needed before the bill can go to the president for his signature.”

Scholarship Update
+ One Person Can Make a Difference Video Scholarship Contest
+ $6,500 total – $3,000 first prize
+ Entrants must be enrolled in and attending undergraduate or graduate college classes, full or part time, between September 1, 2006 and June 8, 2007.
+ Entries must interpret the theme, “One Person Can Make a Difference.”
+ Each entry must be accompanied by a completed entry form. All forms must be signed. This form may be photocopied.
+ Entries must be 5 minutes or less in length.
+ Entrants must obtain all necessary rights and permissions for all material used in each entry, including any and all non-original aspects.
+ Entries must be submitted on standard, full-sized NTSC-format VHS tape or as Region 1 or regionless DVDs playable on all standard commercial DVD players. Entries playable only in CD-ROM formats will not be eligible.
+ Each tape must be labeled with the entrant’s name, address and telephone number, as well as the title and length of the entry.
+ All entries must be received by June 8, 2007.
+ Details on our free scholarship search site
+ Scholarship Points drawing at the end of the month!

Free Stuff Friday
+ Vixy YouTube Podcaster
+ iSquint for the Mac – convert to iPod video format
+ Revver video ads
+ Transmisson torrent downloader
+ TED Talks – fantastic collection of videos from TED
+ VLC – VideoLAN Player

Podsafe Music
+ Nathan Anderson, Sweet Misery
+ By request from Bryan Person
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ 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 or 206-350-1208. AIM: FinAidPodcast Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

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FAP420: Power MySpacing Your Next Job, CFA Scholarship Program, FAFSA, ACSFA, Ayla Brown

Student Financial Aid News
+ It’s Pearl Harbor Day – see last year’s show for FDR’s speech
+ For profits beginning to look overseas for new opportunities
+ ACSFA interview yesterday on college access
+ Teaching people the FAFSA
+ FAFSA tutorials at FAFSAonline.com
+ 1 financial aid counselor/college counselor for 1500 students?
+ What else can we do? Leave your comments in the show notes
+ Banks recruiting heavily for restructuring experts
+ Waves of spam making email delivery harder than ever
+ If you take out a loan, product, or service, add that company’s domain to your not-spam list!

Scholarship Update
+ New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) CFA Scholarship Program
+ A CFA scholarship entitles the recipient to attend NYSSA’s CFA Weekly Review Course for free (January) and take the June 2007 CFA examination for an administrative fee of $150. ($1600 and $1200)
+ Student candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent no later than December 31, 2007 or
+ Applicants must have the equivalent of four plus years in qualified investment work experience.
+ Student candidates must be enrolled in a college or university within 75 miles of New York City.
+ Applicants must meet all of the qualifications for registration as a CFA candidate, including two professional references (CFAs, academic advisors, deans, supervisor, or manager).
+ Students in graduate school need not be full-time students to qualify for the scholarship.
+ Scholarship candidates do not have to be a member of NYSSA, although you are encouraged to join.
+ Scholarship candidates do not have to be a member of CFA Institute, although you may apply for membership.
+ All documentation must be received by NYSSA by Friday, December 22, 2006.
+ Details at our free scholarship search site
+ Scholarship Points drawing at the end of the month!

Jobcast
+ Power MySpacing your next job
+ What job do you want to hold next? e.g. Financial Aid Counselor
+ What are the supervisory titles for people in those jobs? e.g. Director of Student Loan Consolidation
+ Occupation: X?
+ X site:myspace.com
+ Add them as friends way before you need a job!
+ Ping them once you’re ready to start looking

Podsafe Music
+ Ayla Brown, Know You Better
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ 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 or 206-350-1208. AIM: FinAidPodcast Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast

FAP419: Making beer money with the iTunes Music Store, Christopher Reeve scholarship, end of grant programs, Jon Schmidt

