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Financial Aid News, November 2007 Issue A Publication of the Student Loan Network

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In this issue, our staff gets together and shares their holiday personal finance tips for making the most out of your money – giving great gifts, and not breaking the bank – plus our usual collection of scholarships! If you’ve got comments, questions, or feedback, please email newsletter@FinancialAidNews.com or give us a call toll-free at (877) 328-1565. If you know someone who should be getting this newsletter but is not, please forward them a copy.

Christopher Penn, Editor www.FinancialAidNews.com www.StudentLoanNetwork.com

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Featured Product Announcement

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Fall semester is well underway, and you’re most likely finding you have a bunch of expenses, from tuition, travel, room and board to computers and books. We want to introduce you to a private student loan option, the Act Education Loan, which can supplement and cover all education-related expenses such as books, school supplies, lab fees, even a laptop.

Act Education Loans offer many great benefits: * Apply online or over the phone * Get preliminary approval in as little as 15 minutes * Receive your check in about a week

Use the funds for tuition, room and board, unexpected expenses, even a computer. Apply for a private loan today at http://www.ActEducationLoans.com or call toll-free at 877-328-1565.

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Top Holiday Financial Tips

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Around the holidays, many cash-strapped students are looking for ways to save money - on gifts, travel home, etc. Because saving money for students is always on our mind, we asked a panel of our experts what holiday personal finance tips they suggested in order to make the most out of your money. Here’s what they had to say:

• If you have a large extended family that you need to buy gifts for, you can get the same gift for each person. Make it something everyone will enjoy, but that won’t break your bank account. One year I visited a wine vineyard where you can bottle your own wine and make your own labels with the person’s name on it.

• Another great gift for everyone would be personalized book labels (i.e. “From the Library of Lee Anne Hannula”) for anyone in your family that likes to read and keep track of their book collection. These types of labels can be used for many things, such as DVDs. You can find them online and it is a great and thoughtful gift.

• eBay is a great option, particularly for high margin items like accessories. You can get a great deal on items in “like new” condition, so they are as good as buying from the store.

• If you’re interested in buying a car, the end of the year is a great time to do that as dealers might be more inclined to sell and improve their sales volume.

• If you’re making donations for tax deduction purposes, get them in before the end of the year and get receipts for what you donated, so they’ll be applicable when you file in April.

• Always include gift receipts with your holiday gifts. Some stores make it very difficult to return or exchange items without a receipt and may give you the lowest, most recent sale price for the item as store credit.

• Something to think about next year: If you are coming up short on money for the holidays, and did last year (and the year before)… Open a traditional Christmas club account at your local bank. It’s easier to save $10-20 a week than to scramble for cash or run up your credit cards during the holidays.

• Kayak.com is a little-known search engine that searches through all the other travel websites. Saves time and cash - it’s a great resource if you are traveling home for the holidays.

• One of the neatest gifts I have received was a “six-pack” of home-made beer from a friend. He bought a beer-making kit (forty dollars) and a canned recipe ($15), complete with all ingredients, and made twelve very good six-packs of IPA. You can design your own labels online (www.myownlabels.com/ML112.asp) to customize your presentation. The only hitch is that you will need to make your brew at least four weeks before it’s ready to drink, as it needs to ferment.

• If you still live at home or near your family and you’re short of cash, offer yourself for Christmas! Make up coupons for doing the dishes, vacuuming, mowing the lawn, etc. – any chores that need doing – that your family can redeem for your services. Your parents will especially appreciate them for chores they dislike. Not only does this cost a few dollars for paper, but your family will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Just remember that when your family redeems the coupons, you need to make good and do the chores you promise or you’ll be in trouble!

• Photography can be a great gift, and it is about as economical as you can get. You can give pictures that you think are interesting (like landscape, buildings, etc.) or find good pictures of people at fun events or places you have traveled, then frame them and wrap them up. Lots of stores have very cute, cheap frames. They are always a big hit!

Have your own tip? Email it to us at newsletter@FinancialAidNews.com and we may feature your tip in next month’s issue.

Finally, listen to Episode 659 of the Financial Aid Podcast, detailing some simple, free gifts you can give and alternatives to standard, run-of-the-mill gifts.

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Last Words: Blog Highlights from Student Loan Network Experts

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Lee Hannula examines study abroad financial options for international study.

Katie Dexter explores options for graduate school scholarships.

Russ Ain on things graduate students wished they had known.

Jonathan Rudy looks at what to do when your graduation grace period ends on your student loans.

Please take a moment to rate these blog posts and many more at Financial Aid News Stories (FANS) at http://www.FinancialAidNews.com/fans/

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Scholarships

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Have you registered for Scholarship Points, our free college scholarship awards site? Every month, we pick a lucky recipient for two hundred fifty dollars; every quarter, we select a lucky recipient for $1,000. Visit: http://www.ScholarshipPoints.com

Here’s a selection of awards from StudentScholarshipSearch.com - visit the site to see all the new awards (over 60!) posted recently: http://www.StudentScholarshipSearch.com/new/

ICIF Scholarship http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/scholarship/659/

EDSF Scholarships http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/scholarship/660/

Blair Chiropractic Scholarships http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/scholarship/656/

John Stachurski Memorial Scholarship http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/scholarship/657/

Sylva Ashworth Scholarship http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/scholarship/658/

SVC Foundation Scholarship http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/scholarship/654/

HENAAC Scholars Program http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/scholarship/655/

Internview Scholarship Competition http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/scholarship/652/

Remember, you can get daily scholarship updates by listening to the Financial Aid Podcast (http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com) and visiting the Student Scholarship Search (http://www.StudentScholarshipSearch.com) web site.

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Student Resources

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Ever take out clothes from last year and find money in the pockets? Is that always a pleasant surprise? You’ll feel the same way after you consolidate your federal or private student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com. Reduce your monthly payment up to 53%, simplify your budgeting, and start finding money in your pocket every month. Visit: http://www.StudentLoanConsolidator.com

Get daily free financial aid information on your iPod or computer! Tune into the Financial Aid Podcast every weekday for news, scholarships, and great music. Money talks. Are you listening? Visit: http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

Looking for tips about the FAFSA? Visit FAFSA Online, the Internet’s best FAFSA resource at http://www.FAFSAonline.com

StudentPlatinum.com provides reliable student credit card information, advice on debt management, and applications for quality student credit cards. Visit http://www.StudentPlatinum.com

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Financial Aid News is a publication of the Student Loan Network. 1250 Hancock Street, Suite 703N, Quincy, MA 02169 © 2007 Edvisors. All rights reserved.

iPod and iTunes are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.

Missed an issue? Did you remember a scholarship but can’t find the back issue? Want to tell a friend about the newsletter? You can always find back issues of the Financial Aid Newsletter at: http://www.FinancialAidNews.com