Be my guest on the Financial Aid Podcast!

The Financial Aid Podcast is higher education’s premier downloadable Internet radio show with nearly 900 listeners per day and 3,500 listeners per episode over a 90 day period. Previous guests on the show have included:

• Jack Kopnisky, CEO of First Marblehead
• Kevin Walker, CEO and Founder, Simple Tuition
• Raza Khan, Co-Founder and President, MyRichUncle
• Dr. Kristan Venegas, USC and Congressional Advisory Committee member
• Mark Kantrowitz, financial aid expert and founder, FinAid.org
• Alan Collinge, Founder, Student Loan Justice
• Carla Berg, Associate Director of Financial Aid, Bentley College
• David Sheridan, NASFAA Federal Issues Committee
• Reecy Aresty, Financial Aid Consultant
• Ira Krakow, Investor and Contributor, Stockpickr.com and TheStreet.com
• Mitch Joel, President and Founder, Twist Image
• C. C. Chapman, VP New Marketing, Crayon
• Anna Ivey, graduate admissions consultant

Qualifications

To be interviewed on the Financial Aid Podcast, I ask guests to meet certain criteria. You should be one of the following:

• A prospective or currently enrolled higher education student with a financial aid-related story to tell
• A financial aid administrator at an institution of higher education
• An admissions counselor or director at an institution of higher education
• A financial aid professional at an education finance service provider or other financial institution
• A career or marketing professional with expert information to help advise students

Questions

If you’ve agreed – or are thinking about agreeing – to be interviewed on the Financial Aid Podcast, it might provide some relief for you to know that I ask a standard set of questions in my interviews. They’re questions that I want to hear answers to, different perspectives, different ideas. Not every question is asked in every interview, and because conversations can take unusual and insightful turns based on your answers, there will be conversations and questions not on this list.

Here’s the list:

• Please give us a brief insight into your background.
• Most students and parents aren’t really informed about the total cost of education. Why is that the case, and what specific things do families need to know about higher education and finance?
• It’s no secret that college expenses continue to rise year after year, at or exceeding the pace of inflation. Dartmouth College recently announced that it is joining the 40K club, the tier of Ivy League schools with total costs of education exceeding $40,000 per year.
• Why does total cost of education continue to rise so rapidly compared to inflation, and is it sustainable? If not, what do you foresee as the future of higher education if the financial burden of higher education exceeds the reach of most of the population?
• More and more students are graduating from college with greater and greater debts, from credit cards to student loans. How do you think this will affect future generations of America and American economic progress?
• One thing which has made the news quite frequently in recent months is the growing sense of discomfort with American jobs moving overseas, especially in fields of mathematics and science. Obviously, lower wages are a driving force, but is the American educational system also a factor, that we’re not as competitive as we used to be? If so, what role does education finance play in this trend?
• Overall, how would you describe the state of higher education, and what’s your prognosis for the future of America?
• What do you recommend as your strategy for students and families to get the most assistance in paying for college?
• Anything students and families should avoid?
• What do you suggest for graduates in terms of personal finance once they graduate?
• Finally, a bit of a challenge. Imagine for a moment a world where tuition was what it is today, but that world has no scholarships or student loans. Other than working full time, what ways could a student or family pay for college?