FAP610: What to do if you lose your job, beer and fish scholarship, Anji Bee

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FAP610: What to do if you lose your job, beer and fish scholarship, Anji Bee

23 August 2007 1 views No Comment

FAP610: What to do if you lose your job, beer and fish scholarship, Anji Bee

Student Financial Aid News
+ BankNet360: Mortgage lender First Magnus Financial Corp. filed for bankruptcy Tuesday, the 14th mortgage operation since December to fall prey to the deepening credit crisis.
+ Once the nation’s 16th largest mortgage company, Tucson, Ariz.-based First Magnus originated more than $17 billion in home loans from January to June.
+ NASFAA: One out of five undergraduate private loan borrowers did not take advantage of federal student loans that offer lower interest rates and more flexible payment options, even though these students appeared to be eligible for this aid, a new issue brief by the American Council on Education (ACE) finds.
+ There are several possible explanations for the high percentage of student borrowers who relied solely on private loans. Half of private loan borrowers with no federal loan did not file a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), the application for all federal loans as well as most types of grants.
+ 80 percent of private loan borrowers are undergraduates. Most undergraduate private student loan borrowers attend full time.
+ 75 percent of undergraduate private loan borrowers attend one of three types of institutions: public four-year colleges and universities (30 percent); private, not-for-profit four-year colleges and universities (30 percent); and for-profit institutions offering programs of two years or more (15 percent).
+ Most private borrowers have federal student loans as well. Seventy-seven percent of private student loan borrowers also had a Stafford federal student loan, however 21 percent of those students borrowed less than the maximum amount.
+ Private borrowers are disproportionately dependent students. At public and private not-for-profit four-year colleges and universities, they are also disproportionately from middle-income families.
+ After grants are deducted, private loan borrowers at each type of institution face higher average educational expenses than their counterparts who do not borrow these loans.

Scholarship Update
+ Beer and fish!
+ Budweiser Conservation Scholarship Program
+ 10 scholarships of up to $10,000 each will be awarded to cover students’ expenses for tuition, fees, books, room and board and other direct expenses related to their studies. Awards will be made based on merit and will take into consideration the student’s academic achievements and their ability and commitment to develop innovative solutions that are designed to address real and pressing issues affecting the conservation of natural resources. Specific areas of interest under the 2007 scholarship program include innovative research or study addressing the conservation of fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats, water conservation and watershed management, and conservation of natural resources through waste minimization, recycling and litter prevention.
+ To be eligible for consideration, a student must be a United States citizen at least 21 years of age and enrolled in an accredited institution of higher education in the United States pursuing a graduate or undergraduate degree (sophomores and juniors in the current academic year only) in environmental science, natural resource management, biology, public policy, geography, political science or related disciplines. Recipients are eligible for one year of scholarship support.
+ Deadline April 16 of each year
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Jobcast
+ What to do if you think your job is going to implode
+ Immediately take inventory of your finances
+ Stockpile cash
+ Reduce debt payments to minimums
+ Eliminate all discretionary expenses
+ Put any eligible debts like federal student loans on economic hardship deferment
+ School loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Update all your paperwork
+ If you haven’t spent time building your network, better late than never
+ Plant the flag everywhere you can – resume sites, Craigslist, social networks
+ LinkedIn tipping point: 500 connections
+ The Meta Network can connect you quickly with moderate quality but high interconnectedness
+ Focus on one or two networks
+ Identify companies in allied trades if your industry is collapsing
+ Identify companies that need your generic skillsets
+ Use new media tools as appropriate