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Student Loan Radio #1 : Financial Aid Podcast #240 : April 29, 2006

April 30th, 2006 - No Comments

4/29: Student Loan Radio #1 / Financial Aid Podcast #240

So, not a separate feed or show, just a new name for Saturday Night Frivolity.

Promos
+ GradLoans.com
+ ActEducationLoans.com
+ NewEnglandPodcasting.com

Podsafe Music
+ Whitney Steele, Time I Go
+ Heather Sullivan, Twisted
+ Bob Gentry, Ready to Die
+ A 7 minute rant on why $100 bribes during election years won’t solve the energy crisis
+ Marina V, Simple Magic
+ Katy Pfaffl, Wandering Blue
+ Rob Costlow, I Do
+ Jim Fidler, The Curra Road
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ Add us to your iTunes at www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 877-328-1565 x529. Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe/

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Show notes, April 28, 2006

April 28th, 2006 - No Comments

4/28: Student Loan radio, Rutgers, Duke iPods,gas prices, laptop scholarship, financial aid minute, award letters, (comment line 877-328-1565 x529), #239

Student Financial Aid News
+ Coming soon: Student Loan Radio!
+ Music shows will be put there - StudentLoanRadio.com
+ The Rutgers University president and 19 students traveled to Washington, D.C., Wednesday to pressure New Jersey lawmakers for more student aid in response to recent cuts to education funding.
+ College in Hawaii doing well - $600M surplus in state budget is being divided up and $275M of that is going to education
+ U.S. economic growth is increasing at a slow enough pace to keep inflation at bay, signaling that the Federal Reserve Bank might be permitted to stop its interest-rate hikes, according to the Fed’s beige book.
+ Consolidate at StudentLoanConsolidator.com or call 877-328-1565
+ Despite job markets still tightening, the economy is growing at a fast enough pace to keep unemployment from rising. Officials expected economic growth to moderate at a long-term rate of 3% to 3.5%.
+ Officials continued to report a softening housing market, with March new-home sales 11.5% below their peak last July. Sales of existing homes were down 4.8% from their peak last June.
+ Duke University’s iPods in education has netted interesting results. One professor who required students to fulfill one assignment by creating an audio podcast instead of a written paper. When Duke officials analyzed the results, they found that students had actually written more (in terms of drafts, scripts, etc.) than they would have for a traditional report. And because students shared their podcasts not only with the faculty member but gave them to other students to listen to, “we’re finding the overall quality increase, because of the whole peer dynamic.”

Scholarship Update
+ City of Anaheim Mayor’s TechScholar Program Scholarship
+ For college bound sophomore or juniors
+ 33 awards of a free laptop and 2 years of free wifi service
+ Application, transcript, and 500 word essay on freedom
+ Deadline June 2, 2006
+ Detailed scholarship information at our scholarship web site
+ Now with $654M in scholarships!

Mail Bag
+ Steve Lubitz writes in with additonal gas tips
+ Be sure to subscribe to the Financial Aid Newsletter! This month, we’re going to tackle gas tips again
+ Petition letter to boycott Exxon-Mobil? Econ 101, folks!
+ Gas prices are largely about supply and demand
+ Prices are based on this - the greater the supply, the lower the price
+ Short and long term fixes are both important - conservation now and alternative fuels later

Financial Aid Minute
+ The question: what’s the best way for someone to “negotiate” or appeal their financial aid award letter?
+ Bob Shore, Director of Student Aid, Skidmore College
+ Carol Bradley, Financial Aid Director, Southeastern University
+ Kent McGowan, Director of Financial Aid, Buffalo State College

Podsafe Music
+ Colleen Jameson, The Send Off
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

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Financial Aid Podcast #238 : April 27, 2006

April 27th, 2006 - No Comments

4/27: Toll-free comment line at 877-328-1565 x529, graduate PLUS loans, AAUP, SSDP, 4 year scholarships, Black Lab, #238

Student Financial Aid News
+ Opening up the comment line - 877-328-1565 x529 (just like 529 savings plans)
+ No school as lender for graduate PLUS loans
+ More information about graduate PLUS loans at GradLoans.com and later in the show
+ No ED response on SSDP lawsuit about drugs and financial aid
+ Next fall, students will pay more than $4,000 in tuition and fees to attend Boise State University, Idaho State University or the University of Idaho. In 1997, fees were under $2,000.
+ More students want money. 12,000 prospective students applied for aid in 2001 - about 18,000 applications this year. Applicants aren’t just from lower-income families; middle-class families also are looking for help.
+ What makes us - the Student Loan Network - different?
+ Our mission statement: to better educate the world!
+ Not just about getting you through college, but giving you the best info we can find on paying for college
+ On a lighter note, AAUP says that balance is not required for speakers on campus, only presentation of knowledge

