Power Ogg Episode 11 Songs from Just Another Jim Poems by Sarah Teasdale Produced by Robert G Parent Listen to show here This show is 28 minutes. The Songs from Just Another Jim are from his album "House of Dreams." You can find more of his music on the Podsafe Music Network and Just Another Jim's website. The songs you'll here in this episode are "I'm not Yours/Come", "The Flight", "The Star", and "Words For AN Old Air". The Sarah Teasdale poems I'll read are "Love in Autumn", "November", and "The Wind". Less

the write stuff video episode 3 by Robert G Parent This show is 28 minutes. click here to watch this video Hey everyone, Autumn has arrived. Those of you lucky enough to be in a spot where you can be around the leaves changing color know that this is a magical time. It is a time of change, a time of preparation for the winter time, a time of introspection, a time when we see the beauty within. So these four songs from Adam Zampino will help us honor the beauty within. So come with me on this journey of beautiful music, colorful leaves, and poetry. The songs you will hear in this show are "Rolling Hills", "Autumn Stream", "Mystical Vista", and "At the Sea", all this beautiful music is from the Podsafe Music Network. Hope you all enjoy this show. For just the audio of the show, you can go to Power OGG -- my audio music show. The poems you'll hear are from myself also contains the magic of this time. "A Cool September Morning", "Time of Transition", "The Time of Magic", and "Holloween". You can find more of Adam Zampino's music and videos on his website at Adam Zampino All the music you hear is from the podsafe music network at the Podsafe Music Network. Less

FAP879: The Economy and Your Financial Aid Listen now: Weekly Financial Aid News Roundup + Parents: please, please, please if you have 529 plans, check with your investments advisor about its status and whether you should be doing anything with it. My advice - and I’m not a financial planner - is that if you will need the money in the next year or two, ask your advisor if there’s a 100% conservative, no-growth but no-risk option. + Charles Schumer and protecting student loans + Tufts University notifying students Special: How the financial crisis is affecting your financial aid + I have been getting alot of calls from clients who originally did not want to take advantage of the student & parent loan programs available to them. But since the equity markets have turned down and have lost on average 30% since last October, the assets set aside are worth significantly less and parents do no wish to sell at huge losses right now. In addition, due to the credit squeeze banks are less likely to lend unless you have a perfect credit score and I have heard banks freezing existing home equity lines of credit so parents are no longer able to borrow. Many parents/students are not aware of the Continued Access to Student Loans legislation passed mid May that went into effect July 1 2008. the schools did a terrible job of making this known. This increased the limits students can borrow and the terms which parents can repay loans. many more parents are looking to take student and parent loans under the federal programs to help manage the cashflow needed to pay tuition bills. - John Hough, CFP + I’m a graduate student, and I’d like to be a college professor someday. In order to do that, I have to pay for 3-5 years of graduate school after I finish my Master’s in History. With the current financial state, my wife and I don’t think we’ll be able to pay for this, so we’re not sure what we’re going to do, she also has to go back to school (as per New York State’s requirements for all teachers to get their Master’s), but we don’t know if we can pay for that. To complicate matters, there’s no guarantee my student loan will even be there next semester to pay for my current school, so I’d like to speak for other graduate students and say, don’t forget about us when it comes to how our college plans have changed because of the current situation. - Brandon M. + My financial aid was cut because of the scholarship, but not completely. I was able to still get $3000, but I don’t know when I will actually get it. What I’m hearing at my campus is that all of the financial aid has been delayed due to the banks failing, so all of the financial aid has to be repackaged and in the meantime, tuition is due and a lot of people are having to put it on their credit cards. - Naomi + My husband and I just last month closed our two VA 529 account to have the cash now. Our sons are 4 and 1 and we’re just hoping we have more money later to cover it. The money we collected (approximately $30,000) is going towards credit card expenditures that got out of hand while my husband’s business (construction/remodeling) slowed down recently. - Samantha Scholarship Updates + $10,000 scholarship from the Student Loan Network + Art Institutes Passion for Fashion Full Tuition Scholarship + William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fellowship for Minority Students + Central Christian College of the Bible Full Tuition Scholarship + Symantec Research Labs Graduate Fellowship News You Can Use + Tomatoes in your financial aid Free Stuff Friday + Free Trojan - just one. (how weird) + Free antibiotics for 14 days with prescription at Publix pharmacies + Cappuccino lozenges for smokers trying to quit + Livestation has free live streaming TV. I’m addicted to Bloomberg. + Google Mail Goggles is the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while + A great speedy no-kneading bread recipe + Hulu has plenty of election coverage and live debate coverage Free Song of the Week + Kill the Lights, David Usher 5 most recent Financial Aid Podcast posts Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by FeedBurner Did you enjoy this? 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. + + + Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Free college scholarships contests! + 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 + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Send me your comments, questions, and feedback using this handy contact form! Less

