Student Loans Videos
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FAP847: Payday loans, foreclosures, PLUS loans Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Tons of foreclosure news - foreclosures up 122%, some states tripling or quadrupling + If you re a parent, the new legislation for PLUS loans is in effect - if you need to borrow to pay for education, take a look at the PLUS loan + Payday loan alert from yesterday + Stafford federal student loans + Parent PLUS loans + Private student loans Scholarship Update + Create an original Starship Troopers 3: Marauder poster or video Public Service Announcement and be eligible to win a $250 scholarship and prize pack worth $589.95. Deadline is August 27, 2008. All entries must be an original English language creation and must include the Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment logos as well as the August 5th release date. No purchase necessary. Open to any member of Brickfish who is a resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, has access to the Internet, and is 18 or older at the time of entry. + Details at our free college scholarship search site Free Stuff Friday + Some perfume from Nina Ricci + Bunch of trash bags + Calgoo + Slydial leaves direct voicemail on mobiles + Google Maps adds walking directions + Fruit picking season if you live near a farm - and you might + More fun games - Aurora Feint, Life, Labyrinth, Exposure - all for iPod Touch and iPhone Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Financial Aid discussion forums + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. ShareThis

FAP846: FICO scores, NASFAA survey, cover letters Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + An interesting development in private student loans and credit scores + NASFAA released a survey of financial aid officers about their concerns over the credit crunch - some highlights: + 44% of financial aid officers are very concerned, 46% somewhat + 43% think families and students are concerned, 12% very concerned + 26% have a backup plan in case funding is not available + That data makes ME concerned - if 90% are concerned or very concerned, why do only 26% have a backup plan? Scholarship Update + What Dream (Jobs) Are Made Of Scholarship + Show off your passion for a particular industry or career by sharing why you are the best candidate for your dream job. Who would you interact with, and how? How would your lifestyle change? What can you do to actually achieve this dream? Create a 1-2 minute video that outlines what your dream job would be and why you should have it. Submit your VIDEO entry to the What Dream (Jobs) Are Made Of Campaign. + $1,000 + Deadline is September 4, 2008. + Open to anyone in the continental U.S. who has access to the Internet, and is 18 or older at the time of entry. All prize winners must be 18 or older. + Details at our free college scholarship search site + Remember the Scholarship Idol contest! JobCast + I cannot emphasize enough that your resume and cover letter MUST answer two questions + What s in it for me, the hiring manager + So what? + All I hear is me, me, me, me, me + Do your homework + Get behind the HR firewall + Provide some real, immediate value in your cover letter - show me what you could do with my Stafford loan site or something Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Financial Aid discussion forums + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. ShareThis

