Financial Aid Podcast Daily Free Internet Radio Focus on Financial Aid

FAP523: Spot scholarship scams, NSLDS, lender treats, architecture scholarship, Rob Costlow
+ Corollary: don t read your slides! I follow Mitch Joel s example and try to exclusive use as many photos as possible
+ Slides should provide visual reinforcement, not replacement of the speaker
+ : protests on campus at USC met with very swift action - interim suspension, where students got flat out kicked off of campus entirely - no classes, no university housing, and most importantly, financial aid such as scholarships revoked
+ From : Officials at the University of Texas at Austin — already facing scrutiny over how they recommended lenders to students — have a new embarrassment to face. The Daily Texan obtained and published documents showing that the office rated lenders not just on the quality of services provided to students, but on the “treats” provided to the aid office — treats like fajita lunches, happy hours, birthday cakes and more.

University of Texas has gone completely no-gift, even to the extent of lunch
+ From the : The U.S. Department of Education is preparing to let lenders resume their access to a federal database containing information on millions of student borrowers, after shutting it down out of concern over potential abuses.

+ The database, known as the National Student Loan Data System, or NSLDS, was put off-limits to lenders two weeks ago when the department acknowledged finding 261 cases over the past four years in which lenders or marketing companies were suspected of using the system to improperly collect private information on potential borrowers.
+ The department, in a notice posted on its Web site, said it was introducing new rules, effective on Monday, that require all NSLDS users to provide the borrower s date of birth and first name, in addition to the previous requirement for the borrower s Social Security number.
+ Other changes include requiring the user to complete a box matching a pattern of random letters and numbers a technique designed to prevent automatic data retrieval by outside computers.

+ 3 awards of $2,000
+ Applicants must be United States citizens and be enrolled for the 2007-08 academic year in one of the 26 accredited architecture programs within the National Architectural Accrediting Board’s East Central or West Central regions. Scholarships are available to currently enrolled architectural students, community college transfer students and high school seniors.
+ The scholarship is guaranteed or your money back.

+ You can t get this information anywhere else.
+ I just need your credit card or bank account number to hold this scholarship.
+ We ll do all the work.

+ You ve been selected by a national foundation to receive a scholarship - or You re a finalist in a contest you never entered.
+ Financial aid seminars are a popular marketing tactic, too
+ If you attend a seminar on financial aid or scholarships, follow these steps:
+ Take your time. Don t be rushed into paying at the seminar.

Avoid high-pressure sales pitches that require you to buy now or risk losing out on the opportunity. Solid opportunities are not sold through nerve-racking tactics.
+ Investigate the organization you re considering paying for help.

Talk to a guidance counselor or financial aid advisor before spending your money. You may be able to get the same help for free.
+ Be wary of success stories or testimonials of extraordinary success - the seminar operation may have paid shills to give glowing stories.

Instead, ask for a list of at least three local families who ve used the services in the last year. Ask each if they re satisfied with the products and services received.
+ Be cautious about purchasing from seminar representatives who are reluctant to answer questions or who give evasive answers to your questions.

Legitimate business people are more than willing to give you information about their service.
+ Ask how much money is charged for the service, the services that will be performed and the company s refund policy. Get this information in writing.

Keep in mind that you may never recoup the money you give to an unscrupulous operator, despite stated refund policies.
+ What do you think about a scholarship seminar? In real life or on the Web?

FAP522: Scholarship search secret, FFEL vs. Direct Loans, Misbehavior at SLM, Chloe Leigh
+ From : The Missouri Senate passed by a vote of 23-11 Gov. Matt Blunt’s plan to use money from the state’s to fund university building projects.

The plan now awaits House approval.
+ The controversial $350 million plan includes new limits on tuition increases, enhanced oversight, and a new scholarship program. Democrats are widely opposed to the plan to sell the assets of the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, which has already set aside $212 million — generated partly by selling loans held by non-Missourians — toward its initial payment of $230 million by Sept.

15.
+ MOHELA staff believe the agency can sell existing loans, provide the state money, buy new loans, and still maintain low interest rates and loan-forgiveness programs. But critics think the sudden depletion of fund will leave MOHELA incapable of competing with deals offered by competitors.