FAP878: $10,000 Scholarship, The Coming Financial Aid Crisis in audio Listen now: Weekly Financial Aid News Roundup + The Coming Financial Aid Crisis Scholarship Update + Student Loan Network $10,000 Scholarship Mail Bag + Wayne asks, what private student loan lenders are left? Jobcast + Keeping your resume out of the trash Free Stuff Friday + Google Voting Map - tells you all the deadlines for registering to vote + Visit FinancialAidPodcast.com and register to vote today + Degree Men’s Deodorant sample + 25 free 4×6 prints at Rite Aid + Free cat or dog ringtone from the ASPCA + Free Bubba Gump smoothie + Free Theraflu sample + FlexCal for the Mac + iPhone paper clip stand + Rockbox gives your old iPod or MP3 player some new game + A fun article from Wired about soda and ice Free Song of the Week + Matthew Ebel, Everybody Needs a Ninja http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRN0iDqIaqU + MatthewEbel.net 5 most recent Financial Aid Podcast posts Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by FeedBurner Did you enjoy this? 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. + + + Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + Free college scholarships contests! + 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 + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Send me your comments, questions, and feedback using this handy contact form! Less

FAP874: Student loan companies, jobcast, Free Stuff Friday Listen now: Download the MP3: MP3 file Student Financial Aid News Roundup My Rich Uncle (ticker: UNCL) ceased lending this week. Lehman Brothers (ticker: LEH) is on the rocks. They may not survive the weekend. As a result, their private student loans subsidiary, Campus Door, won’t make it, either. Sallie Mae (ticker: SLM) announces that it needs to do $10 billion in private student loans in its quest for profitability. Warren Buffett puts in a vote of no confidence in the banking system. Look this weekend for a video about the Science Leadership Academy Scholarship Update One $3,500 scholarship will be awarded to the student who best responds to the following question: “Going to college is a big, important step in one’s life. What are you looking forward to the most about going college, and why?” This award is open to all international and U.S. high school students in grades 9-12. Additionally, students must login and participate in the free CollegeWeekLive.com virtual college fair being held online Nov. 12 &13, 2008. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 9, 2008. Details at our free college scholarship search site Jobcast Jobs that are on commission - what to look for. Basic: 100% commission jobs are terrible unless you are a sales god. Otherwise, look for a decent base salary, benefits, and a reasonable commission structure. It’s important that you avoid commission jobs where you have territories or caps on how much you can earn. Free Stuff Friday Nicorette Gum Free padlock from Sears iTunes 8 came out this week. MediaJoin for Windows Google News starts importing classic newspapers - no more going to the college library for microfilm Postcard.fm sends images and MP3s as cards. RichFLV lets you edit Flash video - you know, like YouTube - combine with KeepVid for lots of mashup fun Free Song of the Week Adrina Thorpe, Midnight Did you enjoy this? 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. + + + 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. Less

FAP873: First Financial Aid Podcast weekly episode Listen now: News articles from this week on the Daily Aid + California cuts budgets + College inflation index increases + Student loan inducements Scholarships this week + Anne Ford LD Scholarship + Echoing Green Fellowship + ZoomPanel scholarship Free Stuff Friday + Free tire gauge from Slime + Quaker simple harvest bars + Tide Total Care sample + Sailing Media Sync! + GimmeSomeTune for the Mac + Google Chrome Free Song of the Week + Cruisebox, On a Podcast Did you enjoy this? 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. + + + 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. Less

