FAP748: Why student loan companies matter Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + AP - Pennsylvania’s student-loan agency will temporarily stop making new loans through a federal program in response to a credit crunch that has created turmoil in the bond markets, the agency’s acting chief executive said Tuesday. + The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency decided two weeks ago to suspend loans made outside the state through the Federal Family Education Loan Program. The agency will soon send out notices to colleges and universities that it will suspend in-state loans effective March 7, acting president and chief executive officer James Preston said. + Chronicle: In an annual regulatory filing, Sallie Mae (ticker: SLM), the nation’s largest student-loan company, said Mr. Cuomo had sent it a subpoena, dated February 11, seeking “documents and information relating to our direct-to-consumer Tuition Answer product.” + Sallie Mae said it began offering Tuition Answer loans in 2004, marketing them to students and their families through “targeted direct-mail campaigns and Web-based initiatives.” Students and parents can borrow up to $40,000 per year for college expenses through the program, which had $3.3-billion in outstanding loans as of December 31, Sallie Mae said. + NASFAA: “For years now, educators have been warning that U.S. society might soon be spending more on prisons than colleges. In five states, that moment has arrived, according to a report released Thursday by the Pew Charitable Trusts,” Inside Higher Ed reports. “Those states are (in order of spending the most proportionally on prisons in 2007): Vermont, Michigan, Oregon, Connecticut and Delaware. Scholarship Update + PHEAA New Economy Technology SciTech Scholarship + Be a resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. + Be a high school graduate. + Be at least a sophomore who is enrolled as a full-time student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in an approved science or technology field at an approved Pennsylvania public or private college or university. + Work experience/internships can be credit or noncredit. + Complete an approved internship or relevant work experience in a field related to the student’s major with a Pennsylvania company prior to receiving a degree. For more information, see SciTech Internship Institutional Guidelines (95 KB PDF). + Begin employment in the state within one year after completion of studies, one year for each year that the scholarship was awarded. You must provide verification of continued employment (158 KB PDF) every six months. See CareerLink for information about employment. If you begin full-time graduate study within one year of receiving your baccalaureate degree, you may request deferment of the work obligation. Recipients who wish to apply for this deferment should submit a Graduate Study Deferment Form (122 KB PDF). For more information, see NETS Work Obligation. + Apply for a Federal Pell Grant and Pennsylvania State Grant. + Details at our free college scholarship search site Opinion + A brief discussion on political candidates’ claims about predatory student lending agencies Intro + [munk] and his new album, Modest Among the Living 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 + 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 + Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.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