FAP474: Jobcast expert interview with MaryHelen Votral part 3, Cal Grant, price tags at Albright, Rayko KRB

Student Financial Aid News
+ CEPR calculator – pretty cool
+ New Mexico State University is the latest college that will have its ID cards double as Wells Fargo & Co. [ticker WFC”>MP3 file ATM and debit cards.
+ Beginning this spring, students, faculty, and staff will be able to use their Aggie Access Card for entry into official functions and buildings on the Las Cruces campus, as well as payment cards for point-of-sale transactions wherever Visa debit cards are accepted.
+ Cardholders will also be able to link to a Wells Fargo checking account and manage their finances, such as financial aid disbursements, over the internet.
+ Wells Fargo has similar agreements with colleges in California, Colorado, Texas, Nebraska, and Arizona.
+ Tax preparation might be coming with FAFSA help some day
+ Incidentally, FAFSAonline.com is a free site
+ Albright College putting price tags on things today to emphasize that tuition only covers 2/3 of costs
+ Among the dollar values to be posted on the bright blue and yellow tags: $222,128 for water and sewer for a year, $275 for a desk with chair, $529.99 for a Ping-Pong table, $875 for a projection screen, $3,194.95 for the pool lane lines, $17.25 million in scholarships awarded this year, and $1,239.93 for a security phone.
+ Albright does not shop at Wal-Mart, apparently – I can get the same ping pong table for $139.94 plus shipping
+ Here’s an idea – what if a college actually did open-source the purchasing process and let students help be a part of the budgeting process? If you could cut tuition by 1/3 simply by helping the college comparison shop for commodities, would you do it?

Scholarship Update
+ Arias writes in: dude are there any scholarships just for california residents?
+ You’re kidding, right? You’re not kidding.
+ The Cal Grant
+ FAFSA plus verified GPA
+ Up to $9,700 per year for California residents
+ Details at our free college scholarship site

Jobcast Expert Interview
+ MaryHelen Votral, part 3

Podsafe Music
+ Rayko KRB, Up Chuk Skat
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network

Reminders

+ Private student loans
+ Stafford loans | Other federal student loans
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidNews.com.
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.
+ The Financial Aid Podcast Daily Free Internet Radio with your host, Christopher S. Penn

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file