Debt relief could be on the horizon for recent law school graduates. The American Bar Association has proposed extending debt relief to law school graduates who have not been able to find a job because of the recession. While most unemployed graduates can already defer their federal loans or qualify for income based repayment, the ABA’s proposition suggests letting graduates convert their private loans into federal loans so that they can receive the same benefits.

If you are considering going to grad school one major factor that is probably holding you back is the cost. Between rent, utilities and car payments your budget is probably already pretty tight. You are probably also hesitant to pile more debt on top of your student loans. Before you apply for alternative student loans or the Grad PLUS loan one thing you should do is talk to your employer.

A graduate or professional student attending an eligible foreign institution will only be able to use the multi-year
feature of the PLUS MPN if the school has been expressly approved by the Department to have its student and parent borrowers do so.

Daily Aid 49: Student loan consolidation, state budgets, MS scholarship
Student Financial Aid News
From Bloomberg:

California’s budget deficit has widened to $14.8 billion for the next seven months, $3.6 billion more than forecast last month, amid lawmaker disagreement on how to close the gap, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said. Yesterday, California Controller John Chiang said the state’s general fund revenue, which pays for the government operations, fell short of forecasts by $1.3 billion, or 19 percent, in November. Retail sales taxes were $630 million below estimates, while income tax collections trailed …

FAP727: CLC exits, Free Stuff Friday
Click here to download the MP3 file
Student Financial Aid News
+ Chronicle: Fifty states, the federal government, and thousands of American colleges and universities are about to face a test of their commitment to higher education, at a time when the country is under economic stress and high-school graduating classes are about to crest.
+ While the official “recession” label has not been used, the news broke on Wednesday that the American economy slowed to a crawl in the last quarter of 2007, growing only 0.6 percent. …

FAP645: Breath of fresh AIR, Clinton, Farms, Allison Crowe
Student Financial Aid News
+ Len Edgerly sent in this Reuters story: Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton proposed eliminating federally guaranteed student loans on Thursday, a move that would shake the foundations of the $85 billion student loan industry.
+ Lenders such as Sallie Mae, Citigroup and Bank of America do a big business in extending federally guaranteed loans to college students.
+ In a campaign Web site posting, the New York senator said she would pay for a range of higher education reforms “without …

FAP637: Where is the Wal-Mart of higher education, mail bag, Sukhawat Ali Khan
Student Financial Aid News
+ Chicago Sun Times: Mayor Richard Daley suggests cutting college course requirements in half to cut graduation times in half
+ Question: where is the Wal-Mart of higher education?
+ Better question: if salary is one of the most expensive components, where is the college staffed by MS/MBAs instead of Ph.D.s – would that college be a lot cheaper?
+ What are YOUR thoughts on why there’s no Wal-Mart of college?
Scholarship Update
+ OCA has been provided with funding …

FAP592: Expert interview with Matthew Cashdollar, Gardening Scholarship, newsletter, Natalie Gelman
Listen to this episode now:
[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/financialaidpodcast/20070731.mp3″>MP3 file
Student Financial Aid News
+ Inside Higher Ed: The National Association of College and University Business Officers plans to review its existing policies on the interaction between exhibitors and attendees at its annual meetings and to propose a set of “best practices” — and practices to be avoided — in the relationships between corporate vendors and colleges generally, the association’s top official said Monday.
+ In an interview published in Inside Higher Ed Monday, NYS AG Andrew …

FAP566: Financial Aid Podcast Starter Pack, episode 5 of 5
Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file
Welcome to Episode 5 of the Financial Aid Podcast Starter Pack, a 5 episode miniseries designed to help you get started on the path of paying for college, as well as introduce you to the podcast and the Student Loan Network. My name is Christopher Penn, founder, host, and producer of the Financial Aid Podcast.
If you haven’t already done so, please subscribe to the podcast. Subscribing to the podcast is easy and free, especially if you …

FAP546: Free stuff Friday, mail bag, code of conduct, Seton Hall scholarship, Mamas and Papas
Student Financial Aid News
+ From BankNet360: A former Johns Hopkins University financial aid director accepted twice as much money from student lenders as previously disclosed. Eight lenders gave Ellen Frishberg $130,000 during her 18-year tenure, which was spent, ironically enough, advising the federal government on rules for officials dealing with the student loan industry. Earlier this month, Frishberg resigned after the school said she failed to comply with ethics policies by accepting $65,000 from a lender …