Scholarship Update
+ Four year scholarships are nice - apply once, get 4 years of school
+ Clark University Making a Difference Scholarship
+ For outstanding public service
+ Deadline is January 15 of each year
+ 3.4 GPA, 1200 SAT
+ Strong demonstration of public service
+ $11,000/year for 4 years plus $2,500 stipend
+ More information at our free scholarship search site

Focus on Financial Aid
+ The Graduate PLUS Loan
+ Must have good credit or a co-signer
+ Loan limit up to the cost of education
+ 8.5% interest rate
+ FAFSA financial aid form is required!
+ Repayment begins 60 days after final disbursement
+ Can borrow on your own signature
+ Can apply for in school deferment
+ Same rate as Parent PLUS loan
+ You can get a multiyear PLUS loan by signing a master promissory note
+ Available July 1, 2006
+ We’ll have some new stuff about this coming soon
+ http://www.graduateplusloan.info
+ http://www.gradstudentplusloan.com
+ Bought these with CC Chapman’s Accident Hash promo codes - HASH1, HASH2, and HASH3 - save a bit of cash

Podsafe Music
+ Black Lab, Remember
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

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Show notes, April 26, 2006

April 26th, 2006 - No Comments

4/26: No reauthorization, UNH, foreclosures, graduate loan forgiveness programs, how to nail a phone interview, Tom Wehrle, #237

Student Financial Aid News
+ No reauthorization soon, says Bill Frist
+ ED Secretary questioning SAT scores
+ UNH reports in. UNH students who took out federal loans graduated owing an average of $22,851 last year, 60 percent more than in 1995.
+ The rapid increase in private loans is largely a result of a scarcity of federal loans, said Suzy Allen, UNH director of financial aid.
+ Rising costs have steadily pushed tuition at UNH up 7.8 percent for residents and 6.8 percent for non-residents in each of the last five years, but federal loans and grants for higher education haven’t kept pace.
+ New Hampshire residents can expect to pay more than $70,000 for a four-year education at UNH.
+ Non-residents will pay much more, putting down more than $120,000 for a four-year degree.
+ The question is - what’s going to give? The system of piling on debt to match exploding tuition costs can’t be sustainable. Something has to give - what will it be?
+ In the meantime, if you’re graduating from UNH and need some student loan help, your neighbors to the south can help - StudentLoanConsolidator.com or 877-328-1565
+ The Louisiana House or Representatives approved on Monday a plan that will refund to students or their parents a 1% fee on federally backed student loans.
+ The number of mortgages entering foreclosure during the first quarter was 72% higher than the same period last year, according to a report published by RealtyTrac Inc., a firm that tracks and markets foreclosed homes.
+ The spike in foreclosures is mainly due to rising interest rates, according to the report, especially among borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages.
+ The higher interest rates are making monthly payments payments too steep for many homeowners.
+ Banks typically start the foreclosure process when borrowers are 90 days past due on their payments.
+ Does anyone else feel the rumbling under your feet as the underpinnings of the housing equity-based economy start to weaken? I do, and it’s more than a little scary.

Scholarship Update
+ Jim Intriglia writes in to ask about opportunities for graduate students to get loan forgiveness
+ Keyword phrases update
+ If you haven’t gotten our free e-Book, Scholarship Search Secrets, subscribe to the podcast today and you’ll get it

Jobcast
+ How to nail the phone interview/phone screen
+ Dual goals - the manager wants to find out whether it’s worth bringing you in and your goal is to get in
+ Phone screen tips are a lot like podcasting tips
+ Posture, smile, show notes, drinks, enunciation, etiquette
+ Interview killers: interrupting, long winded answers, no FU, overly casual, background noise
+ Ask for the sale
+ Practice!

Podsafe Music
+ Tom Wehrle, Far Away
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

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Financial Aid Podcast #236 : April 25, 2006

April 25th, 2006 - No Comments

4/25: SLM, private loan consolidation, interest rates, FIRST, student loan life and times, Black Lab, #236

Student Financial Aid News
+ SLM Corp. Chief Executive Thomas Fitzpatrick earned $3.35 million in 2005, including $2.63 million in bonuses
+ His salary for the year was $680,000
+ Private loan consolidation is back! Call us at the office to determine your needs
+ Remember that federal consolidation should be done first
+ Visit StudentLoanConsolidator.com for more private consolidation info
+ Interest rate update: We’re above 4.75% now, on our way to 5% by the end of May. The breakdown:
+ 4.755% + 1.7% = Stafford in grace = 6.455%
+ 4.755% + 2.3% = Stafford in repay = 7.055%
+ 4.755% + 3.1% = PLUS loan in repay = 7.855%
+ Quick job news: the hot industry? Big oil.
+ Texas tuition up 48% in 4 years
+ For profit battle in Florida