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

FAP867: First Marblehead, Bloomberg, Free Stuff, Becca Loebe Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Quick note that next Friday will be the last daily show, then we move to weekly + NASFAA: “First Marblehead Corp., (ticker: FMD) which packages student loans for sale to investors, said Thursday the volume of loans it had available for that activity dropped 66 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter,” the Associated Press reports. “The troubles have sent First Marblehead’s shares plunging from around $40 last fall. In April an organization called The Education Resources Institute, or TERI, which provided guarantees to bond investors for billions in private student loans, filed for bankruptcy protection - a move that shifted credit risk back to First Marblehead.” + An interview snippet with David Goldman, an investor and former portfolio strategist at Asteri Capital, on the Bloomberg podcast warrants listening to - here’s 30 seconds of a great 16 minute interview + Of all my fellow financial podcasts out there, Bloomberg’s On the Economy is one of the best and my personal favorite + The lesson from all of this market chaos is clear - cut spending, conserve cash, stay in insured forms of saving, whether you’re a company or a college student Scholarship Update + The Proof-Reading.com Scholarship Program awards one $1,500 scholarship each year. This year’s winner will be announced on July 1, 2009. To be eligible to enter the Proof-Reading.com Scholarship Program, you must adhere to the following characteristics: + attend classes at an accredited four-year college or university in the U.S. + take a minimum of 12 semester units (you must be a full-time student) + be a legal resident of the U.S. or provide a valid green card + maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 3.5 + The deadline for Proof-Reading.com Scholarship Contest entries is 12:00 p.m. (noon) PST on June 1, 2009. + No late entries will be accepted! + Regrettably, no scholarship or essay contest questions can be answered by phone. Scholarship Guidelines: You must write a minimum of 1,500 words in reference to this topic: + What’s the future of audio CDs? + Details at our free college scholarship search site Free Stuff Friday + Free puppy training kit and DVD + Recycled Post-Its + New free song from Coldplay + Free chicken sandwich at McDonald’s + Irony is having a Gold’s Gym free 7 day trial next to McDonald’s + Subdownloader grabs subtitles for your movies + Autopager eliminates those stupid page things Free Song of the Week + Rebecca Loebe, Homeless + Still lots of opportunity to help 3 years after Katrina 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

FAP842: Illegal downloads of textbooks, Free Stuff Friday Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Boston Globe: Faced with soaring prices for textbooks, cash-strapped students have discovered a tempting, effective, but illicit alternative - pirated electronic books, available for free over the Internet. + It’s not just textbooks that are being downloaded improperly. Ed McCoyd, director of digital policy at the Association of American Publishers in New York, said a survey in May located about 1,100 titles available illegally online, including novels and books on current events. + But textbook piracy is particularly seductive, McCoyd said, because students are often hard-pressed to pay for academic books that can cost more than $100, three times the price of most other books. + Well duh. College is more expensive than ever, the economy’s in the toilet, and every other expense is through the roof. What did you expect? + The Student Loan Network does not condone infringement of intellectual property, but stay tuned in August for our cheap textbooks eBook + Inside Higher Ed: Undersecretary of Education Sara Tucker’s plan, students would find out almost immediately after submitting their much shorter federal student aid application — truncated to just 9 questions from the current 102 — exactly how much federal grant, subsidized and unsubsidized loan and tax break funds they would qualify for, based on their adjusted gross income and number of family members. (Right now students find out at that stage, usually in January or February, only how much their family is expected to contribute, which may discourage rather than encourage students to go to college, Tucker said.) The awards would be indexed based on an as-yet-undetermined formula — something like the average cost of attendance at a four-year public institution, for instance — that would essentially set a maximum amount of federal aid for which a student could qualify. + The sources of federal aid would be greatly streamlined. Federal grant aid, which now flows through about a dozen programs (and rising), would be consolidated into just the Pell Grant Program, providing an additional $1.7 billion that would increase the maximum grant by $370, Tucker said. (No Perkins Loans, no Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, no SMART Grants.) What the student loan program would look like is unclear, Tucker said, given the recent turmoil in that sphere. Work study and education tax breaks would continue to be part of aid packages, the latter particularly for upper-income students. + Still some work to be done, but that’s some progress Scholarship Update + Show Us Your Art Scholarship + Submit a picture of a drawing, painting or other mixed media project of your original work for a chance to win $1,000 scholarship. Deadling is July 23, 2008. No purchase necessary. Open to anyone who is a resident of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia or Canada (excluding Quebec) has access to the Internet, and is 13 or older at the time of entry. + Details at our free college scholarship search site + Plus, embarrass yourself for $1,000 with our Scholarship Idol contest Free Stuff Friday + Borders free 12 oz beverage with cafe purchase + Pill pockets for pets + Degree for men + Clorox for colors + Free sample stuff like this is ideal for dorm rooms + YouTorrent legal torrents + My favorite iPod Touch and iPhone apps + Facebook, Tap Tap Revenge, Mocha VNC, MyStreets, Shakespeare, Instapaper, Last.fm, Pandora, MySpace, Twitterific, Epocrates, and REMOTE. zOMG. + Google Elections Video Search gadget + 20 healthy foods under $1 Free Song of the Week + A tribute to Heath Ledger’s Joker + Madsumo, There’s So Many Ways I Can Kill You 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! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Financial Aid discussion forums + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + 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

Image by un2814 via Flickr FAP832: Student Loan Radio Celebrates American Independence Day Listen now: Today’s a special, fun music show filled with the music of America’s Armed Forces. The Star Spangled Banner, Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve Battle Hymn of the Republic, Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve Amazing Grace, Ceremonial Brass: US Air Force Stars and Stripes Forever, US Navy Band America the Beautiful, US Navy Band Grand Ole Flag, US Marine Corps Band Washington Post March, US Marine Corps Band Battle Hymn of the Republic, US Navy Band Please consider making a donation to the Veterans of Foreign Wars as a way of thanking our armed forces service members for their tireless work. 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! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Financial Aid discussion forums + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + 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

