FAP562: Financial Aid Podcast Starter Pack, episode 1 of 5

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Welcome to Episode 1 of the Financial Aid Podcast Starter Pack, a 5 episode miniseries designed to help you get started on the path of paying for college, as well as introduce you to the podcast and the Student Loan Network. My name is Christopher Penn, founder, host, and producer of the Financial Aid Podcast.

Let’s get started with some brief information about the podcast. If you’re listening to this on the web site, www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or some other place on the web, a podcast is essentially a downloadable internet radio show. The Financial Aid Podcast is published every weekday, and regularly features news, scholarships, and financial tips to help you get the most out of your dollar.

One thing I recommend you do is subscribe to the podcast. Subscribing to the podcast is easy and free, especially if you use iTunes for the Mac or PC, which you can get at www.iTunes.com for free. Subscribing lets you receive the podcast automatically, delivered to your digital doorstep whenever a new episode is available. To add the Financial Aid Podcast to your daily routine, just install iTunes, then visit www. FinancialAidPodcast.com and click on the Add to iTunes button on the left hand side.

Finally, the Financial Aid Podcast is a new media publication, which means that you’re not supposed to just listen to it. In new media, you, the listener, can also participate. Call in, write in, ask questions, join the forums, and more. To call into the show, call 206-350-1208 or email FinancialAidPodcast@GMail.com. You’ll also find links to popular social networking web sites on the web site at www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

This miniseries contains 5 episodes. Episode one, which you’re listening to now, is about scholarships and grants. Episode two is about the FAFSA, the free application for federal student aid. Episode three is about federal student loans. Episode four is about private student loans. Episode five is about student loan consolidation and career stuff, things you do after you graduate. Let’s roll right into scholarships.

The scholarships process
- Start early, as early as possible
- Get a free copy of our scholarship search secrets e-book
- Create a profile in a text editor or word processor
- Register for a variety of free scholarship searches
- Subscribe to scholarships newsletters and news feeds
- Visit StudentScholarshipSearch.com and ScholarshipPoints.com
- Use the tips in the 19 page guide to Google for scholarships

Spotting scholarship scams
- Tips from the FTC
- Tips from Finaid.org

Podsafe Music
- It’s traditional for the Financial Aid Podcast to have independent music in every show, and this miniseries is no exception.
- Matthew Ebel, Every Color
- From the album Virtual Hot Wings

Get in touch with the Financial Aid Podcast!

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.