Student Financial Aid News
+ A high school senior from Oregon won a $100,000 scholarship from the Siemens Foundation in one of the nation’s premier high school science competitions on Monday for his research in a new area of mathematics called string topology.
+ The research conducted by Dmitry Vaintrob, 18, a student at South Eugene High School in Eugene, Oregon, could provide knowledge that mathematicians and physicists might apply to understand electricity, magnetism and gravity, judges at the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology said.
+ “His work is at the Ph.D. level, publishable and already attracting the attention of researchers,” said competition judge Michael Hopkins, a professor of mathematics at Harvard.
+ From Inside Higher Ed: Susan M. Dynarski, an associate professor of public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, suggested that the government’s student grant programs, including the Pell Grant Program, and the various federal tax breaks for college costs be merged into one mammoth tax credit program.
+ Because the tax breaks she envisions would be refundable (meaning that it would be available even to taxpayers who owe no taxes), delivered to students and families at the time they pay tuition (rather than after the fact, at tax time), and cover tuition, fees, room and board, they would help low-income students who would not otherwise attend college, not just the middle-class students who are the primary beneficiaries of existing college tax breaks like the Hope Scholarship, Dynarski said. The other major advantage of a single program, she said, is that the current maze of grant and tax incentives is too confusing for many low-income families to maneuver, which turns some number of them away from college altogether. (She noted that the publication that explains the tuition tax breaks is 82 pages long.)
+ From NASFAA: A recent Noel-Levitz sponsored research project Engaging the “Social Networking” Generation, found that 72 percent of high school juniors and seniors would like to engage with their admissions and financial aid counselors via instant messaging. More than half of all students surveyed would like the ability to chat online with their prospective school counselors.
+ Trivia: Nigerian email scams are often called 419 scams after the particular section of Nigerian law dealing with advance fee fraud
+ Too good to be true? It is.
+ Smell fishy? It is.

Scholarship Update
+ The Heart of America Foundation’s Christopher Reeve Award
+ Presented each year to an extraordinary youth who has demonstrated tremendous courage and compassion in serving his or her community. Nominees should be high school seniors or younger and the awardee must be a high school senior or younger at the time of the award in December. Nominations will be considered from September through November each year by an awards review committee. One award recipient will be selected by the end of December, and will receive a $1000 scholarship for post secondary education.
+ Nominator’s name, relationship to nominee, and complete contact information
+ Nominee’s complete contact information, including address, phone, email, age
+ Nominee’s school name, address and current grade level
+ Length of time doing volunteer work
+ Approximate hours of volunteer service
+ Details of volunteer work for each project
+ What sets the nominee apart from other volunteers
+ Three references with day time contact information
+ Any supporting documentation (i.e. awards, articles, etc).
+ Details at our free scholarship search site
+ Scholarship Points drawing coming up at the end of the month

Beer Money
+ iTunes affiliate program
+ Netflix affiliate program
+ Linkshare affiliate management
+ iTunes is 5% of anything in the store
+ Netflix is $9 per signup
+ Join LinkShare Today!
+ A beer money section will be going into the Fourth Edition of Scholarship Search Secrets!

Podsafe Music
+ Jon Schmidt, Homecoming
+ Example iTunes link:
+ Example redirected link: Redirected link to Jon’s song on iTunes
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ 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 or 206-350-1208. AIM: FinAidPodcast Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast

FAP418: Learn a ninja technique for International Ninja Day, MIT, education gift cards, Munk

Student Financial Aid News
+ Best idea yet: Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Md., this holiday season is offering gift cards, good to pay for one course for a semester, or a whole semester of courses. The AACC “Gift of Education” card can be purchased at various locations around the campus and town. The card can be put toward any class the school offers.
+ The Massachusetts Institute of Technology showed the top return on its endowment — 23 percent — among the 25 American universities with the largest endowments, according to a survey by Bloomberg.com. MIT narrowly overtook Yale University, which had a return of 22.9 percent.
+ One of the top questions on Yahoo Answers and in the financial aid world deals with the fact that family structures in the 21st century can be radically different than what’s on the FAFSA form
+ How do you get around this? Professional judgement.
+ In sort of lighter news, Austin Peay State University has adopted a new policy requiring that students’ senior art exhibits take place on campus. The shift follows a furor over the decision of a local museum to remove a student exhibit, called “The Fat Is in the Fire,” featuring flags on which comments about obesity were written and a flag that was deep fried in peanut oil, according to The Leaf Chronicle of Clarksville, Tenn.

