FAP722: Sallie Mae, Nelnet in trouble, graduate financial aid mailbag
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Student Financial Aid News
+ This Sunday is College Goal Sunday in Massachusetts. Other states will vary. I’ll be at Framingham High School, and I’ll be bringing my video rig as well.
+ Chronicle: Sallie Mae, (ticker: SLM) the nation’s largest student-loan company, said it will stop offering loans to students at colleges with poor graduation rates.
+ The lender, which is struggling with financial difficulties including a falling stock price, announced the change on Wednesday, one day …

FAP591: Mortgage woes, NACUBO, creativity scholarship, mail bag, Munk
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Student Financial Aid News
+ Chronicle: The most popular giveaway at NACUBO among the numerous raffles and games of chance may be the iPhone. Or it could be the chance to play blackjack for a potential prize of a trip for two to Las Vegas. Or it could be the mountain bike. Or the $250 gift certificate to Whole Foods.
+ Those are among the prizes that are being given away to attendees at this year’s annual meeting of …

FAP576: CarCast Rolling in LATE From Logan Airport, Florence Attino, Matthew Ebel
After significant delays at both Dulles International Airport and Logan Airport, I’m FINALLY home from NASFAA. Today’s show is a CarCast recorded on the drive home, and we feature an interview with Florence Attino, Associate Director of Financial Aid for Brooklyn Law School, along with Janet Solomon, Assistant Director of Financial Aid. Discussed topics include graduate PLUS loans, graduate private student loans, home equity, and the cost of education.
Podsafe Music
+ Matthew Ebel, Latte Days and Porter Nights Live
Reminders
+ Private …

FAP535: Legislative changes, paying for graduate school, URI, Rich Palmer
Student Financial AId News
+ From Inside Higher Ed: Democratic Congressional leaders reached agreement late Tuesday on a 2008 budget resolution that greatly increases the likelihood that lawmakers pass legislation this year that will cut financial support for student loan providers and use the savings to increase financial aid for students. Predictably, the move brought praise from student groups and howls of protest from lenders.
+ The budget resolution drafted by Democrats this week calls for increasing spending on education programs by about …

FAP468: Responsible student loan borrowing, graduate economics scholarships, financial aid consultants, Clare Dowling
Student Financial Aid News
+ 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 …

Been reading about the legislation in Congress to reduce federal student loan interest rates? Here’s the top 5 things you need to know.
1. If you already have student loans, this legislation does not affect them. This legislation ONLY affects new Stafford federal student loans, and applies only to the subsidized federal Stafford loan for undergraduate students.

Graduate student loans aren’t eligible for the discounted rates.
Unsubsidized Stafford loans for undergraduate or graduate students aren’t eligible.
Parents taking out PLUS loans will not receive any discounts, either.

2. This legislation is not final. Only …

FAP449: 5 tips for graduate student financial aid, FAFSA tips, who is a dependent student on the FAFSA, Wyoming Scholarship, Paul Holcomb
Student Financial Aid News
+ Hey, I won a Seagate drive!
+ What does this mean for you?
+ More video!
+ Health insurance subsidy does more for college education than tuition subsidy
+ 5 great tips for graduate students seeking financial aid from the Mississippi Sun Herald
+ Don’t wait to ask for financial aid. Fellowship, scholarship and assistantship decisions are usually made at the university’s departmental level, and they’re made early in the …

Student Financial Aid News
+ The Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority and some of its board members admitted to violating the state’s Sunshine Law last January.
+ MOHELA and its board held private meetings — illegal under the law — regarding Gov. Matt Blunt’s plan to sell the agency’s assets to fund campus improvement projects at the state’s universities.
+ Under the settlement each board member will pay $1,000. Additionally, MOHELA assured it would comply with the Sunshine Law in the future and provide State Attorney General Jay Nixon’s office with notices of …

Student Financial Aid News
+ The Democrat-led push to make college more affordable by cutting interest rates, expanding Pell Grants, and making tuition tax deductible could cost more than $60 billion over five years, according to an estimate by Jaret Seiberg, an analyst at Stanford Washington Policy Research.
+ Congress may look to take some of those funds from private lenders’ interest rate subsidies and federal loan guarantees, Seiberg added.
+ However, according to analysts at Prudential Securities, even if Congress eliminated the entire Federal Family Education Loan Program — the program under …

Student Financial Aid News
+ Americans are increasingly reaching for plastic when making small purchases at convenience stores, coffee shops, and subway stations, according to a survey released yesterday.
+ The survey — conducted jointly by market researcher Ipsos Insight and small payments tech firm Peppercoin Inc. — found that more than 67 million Americans have paid for purchases of less than $5 using a credit or debit card during the past 30 days.
+ Affiliated Computer Services Inc., a Dallas-based student loan processor, forced its chief executive and finance chief to resign …