FAP843: How to pick a student credit card, $25,000 scholarship Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Bloomberg: 9% of companies plan to hire. Wages fall 2.4%. 28% of companies increasing prices. Tough economic times - if you re on the employment trail, there s a difficult road ahead in the short term. Read Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside, both by Seth Godin, for ideas on how you can personally weather the slump and help your respective companies turn things around. + BusinessWeek: Universities and their alumni associations have discovered an unlikely and disturbing source of revenue: Increasingly, they are selling students personal information to big credit-card companies eager for young customers. + Using state public disclosure laws, BusinessWeek has obtained more than two dozen confidential contracts between major schools and card-issuing banks keen to sign up undergraduates with mounting expenses for tuition, books, and travel. In some instances, universities and alumni groups receive larger payments from the banks if students use their school-branded cards more frequently. + Some of the country s best-known and largest schools have multimillion-dollar credit-card deals, including the Universities of Michigan, Minnesota, and South Florida. + Inside Higher Ed: New York’s governor, David A. Patterson, plans today to back the creation of a major new student loan program for the state, potentially providing hundreds of thousands of students with loans at significantly lower interest rates than they now obtain through private borrowing, The New York Times reported. The loan proposal is part of the final report of a special commission on higher education, appointed by Eliot Spitzer during his brief term as governor. The final report — also due out today — reiterates many of the themes and ideas of the commission’s first report, and calls for a major infusion of funds into higher education. It is unclear, however, how much money and political will are available for these ideas. Scholarship Update + National Geographic Geography Bee + For students in grades 4-8 + The National Geographic Bee occurs in three stages, beginning at the school level. Schools that register for the Bee receive materials to hold their competitions. Each school winner takes a written test, and the top hundred scorers in each state and territory compete at the state level. State-level Bees are held in the spring, and the winner of each state Bee proceeds to the national competition. The 55 state and territory winners meet at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., for the national competition. The number of contestants is narrowed to ten finalists, who compete for a $25,000 college scholarship. The second- and third-place winners receive $15,000 and $10,000 scholarships, respectively. + Deadline October 15 + Your school must enroll - contact your principal! + Details at our free college scholarship search site Financial Aid 101 + How to pick a student credit card + You probably don t need one + A debit card is good enough 99% of the time + A stored value card is also a great idea + If you do get one, look for rates and fees + No annual fees! + Grace period - as long as possible + Look at how rates are calculated - many are Prime Rate, which is not bad now. Some may be LIBOR, which at the moment is higher than Prime. + Look how the default rate is calculated and when it is triggered - default in normal lending typically applies to someone past 90 days due, but with credit cards, it can be as little as exceeding your credit limit by a dollar. + Look at late fees - some can be as high as 29%! + Avoid two cycle average daily balance billing, which is a jack + Who the heck cares if your college s logo or mascot is on the card? + Rewards programs are often not helpful - run the numbers! + FULL DISCLOSURE: StudentPlatinum.com is a Student Loan Network site that offers student credit cards. Not all of them are a good deal. I expect you to do your research. Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Financial Aid discussion forums + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. ShareThis

FAP842: Illegal downloads of textbooks, Free Stuff Friday Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Boston Globe: Faced with soaring prices for textbooks, cash-strapped students have discovered a tempting, effective, but illicit alternative - pirated electronic books, available for free over the Internet. + It s not just textbooks that are being downloaded improperly. Ed McCoyd, director of digital policy at the Association of American Publishers in New York, said a survey in May located about 1,100 titles available illegally online, including novels and books on current events. + But textbook piracy is particularly seductive, McCoyd said, because students are often hard-pressed to pay for academic books that can cost more than $100, three times the price of most other books. + Well duh. College is more expensive than ever, the economy s in the toilet, and every other expense is through the roof. What did you expect? + The Student Loan Network does not condone infringement of intellectual property, but stay tuned in August for our cheap textbooks eBook + Inside Higher Ed: Undersecretary of Education Sara Tucker’s plan, students would find out almost immediately after submitting their much shorter federal student aid application — truncated to just 9 questions from the current 102 — exactly how much federal grant, subsidized and unsubsidized loan and tax break funds they would qualify for, based on their adjusted gross income and number of family members. (Right now students find out at that stage, usually in January or February, only how much their family is expected to contribute, which may discourage rather than encourage students to go to college, Tucker said.) The awards would be indexed based on an as-yet-undetermined formula — something like the average cost of attendance at a four-year public institution, for instance — that would essentially set a maximum amount of federal aid for which a student could qualify. + The sources of federal aid would be greatly streamlined. Federal grant aid, which now flows through about a dozen programs (and rising), would be consolidated into just the Pell Grant Program, providing an additional $1.7 billion that would increase the maximum grant by $370, Tucker said. (No Perkins Loans, no Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, no SMART Grants.) What the student loan program would look like is unclear, Tucker said, given the recent turmoil in that sphere. Work study and education tax breaks would continue to be part of aid packages, the latter particularly for upper-income students. + Still some work to be done, but that s some progress Scholarship Update + Show Us Your Art Scholarship + Submit a picture of a drawing, painting or other mixed media project of your original work for a chance to win $1,000 scholarship. Deadling is July 23, 2008. No purchase necessary. Open to anyone who is a resident of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia or Canada (excluding Quebec) has access to the Internet, and is 13 or older at the time of entry. + Details at our free college scholarship search site + Plus, embarrass yourself for $1,000 with our Scholarship Idol contest Free Stuff Friday + Borders free 12 oz beverage with cafe purchase + Pill pockets for pets + Degree for men + Clorox for colors + Free sample stuff like this is ideal for dorm rooms + YouTorrent legal torrents + My favorite iPod Touch and iPhone apps + Facebook, Tap Tap Revenge, Mocha VNC, MyStreets, Shakespeare, Instapaper, Last.fm, Pandora, MySpace, Twitterific, Epocrates, and REMOTE. zOMG. + Google Elections Video Search gadget + 20 healthy foods under $1 Free Song of the Week + A tribute to Heath Ledger s Joker + Madsumo, There s So Many Ways I Can Kill You Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Financial Aid discussion forums + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. ShareThis