Blunt has been pushing the plan since January 2006.
+ From : The Higher Education Authority of Missouri, known as Mohela, announced last week that it was forgiving $500 in the students loan debts of each of more than 9,300 freshmen in the state who are Pell Grant recipients.
+ Minor controversy about Coke sponsoring part of the Secretary of Education s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, according to .

+ From : The chairmen of the Senate and House education committees continued their investigations into lender practices and U.S. Department of Education officials on Thursday.

+ Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee accused Nelnet and Sallie Mae of possibly breaking federal law because they may have used harsh and inappropriate tactics to collect student loans from borrowers. Kennedy sent letters to the loan companies requesting documents regarding borrowers whose federal loans have entered collection or become delinquent.

+ Kennedy s aides said they believed Sallie Mae may have tried to collect debts that were not owed, fired employees who attempted to help borrowers and intentionally sent loan bills to incorrect addresses to get borrowers to default, according to the Washington Post. In addition, Kennedy accused the lender of possibly threatening jail time for borrowers that did not pay, and possibly using abusive language and harassing borrowers families and friends.
+ If you have a dispute with any federal student loan lender, contact the FSA Ombudsman office.

+ U.S. Department of Education
+ When a bond matures, roll it over into a 529 to escape the FAFSA consequences
+ What are the two programs?

+ Which program is better?
+ Example: if you take out a from the Department of Education, there s a 1% origination fee, so you don t get the full amount of the loan
+ More often than not, FFEL lenders will waive the fee
+ gets you 0.25% off your rate for automatic checking, plus 1% off after the first 36 on time payments
+ On $30,000 in student loans, Direct saves you $1,633 over the life of the loan
+ We ll save you $6,076 over the life of the loan
FAP518: State attorneys general banding together, live report from PESC, DC scholarship, Matthew Ebel
+ From : Duquesne University will no longer accept commissions from private student lenders; the result of a probe conducted by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

+ Duquesne got $16,000 from San Francisco-based Education Finance Partners, $10,000 from PNC Financial Group Inc. [ticker: PNC], and $2,500 from Citizens Bank, all of which, the school says went toward student aid.
+ From : In recent days, the top legal officers in states like South Carolina, Mississippi and, to a lesser extent, Nebraska, have put themselves at odds with the New York attorney general s aggressive and increasingly expansive campaign to change the behavior of the industry on behalf, he says, of student borrowers and their families.

+ On Monday, though, the attorneys general in Illinois and Missouri explicitly locked arms with Cuomo. They signed settlement agreements with colleges and universities in their states at which Cuomo had taken aim and vowed that they were just beginning their own efforts to help the students and parents of our states by reforming an industry that as we have learned over recent months needs reforming, as Lisa Madigan, the attorney general of Illinois, said during a telephone news conference with Cuomo and Jay Nixon, her counterpart in Missouri.
+ As the House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor prepares for a hearing tomorrow on the student loan issues at which Cuomo will be (as of this writing) the only witness, the panel s top Republican, Rep.

Howard P. (Buck) McKeon (R-Calif.) released details about legislation he plans to introduce to confront perceived student loan abuses at the federal level.

+ McKeon s Financial Aid Accountability Transparency Act would put in place at the national level some of the changes that Cuomo s code of conduct aims to institute state by state and institution by institution. It would, for example, bar colleges and lenders from striking agreements in which lenders give colleges a cut of their loan volume, and require institutions to adopt a code of conduct that bars financial aid officers from receiving gifts, payments or other financial benefits from lenders and from receiving any fees, payments or financial benefits as compensation for serving on lenders advisory councils.
+ The McKeon legislation would also require colleges to disclose how they have selected the student loan providers that appear on their lists of preferred lenders, and insist that all such lists contain at least three non-affiliated lenders, which is what the U.

S. Education Department had recommended in proposed regulatory language that its officials offered as part of a negotiated rule making process that collapsed Friday, among other reasons, amid opposition from colleges to that provision.
+ From : Recent investigations have largely focused on incentives lenders give universities to get coveted placement on the preferred lending lists students use to take out loans when they enter college.

But colleges also give lenders crucial access to students when they are graduating, using lenders to conduct exit counseling required under federal law for students who have taken out federally guaranteed student loans, reports The New York Times. In some cases, loan company representatives come on campus and run sessions for seniors on loan repayment. In others, colleges direct students to loan company Web sites, including Wells Fargo, Citibank and Sallie Mae.

