Daily Aid 96: Determining how much to borrow in student loans
From the Wall Street Journal:
Another option is to pursue an advanced degree and hope that the job market is better when you’re done. But don’t do this if you’d end up with an unreasonable amount of debt, says Christopher Penn, spokesman for the Student Loan Network.
He suggests limiting total borrowing to no more than 100% of what you expect your annual after-tax income to be upon graduation, something that can be difficult to judge in these extraordinary times.
Commentary
Thanks again to …

FAP900: 900 episodes, student loans, free stuff, 529 plans
Click here to download the MP3 file
It’s the 900th episode of the Financial Aid Podcast! Now’s a great time to subscribe if you haven’t before.
Student Financial Aid News
Breaking news from MASFAA – in President Obama’s budget for the coming year, he writes:
Right now, the subsidies in the Government-guaranteed student loan program are set by the Congress through the political process. That program has not only needlessly cost taxpayers billions of dollars, but has also subjected students to uncertainty because of turmoil in …

I’m on the road today, out of the office, but wanted to answer a few questions along the way.
Jeff writes:
For My sons FASFA I indicated on campus housing but just realized that at Vir Tech second years students must find off campus housing. Which he has. Should I make the correction or leave as is?
Cost of attendance for on or off campus is probably very close, though I can’t tell from VT’s web site. I would go ahead and update the FAFSA just to be accurate in case of verification, …

FAP899: Correction on FAFSA dependency overrides, jobs, free stuff
Listen now:[audio:http://media.libsyn.com/media/financialaidpodcast/20090213.mp3″>MP3 file
Weekly Financial Aid Roundup
There’s an epilogue to last week’s CNBC story.
What to do if your student loan company goes out of business!
Mail Bag
Robin, a financial aid administrator, wrote in with this vitally important update about FAFSA dependency overrides:
For Dependency Overrides the Federal guidelines are extremely clear. Being self-supporting is NOT grounds for an override.
Instead you must prove INVOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION OF THE FAMILY. This means you were forced to leave your parents’ home and have no contact with them. You must …

Daily Aid 79: Farewell MyRichUncle, FAFSA questions
Student Financial Aid News
MyRichUncle has declared chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means that if you had them as a lender, you need a new student loan company. Also, if you have had loans with MyRichUncle in the past (or any student loan company that’s gone out of business), those loans will be sold at auction to other investors in the liquidation, so make sure that you keep in touch with your servicer (whoever sends you the bills each month) and ensure that your contact information …

Daily Aid 75: FAFSA mail flood, discount college education
Student Financial Aid News
From NASFAA and the Northwest Herald:
“The ongoing recession means more students will look to grants, scholarships and loans to pay for school, said Claude Walker, Illinois Student Assistance Commission spokesman,” the Northwest Herald reports. “About 14.7 million people have filed for financial aid this year by submitting the FAFSA, compared with 13.3 million who filed at this time last year, according to information from the U.S. Department of Education. Walker said that students seeking aid shouldn’t wait. ‘There is …

Daily Aid 74: Student loans as investments, marriage and FAFSA
Student Financial Aid News
From Bloomberg:
The U.S. Treasury agreed to commit as much as $60 billion to shore up the market for student loans and help reduce the illiquid assets clogging banks’ balance sheets, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The department will use its Federal Financing Bank to provide a backstop for an initiative put together by Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley, the people said. The so-called conduit will purchase existing and new student loans from banks, and issue asset-backed …

FAP897: Finding a new job, financial aid after job loss, free stuff
The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. Please stop by the web site, leave comments on the blog, and subscribe for free in iTunes.
Click here to download the MP3 file
Weekly Financial Aid Roundup
Massachusetts College Goal Sunday in review.
Sunday Night Financial Aid event.
Scholarship Update
The 11th Annual National High School Poetry Contest is now accepting submissions. This year’s scholarship prizes (12) range from $100 to $1000. We also name up to 100 Honorable Mentions and hundreds …

FAP896: Credit cards, jobcast, mail bag, TONS of free stuff
Click here to download the MP3 file
Weekly Financial Aid Roundup
Major changes to credit cards including student credit cards coming as soon as 90 days away.
The usual roundup of diminishing funds.
Also, W-2s and 1099s should be in, so get your taxes done and get your FAFSA filed.
Oh yeah, and new President of the United States.
Featured Scholarships

Student Loan Network $10,000 Scholarship »
ScholarshipPoints Monthly Scholarship »

Jobcast
Doing something different with your resume.
News You Can Use
Go grab our old meditation episode if you missed it last …

Daily Aid 67: Dealing with economic stress
News You Can Use
In tough times, pressure can get so tough that you start to make bad choices, choices that under different circumstances you’d never consider. This might be falling for a scam (most scams rely on desperation to make outrageous claims seem rational), becoming addicted to something as an escape from pressure, even doing something insane like violence towards someone you care about.
So how do you deal with economic stress? You deal with it in the same way you deal with being lost …