Image via Wikipedia FAP831: Need based financial aid, Free Stuff Thursday Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Inside Higher Ed: A shift back to need-based aid isn’t hurting at least two colleges. In the last few years, some colleges have pulled back from the policies everyone else says they’d like to pull back from. Notably the sky hasn’t fallen (and neither have their admissions numbers). Consider the cases of Hamilton College, which completely eliminated merit aid to spend more on need-based aid, and of Tufts University, which imposed a limit on its use of early decision. Both colleges are competitive in admissions, with excellent academic reputations – but neither has even close to the endowment or admissions clout of Harvard or the other institutions at the top of the admissions pecking order. + IHE: Many University of Chicago graduate students will need to find new loans — quite likely under terms less favorable than they are used to receiving. The Chicago Tribune reported that the university has had to end its use of the “school as lender” program for graduate students because of the inability of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to renew its line of credit. Chicago officials believe that the graduate students who have used the program will be able to find loans elsewhere, but will likely not find some key benefits of the old program, such as the lack of origination fees and a reduction in interest rates after four years of on-time repayment. + In some ways, what people were talking about legislating last year, the market has corrected this year + Prudence and caution are back in style + Had an interesting case yesterday when the computers would have said yes, I said no - and with good reason Scholarship Update + Scholarship Idol SLN Scholarship + A Scholarship Points Contest + Watch the embarrassingly poor quality YouTube video Free Stuff Thursday + Free cotton shopping bag + Free Snuggle fabric softener + Rhapsody free album with signup + Astroglide… uh, yeah. + Swurl is pointless fun + Make your Mac sing in Terminal + Joys of Summer Gift Pack - 50 ziploc bags + Free pretzel from Auntie Anne’s + Get lost a lot? Free Atlas + Sell Back Books - they pay you, including shipping Free Song of the Week + David Usher, Kill the Lights + See the YouTube video 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! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Financial Aid discussion forums + Get FAFSA news at the FAFSA blog + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + 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

FAP818: Financial aid makes tuition go up, Free Stuff Friday Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Chronicle: The nation’s largest student-loan company, Sallie Mae (ticker: SLM), reported on Thursday that investors had quickly bought up $2.5-billion worth of its debt. The sale was “significantly oversubscribed,” the company said in a written statement. + And the nation’s largest private university, the for-profit University of Phoenix, announced tuition increases that will coincide with higher federal student loan limits for students. Both take effect July 1. One industry analyst, Jeffrey M. Silber, of BMO Capital Markets, who follows the university’s parent company, the Apollo Group (ticker: APOL), noted that the increases appeared to be “designed to benefit from” the rise in the federal student loan limits. + Financial aid drives cost of college up - this is very obviously no longer correlation, but causation + The more we increase financial aid, the more price goes up + How do we get out of this situation? + The answer has got to be the Wal-Mart answer. Provide a plentiful, low cost alternative that is “good enough” to increase supply to the point where it exceeds demand - then prices fall + That’s good ol’ economics 101 + Who will do it? I don’t know, but the only way out of the tuition trap is for there to be an overabundance of supply Scholarship Update + Lin Hamer Memorial Behavioral Economics Scholarship at Minnesota State University + Who is eligible: Junior or senior female student and a declared major in the college of Social and Behavioral Sciences. + Amount: $1,500 + Deadline: March 3 + Details at our free college scholarship search site + I’ve been a huge fan of learning more about behavioral economics since Whitney Hoffman pointed me towards Dan Ariely’s great book, Predictably Irrational Free Stuff Friday + Drink mixes + TCBY on Father’s Day + Buffalo Wings chips + Sketchbox stickies for the Mac + KeyJNote + Opera 9.5 + Firefox 3 + RepairPal for your car + A bunch of articles on WVO as home heating fuel + IM Feeds + If you use GMail, you can now get it read to you on your phone + A revised DIY air conditioner + Hey, has anyone built a Peltier air conditioner? Free Song of the Week + Rayko KRB, Simple Love Song 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! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + FAFSA blog + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + 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. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis Less

