FAP454: Make your own scholarship search engine, environmental scholarship, Sallie Mae vs. Ted Kennedy, ED PSA, Steve Runner promo, Uncle Seth

Student Financial Aid News
+ From InsideHigherEd.com: In a surprisingly blunt critique during a call with investors this month, the chief executive officer of Sallie Mae accused Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) of engaging in “baseless and insulting attacks” on the company and of trying to “smear the integrity” of the lender, the student loan industry, and financial aid professionals.” Tim Fitzgerald, the loan giant’s CEO, made the comments about the man who will be chiefly responsible for crafting Senate higher education policy in the 110th Congress during Sallie Mae’s fourth quarter earnings call last week. He said Kennedy, who has called for greater scrutiny of the student loan industry and for greater transparency about financial arrangements between colleges and lenders, might be angry because of difficulties encountered by the direct loan program that Kennedy championed in the 1990s as an alternative to the federal guaranteed loan program. Kennedy’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
+ During this decade, it’s estimated that more than 2 million college-qualified high school students will not earn a college degree because of financial barriers. In addition, the American Council on Education estimates that 1.5 million lower-income students who are already in college would have qualified for grants if they had applied – grants that would make it more likely that they could afford to finish college and reduce or eliminate the need for them to repay loans upon graduation. Consequently, the Department of Education wants to make more students, especially minority and first-generation college students, aware that financial aid is available.
+ So this is the ad…
+ In one of the most generous programs of its kind anywhere in the country, an oil company announced Monday it is putting up $50 million for college scholarships for nearly all high school graduates in its working-class hometown over the next 20 years.
+ Students at an El Dorado High School assembly screamed and applauded when Murphy Oil, the nation’s ninth-largest refiner, unveiled the program. Some wept, and one made the sign of the cross.
+ New video is out

Scholarship Update
+ The Sterling College Environmental Steward Scholarship
+ Each year Sterling College offers 2 full tuition scholarships to incoming students who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to environmental service and volunteerism. Any student who has not previously attended Sterling College is welcome to apply. Parents, guidance counselors, teachers, mentors, community members, and others are welcome to nominate students for these scholarships. Approximate value of the Environmental Steward Scholarship is $70,500 over four years.
+ April 1 deadline
+ High school, home-schooled, or transfer students should apply for the Environmental Steward Scholarship if they have…
+ Participated in environmentally related activities in high school, college, or the community;
+ Volunteered or worked with organizations involved with environmental education or conservation;
+ Worked toward living more consciously and lessening his/her environmental impact.
+ Details at our free college student scholarship search site

Financial Hacks
+ Create your own at Google Coop
+ Google CSE for the ultimate scholarship search engine!
+ Pick a selection of good sites and load up
+ http://www.fastweb.com
+ http://www.internationalscholarships.com/
+ http://www.sfa.ufl.edu:16080/scholarshipcafe/
+ http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com
+ http://www.uncf.org/scholarships/

Promo
+ Steve Runner, Phedippidations

Podsafe Music
+ Uncle Seth, You Don’t Need an iPod
+ 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.

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