FAP528: Mail bag, choosing a consolidation lender, Denver scholarships, Catie McKinney

Student Financial Aid News
+ From Inside Higher Ed: New York’s Legislature passed the country’s first state law restricting the relationships between student loan companies and college officials. The law, which was supported by legislative leaders and New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and awaits the signature of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, would put into law the elements of the code of conduct that Cuomo has been persuading colleges and lenders to sign to govern their own interactions. Among other things, it would bar payments and gifts from lenders to college financial aid officials in exchange for any advantage or consideration in the awarding of the institutions’ loan business, restrict college officials from receiving any compensation or benefit for serving on lender advisory boards. The passage of the New York law won praise from Congressional leaders as well as Cuomo.
+ From the Chronicle of Higher Education: “Matteo Fontana, the Department of Education student-aid official suspended last month in an ethics case, issued a controversial and high-stakes legal ruling in 2004 that benefited his former employer Sallie Mae on the day before the nation’s top student lender completed its transition from a government-founded lender into a for-profit corporation. In that ruling, Mr. Fontana, who was placed on administrative leave following reports that he owned stock in another student loan company, declared that Sallie Mae could legally perform debt-collection services for a partner company, USA Funds, even though federal conflict-of-interest regulations prohibit such work by the same ‘entity’ that holds the loan. Both Sallie Mae and USA Funds contend Mr. Fontana’s ruling was proper.”
+ From the Denver Post: “Officials from the Denver Scholarship Foundation reversed course Thursday, pledging that all needy and eligible Denver high school students will be able to afford tuition at participating Colorado colleges – at least for the 2007-08 year. School officials and principals faced parent complaints and crying students after foundation officials said Wednesday that they would cap individual student assistance at $3,000 annually. With that pledge came some caveats. Students must need help financially. They must apply for federal and state aid as well as three private scholarships.”

Scholarship Update
+ Denver Scholarship Foundation
+ Large directory of scholarships for Colorado-based students and teachers
+ Probably close to $250,000
+ Details at our free college scholarship search guide

Mail Bag
+ Eugena writes in: Dear Sir, Im applying for a loan so I my go on with my Education. Im 42 year old I have MS and few other problems It has took me a very long time to be able to get out of My home, but now that I have done this I would Like to go with my Education as far as I can go I would Like, to get enough Education so I can take care of my self not haveing to live on SSI. So I could realy use a loan. To help Me take of the thing I need for school.and any help you can give me I would appreciate.
+ File the FAFSA first
+ Go hunt for scholarships related to your condition
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Private student loans at ActEducationLoans.com
+ David writes in: Hi. I have various companies asking me to consolidate, and I’d like to, but I don’t know what I’m looking for to get the best deal, and not ripped off. Currently my loans are with Sallie Mae, and I would love to get away from them. Do you have the right suggestion, or have you already recorded a podcast on this subject? My greatest goal would be lower monthly payments permanently. Thanks. David
+ Compare benefits, rates, discounts, and service
+ Student loans are like apartment rentals – low rent is better than high rent, particularly for the same size apartment, but benefits and the part of town you’re in matter, too
+ Double check the fine print on student loan consolidation benefits
+ Laurie writes in: My daughter consolidated her private student loans through Citifinancial(student loan corp) Her monthly payment is 401.00, Her Federal loans are 118.00 is there anyway to reduce the monthly payment on the private loans? The interest rate is 10% it just seems like so much for a student loan. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
+ Private student loans almost always have a higher rate than federal ones, because they’re variable rate, based on the market and the credit of the borrower. As a strategy, I’d recommend paying the monthly payment on the federal student loans, and pay down as much as possible each month on the private loan consolidation. IF she has any credit issues, it might not be a bad idea to clean up her credit report as best as possible, and then possibly explore reconsolidating the private loans if she can get a better rate with improved credit.
+ Private student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com/private

Podsafe Music
+ Catie McKinney, Waiting for the Light
+ Amusing and laudable – Catie’s MySpace profile indicates that it’s managed by her mom
+ Good morning, Catie’s mom! Make sure Catie goes and applies for lots of music scholarships starting now.
+ 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.

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file