Financial Aid Podcast #253 : May 16, 2006

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Financial Aid Podcast #253 : May 16, 2006

16 May 2006 1 views No Comment

5/16: Nelnet, currency exchange, worlds largest outdoor cocktail party, Second Life, Matthew Ebel, mail bag, more Matthew Ebel, #253

Student Financial Aid News
+ It’s very wet here
+ Nelnet securitizes $2B in loans – no A-6 franche notes in Euros this time
+ Probably because the dollar is very weak vs. other currencies right now
+ Weak dollar means that exports become cheaper for foreign nations to buy
+ Imports in the US get more expensive – it takes more US dollars to buy a foreign good
+ Strong dollar is the reverse – exports are expensive for others, imports are cheap
+ Unfortunately, most of our goods in the US are made overseas – a weak dollar makes international goods more expensive compared to the same domestic goods
+ International goods may still be cheaper!
+ If you play Second Life, it’s the same with Linden game dollars – they’re a foreign currency, for all intents and purposes
+ Second Life has much worse inflation than the US dollar – the US dollar is strong by comparison – 10% inflation in 45 days or 81% annual inflation rate
+ How can you tell? How many Lindens you can buy for a dollar
+ Just like on the world market – how many euros or yen you can buy for a dollar
+ In case anybody needs a little extra motivation for developing hydrogen as an alternative fuel, Congress is moving to put some of its chips on the table in the form of a $10 million reward for breakthrough technology. Legislation creating the “H-Prize” passed the House last week by a vote of 416-6, and a companion bill will be introduced into the Senate this week.
+ In lighter news, the president of the University of Georgia has asked CBS and city officials in Jacksonville, Fla., to stop referring to the annual football game between his institution and the University of Florida as “the world’s largest outdoor cocktail party,” the Associated Press reports. Michael F. Adams says the tag line, often used to promote the game, doesn’t exactly help the institution’s push to rein in student drinking.

Scholarship Update
+ Frederic J.C. Liggin Phase Three Productions Single Mother’s Scholarship Fund
+ Any single mother in school can apply on a first come, first serve basis; a one page essay must be received by Frederick Liggin before any money is released
+ No idea how much the award is for, but it’s through TSU
+ Detailed information at Student Scholarship web site

Mail Bag
+ Jill Richard from Second Life and the More Hip Than Hippie Podcast likes the new promo
+ Jim Hawkridge asks “I am just graduating from college and the ol’ student loans are coming due. Do you have any info or know of any thing I should do before they’re due?”
+ Student loan consolidation is the name of the game!
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Janet from MySpace asks, “I need 3500 by Friday – what can I do?”
+ privatestudentloans.com or StudentLoanNetworkApplication.com
+ Matthew Ebel writes in to say, “Oh, and by the way, I’m trying to help a coworker get back into college. She’s a single mom with no real money saved up (surprise), but she wants a business degree. I’m trying to get her to avoid any kind of student loans altogether (no offense), but I know where to send her for those options. The one problem is that she doesn’t have the internet at her house. Yeah. So she can’t really listen to your show or reliably get the newsletter. You guys don’t put out a paper copy, do you?”
+ Be sure to check out the scholarship in today’s show
+ Sort of, but it’s expensive, mainly because paper is a pain in the butt
+ Stafford loans | Other federal student loans
+ Parent loans at ParentPLUSLoan.com
+ FAFSA application online at FAFSAonline.com