And in many cases, the loan companies are pushing a product: their .
+ The U-M Alumni Club of Washington, DC offers a $25,000 ($6,250 per year) scholarship to promising High School Seniors from the greater Washington, D.C.

metropolitan area who will be attending the University of Michigan.
+ The scholarship is renewable for four years.
+ Not sure if I should name names or not!

+ Again, as I ve said for some time, the folks I m meeting with are honest, ethical people - we ve had a number of discussions about conflicts of interest
+ Attendance of the conference is down about 40% - again, avoiding conflict of interest since the conference has sponsorships by lenders
+ What will happen to future financial aid conferences? Maybe there s a future for FinancialAidCamp after all, since unconferences are one of the lowest cost methods of having a conference
+ As federal student loan lending gets harder and more restrictive, the consensus is that and will become dominant, since they re not subject to state or federal oversight
FAP517: How to compare student loans, more loan scandal stuff, 11 user submitted scholarships, Rayko KRB
+ From : On Friday, Nebraska s attorney general, Jon Bruning, announced that he had reached an agreement in which a lender in his own backyard, the National Education Loan Network, self-reported that it had made what Bruning called very minor mistakes in its student loan practices — paying $4,800 to one university (identified elsewhere as Western Illinois University) in a revenue sharing agreement, and to giving a plane ticket for a financial aid officer to attend a conference in New York.
+ Do you have a good experience with your school s financial aid office?

Please call into the show and share it! 206-350-1208
+ Friday also marked the third and final day of the fourth and final session of a federal rule making process chartered by the Education Department and aimed at developing new rules to govern the federal loan programs. The department had proposed tougher rules to govern the relationships between colleges and lenders, and while those rules may have seemed tough several months ago — and are much tougher than current federal rules — they process appeared to have been overtaken to some extent by events outside the room, as one department official put it Friday.

+ So despite what several members of the negotiating panel (which included lenders, financial aid administrators, consumer advocates and federal officials) described as good faith efforts and a cooperative spirit, the Education Department shut down the process Friday after concluding that it would be impossible for the committee to reach consensus on the entire package of proposals.
+ Several members of the panel expressed disappointment, believing that they were close to agreement on a proposal that would have required colleges lists of preferred lenders to contain at least three lenders, among other possible recommendations. Some of them said they believed the negotiators had (and missed) an opportunity to show that they were willing to impose restrictions on themselves.

+ Said one: I m really disappointed that we couldn t come to agreement, particularly on [preferred lender lists] and illegal inducements [for college officials and institutions from lenders]. I think it does not speak well of the [higher education] community s ability to police itself.
+ Under federal guidelines, because the negotiating panel failed to reach consensus on the proposals, the Education Department is free to propose whatever changes in rules it wishes in the coming weeks and months.

+ What does this mean for you? It means federal guidelines for may change in the months to come, but largely on the side of the financial aid office
+ You as a student will not see much of an impact, though we may see the abolition of the preferred lender list, such as has been done at UT Austin.
+ Ultimately, elimination of the preferred lender list is good, but has potential drawbacks - you ll need to learn how to compare loans
+ Not sure what the revenue model is, but it s personalize profiles for colleges
+ Instead of renting space, you re renting money
+ Is the lowest rent always the best?

No. But lower rent is better than higher rent.
+ Does the loan come with amenities?

Some apartments have fitness centers, concierges, etc. and if you need those things, then be prepared to pay for them
FAP514: NSLDS Shut Down, Student Loan Probe Widens, Phillips Memorial Scholarship, Sarah Cheevers
+ From : Thirteen more student lenders including some of the nation s top financial institutions have been added to the subpoena mailing list of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo amid a widening probe into suspected revenue-sharing and other lender-bestowed gifts to school officials.
+ Cuomo now has the top 20 student lenders under the microscope, which comprise more than 80% of the $85-billion-a-year lending business in the United States.

+ Information requests sent out Friday listed some of the banking world s biggest names including Bank of America Corp. [ticker: BAC], JPMorgan Chase Co. [ticker: JPM], PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

[ticker: PNC], Wachovia Corp. [ticker: WB], and Wells Fargo Co. [ticker: WFC].