FAP841: Read your student loan applications before you sign Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Star Tribune: A class-action lawsuit has been filed against St. Paul-based student lender Northstar Higher Education for allegedly breaking its contract with student borrowers. + The suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, says the lender broke its contract by eliminating its T.H.E. Repayment Bonus a 0.75 percentage point interest-rate reduction to cope with the credit crunch. + While Northstar might be facing financial difficulties comparable to other banking institutions, this does not provide it with carte blanche to breach its contractual obligations, said the suit, which is seeking monetary damages and contractual interest-rate reductions for anyone who had a loan with Northstar on Feb. 18. The suit was filed on behalf of plaintiff Jennifer So of California by the law firm of Kabateck Brown Kellner. + Northstar has yet to receive a copy of the complaint. But in a statement, General Counsel Mark Lindgren said: Northstar takes its obligations to its customers seriously and believes it has fully complied with the terms of its agreements. In particular, Northstar has always sought to provide its customers with the benefits from the T.H.E. Bonus but has never guaranteed that the bonus would be available under any and all market conditions. + Borrower benefits are never part of the promissory note - read it carefully + Always, always, always READ a contract before you sign it + There might be a clause in there about your first-born child, and it s legally binding Scholarship Update + Brickfish Honest Foods Ad Scholarship + Design an Honest Foods magazine ad and your layout could be the inspiration for all the company s marketing materials. Winner receives a $500 scholarship. Deadline is August 21, 2008. No purchase necessary. Open to anyone who is a resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, has access to the Internet, and is 13 or older at the time of entry. + Details at our free college scholarship search site JobCast + The buzz is building again about the social media resume + Job market worst for college graduates in years + Use social media to differentiate yourself + Example social media resume + The social media resume does NOT replace a traditional resume + Potential for discrimination + Are you on LinkedIn? + Watch this LinkedIn session! + Grab a copy of our How to Write a Killer Cover Letter eBook Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Financial Aid discussion forums + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. ShareThis

