FAP543: Facebook lending, Free Stuff Tuesday, bill of rights, Rayko KRB

Student Financial Aid News
+ From BankNet360 and the “Why didn’t I think of that sooner” column: The sixth-most-trafficked web site in the U.S. now has a personal lending element.
+ Facebook, the online social network, yesterday launched the person-to-person lending service managed by Lending Club. The service will allow users to borrow and lend money directly among each other. Borrowers can apply for loans of as much as $25,000, but they must have a credit score of at least 640 — essentially a prime borrower — to obtain credit.
+ Lending Club’s proprietary LendingMatch system helps lenders identify loans based on pre-set criteria, such as being Facebook friends or being in the same network, group or geography. Lending Club handles user authentication, bank account verification, credit checking, credit reporting, funds transfers, and collections.
+ The company generates revenue by collecting a one-time processing fee of 0.75% to 2% of the loan amount from borrowers and a processing fee of 1% of the installment amounts from lenders.
+ From NASFAA: According to a press release from the attorney general’s office release yesterday, the Student Bill of Rights includes the following rights:
+ To unbiased advice about loans and lenders from schools’ financial aid offices.
+ To choose the lender, even if the lender is not included on the school’s preferred lender lists.
+ To know what criteria a school uses to select preferred lenders.
+ To know whether preferred lenders are paying the school or financial aid officers.
+ To know what benefits or rate discounts lenders offer, and whether those benefits or discounts will be made immediately available, or only after a certain number of consecutive timely payments.
+ To know if a lender has agreed to sell its loans to another lender.
+ To know whether borrower benefits and discounts will continue if the loan is sold.
+ To know the interest rate for the loan before borrowing.
+ To exhaust federal borrowing options before turning to higher cost private student loans.
+ From NASFAA: “Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas on Wednesday signed into law a bill providing $12 million for college scholarships and work force training,” reports the Associated Press. “Douglas proposed the program in his State of the State address last year, but it was derailed as the result of a disagreement over how to fund it. Under the program: Close to $8 million will be divided among the University of Vermont, state colleges and the Vermont Student Assistance Corp., which will award it to students. The rest will be allotted to a half-dozen work force training programs administrated by the state Labor Department.”
+ File under also obvious: Students who binge drink are less likely than other students to have good decision-making skills, even when the students aren’t drunk, according to new research that will be published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

Scholarship Update
+ Mississippi State Promise Program
+ Requires 3.0 GPA, FAFSA, admittance to Mississippi State school
+ Non-loan aid for low income families to attend Mississippi State Schools
+ Details at our free scholarship search site

Free Stuff Tuesday
+ Dealighted
+ 10 ways to be productive with Backpack
+ MP3myMP3
+ Streamtuner for Linux
+ Desktop Two
+ OSalt.com
+ Tribler video recommendation site
+ Best WiFi Hotels

Podsafe Music
+ Rayko KRB, Charp
+ Pre-order Rayko’s new album now – $9.99
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network

Reminders

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

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