+ New York lawmakers also called for legislation to regulate student loan activity. If enacted, the Student Lending, Accountability, Transparency, and Enforcement Act would require that Cuomo s code of student-lending conduct be adopted by all New York state colleges lest they be fined for non-compliance.
+ From : Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said late Tuesday that the Education Department would temporarily bar banks, guarantors and other student loan entities from using the National Student Loan Data System, amid charges that some of them have tapped into the database inappropriately to collect personal information about borrowers for marketing purposes.

+ Spellings made the announcement (late in the evening, as has become the department s recent habit when it releases potentially controversial material) in a letter to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.

), chairman of the Senate education committee, who had requested the suspension in a letter to Spellings on Monday.
+ The secretary said the department would examine the extent of unauthorized usage of the database by lenders. The student loan database is the central way in which the department, college officials and lenders keep track of student borrowing, and suspending lenders from it is believed to be an unprecedented step.

A prolonged shutdown of the database could disrupt the operation of the federal student loan programs, financial aid officials say.
+ A bit of commentary: we use NSLDS, and you cannot market to students with it - there s only name, DOB, and SSN in there, no contact information. Other student loan agencies using it against the terms of service would have to get your contact information elsewhere, probably from a credit bureau marketing file, and not from NSLDS.

+ The Stephen Phillips Memorial Scholarship Fund offers college scholarships to students with financial need who display academic excellence, strong citizenship and character, and a desire to make a meaningful contribution to society.
+ The intent of this award is to enable students to attend the college of their choice without accumulating burdensome debt.
+ In most cases, the Phillips Scholarship award ranges from $3,000 to $10,000 yearly.

+ The award is renewable for up to four undergraduate years provided a GPA on a 4.0 scale of 2.5 is maintained and financial need does not change substantially.

+ All grants must be applied to tuition and fees only and will be paid directly to the institution.
+ High school seniors entering college and returning college students attending accredited U.S.

colleges or universities are eligible to apply for the scholarship.
+ Awards may only be used for undergraduate study.
+ Awards will only be granted to applicants who are permanent residents of a New England or Mid-Atlantic state: CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV.

+ If you re interested in getting your student loans consolidated with us, here s how to help things along
+ These steps are not required for you to with us, but it will definitely help speed things up
+ Log in with your PIN - if you don t have one, get one at
+ This is the same PIN as you use for the - but if you haven t used it in 18 months, it expires and you need to renew it
+ Do NOT give out your PIN or account information, even to us - only print out the information AFTER you have received your application in the mail or electronically
+ The NSLDS shutdown increases the potential for identity theft and fraud - do NOT respond to applications, advertisements, or solicitations that you did not request - and do NOT mail, fax, or send out your NSLDS information
+ Questions? Need help? (877) 328-1565 or 206-350-1208
FAP507: Student loan stock story widens, FastWeb, PodCamp NYC, Jessa
+ From : The U.

S. Education Department announced Friday that Matteo Fontana, a career employee with responsibility for overseeing lenders, has been placed on administrative leave. In addition, the department announced that Margaret Spellings, the secretary of education, has asked for the resignation of Lawrence W.

Burt from the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. Burt is director of financial aid at the University of Texas at Austin. Both Burt and Fontana owned stock in a lending company — and the revelations about that ownership already have led Texas to suspend Burt and for some Congressional leaders to criticize the department’s oversight of loan programs.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, meanwhile on the director of financial aid at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee serving on an advisory board for Student Loan Xpress, the lending company at the center of the controversy.
+ From : Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon is investigating whether any Missouri colleges have cozy relationships with student loan companies, leading to higher interest rates for students or inhibiting their lending choices, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Last week, Nixon s office sent letters to various Missouri universities requesting information about their student lending practices and relationships. He wants to see if any schools have received kickbacks or other inducements from lenders to increase their loan volume or get on their preferred lending list.
FAP494: 5 tips for managing student loan debt well, FAFSA, ED lawsuit, 500 scholarships, Erin Bode
+ From : On Tuesday, the movement to simplify the gained new momentum.

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, and Rep.

Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), announced new legislation that would cut the s length from five pages to two, while increasing Web access, allowing high school juniors to file a Pre- for planning purposes and encouraging coordination between the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Education. Similar legislation was also introduced in the Senate.

Meanwhile, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.

), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor Pensions lauded the Education Department s development of a new forecaster as a good first step. (Department officials plan to unveil the new initiative today.)
+ The pair of Congressional announcements from the education committee chairs complemented the recommendations of a report on simplification released Tuesday by the Institute for College Access Success, likewise proposing a mechanism for vastly simplifying the form by going to the source and promoting a better exchange of information between the IRS and the Education Department.

+ Lauren Asher, author of Going to the Source: A Practical Way to Simplify the , points out that 31 questions on the federal financial aid form — or about two-thirds of those relating to income and assets — ask for information already provided to the federal government on tax forms. Asher argues that by enabling students to easily authorize the IRS to forward that data directly to the Education Department, students would end up facing a far less intimidating form, while colleges could save millions in verification costs.
+ From : A new lawsuit charges that the U.

S. Education Department has improperly been adding interest and penalties to the student loans of hundreds of thousands of borrowers, if not millions.
+ The class action was brought by a Washington law firm on behalf of a Minnesota woman who says she discovered the problem after months of dealing with the Education Department.

The woman s loan payment is due on the 21st day of each month, and she paid on time or early. But every June 30, the suit says, the department charged the woman extra interest for not having paid her loan off between the 21st and 30th of that month, and added that extra interest to the total she owed, on which more interest was charged.
+ Steven Sprenger, a lawyer who specializes in class actions, said that the borrower s agreement specifically stated that she owed money only on the 21st of the month.

While Sprenger said he is not certain how many borrowers were treated in the same way, he predicted that the overpayments to the Education Department may have topped $150 million.
+ When the borrower reported the problem to the Education Department, Sprenger said she was told that it was an error, but that a computer program couldn t be fixed so she should just pay extra each June.
+ Sprenger said that if a private lender engaged in similar treatment of borrowers, it could be facing triple damages and fraud charges.

I would like to think that our government has a greater duty to the students of the country, who pay a lot of money to go to school, and it should be held to the same standards of a commercial lender, he said.
+ The Elks National Foundation will award 500 four-year scholarships to the highest-rated boys and girls in the 2007 competition. Any high school senior who is a citizen of the United States is eligible to apply.

Applicants need not be related to a member of the Elks. College students are not eligible to apply. Applicants must be citizens of the United States on the date their applications are signed; resident alien status does not qualify.

+ Applicants will be judged on financial need, leadership and scholarship.
+ All scholarships are in the form of certificates of award conditional upon the enrollment of the winner in an accredited US college or university. Ranging from $1,000 per year to $15,000 per year, Most Valuable Student scholarships are for students pursuing a four-year degree, on a full-time basis (minimum of 12 semester hours), in a US American college or university.

Male and female students compete separately.
+ Tomorrow is Bum Rush the Charts! Have you got your profile yet?

+ Make your payments on time.
+ Build as many evergreen income sources as you can manage.
FAP487: Overview of the Financial Aid Process, MRU and the Princeton Review, BRTC, Origen
+ Guaranteed student loan default rates are expected to decline this year, according to data released by the Department of Education.

+ After increasing to 5.1% last year from a record low of 4.5% in 2005, the rate is expected to hit 4.

9%, according to preliminary cohort-default data the government supplied to guarantee agencies in February. The cohort default rate is a prediction of the number of borrowers who will default in a given year as a percentage of the total number of borrowers who entered repayment the previous year.
+ : Financial aid administrators discovered late Thursday afternoon that the Princeton Review Web site listed My Rich Uncle as a Partner Lender to institutions that have no relationship with the FFEL lender.

In an interesting twist, Direct Lending schools also had the lender listed as their Partner Lender.
+ It began with a couple of e-mails posted to the FinAid-L listserv and the Health Professions MedAid-L listserv. Aid administrators noticed that under the financial aid section of their school s listing on the site, My Rich Uncle was shown as Partner Lender with a link to its Web site.

+ Word quickly spread as many aid administrators posted messages confirming that My Rich Uncle appeared as their school s partner lender even though it was not the case. Administrators expressed shock and dismay at the listing, but noted that their school would never deny a student s right to choose any lender and that a student s would always be processed promptly using whichever lender the student chooses.
+ A spokesman for My Rich Uncle said the company would return NASFAA s phone call on Friday.

The Princeton Review has not returned NASFAA s phone calls.
+ The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) awards three $3,000 scholarships each spring to qualified students in water resources-related fields.
+ Eligible students must be California residents attending selected California schools (Participating Schools) full time as a junior or senior during the current academic year.

