FAP575: Live from NASFAA, state aid, NASA scholarship, Matthew Ebel

Student Financial Aid News
+ The Financial Aid Podcast was granted media credentials yesterday by the Chronicle of Higher Education – woot!
+ Chronicle: More than 900 American colleges conduct nearly all of their federally guaranteed student-loan business through a single lender, a sign that they may not be providing a legally required level playing field for their student borrowers, the U.S. Education Department has warned.
+ The department, in a separate enforcement action, has also alerted nearly 300 colleges that they are not meeting a requirement that they devote at least 7 percent of their Federal Work-Study funds to community-service projects.
+ Department officials described those warnings, which were contained in recent letters to the colleges, on Monday at the annual meeting of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
+ Chronicle: The growth of state spending on student financial aid slowed in the 2005-6 academic year, especially after taking inflation into account, according to a report being released this week by the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs, or Nassgap.
+ Moreover, the report shows that, although state student-aid spending increased over all, much of that rise was driven by the expansion of programs that offer forms of assistance other than grants, such as loans, tuition waivers, and the forgiveness or repayment of the student-loan debts of college graduates who remain in their state and enter fields with worker shortages.
+ About 29.3 percent of all need-based grant money awarded went to private, in-state colleges in 2005-6 — down from about 32.6 percent the year before. About 3.5 percent went to students at proprietary colleges, down from about 5.2 percent.
+ The amount of money states distributed to students in the form of loans rose by more than 17 percent, to $506.8-million, in 2005-6, with big increases in the amount awarded by two economically struggling states, Michigan and New Jersey, driving much of the growth.
+ States spent about 12.6 percent more in 2005-6 on “loan forgiveness” and “loan assumption” programs, which erase the student-loan debts of people who perform some service for the state, usually by working in an area with a labor shortage. In all, nearly $72-million in state money went to such programs.
+ Other loan repayment options include student loan consolidation

Scholarship Update
+ Each year, the MUST Project will support approximately 100 undergraduate students with a one-year competitive scholarship of up to one-half of tuition, not to exceed $10,000. Students who maintain the required minimum grade point average will be eligible for a paid internship at a NASA center or other research facility. Additionally, students will benefit year-round from tutoring, lecture series and mentoring from STEM faculty and peers. The scholarships and internships will be renewable for up to three years, provided the students continue to meet the academic requirements.
+ Students of all underrepresented groups (Women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and persons with disabilities) are encouraged to apply.
+ One-year partial tuition scholarship of up to one-half the tuition and fees, not to exceed $10,000 per academic year
+ Guidance and $5,000 stipend to participate in a summer research experience at a NASA center
+ Must be a U.S. citizen. U. S. citizens from underrepresented groups (Women, African American, Hispanic American, Native American, and persons with disabilities) are encouraged to apply
+ Must reside in the U.S. or Territories of the U.S.
+ Must be studying and hold full-time academic status at an accredited college or university in the U.S. or U.S. Territory for the 2007-2008 academic year
+ Be a rising college freshman, sophomore or junior during the time of application who plans to attend or enroll in an accredited U.S. higher education institution as a full-time student for the 2007 – 2008 academic year
+ Must have earned and maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average of no less than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (un-weighted)
+ Must be pursuing a degree in a physical science, technology, engineering or mathematics
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Live Report
+ Audio from the NASFAA floor
+ Marcia Weston, College Goal Sunday

Podsafe Music
+ Matthew Ebel, Every Color, Extended Edition

Reminders

+ Private student loans
+ Stafford loans | Other federal student loans
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA tutorials and free help
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidNews.com.
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

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