FAP808: Get $1 for listening to the Financial Aid Podcast Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Chronicle: After months of artfully promoting doomsday scenarios for the federal student-lending system, the nation’s student loan companies appear to have won terms from Congress and the Bush administration that could help both the lenders and the student borrowers. + The federal program already hands out interest-rate subsidies and repayment guarantees to enable lenders to offer cut-rate student loans. Now, with the administration’s financial rescue plan, the lenders can either use their portfolios of subsidized loans as collateral for even more government funds or sell the loans outright to the government for more than their face value. Either way, that makes more money available for students to borrow. + Interesting and insightful analysis + For all the new friends on Twitter who are having FAFSA issues, be sure to check out FAFSAonline.com + For all the new friends on Twitter who are having student loan issues, drop me an email Scholarship Update + The FastWeb and Dell “Why I Deserve A Scholarship” Contest is open to students 15 years of age or older who are either currently enrolled in an accredited college/university or will graduate from high school in Spring 2008. To be eligible for this contest, you must submit a video explaining why you deserve a scholarship. Additionally, you must be a legal resident of the 50 United States or District of Columbia. + Deadline July 4, 2008 + Details at our free college scholarship search site + Are you signed up for the Student Loan Network $10,000 scholarship? Free Stuff Friday + Betty Crocker Cookies Samples + Smoothie King + 10 pack of DVD-Rs from Office Depot + Firefox 3 World Download Day + If you’re a geeky sort, Google AJAX Libraries API handles the hosting for you + Google Earth plus Panoramio - virtual siteseeing, no gas + How to staycation in last weekend’s blog post + If you drive more than 1,000 miles a month, check out Free Gas Help + How to get $1 for listening to today’s show - in today’s show, of course Free Song of the Week + Sharon Shannon & Mundy “Galway Girl” (mp3) from “Galway Girl” (Daisy / IRL) Buy at iTunes Music Store More On This Album 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! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + College search + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + 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. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis Less

Memorial day special 2008by Robert G Parent Listen to show here All songs are from the Podsafe Music Networkat http://music.podshow.com Promo" The association of poetry podcasting at http://www.poetrypodcasting.org "The Star Spangled Banner" by Bree Noble "Tapestry of Freedom" by Keenan "American Dream" by Joe Colledge Promo: "Cloudy Day Art podcast" by Will Brown http://www.cloudydayart.com "A Soldiers Song" by EnduringPain "A Call To Glory 9 11 Tribute" by Jim Farley "Song for the Soldier" by Lance Larson Promo: "Irish Celtic Music podcast" Marc Gunn http://www.celticmusicpodcast.com/ Promo: "Sundown Lounge podcast" by Larry Winfield http://www.larrywinfield.com/ "REMEMBER AMERICA" by NEIL BRIAN GOLDBERG "Remember America" by LOVESTORM With RICHIE HAVENS Promo: "Beautiful Red" by M. Darusha Wehm find it at podiobooks at http://www.podiobooks.com "The Spirit of Freedom" by GANDHARVA "Star Spangled Banner" by Jeanne Backofen Craig "America The Beautiful" by Madly Jadly The association of poetry podcasting at http://www.poetrypodcasting.org Less

FAP804: Veterans Bill, Student Lenders Return, Free Stuff Friday Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Chronicle: Many student-loan companies are still assessing the industry-rescue plan outlined on Wednesday by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings (The Chronicle, May 22). Several that left the federal loan program, however, have seen enough and are jumping back in. + Even before the day was out on Wednesday, the nonprofit lender NorthStar Education Finance announced it was returning. Those joining NorthStar on Thursday include the Brazos Group and Graduate Leverage. “We’ve definitely changed our mind,” said Daniel Thibeault, president of Graduate Leverage. “In my mind, 90 percent of the lending community couldn’t lend two weeks ago,” Mr. Thibeault told The Chronicle. “Now, I don’t see how a significant player could say, ‘I don’t want to lend.’ It’s going to be exciting.” + Inside Higher Ed: “Congress today resolutely asserted that it is time for those of us who have been calling on these brave men and women to serve again and again to assist in providing a meaningful chance for a first-class future,” said Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), who has led the push for the major expansion of tuition benefits for former service members. “This is a bill that is equal to the first-class service that they have given to this country.” + Under the measure, which was attached to a spending bill for the Iraq war by Webb, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and John Warner of Virginia (all of whom served in the military), veterans who have served on active duty since September 11 would receive payments covering tuition — up to the cost of in-state tuition at the most expensive public college in a veteran’s state — room, board, fees, and educational costs, plus a $1,000 monthly stipend. + That is significantly more than former service members are now eligible to receive under the current Montgomery GI Bill, which was enacted in peacetime and does not come close to covering the cost of attending the typical public university. Scholarship Update + From Sam Jackson + myUsearch has stepped up to the plate and is offering $1000 to the best student essay answering the following questions: What has been the most frustrating part of your college admissions process? Why is it important for colleges and universities to change this? What suggestions do you have for colleges and universities to try to relieve your frustration and the frustration of your fellow students? + The scholarship is open to fall ‘08 freshman and those students applying for 2009 (important update as of 5/22!). pursuing an associate or bachelor degree at an accredited U.S. postsecondary institution with a combined household income of $100,000 or less. If that describes you, apply today! If it doesn’t, tell a friend for whom it might be applicable. + Details at our free college scholarship search site Free Stuff Friday + Yoplait yogurt + Flavored Splenda + Nifty NYTimes reader + Alert Thingy for Friend Feed + Fascinating wiki on using acetone as a gasoline additive + Fuel Frog + GasBuddy, GasPriceWatch Free Song of the Week + Dylan in the Movies - August Moon 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! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Online Education Directory + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + 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. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis Less

Springtime Cruzin'A Write Stuff Podcasts by Robert G Parent Listen to show here Gits In Space - Pod-Cast Peeper Radio Theatre Promo by Marc Gunn's Celtic Music Podcast emotions are the wind ALL OF US taxable gypsies Montreal Allison Crowe Ferris Wheel Dave Potts Promos by The Tee Morris promo for I should be writing Marc Gunn's Celtic Music Podcast The Slam Idol podcast The Lost Memory part 2 Ambient Light froid 31d1 Electronic Pulse absentmachine Promo by Will Brown of the Cloudy Day Art Podcast Larry Winfield of the Sundown Lounge Podcast Nathan Lowell of his podiobooks title "South Coast" Cold and Blue Monkeyshine The Ice Storm Jim Butler Promo by Basil Sands of his podiobooks title "65 Below" Robert G Parent of the Write Stuff Podcasts Charlie the Beer Guy of his Podcast Speaking of Beer Pitcher of Beer The New Autonomous Folksingers The Bonny Ship The Diamond Mary's Bards The Morning After 37Hz Someone Else (De La Vega) Ivy League My Thoughts Are.. jeremy fowler Promo by Nathan Lowell of his podiobooks title "South Coast" Less

FAP799: Perkins Loan problems, free stuff Friday Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Inside Higher Ed: The House of Representatives voted 256-166 Thursday to support a major expansion of education benefits provided to veterans who have served since 9/11. The measure now moves to the Senate. While support is strong in both houses — and includes some Republicans — the Bush administration has backed more modest changes, and the House measure does not have a veto-proof majority. + Chronicle: Dozens of institutions will be forced to pay money into their depleted federal Perkins Loan funds because they expect a shortfall in award money this year, according to a national survey of 273 colleges. The findings, to be released this morning, also depict a bleak picture for the amount of money institutions will have available to lend through Perkins Loans, as 80 percent of respondents said they expected to have about one-third less money for loans. + A downturn in the federal government’s contributions has helped create the shortfalls institutions are seeing, the report says. That means fewer students at some institutions will be awarded Perkins Loans, and institutions may have to turn more to institutional loans. + Chronicle: With only about two weeks until the start of the student-lending season, the long-awaited easing of the credit crunch may finally be arriving. Nelnet (ticker: NNI), one of the nation’s largest student-loan companies, completed on Thursday a sale of more than $1.3-billion in bonds backed by student loans. + The sale came one week after JPMorgan Chase & Company (ticker: JPM) reported an improvement in market pricing of student-loan debt and two weeks after the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority became the first student-loan agency since September to sell its bonds. Scholarship Update + College Toolkit “What I like about my college?” Scholarship + College Toolkit is giving away a $1,000 scholarship to a college student. We want you to hear your thoughts about the college you attend To enter, all you need to do is select the school you are attending and provide a short review of your college or university. The award is open to anyone who will be an undergraduate college student this upcoming fall. You must be attending an accredited 2-year or 4-year college and a U.S. resident to enter. The deadline to enter is August 31, 2008 + Details at our free college scholarship search site Free Stuff Friday + Feed Demon for Windows + NetNewsWire + List of free games on Wikipedia + Nifty One Bag packing method + ReadAir Adobe Air app + FreshAir Apps + DailyLit bite sized books by email + Dove Green Tea deodorant? + Free Nike MaxSight contact lenses + Got a Mac? 99 cent movies on iTunes Free Song of the Week + Michelle Hotaling, Porcelain Doll 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! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Edvisors Jobs + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + 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. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis Less

FAP794: Massive free stuff Friday, scholarship secret Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + NASFAA: “‘Financial aid’ most commonly refers to scholarships: direct grants that students need not pay back… policymakers are starting to admit that the system designed to make college more affordable is making it less so,” according to The Indianapolis Star. “Here’s why. ‘When someone else is paying the bills, people want to buy more of the good or service in question at prevailing prices than when the customer pays the bills,’ Vedder explains. ‘This means a higher demand for higher education, and other things being equal, higher tuition costs.’ The problem isn’t just that financial aid distorts the market; it doesn’t work as intended. Financial aid is probably here to stay. The challenge is to eliminate the inflationary effects caused by the third-party payer system.” + Lots of commentary about how the private student loan market, which comprises about 20% of lending, is still broken + It will for some time - credit markets are still a mess + Our private student loans are still open for business + Call for stories about paying for school via non-traditional means Scholarship Search Secret + Tips on using Google Reader plus news and blog searches combined to be a massive, real-time monitor of scholarships + Here’s how: do searches for individual scholarship terms, then find the RSS link on the left hand side of the page. Copy and paste that link into Google Reader, organize it as a folder, and from then on, you won’t have to keep re-searching for those terms + Be sure to pick up our free college scholarship search secrets eBook today! + Also make sure you’re registered for our $10,000 scholarship Free Stuff Friday + This week is college graduation at a lot of schools + You know what that means - be hitting up Craigslist in your city NOW for steals on stuff that fellow students simply don’t want to take home + If you live near a music school, video school, or any college that has programs which involve large, heavy equipment, there are some SERIOUS bargains to be had + Baskin Robbins Bump Day - May 21 - free dish or cone + Organic free yogurt sample for moms + Seattle’s Best Coffee sample + Free energy drink sample + Quaker Oats + Start Sampling - interesting! + Successful living magazine + Pile of cleaning supplies + Klok time tracker + AP newswire for iPhone + Mozy online backup - 2 GB for free, $5/month for unlimited + Collaborative mind maps with MindMeister + Nine Inch Nails releases its entire new album free under Creative Commons Free Song of the Week + Not from NIN + Black Lab, Ghost In Your Mind PSA + Myanmar and UNICEF - 1800-4-UNICEF 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! + Online education directory at Edvisors.com + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Edvisors Jobs + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + 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. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis Less

FAP772: Free stuff Friday, Lender of Last Resort, SREB Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + At the SREB GoAlliance conference yesterday + Some revelatory facts - every 26 seconds, a kid drops out of high school + In some southern states, kids drop out as early as 4th grade + The causes are many - family influence, money, time, culture + Addressing the issue requires a multitude of approaches + My role was to help train GoAlliance members in direct to consumer marketing + Consequences are grave - statistically a college graduate makes more than $1.2M over a lifetime in earnings more than a high school graduate, $1.6M over someone with no diploma + That’s 3,323 kids a DAY - and that means $3.9 BILLION a day lost + NorthStar and Student Loan Xpress exit the student loan market + Chronicle: Responding to growing concern that student loans may be less available this fall, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the Senate education committee, introduced legislation on Thursday aimed at reducing borrowers’ dependence on private student loans and making it easier for colleges to find lenders for their students. + Mr. Kennedy’s bill, which comes amid a credit crunch that has caused a number of lenders to leave the federally guaranteed student loan programs and private-loan programs, would increase the maximum Pell Grant for the lowest-income students by up to $750. It would also increase federal loan limits by $1,000 a year for undergraduates who are dependents of their parents, and $2,000 a year for independent undergraduates and students whose parents cannot obtain PLUS loans because of their poor credit. The bill also aims to ease the process of applying for a loan under the federal government’s “lender of last resort” program, which would use guarantee agencies to provide loans if they become widely unavailable. Under current law, students seeking a loan would have to petition the Education Department directly and prove that they had been denied a loan by at least two lenders. Under Mr. Kennedy’s bill, the department could designate lenders of last resort on a collegewide, not a student-by-student, basis. + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + Parent PLUS loans at ParentPLUSLoan.com + Private student loans at AlternativeStudentLoan.com Scholarship Update + Songs from the Heart + Rock, rap or riff an original song expressing your support for a cause or candidate you care about! Express yourself with an original song backing an issue close to your heart. The style of music is up to you! Create your original song, let your voice be heard and you could win $500! No purchase necessary. Open to anyone who is a resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, has access to the Internet, and is 13 or older at the time of entry. + $500 + June 11 deadline + Details at our free college scholarship search site Free Stuff Friday + How to Find Lost Objects eBook + Sync up all your calendars with FuseCal + Chel Pixie warns to read the TOS on Photoshop Express + David Allen’s GTD email eBook + TONS of stuff today via BalanceInDiet.com + The Backyardigans printable coloring book + Sample of Maybelline Mineral Powder + Sample of Ultra Xcid Antacid by Zicam + Sample of Vaseline Intensive Rescue + Sample of Dove Go Fresh deodorant + Sample of Post-It flags + Seattle’s Best Coffee Sample + Curel Life Stages Sample + Always Samples + Fiber One Cereal Sample + Jergens Natural Glow Moisturizer Sample + Vaseline Intensive Rescue Sample + FlexForce Trash Bag Sample + Gold Bond Lotion Sample + Purina One Healthful Life Cat Food Sample + Check out list #1 + And List #2 Free Song of the Week + Adrina Thorpe, Midnight Promo + Financial Aid Podcast Live: Surviving the Credit Crunch 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! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + 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. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis Less