Applications must be postmarked no later than APRIL 1 of each year.
+ You can download an application and guidelines for the ACWA scholarship program.
+ My name is sarah coates and i wanted to ask a few questions about student loans.

+ i am currently a Sophmore here at kent state and a few of my friends and me got a house for next fall. and the landlord was saying how most of the college students pay him by student loans. and once he told me that i was wanting to do that cause my parents arent going to be helping me out with the house.

+ so my first question is can i do anything with student loans without having a in yet? ive been trying to get on my father about that to get it in cause someone told me thati cant really do anything without that in and them sending me some paper about what i am qualified for.
+ now once im done with the and i wait the couple weeks for the paper work, will it tell me what type of loans i can go for?

cause i had no idea were to look for loans for house payments and such.. which im looking for a loan that pays that and for my school and board as well.

.
Here s a rough outline of the basic financial aid process.
1.

Do your IRS 1040 draft so that you have all the data you need for the .
2. File your online as quickly after January 1 of each year as possible, to get as close to the front of the line for free financial aid as you can.

3. Start your scholarship search. There s a free eBook on using Google and search engines for scholarships here:
4.

Hit up the major scholarship web sites:
FAP470: How to make your scholarship essays winners, lots of politics news, scholarships for musicians, Spaghetti Cake
+ Sen. Edward Kennedy [D-Mass.] on Tuesday asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate SLM Corp.

(ticker: SLM) for illegal insider trading.
+ Pres. George W.

Bush s budget proposal, which is expected to hurt student lenders, was made public Feb. 5. SLM Chairman Al Lord sold $18.

3 million of stock on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2.

Following Bush s announcement, SLM Stock fell 9% to $42.37 per share.
+ Kennedy has requested copies of emails and other communications between the Bush administration and the company, commonly known as Sallie Mae, dating back to Nov.

1.
+ As expected, the U.S.

Senate on Wednesday gave its approval to the much-delayed budget plan for fiscal 2007, following the proposals put forth by Democratic leaders last month to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $260, to $4,310 — the first increase in five years. The budget plan also provides additional funds for science agencies and has been widely praised by higher education officials.
+ Members of Congress from both parties and both chambers introduced legislation Tuesday that would reward colleges that switch to the federal government s direct student loan program by giving them additional federal grant money.

Supporters, mostly Democrats, say the Student Aid Reward Act will save the government money by encouraging more colleges to use the , which several federal studies have suggested is less expensive to operate. But lenders in the federal government s competing challenge those studies and say that the proposed legislation, which died in the 109th Congress, would severely weaken the vital services, benefits and resources that the vast majority of American students and families rely on to finance college tuition, as the College Loan Corporation said in a news release Tuesday.
+ The top Democrat and Republican on the U.

S. House education committee jointly sponsored a bill Tuesday that would repeal a federal rule that reduces the size of Pell Grants for students at low-cost colleges. The measure sponsored by Rep.

George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Howard P.

(Buck) McKeon, the senior Republican on the panel, aims to end the practice known as tuition sensitivity, which is strongly opposed by community colleges.
+ Evolution is back in Kansas. The Kansas Board of Education on Tuesday adopted new standards for science programs in the state s public schools — and evolution is once again in while intelligent design is out.

.
+ Tasha writes in: Hey I don t know if you ll be able to answer me or not, but I applied for the FAFSA and i can only get $18,000. Which is a lot of money yes, but the school I wish to attend s tuition is $45,000.

And they said the only way to finish paying for it is personal loans. And I do not have good credit nor know anyone who does that could cosign for me. What should I do?

Change my school even though so many other schools for the major I wish to pursue, do not offer ANY financial aid, or what?
+ The scholarship (in combination with any federal or state gift aid) will provide a generous award to be applied toward tuition equivalent to the amount of the tuition at the time of matriculation. Currently the amount of the award is $24,830 per year, or a total award of $99,320.

The award does not apply to room, board, fees, or expenses.
+ When I read them, there s no passion
+ They re technically good, but not compelling
+ Examples: My purpose in going to college is not merely to get a degree, so that I will be considered qualified to move into the white-collar workforce. More than that, I am attending college to better develop my mind, abilities, and passions to prepare me to become a contributing member of society.

College is an amazing environment in which to explore myself and my place in the world. It affords me opportunities that I would never have had the chance to experience anywhere else. It is my desire to take full advantage of these great opportunities in the hopes of finding my calling and passions along the way.