Scholarship Update
+ One of the guys behind Ask A Ninja is Douglas Sarine, a 1995 graduate of Appalachian State University
+ Appalachian State University Academic Promise Scholarship
+ $1000 award
+ Deadline March 01, 2007
+ The Academic Promise Scholarship provides financial support for Appalachian freshmen whose high school record predicts success in college but whose financial need is not fully met by state and federal financial aid. Priority for the Academic Promise Scholarship is given to students who meet these criteria and who will be the first in their families to graduate from a four-year college or university. This scholarship is renewable with a 3.25 cumulative GPA.
+ Details at our free student scholarship search site

Ninja News You Can Use
+ It’s international ninja day
+ Ninjutsu is a martial art
+ The focus is on self protection, which is somewhat different than self defense
+ Learn a ninja technique today on your iPod or computer!
+ The quick draw technique
+ Want to learn more about how to become a real ninja? Visit Stephen K. Hayes’ schools!

Podsafe Music
+ Munk, I Am (Acoustic)
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ 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 or 206-350-1208. AIM: FinAidPodcast Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

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FAP417: The Fast Overview of Financial Aid for Yahoo Answers Folks, FSEOG and grants, when to buy a house, Doug Boldt

Student Financial Aid News
+ So when is the best time to buy a house?
+ Simple P/E – when cost to own is less than cost to rent
+ Salisbury University, in Maryland, has started a five-year study in which applicants with above a 3.5 grade-point average in high school will have the option of not submitting SAT or ACT scores. Officials hope to attract a more diverse applicant pool. Many colleges have been dropping SAT requirements in recent years, and supporters of the test have noted that those institutions generally have been small liberal arts colleges. Salisbury is a public institution with more than 7,000 students.
+ Financial Aid Newsletter comes out today
+ Grace period student loan consolidation reminder
+ Hottest topic in blogging and new media in 2006 has been paid posting and disclosure
+ Disclosure: if it’s a student loan, it’s probably a Student Loan Network product!

Scholarship Update
+ What grants from the government are available?
+ The Pell Grant
+ The Academic Competitiveness Grant
+ The SMART Grant
+ The FSEOG – $200 – $4,000 for the neediest students
+ All grants are governed and controlled by the FAFSA
+ File your free FAFSA form online
+ More FSEOG information at our free scholarship web site

Focus on Financial Aid
+ Out playing on Yahoo Answers
+ There’s still a tremendous amount of confusion about the whole financial aid process
+ Where to begin?
+ The FAFSA. File your FAFSA form as close to January 1 as possible.
+ Scholarships. Grab our Scholarship Search eBook and start hacking away.
+ Stafford federal student loans. Low interest, fixed rates, sometimes subsidized.
+ Private student loans. For whatever’s left.
+ A job, a business, or something to bring money in.

Podsafe Music
+ Doug Boldt, I Saw Three Ships/Good King Wenceslas
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ 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 or 206-350-1208. AIM: FinAidPodcast Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast

FAP415: Free stuff Friday, 3.400 scholarships from the Oregon Student Assistance Commission, 5 lies of financial aid, Mario Ajero

Student Financial Aid News
+ The South Alabamian publishes the 5 lies of college financial aid
+ A lie is not a myth. A myth is not a lie. They are very different creatures – go look up myth and mythos
+ 1. You can’t afford college.
+ 2. You have to be very poor, very smart or very talented to qualify for financial aid.
+ 3. You can get more scholarships by paying someone to search for you. Scholarship scams are everywhere.
+ 4. My child will pay for college, so my salary doesn’t matter.
+ It counts on the FAFSA form!
+ 5. You can wait until you get accepted to a college before worrying about financial aid.
+ The National Institutes of Health has issued new guidelines that allow for more than one principal investigator on a grant.

Student Scholarship Search
+ Okay, state of Oregon. You’ve really, really impressed me.
+ The state of Oregon and the Oregon Student Assistance Commission has created a common application for Oregon scholarships
+ 3,400 scholarships – one application.
+ Deadline March 1
+ Thousands, maybe millions of dollars
+ One application!
+ Wow.
+ Detailed information at our free scholarship web site

Free Stuff Friday
+ Inside Redbox
+ Jingle Free 411 – ad sponsored (800-FREE-411)
+ Musician? Check out Online Music Marketing, Jay Moonah’s free podcast
+ Videographer? Check out Izzy Video, Israel Hyman’s free video lesson podcast
+ Free Scholarship Search Secrets eBook
+ Free eBook – the Book of Flow, or how to get your groove
+ Random: free postage scale from the Post Office
+ Online coupon codes
+ Free web site optimization software

Podsafe Music
+ Mario Ajero, Pachelbel Canon in D
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time – visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ 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 or 206-350-1208. AIM: FinAidPodcast Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast