FAP644: The Sallie Mae Data Grab, NYS, Ag Scholarship, Matthew Ebel

Student Financial Aid News
+ Inside Higher Ed: New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sent a new crop of subpoenas Wednesday to lenders that market loans directly to college students and families in ways that may mislead them, The New York Times reported. The attorney general’s office cited examples of marketing materials in which lenders sent prospective borrowers letters that look like checks and others that say “Federal Loan Division” on stationery with an eagle on it, implying that they are coming from the U.S. government.

Scholarship Update
+ Calcot-Seitz Foundation Scholarship
+ Each year the Calcot-Seitz Foundation awards a substantial number of scholarships to promising students who are pursuing a career in agriculture. Potential recipients are screened for scholastic aptitude and performance, leadership potential, demonstrated capability and financial need. Winners are selected from interviews conducted by the Foundation’s scholarship committee.
+ $36,000 total in awards
+ Application period opens in early 2008
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Cover Your Assets
+ Top story sent to me by Eileen O’Leary at MASFAA
+ Sallie Mae (ticker: SLM) making a data grab at SUNY
+ Short version: turn over all your students’ personal information under FOIA
+ Likely to be declined, likely to go to court
+ Argument is that FOIA overrides FERPA
+ If they win, every marketer on the planet will do the same and college students will effectively have zero privacy the moment they become a prospective student
+ What can you do? If you’re a NYS resident, when the case goes to court, be prepared to file an amicus curiae legal brief
+ If you’re not a NYS resident, contact your state and federal legislators
+ The implications of this marketing tactic are enormous – if it succeeds, say goodbye to privacy as soon as you become a college student

Promo
+ Private student loans from ActEducationLoans.com

Podsafe Music
+ Matthew Ebel, Lost My Way

Reminders

+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidNews.com.
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