Image via Wikipedia FAP826: Deceptive student loan marketing, Sallie Mae leak Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + The FTC has issued a guide on deceptive student loan marketing + If you are considering a private student loan, it’s important to know whom you’re doing business with and the terms of the loan. The FTC and ED offer these tips to help you recognize questionable claims and practices related to private student loans. + Some private lenders and their marketers use names, seals, logos, or other representations similar to those of government agencies to create the false or misleading impression that they are part of or affiliated with the federal government and its student loan programs. ED does not send advertisements or mailers, or otherwise solicit consumers to borrow money. If you receive a student loan solicitation, it is not from ED. + Don’t let promotions or incentives like gift cards, credit cards, and sweepstakes prizes divert you from assessing whether the key terms of the loan are reasonable. + Don’t give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or over the Internet unless you know with whom you are dealing. Private student lenders typically ask for your student account number — often your Social Security number (SSN) or Personal Identification Number (PIN) — saying they need it to help determine your eligibility. However, because scam artists who purport to be private student lenders can misuse this information, it is critical to provide it or other personal information only if you have confidence in the private student lender with whom you are dealing. + Check out the track record of particular private student lenders with your state Attorney General (www.naag.org), your local consumer protection agency (www.consumeraction.gov), and the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org). + The Student Loan Network does not engage in deceptive marketing tactics of any kind, mainly because we try to avoid screwing over our customers - word of mouth is powerful for positive talk about products and services, but absolutely deadly for negative talk about when you screw up + Inside Higher Ed: U.S. Education Department officials have spent weeks intensely reviewing the federal student loan program as part of their efforts to ensure continued access to loans for college students. Department officials formally unveiled more of the immediate fruits of those efforts Wednesday, laying out the terms under which the government will buy loans made by lenders who are unable to sell them to other investors. The terms described Wednesday are consistent with those the department unveiled in May, in a plan that was generally well-received by lenders. But perhaps the real news out of Wednesday’s announcement was that the agency’s review of the loan program — and the insights it has gained from discussions with Treasury Department officials and finance experts — have inspired its leaders to contemplate anew a broader reassessment of the entire federal student aid system, Under Secretary of Education Sara Martinez Tucker said in a telephone news conference Wednesday. Tucker said that the review would be consistent with the recommendations of the Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, which called for a streamlining of the myriad programs and types of aid through which the government now finances students’ higher educations. There is an “opportunity to look at the entire federal student-aid system,” Tucker said. + Chronicle: Sallie Mae (ticker: SLM), the nation s largest student-loan company, has a contractual arrangement with USA Funds, the nation s largest guarantee agency, that gives the lender extensive financial and operational control over the guarantor that oversees its work, according to a copy of the contract obtained by The Chronicle. + The contract, a copy of which has also been posted on the Internet in recent days, shows a relationship that a former high-ranking Education Department official described as so intertwined and detrimental to the interests of students and taxpayers that the department should revisit its controversial 2004 decision to allow the partnership to continue. + Wikileaks has a copy and Sallie Mae is threatening legal action to take it down, so if you d like to see it, grab it sooner rather than later Scholarship Update + Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Blu-ray are changing the way you watch movies! Be part of the ultimate in high definition by creating your own poster, ad or video for Blu-ray. Sony encourages you to design an original, exciting and passionate expression of why Blu-ray offers the best movie experience with its high definition, better than cable or satellite quality, better picture than DVD and pure hi-def audio! Come up with an incredible idea and incorporate the Blu-ray and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment logos as well as the tagline Why Blu? and you could win amazing Sony prizes including a Sony PlayStation 3 with built-in Blu-ray Disc Player and $250 cash or scholarship! + Grand Prize: One winner, selected by Sony from the top 50 highest-scoring entries, will win a Sony PlayStation 3 with a built in Blu-ray Disc player. Sony will also include a collection of 8 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Blu-ray movies including Surf s Up, Open Season, Across the Universe, Hitch, Fifth Element, Hellboy, A Knight s Tale, 50 First Dates, and $250 cash or scholarship! (Total ARV: $889) + July 30 deadline + Create an original Blu-ray poster, ad or video expressing how Blu-ray is the best way to watch movies and incorporate the Why Blu? tagline. You may use any of the provided assets from the Blu-ray Art Kit in your creation. Don t forget to include both the Blu-ray and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment logos! + Details at our free college scholarship search site JobCast + Got an inquiry yesterday about why the cover letter is important + am looking for feedback from Boston-area hiring managers and recruiters on cover letters: How important are they in narrowing down a search? Do they help you weed through a stack of resumes to more quickly find the candidates who may be the best match? In your experience, do the cover letters really reflect on the qualifications and skills of the individuals? What do you look for in cover letters that has proven to help you select strong candidates? What else does your experience tell you about cover letters? + A fine time to mention our free eBook, How to Write a Killer Cover Letter Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Financial Aid discussion forums + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. ShareThis

FAP821: Financial Aid and Small Business Guest Interview Listen now: I had the opportunity recently to appear on Small Biz Survival, an excellent podcast hosted and produced by Becky McCray. We talked for a few minutes about small business and the FAFSA, the credit score in relation to private student loans, and small town scholarship opportunities. Here s the original show notes by Becky at her blog. Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Financial Aid discussion forums + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. ShareThis

