FAP656: Did Craiglist get someone killed? PodCamp Boston, Matthew Ebel

Student Financial Aid News
+ Daniel Johnson Jr. submits this from College Recruiter: Front page news in the Minneapolis newspapers over the past couple of days has been the killing of Katherine Ann Olson. While any murder is tragic, this one is noteworthy to employers and job seekers alike because it appears to be related to the victim’s use of Craiglist to find a nanny position.
+ Candidates who apply for positions with Craigslist, CollegeRecruiter.com, or any other job board should never, ever agree to meet potential employers in isolated areas like a park. Instead, always meet strangers in high traffic, public places such as coffee shops or food courts in shopping malls. It is unclear at this point whether Ms. Olson’s murderer was the same person who posted the ad and therefore used the ad to lure an unsuspecting victim to an isolated area but the lesson here is clear: be cautious. Take a friend with you. Meet in a public place. Don’t trust those who have not yet earned your trust.
+ Banknet 360: The news in the mortgage sector just keeps getting worse – bigger writedowns, more layoffs, and worsening home sales. The latest forecast: Lenders and investors are in for $400 billion of losses, including two million foreclosures by yearend 2008, according to a report slated for release today by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
+ If that number bears out, it will propel the bloodbath from the fast-and-loose mortgage underwriting of the last few years to new heights. The loss in total real estate wealth is expected to range from $2 trillion to $4 trillion, depending on how far home prices fall.
+ Using home equity? Consider a Parent PLUS Loan to pay for college instead
+ Daily Free Press: Students may lose out on new opportunities for financial assistance if the colleges they attend do not make enough of an effort to stop illegal filesharing.
+ If the U.S. House of Representatives’ proposed College Access and Opportunity bill, released Oct. 4, passes, colleges and students will see increased financial aid and lower costs – but not if the schools do not comply with a stipulation in the bill that requires many to prove they are stepping up efforts to curb illegal downloading.
+ According to the bill, universities must provide students with information about the legal ramifications of distributing or downloading copyrighted material over the institutions’ information technology systems without permission.
+ If schools fail to adequately inform students, they will forfeit eligibility for benefits provided by the bill
+ Thanks to intense lobbying efforts by the Recording Industry Association of America
+ The answer is obvious: legally buy and support only independent, non-RIAA artists, and cut these buggers out of the profit loop.

Scholarship Update
+ Each year, the Ennes Educational Foundation Trust offers up to three scholarships to deserving candidates who aspire to a career in the technical aspects of broadcasting. Scholarship awards are used for tuition, room and board or textbook costs at post-secondary educational institutions, or for other technical training programs approved by the Scholarship Committee. Preference will be given to applicants who are members of SBE; however, any individual otherwise eligible is encouraged to apply.
+ $3,000 award
+ Deadline July 1 of each year
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Opinion
+ Thoughts from the weekend marathon that was PodCamp Boston
+ We need a conference like this for the financial aid world – students, parents, and professionals – that goes beyond College Goal Sunday
+ The ability to put lots of smart people in a room and let them jam could do great things for any industry
+ What forms could it take? How would it change people’s abilities to pay for college?

Podsafe Music
+ Matthew Ebel, Everybody Needs a Ninja
+ Buy Goodbye Planet Earth

Reminders

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

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