+ High school has brought out the best in me, including everything from my education, family life, personal experiences and character. I have participated in many extracurricular activities during my high school career, including the following: World Language Club (2004-2005, Member), Junior Classical League (2005-Present, Member), Interact/Rotary Club (2005-Present, Member), Habitat for Humanity (2005-Present, Member), and Health Occupations Students of America (2005-Present, Historian). Assuming the role of Historian for Health Occupations Students of America allows my creative side to peak out as I take pictures and create a scrapbook for the year’s events and achievements.

I have also been dancing for over ten years now, needless to say dancing is one of my greatest passions, and was selected to showcase my talent in the 2004 Spring Day Talent Show at Ravenwood High School.
+ Read your essays aloud - on the air, if need be
+ Answer this question: so what?
FAP468: Responsible student loan borrowing, graduate economics scholarships, financial aid consultants, Clare Dowling
+ Appearing before the Senate Banking Committee and the House of Representatives’ Financial Services panel this week, Fed Chief Ben Bernanke is expected to report that the central bank’s interest-rate strategy is working.

+ However, during the Federal Reserve Bank’s semiannual monetary policy report, Bernanke will warn lawmakers that a low-inflation outcome is not fully assured and that the Fed is ready to raise benchmark interest rates above the current 5.25% if need be to stop price pressures.
+ The Fed has held borrowing costs steady since June 2006, after 17 straight rate increases, and is expected to keep rates steady until at least mid-year.

+ : People with more education tend to have more opportunities, meet interesting people and have more options in life, said Sandy Baum, senior policy analyst at the nonprofit College Board. That is why borrowing toward college generally ends up being a good investment, reports The New York Times. But college is not for everyone.

In what is surely a sign that some children go to college mostly because their parents pressure them into it, more than half of those who start a four-year degree program have not finished it five years later.
+ : [A]n increasing number of families are seeking professional help to ensure their [child] nabs as many scholarships and other financial aid benefits as possible. reports the Detroit Free Press.

For a $995 one-time fee, consultant Julie Ritten has promised she can get [one family] at least $1,000 in or for each year that Erin attends college. The services of financial aid consultants like Ritten, a 48-year-old certified senior adviser, are in big demand as the cost of higher education continues to rise and parents become frantic for help.
+ Lytle Ashbaker writes in: I listen to your podcast all the time.

I especially enjoy free stuff Friday s. Thanks for all the effort and hard work you put into your show; I know it has helped so many people wade through the financial aid waters - at least me! I wish I would have found your show 4 years ago.

Anyway, I was wondering if you knew of any scholarships for going to Graduate school in Economics? I am a Hispanic female, with Mayan Indian, Italian, Spanish, and French background. I graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Economics.

Any suggestions you may have would help greatly. Thank you! and keep up the wonderful work!

+ This scholarship is awarded to an outstanding graduate student seeking the MS or MA in Economics or MS in Economic Research. To be eligible, currently enrolled students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on all college work.

If the applicant is a student who wishes to enter the program and is not a transferring graduate student, an undergraduate overall GPA of 3.5 is required.
+ Fernando writes back: so in the podcast you said that I should .

Well I have and already got my SAR back. I also mailed an application for the HOPE Scholarship and my high school transcript. I haven t heard back from the Georgia Student Financy Commission and I m getting worried.

Anything I might be missing?
+ Taylor writes back: wow, I got on the show, how great is that?!

Unfortunately, I wasn t clear enough about the situation. The situation mentioned below is as follows. I am 24, getting ready for law school, married with a 1 year old son, and my father is the one pulling down the big money.

So obviously the question was not about my son s education but rather mine. I put myself through my undergrad and I plan on putting myself through law school. My grandfather put himself through law school, my father put himself through law school, and I plan on doing the same.

My father has said that he ll be there for emergencies, but that s it. He will not be giving me free money, nor will he give me a interest free loan. I m fine for the because my status as an independent shields my parent s income.

But many of the schools are requesting further information such as my parent s income because I m under 30 years of age. Questions: In terms of getting financial aid from the schools, does my father s income sink me? If he were to write a letter of sorts declaring that he will not be financially assisting me through school, would that help?

+ A to - borrow 1 year net income, not gross
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