Scholarship Update
+ Illinois Institute of Technology FIRST Scholarship
+ 4 year, $24,000 scholarship ($6,000/year)
+ May 1, 2006 deadline
+ Member of USA FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)
+ For high school seniors
+ Detailed scholarship info at StudentScholarshipSearch.com

Focus on Financial Aid
+ The life and times of a student loan
+ From a recent training
+ Financial need assessment
+ Apply for a free FAFSA at FAFSAonline.com
+ Loan application
+ Stafford loans
+ PLUS loans
+ Alternative student loans / private student loans
+ Disbursement of funds
+ In school
+ Grace period
+ Ideal time for student loan consolidation
+ Repayment
+ Payoff

Podsafe Music
+ Black Lab, Remember
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

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Financial Aid Podcast #235 : April 24, 2006

April 24th, 2006 - No Comments

4/24: NE Podcasting, Steve Runner, EdFund, community colleges, tax breaks, scholarship update, Jobcast, Matthew Ebel, #235

Student Financial Aid News
+ New England Podcasting promo
+ Steve Runner Promo
+ Issues with any of our sites? Call us at 877-328-1565 and let us know what’s broken
+ The oil market closed Friday at $75.17/barrel - $3/gallon is here
+ The California Student Aid Commission, which processed $6.5 billion in student loans last year, needs more oversight, according to a recent audit performed by the state.
+ EdFund, a unit of the commission that administers the Federal Family Education Loan Program, is at the heart of the audit concerns.
+ Despite an $8.3 million operating deficit in 2005, EdFund spent $187,500 on executive bonuses and $700,000 on 14 events such as holiday parties. That operating deficit should only worsen since, effective Oct. 1, the agency will begin charging borrowers a new-loan fee, which other lenders have said they would waive.
+ To the extent that finances are keeping students from enrolling, many community college presidents appear worried that their institutions’ historic commitment to low tuition rates may be in danger.
+ A majority of presidents believe that they will be able to maintain “current affordability” levels over the next two to three years. But 15 percent of presidents said that was “very unlikely” and 24 percent said that was “somewhat unlikely.”
+ Mississippi has a new law that allows the state’s higher education board to go to court to try to shut down diploma mills in the state
+ The Project on Student Loan Debt has released model legislation to create a federal tax credit for student loan interest payments
+ The tax credit legislation drafted makes for an allowance of 25% on your taxes or 15% of your discretionary income with an AGI below $50K, adjusted for inflation annually.
+ One thing the law does not take into account is significant variations in cost of living - $50K in, say, Biloxi, Mississippi goes further than in Boston, Massachusetts.
+ In lighter news, some Second Life currency exchange tips
+ Be sure to shop around for currency before buying it. Exchanges like LindeX rarely offer the best rates. Remember that thinking about lowest price can hurt you in currency exchange, whether in SL or in real life.
+ When you are buying currency, you want as many of the foreign currency possible per dollar
+ When you are selling currency, you want to sell as few of the foreign currency as possible per dollar

Scholarship Update
+ $2,500 scholarship for nursing
+ For juniors
+ Deadline August 1, 2006
+ Detailed scholarship information at StudentScholarshipSearch.com

Jobcast
+ Tools for your use
+ Google Reader for RSS feeds
+ Craigslist RSS feeds
+ Example Boston feed
+ Firefox Autofill
+ Another great jobcast tool: Google Base!

Podsafe Music
+ Matthew Ebel, This Too Shall Pass
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

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Show notes, April 21, 2006

April 21st, 2006 - No Comments

4/21: Jobs, scholarships in danger, Wisconsin, New Orleans, the Donald, pot smokers, permanent residents, mail bag, Audiopharm, #234

Student Financial Aid News
+ Jobcast data check: 13.8% more college graduates hired this year
+ USA Today article points out how scholarships or grants can get reduced
+ Students in Wisconsin get a financial aid boost from Governor Jim Doyle
+ New Orleans universities have rebuilt while the city has not
+ The Donald chimes in on higher education stats
+ Economists aiming for $5/gallon at the pump by summer’s end
+ New England needs more college students?
+ The Nation claims that 200,000 people missed out on college for financial reasons - but their numbers make no sense whatsoever
+ In lighter news, at the last minute Thursday, Macalester College in Minnesota called off a marijuana festival organized by the college’s CHEEBA Club, The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported (CHEEBA stands for Creating a Harmless Environment to Enjoy Buds Appropriately.) Student organizers said that the “festival” was a rally to express their opposition to marijuana laws. But college officials said that they worried that some people might be confused by posters promoting the event into thinking the festival was an event at which to smoke pot. According to the St. Paul paper, posters promoting the event featured two squirrels sitting next to a marijuana plant, passing a joint. This is far too funny. I can just see the organizers sitting around in a room, stoned out of their minds, saying, “Yeah, this is a really good idea - hey, let’s advertise it! Drug provision in the FAFSA? What’s a FAFSA?
+ And in other lighter news, a TV that forces you to watch ads
+ Check out these articles and more at my financial aid update page, www.FinancialAidUpdate.com

