Laura Allen will appreciate this.

The Financial Aid Podcast slogan on one of those church sign generators.
Is your slogan succinct enough to fit on a church sign and still get the point across?

CNN is running an interesting piece on technologies that will be coming to market in  2007, and one of them is a machine called the Espresso – an on-demand book printer that can whip out a fully bound, published book in about 7 minutes. This has interesting potential at bookstores, libraries, etc. but where it could REALLY make a difference would be on campus. With effectively unlimited numbers of copies of a book, this little machine could potentially make a dent in the cost of college textbooks. Naturally, I’d expect …

The Student Loan Network had its holiday party last night. What a great event outing!
Prior to the event, I did some walking around Copley Square and the Christian Science complex.

First up was the Boston Pops Holiday Pops! concert at Symphony Hall. Incredible. Keith Lockhart did a fabulous job as always, and the show was very… I don’t know, relaxing? Exciting? Bits of both, really. The pieces that were John Williams arrangements really stood out – you can hear John Williams a mile away.

After that it was a short cab ride …

Student Financial Aid News
+ Bryan Person from New Comm Road hosts today’s episode!
+ Is financial aid in jeopardy for students at for-profit colleges in the State of California? That is what state officials are asking the U.S. Education Department, following the decision by California Republican California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto a bill that would have extended the life of the Bureau of Private and Postsecondary Vocational Education. Should that bureau close down on July 1, as it is now scheduled to do, for-profit colleges in California may lose …

Student Financial Aid News
+ Stamford, Conn.-based The Student Loan Corp., a unit of Citibank NA, announced Tuesday that it is has partnered with the College Board, administrator of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
+ Through the deal, the College Board will offer Student Loan Corp.’s private and federal student loans and utilize its servicing and secondary market operations.
+ The College Board is based in New York.
+ Lobbying and lobbyists may appear to be on the defensive in Washington, as invective and legislation to limit efforts to influence the federal government both …

The existing guide we have is a FAFSA school code directory for students who want to file their FAFSA. It’s nice and convenient but a little sparse.
The new FAFSA school codes guide one currently in beta brings in more information about the school, including a new affordability index and information about grants, scholarships, and student loans, and of course, the FAFSA school code as well.
If you have a moment, please take a look at the two and post your thoughts and comments about it, including any suggestions!

Student Financial Aid News
+ Financial aid awards for college and technical training expenses rose 7.7 percent, or $11.8 million, during fiscal year 2006, according to the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority.
+ During the year, KHEAA disbursed more than $177 million, including $83.3 million in need-based grants and $86.5 million in merit-based Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarships, which are funded by revenue from the Kentucky Lottery.
+ From the AP: High-performing students who grew up in Georgia but are undocumented immigrants soon won’t qualify for discounted tuition at state colleges.
+ The change …

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Student Financial Aid News
+ The growth of private student loans has outpaced federal programs during the past decade. That, coupled with many private lenders’ direct marketing campaigns, has some financial aid offices concerned.
+ A report conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Higher Education Policy found that officials are worried that direct marketing campaigns cause undergraduates unfamiliar with their options to miss out on lower-rate federal loans.
+ Additionally, the report found that 19% of students who borrowed from private lenders borrowed less than the maximum amount at lower rates allowed …

Student Financial Aid News
+ From BankNet360: College graduates who don’t pay off their student loans may be in more trouble than they realize. Many employers are now using credit checks to help choose job applicants.
+ Banking, information technology, and accounting companies, in addition to many government agencies, and police and fire departments are the most likely to do so. It is a new trend that became more common after the Sept. 11 attacks.
+ Weak job markets are partly to blame for the trend, giving employers room to be pickier, believing …