FAP817: Photography scholarship, state student loan agencies, authority Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Chronicle: Despite last month s unprecedented action by Congress and the Bush administration to shore up the student-loan industry, some of those state-authorized organizations say they may not return to the loan business this year, and others are cutting some of the borrower benefits and services they provide. + Nine state loan agencies stopped issuing either new federally backed student loans or new private student loans this year, according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Those agencies are in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania organization has also announced that it will reduce the grants it makes to about 160,000 low- and middle-income students by an average of $500. + In response to the recently crafted federal rescue plan, agencies in Kentucky, Missouri, and New Hampshire have announced that they will resume lending this year. + You can still shop around - and yes, the Student Loan Network is included Scholarship Update + Each year we hold a competition for photographers who are either attending a full-time photography course or are under the age of 24. Entrants must submit a portfolio of their work and a brief synopsis of a project they would undertake if they won the scholarship. The prize is £2,500 towards their assignment. Metro Imaging also offer £500 worth of vouchers to the winner and £250 to those awarded highly commended and commended. + The scholarship will be a prize of £3000 towards the cost of an assignment for The Sunday Times Magazine and £500 for the runners up. The winning entry and selected finalist’s work will be exhibited at the Getty Gallery in Central London. The scholarship is open to anyone of any age attending a recognised photographic course and to any photographer up to the age of 24. + completed entry form + A portfolio of not more than 12 low resolution digital photographs (please follow our instructions carefully) either a photo-essay or individual photos, black and white and / or colour. Please include a caption for each image and your name and contact details in the file info. + A detailed proposal of your chosen assignment including specific information and articles relevant to it. It should be noted that the written section is considered extremely important. The judges will need to be impressed by your ability to produce a convincing assignment proposal as well as your skills as a photographer. + The deadline is 20th June 2008. + Detalls at our free college scholarship search site Jobcast + Developing authority + One of the keys to becoming a valuable employee and a valuable job candidate + Prerequisite: you do have to be an expert in something + Authority is largely perception + Have a professional-focus web site with a blog + I recommend Wordpress with SEO plugins + Write an eBook like David Meerman Scott did on a topic in your vertical that you are an expert in + Blog frequently + Start a podcast or video podcast if you have the time and the focus to do so + Participate on lists like HelpAReporter.com + Cultivate local media contacts + Guest blog, guest interview, etc. on as many media outlets as you have time for + Don t just aim for big ones - be sure you re on the radar very locally + Local papers, for example, do syndicate a lot of their content + Consider speaking publicly - events like BarCamp or PodCamp, Toastmasters, etc. Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Edvisors Jobs + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis

Diane Auer Jones, Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education, gives the opening remarks at the first annual College Savings Foundation's College Savings & Financing Summit in Washington D.C. on May 21, 2008.

FAP810: Facebook, green car scholarship, financial aid mailbag Listen now: Student Financial Aid News Image via Wikipedia + Inside Higher Ed: SUNY Plattsburgh using Facebook applications for recruiting + Want to get into the college of your choice? Write them a Facebook app. Reminds me a little of one of the key factors in getting into my undergraduate college. + NASFAA: Some of the nation s biggest banks have closed their doors to students at community colleges, for-profit universities and other less competitive institutions, even as they continue to extend federally backed loans to students at the nation s top universities, The New York Times reports. Citibank (ticker: STU) has been among the most aggressive in paring the list of colleges it serves. JPMorgan Chase (ticker: JPM), PNC (ticker: PNC) and SunTrust (ticker: STI) say they have not dropped whole categories, but are cutting colleges as well. Some less-selective four-year colleges, like Eastern Oregon University and William Jessup University in Rocklin, Calif., say they have been summarily dropped by some lenders. The practice suggests that if the credit crisis and the ensuing turmoil in the student loan business persist, some of the nation s neediest students will be hurt the most. + Student loans at StudentLoanNetwork.com Scholarship Update + BLADE Your Ride + The webcast, or brief video message, is the most crucial component of your application and also the most fun. This is your opportunity to let your creative talents, and unique genius shine through an original, persuasive, buzzworthy video broadcast about the global climate crisis AND an affordable, convenient solution. We want people to get excited about BLADE, talk about it with their friends and family and use it to reduce their personal impact on the environment. + You are eligible to apply if you are: + A college freshman, sophomore, junior, senior or graduate student + Enrolled full time in a Bachelor’s degree program or Master’s degree program + Attending an accredited United States college or university in one of the 50 United States + Pursuing any degree of study + Maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.0 cumulative out of a 4.0 (4.0 cumulative out of a 5.0) + A citizen of any country (US Citizenship is not required) + Passionate about the global climate crisis + If you would like to apply, submit your completed application by June 30, 2008. Any application received after June 30, 2008 will not be considered. + The following four components need to be included in your application: + Resume + Transcript + Letter of referral + Webcast (brief video message) + Details on our free college scholarship search site Mail Bag + Maria Gaitan wrote: I need info about financial aid. I m going to college this fall. + A bit vague, but sure! + Scholarships and grants + Free scholarship search eBook + File your FAFSA + Federal student loans + Stafford loans at StaffordLoan.com + PLUS loans at ParentPLUSLoan.com + Private student loans + Working during school Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Edvisors Jobs + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast Related articles Student Loans Start to Bypass 2-Year Colleges [via Zemanta] Student Loans Start To Bypass 2-Year Colleges [via Zemanta] ShareThis