Scholarship Update
+ Government Finance Officers Association Daniel B. Goldberg Scholarship
+ $10,000 award
+ US or Canadian citizen or perm. resident
+ For award to a graduate student who is enrolled in full-time master’s study preparing for a career in state and local government finance
+ 2007 application out soon
+ Detailed scholarship info at StudentScholarshipSearch.com

Mail Bag
+ Nick from MySpace asks - I sent in my stuff, now what?
+ M. Hernandez sends in an opinion piece about lenders shorting students
+ We try very hard not to! For example, with student loan consolidation, we offer first 36 on time payments and then if you slip up a month or something, you still keep the benefit
+ StudentLoanConsolidator.com or 877-328-1565
+ Brother Love sends show info: Wednesday, April 26, 7-10pm, Ruff Celebrity/Rock Star Party Hosted by Leashes and Lovers, Crash Mansion, 199 Bowery, NYC
+ We have lots of pet afficionados here at the Student Loan Network
+ Laurence Eschenbrenner writes in asking about his financial aid for Buffalo State College
+ Once you’ve applied for your FAFSA at FAFSAonline.com, the rest is kind of in the school’s hands - check with your school’s financial aid office

Podsafe Music
+ A chilled out Friday can only mean Audiopharm!
+ Audiopharm, Last Ride
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com or visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

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MS Walk 2006

April 20th, 2006 - No Comments

Support this weekend’s MS Walk 2006. Visit Helping the Cause to donate as little as or as much as you can. Thanks!

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Financial Aid Podcast #233 : April 20, 2006

April 20th, 2006 - No Comments

4/20: FAFSA and drugs, oil, blogs, rate update, predatory consolidation, horse scholarship, jobcast, Matthew Ebel, #233

Student Financial Aid News
+ So much for the truth on the FAFSA according to new ED study about drug convictions
+ Georgia offers tuition freezes
+ Oil hits another record high - $72/barrel - we’re clearly aiming for $3/gallon at the pump
+ New SLN Blogs
+ Kristin Popsie now is doing a Stafford Loan Blog
+ Jon Rudy does the Student Loan Consolidation Blog
+ Monique Leonard is piloting the Federal Student Loan Blog
+ CEO Joe Cronin is managing the College Admissions Blog
+ And we can’t forget my assortment of blogs, from the FAFSA blog to the Financial Aid Podcast show notes to this blog.
+ Interest rate update
+ Stafford in grace: 6.419%
+ Stafford in repayment: 7.019%
+ PLUS: 7.819%
+ The siren song of student loan consolidation
+ Predatory consolidation?
+ Support this weekend’s MS Walk 2006. Visit Helping the Cause to donate as little as or as much as you can. Thanks!

Scholarshup Update
+ Kentucky Equine Education Project Scholarship
+ 5 scholarships worth $1,000
+ Financial need, horse interest
+ June 15, 2006 deadline
+ Detailed page at StudentScholarshipSearch.com

Jobcast
+ Uniqueness is the key to the new market
+ Marketing messages are basically swamping every channel of communication
+ Think like a marketer or an advertiser
+ What things can you do to really set yourself apart?
+ What do you do - what can you do - that is so different that it’s immediately memorable in a positive way?
+ Think about media as well - what forms of media do you have access to that you can leverage
+ Think online!
+ Think virally - what can you do with a service like Google Video or YouTube that can be so compelling that people will want to spread the word for you?

Podsafe Music
+ The PMN appears to be missing
+ So it’s Matthew Ebel, I Know You’re There
Reminders
+ Consolidate your student loans at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Need financial aid help? Call us at 877-328-1565!
+ Toll-free comment line! 877-328-1565 extension 529!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ Add us to your iTunes at www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 877-328-1565 x529. Add me to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/subscribe/

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Morning runs

April 20th, 2006 - No Comments

Nothing gets me in the mood for a workday like a good morning run on the beach, watching the sun rise, listening to Matthew Ebel’s Latte Days and Porter Nights. It’s the simple things in life that are like a slice of heaven made just for you.
Today is going to be a damn good day at the Student Loan Network. I can feel it.

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