FAP872: Hurricanes, Education Finance Partners, Free Stuff Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + NASFAA/SF Chronicle: “Education Finance Partners, one of the companies at the center of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s investigation into student-lending practices last year, has abruptly ceased making student loans and is clearing out of its San Francisco headquarters,” The San Francisco Chronicle reports. “The timing was especially bad in this case. ‘It’s right when students are paying bills and all the money they were counting on evaporated. I’ve been getting calls from students in many states about this,’ says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Finaid.com. Robert Shireman, director of the Project on Student Debt, estimates that 2 percent of college students ‘are experiencing some hassle and difficulty’ obtaining student loans because of the credit crisis. Most students whose loans fall through will be able to get other, in some cases better, loans.” + IHE: Many Louisiana colleges are closing early today and some are planning to stay closed until next Wednesday or Thursday to encourage students and employees to evacuate in anticipation of Gustav landing in the state. Delgado Community College is ending all classes at noon today and hasn’t yet decided on a schedule for next week. Loyola University New Orleans is requiring students to evacuate the campus tomorrow. Xavier University of Louisiana will close at noon today and classes will not resume until Thursday. Southern University at New Orleans is shutting down at noon today, but hoping to resume classes on Tuesday. McNeese State University is advising professors to take important materials with them when they leave work today. Tulane University is planning to close at noon today, to re-open business operations Wednesday and to resume classes on Thursday. + Check out the NHC and Weather Underground for the latest + Third anniversary of Katrina Scholarship Update + Study in Scandinavia + Applicants must have a well-defined research or study project that makes a stay in Scandinavia essential. Applicants must be United States citizens or permanent residents. Applicants must have completed their undergraduate education by the start of their project in Scandinavia. Team projects are eligible, but each member must apply as an individual, submitting a separate, fully-document- ed application. First priority will be given to applicants who have not previously received an ASF award. Only in exceptional cases will a third award be considered. Projects should be planned to fall within the summer 2009 - summer 2010 period. Grantsare considered especially suitable for post-graduate scholars, professionals, and candidates in the arts to carry out research or study visits of one to three months duration. Fellowshipsare intended to support a year-long stay. Priority is given to candidates at the graduate level for dissertation-related study or research. The awards support project-related costs, including maintenance, trans- Atlantic round-trip travel, in-country travel, tuition and fees (where applica- ble) and materials expenditures (e.g., books, photocopying, art supplies). + Awards range from Grants (normally $5,000) to Fellowships (up to $23,000). The number of awards varies each year according to total funds available. Over $300,000 is available for the 2009-10 competition. + November 1, 2008 deadline + Details at our free college scholarship search site + Woo! $9,600,170,116! Free Stuff Friday + On Labor Day, Chick-fil-A is giving three free chicken strips to anyone who comes in wearing something with their favorite team’s logo on it. + CalorieLab tells you exactly why you don’t eat out much any more + Windows SmartPhone self destruct + Palm Centro phones have this feature as well + Mail2Web stands in for MobileMe + Lifehacker has 8 great back to school apps + Songbird alternative music player now in beta + Speedread for Windows + Free cat litter + Arm & Hammer Cleaning Kit + Christina Aguilera’s perfume + Sephora makeup kit Free Song of the Week + I Will Wait For You, Matthew Ebel Did you enjoy today’s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you . Subscribing for free means you don’t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Open an FDIC-insured savings account today! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + Parent PLUS loans at ParentPLUSLoan.com + Graduate student loans at GradLoans.com + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Private student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. ShareThis Less