FAP809: Quack like a duck, pay for college Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Free credit reports, scores, and monitoring from Transunion + Chronicle: the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation last week that would significantly expand veterans tuition benefits while providing billions of dollars for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill awaits action in the House, where the president has enough Republican support to sustain a veto. In his address, the president said Congress should pass a bill to pay for the wars that is not loaded up with unrelated domestic spending. + Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi reacted to the message by saying Congress wanted to launch a new GI Bill for a full, four-year education for the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. The administration opposes the Senate bill because it would give the college benefits to veterans with three years of service, which, it says, would discourage them from re-enlisting. + Is or was the lending crisis real? Have you been applying for student loans and found it any different than previous years? Let me know! Scholarship Update + Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Scholarship + Duck calling scholarship open to all US high school seniors + $1,500 scholarship + Details at our free college scholarship search site Financial Aid 101 + For many who have graduated, it s time to start thinking about student loan repayment + Grace periods - Stafford loans have 6 months, Perkins loans have 9 months + For any unsubsidized Stafford loan, the clock is running + For Stafford and PLUS loans taken out prior to July 1, 2006, you have variable interest rates - for graduating seniors, that s probably freshman and sophomore year loans + Resetting rates take effect July 1 + 3.60% - Stafford loans in grace (down from 6.62%) + 4.21% - Stafford loans in repayment (down from 7.22%) + 5.01% - Parent PLUS loans (down from 8.02%) + Wait until July 1, 2008 for student loan consolidation + Make extra payments to principal if possible + New Stafford subsidized loans start at 6.0% this July 1 + Private student loans can fill the gap between scholarships, federal aid, and the cost of college Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Edvisors Jobs + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis

FAP807: Finding a summer job in a tight economy Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Chronicle: Citibank (ticker: C), one of the nation s largest providers of student loans, has told a series of colleges in recent days that it won t be doing business with them any longer. + The bank s student-lending division, the Student Loan Corporation (ticker: STU), said in a statement that it was suspending lending at certain schools where we anticipate processing minimal loan volume. We have also temporarily suspended lending at schools which tend to have loans with lower balances and shorter periods over which we earn interest. + There have been a LOT of emails on private financial aid discussion lists about this - some schools are dropping Citibank as a lender for not supporting other fellow schools Scholarship Update + Albright College Warren L. Davis Scholarships + The Warren L. Davis Scholarships are full-tuition scholarships, worth $26,620 for the 2006-2007 academic year and approximately $110,000 over four years. The College invites about 75 of its top applicants to apply for these scholarships and awards two Davis Scholarships each year. The Davis scholarship is renewable as long as the student maintains a 3.3 grade point average. + Details at our free college scholarship search site + Our May $1,000 scholarship drawing is just a couple of days away - sponsored by GradLoans.com Graduate Student Loans Mail Bag + Jeff writes in: Thanks for the effort you put into the Financial Aid Podcast. I learn so much from your show each day. + Due to divorce, my daughter spends more time at her mom s house than she does at mine. I understand that in this situation her mom s income will be the information reflected on the FAFSA. Unfortunately her mom doesn t have the best credit and I m wondering what, if anything, can be done about this. What insight can you provide into this situation? Your help is appreciated. + The FAFSA regs do state that the primary parent will be the one where the child lives more than 50% of the time - so unless you can alter that arrangement, she will continue to be the primary parent. That said, only the PLUS loan and private student loans are credit based, and private student loans don t require the FAFSA Jobcast + Lots of articles about how summer employment for high school and college kids is harder than ever to find + In some cases, kids may be competing for the same jobs as parents + Figure out what your schedule is, what kind of pay you re looking for, and most importantly, what the long term benefits of the job will be + What kind of networking opportunity will it present? + Have business cards - even if you don t have a job + Prep a nice professional web site for yourself + Don t expect to be making the big money (though it s nice if you are) + Bring your unique skills to companies that need them + Social networking and new media are hot right now and a LOT of companies don t know even where to start - but anyone under the age of 18 can set up a Facebook Fan Page or MySpace profile in about 10 minutes - use this knowledge gap to your advantage + Lack of experience can be made up for with knowledge + If you can afford it, unpaid internships are great, too + Be mindful of your income protection allowance for financial aid - $3,080 on the FAFSA + Work study does NOT count against your income Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis

FAP804: Veterans Bill, Student Lenders Return, Free Stuff Friday Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Chronicle: Many student-loan companies are still assessing the industry-rescue plan outlined on Wednesday by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings (The Chronicle, May 22). Several that left the federal loan program, however, have seen enough and are jumping back in. + Even before the day was out on Wednesday, the nonprofit lender NorthStar Education Finance announced it was returning. Those joining NorthStar on Thursday include the Brazos Group and Graduate Leverage. We ve definitely changed our mind, said Daniel Thibeault, president of Graduate Leverage. In my mind, 90 percent of the lending community couldn t lend two weeks ago, Mr. Thibeault told The Chronicle. Now, I don t see how a significant player could say, I don t want to lend. It s going to be exciting. + Inside Higher Ed: Congress today resolutely asserted that it is time for those of us who have been calling on these brave men and women to serve again and again to assist in providing a meaningful chance for a first-class future, said Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), who has led the push for the major expansion of tuition benefits for former service members. This is a bill that is equal to the first-class service that they have given to this country. + Under the measure, which was attached to a spending bill for the Iraq war by Webb, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and John Warner of Virginia (all of whom served in the military), veterans who have served on active duty since September 11 would receive payments covering tuition — up to the cost of in-state tuition at the most expensive public college in a veteran s state — room, board, fees, and educational costs, plus a $1,000 monthly stipend. + That is significantly more than former service members are now eligible to receive under the current Montgomery GI Bill, which was enacted in peacetime and does not come close to covering the cost of attending the typical public university. Scholarship Update + From Sam Jackson + myUsearch has stepped up to the plate and is offering $1000 to the best student essay answering the following questions: What has been the most frustrating part of your college admissions process? Why is it important for colleges and universities to change this? What suggestions do you have for colleges and universities to try to relieve your frustration and the frustration of your fellow students? + The scholarship is open to fall ‘08 freshman and those students applying for 2009 (important update as of 5/22!). pursuing an associate or bachelor degree at an accredited U.S. postsecondary institution with a combined household income of $100,000 or less. If that describes you, apply today! If it doesn’t, tell a friend for whom it might be applicable. + Details at our free college scholarship search site Free Stuff Friday + Yoplait yogurt + Flavored Splenda + Nifty NYTimes reader + Alert Thingy for Friend Feed + Fascinating wiki on using acetone as a gasoline additive + Fuel Frog + GasBuddy, GasPriceWatch Free Song of the Week + Dylan in the Movies - August Moon Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Online Education Directory + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis

FAP803: Federal student loan programs back in business, Jobcast Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Big news yesterday - the Department of Education released a letter detailing how the student loan buyback program will work + 1% origination fee, par value, accrued interest, plus $75 flat servicing fee for all student loans + This is a big deal - this is a moneymaker for lenders and will restore lending to a lot of smaller schools, especially community colleges and HBCU/HSI institutions + Combined with increased Stafford loan limits, this will really do a lot to help ensure that federal student loan access is uninterrupted for the fall + Quote by CEO Al Lord of Sallie Mae that Sallie Mae (ticker: SLM) will be staying in the federal student loan program + Check out our student loans at StudentLoanNetwork.com Scholarship Update + Kings College Private Scholarships Directory + $1,702,634 in scholarships + All kinds of scholarships, some we ve covered, some we haven t + Details at our free college scholarship search site Jobcast + Great books to power your career + One of the questions I get a lot is, what books should I be reading to get the skills that college will NOT teach me? + Made to Stick, by the Heath Brothers + Presentation Zen, by Garr Reynolds + Economics for Dummies, by Sean Flynn + The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell + Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell + The Design of Sites, Douglas van Duyne + Free Prize Inside, by Seth Godin + Unlimited Power, Anthony Robbins + Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert Cialdini + Disclosure: the Financial Aid Podcast earns 5% referral fees Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Edvisors Jobs + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis

FAP801: Live update from EASFAA Listen now: Quick Update + Four quick updates from the EASFAA conference + 10% - 20% of PLUS loan borrowers are likely to run into credit challenges in the coming year + Fix your credit sooner rather than later - check out our credit repair tutorials at StudentPlatinum.com + Institutional loans - school as lender agreements - are largely gone, and schools need to take back these loans, posing a cash flow problem + What does this mean for you? Potentially higher tuition costs or less financial aid available + The record profits student loan companies enjoyed over the last 3 years were a result of market conditions that were highly unusual and not likely to return + Secret: the federal government now makes money on every new federal student loan Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Edvisors Jobs + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis

FAP799: Perkins Loan problems, free stuff Friday Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Inside Higher Ed: The House of Representatives voted 256-166 Thursday to support a major expansion of education benefits provided to veterans who have served since 9/11. The measure now moves to the Senate. While support is strong in both houses — and includes some Republicans — the Bush administration has backed more modest changes, and the House measure does not have a veto-proof majority. + Chronicle: Dozens of institutions will be forced to pay money into their depleted federal Perkins Loan funds because they expect a shortfall in award money this year, according to a national survey of 273 colleges. The findings, to be released this morning, also depict a bleak picture for the amount of money institutions will have available to lend through Perkins Loans, as 80 percent of respondents said they expected to have about one-third less money for loans. + A downturn in the federal government s contributions has helped create the shortfalls institutions are seeing, the report says. That means fewer students at some institutions will be awarded Perkins Loans, and institutions may have to turn more to institutional loans. + Chronicle: With only about two weeks until the start of the student-lending season, the long-awaited easing of the credit crunch may finally be arriving. Nelnet (ticker: NNI), one of the nation s largest student-loan companies, completed on Thursday a sale of more than $1.3-billion in bonds backed by student loans. + The sale came one week after JPMorgan Chase Company (ticker: JPM) reported an improvement in market pricing of student-loan debt and two weeks after the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority became the first student-loan agency since September to sell its bonds. Scholarship Update + College Toolkit What I like about my college? Scholarship + College Toolkit is giving away a $1,000 scholarship to a college student. We want you to hear your thoughts about the college you attend To enter, all you need to do is select the school you are attending and provide a short review of your college or university. The award is open to anyone who will be an undergraduate college student this upcoming fall. You must be attending an accredited 2-year or 4-year college and a U.S. resident to enter. The deadline to enter is August 31, 2008 + Details at our free college scholarship search site Free Stuff Friday + Feed Demon for Windows + NetNewsWire + List of free games on Wikipedia + Nifty One Bag packing method + ReadAir Adobe Air app + FreshAir Apps + DailyLit bite sized books by email + Dove Green Tea deodorant? + Free Nike MaxSight contact lenses + Got a Mac? 99 cent movies on iTunes Free Song of the Week + Michelle Hotaling, Porcelain Doll Did you enjoy today s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Edvisors Jobs + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast gmail com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis

FAP798: Citibank, Sallie Mae, How to Become a Rockstar Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Consumerist: Citi tightens down student loans. Citibank (ticker: C) is adopting the zero-tolerance approach to late payments favored by the credit card industry—miss a payment due date and you ll lose any interest rate discount(s) you currently enjoy. + We are writing to inform you about important changes to the terms of your student loan. To retain your borrower benefits with us, you must make and have your payments posted to your