FAP762: Free iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts, federal student loans Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Chronicle: Several financial companies that have formed partnerships with colleges in the “school as lender” program are cutting or terminating the scholarship payments they make to colleges, dealing another severe blow to a program already facing the possibility of elimination by Congress. + A number of lenders, including Sallie Mae, Nelnet, Citibank, and Student Loan Xpress, have notified their partner colleges in recent weeks about the reductions or terminations. Others, such as Edsouth, are considering similar moves, according to college and banking officials. + Inside Higher Ed: The new head of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators urged Education Secretary Margaret Spellings in a letter Wednesday to consider using federal funds to ensure that lenders continue to have enough money to make student loans and provide benefits to borrowers this fall. In the letter, Philip R. Day Jr., who became NASFAA’s president and CEO this winter, endorses calls by lawmakers and others for the department to push to ensure the viability of alternatives to the guaranteed loan program, including expanding access to the competing direct loan program and the government’s “lender of last resort” initiative involving guarantee agencies. But because “these options are largely untested,” Day also asked Spellings to consider bolstering the lender-based guaranteed loan program by “allowing non-bank student loan providers to use the loans that they have been unable to sell as collateral to borrow funds from the federal government so they can make loans this fall and to pursue other financial strategies in order to provide a backstop for this element of the marketplace.” Some lenders and federal lawmakers have urged such actions as well, as a growing number of loan providers announce plans to stop originating student loans. + We petitioned on March 9 for this exact thing + Chronicle/WSJ: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that HSBC Bank USA, the M&T Bank Corporation, and the TCF Financial Corporation have all decided to stop offering federally guaranteed student loans following last year’s decision by Congress to cut lender subsidies by more than $20-billion over five years. + All three are among the program’s 50 largest lenders, together providing more than $560-million of the $119-billion in federally backed loans issued in the 2006 federal fiscal year, the Journal reported. + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + Parent PLUS loans at ParentPLUSLoan.com + Private student loans at AlternativeStudentLoan.com Scholarship Update + The UVM/GIV Engineering Institute offers you the adventure of a lifetime! Discover cool careers in engineering and learn how technology will impact the future of our planet. The University of Vermont College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences and The Governor’s Institutes of Vermont announce their 2008 UVM/GIV Engineering Institute June 28 - July 5, 2008. Challenge yourself to think outside the box with a hands-on project, laboratory experiences, faculty presentations and enlightening tours. You’ll learn how technology impacts the human experience. Experience the thrill of creating sand arches at the beach and become part of an innovative team to work on one of the following diversified projects that will stretch your brain! * Renewable Energy Systems * Robotics Technology * Aeronautical Engineering * Engineering Sustainability + The cost to participate in GC is nothing. Students who are interested in science, math or engineering should check out the camp and the program (www.globalchallengeaward.org). Students who have not started this year’s competition are still eligible for the summer program scholarship if they express and interest and commitment to trying the program next year. For those who incur travel costs and those costs would be prohibitive we do have some travel funds available to students with demonstrated need. Our goal is to encourage any student to explore STEM topics in a global, collaborative online curriculum. These scholarships are open to anyone regardless of sex, race, financial status, etc. The nomination criteria is an interest in the subject. Please feel free to nominate students or pass this information directly to them. + Open to high school students ages 14- 17 + 40 full tuition scholarships + $60,000 + Details at our free college scholarship search site Free Stuff Friday + Update: Dunkin Donuts PR emailed me to let me know that actually, no, there isn’t a 3/21 giveaway. That was apparently last year, and they’re not doing a re-run. However, you can get free Dunkin coffee instead here: Dunkin At Home + PocketMod minibooks of your stuff + Google Gadgets for Spreadsheets + Free recycling of old gadgets at the Post Office + Similar to PhoneRaiser - except they get the money instead of you. Use PhoneRaiser if you have gadgety friends at your school to raise some tuition funds + Google Grants for Non-Profits + SmartSleep for the Mac laptop + Your legal rights as a photographer + Two free music albums + It’s About Time from Kevin Reeves + Collective by Duwende + Breakaway for Mac iTunes Free Song of the Week + From Duwende’s Collective, here’s Come Back Promo + NCAA 2008 Men’s Basketball March Madness Charity Pool 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! + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + Student credit card information at StudentPlatinum.com + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + 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. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis Less