FAP635: Student loan legislation impact, Free Stuff Friday, Douglas Spotted Eagle

Student Financial Aid News
+ Chronicle: With a flourish of his pen, President Bush signed into law on Thursday legislation that will provide the largest increase in federal student aid since the GI Bill, while sharply cutting government subsidies to student-loan providers.
+ The new law, which goes into effect on Monday, the first day of the 2008 fiscal year, will slash government subsidies to student-loan companies and use the savings to reduce the federal deficit, raise the maximum Pell Grant to $5,400 over five years, and halve the interest rate on subsidized student loans.
+ Nelnet (ticker: NNI) a major national student-loan company based in Nebraska, was one of the first to react. Three weeks ago, it announced it would lay off 400 employees and close five small loan-origination offices to make up for lost revenue. Then, on Thursday, it confirmed rumors that it will no longer pay loan origination fees for students who take out Stafford Loans, which are need-based federal loans. The change means that, starting Monday, borrowers will have to pay up to 2.5 percent of their loan balance in origination fees.
+ Another lender, U.S. Education Finance Group, said on Wednesday that it had laid off 25 of its 45 employees and would stop offering borrower benefits on new Stafford Loans starting October 1. The combined cuts will shrink the lender’s annual budget from $8-million to $3.5-million.
+ The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, which stands to lose $44-million under the bill, is also weighing cutbacks. Scott E. Miller, a lobbyist for the agency, said it had imposed a freeze on hiring and on new contracts, but was not planning layoffs and will maintain its loan-forgiveness programs for public servants. All other borrower benefits, he said “are being looked at with a very serious eye.”
+ And earlier this week, the GCO Education Loan Funding Corporation announced that it would temporarily stop purchasing federal consolidation loans. In a statement, GCO’s chief executive, Ron Page, said that “given current market conditions and legislative changes … we cannot offer a price for consolidation loans that is high enough for clients to recover their origination costs.”
+ So far, we’re good.

Scholarship Update
+ Allogan Slagle Memorial Scholarship
+ The Association on American Indian Affairs offers Allogan Slagle Memorial Scholarships in the amount of $1,500 to students who are members of tribes that are not recognized by the federal government. Disbursement in the amount of $750 is made directly to the college fall and spring semesters pending satisfactory progress. Spring disbursement requires a copy of the fall semester’s grades and a spring semester class schedule. This scholarship does not automatically renew. Students are eligible to apply on a yearly basis. Due to the nature of tribal status, a Certificate of Indian Blood is requested and helpful, but not required. Documents showing lineal descent are acceptable.
+ Deadline July of each year
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Free Stuff Friday
+ Windows Screenshot Captor
+ FastCall 411
+ Cat Calendar for TV
+ Flickr Folder Monitor for Windows
+ Ken Rockwell’s Nikon site
+ jZip for Windows
+ Xee for the Mac
+ More iPod Touch stuff
+ Mobile Facebook
+ Mobile CNN
+ Mobile Gmail

Podsafe Music
+ Douglas Spotted Eagle, Summer Morn

Reminders
+ Add the show to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/
+ Register for PodCamp Boston for free
+ Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.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.

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast

FAP634: Sallie Mae Deal Falls Apart, Mail Bag, Rich Palmer

Student Financial Aid News
+ From the Chronicle of Higher Education and virtually every other business wire: A $25-billion takeover of Sallie Mae that was announced in April was called off on Wednesday, the victim of a new law that will cut federal subsidies to student-loan providers.
+ President Bush is planing to sign the law, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (HR 2669), today. Among other things, the law will cut subsidies to for-profit lenders by 0.55 percent (The Chronicle, September 10). It is the second cut in federal subsidies to student lenders in the last two years.
+ The buyers said in a written statement on Wednesday that “the conditions to closing under the merger agreement, if the closing were to occur today, would not be satisfied as a result of changes in the legislative and economic environment.”
+ “We have told representatives of the Sallie Mae Board,” it continued, “that we are open to discussing a revision of the transaction that reflects this new environment.”
+ The April purchase agreement included a penalty of $900-million if either side pulled out of the deal. Sallie Mae officials did not return phone messages or respond to e-mail queries on Wednesday asking if they would pursue collecting the penalty.
+ SLM Corporation, the parent company of Sallie Mae, had warned in previous filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that if HR 2669 was passed, it would hurt the lender’s profitability. In its announcement on Wednesday, Sallie Mae put numbers to those statements. The changes in the law will reduce “core-earnings net income between 1.8 percent and 2.1 percent annually for the next five years,” it said.
+ What does this mean for you? If you have Sallie Mae student loans, chances are that Sallie Mae will need to find ways to increase profitability of its loan portfolio - as will everyone in the student loan industry - in order to make mega-deals like this go through
+ Rates and fees for federal student loans are set by legislation, so lenders can make up the difference in places like late fees, penalties, removal of borrower benefits, shortening of the payment grace window, collections fees, etc.
+ The downside is that the new legislation and the breakup of the mega-merger incentivizes lenders to encourage late payments and defaults by students - just basic economics
+ It’s more important than ever to make your student loan payments exactly on time
+ Consider student loan consolidation if you need to reduce your monthly payments

Scholarship Update
+ The 2007 Blogging Scholarship Award
+ Application Deadline: October 6, 2007
* Student blog must contain unique and interesting information (no spam bloggers)
* Student blogger must maintain their own individual blog or blog on a community blog
* Student blogger must currently attending full-time in post-secondary education in the United States
* Student blogger must maintain a 3.0 GPA
* Student blogger must be U.S. citizen or permanent resident
+ Students with the drive, devotion, and passion, to put their individual voice into a blog satisfy many of the mainstream scholarship criteria attached to other more traditional awards, including creativity and imagination, motivation and passion, and technical savvy.
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Mail Bag
+ Stephen wrote in: I need a help with scholarship and grant to support my 2 children into private school, 9yrs and 11 yrs. Please and thanks
+ Check out our scholarship search secrets e-book
+ Brad writes in: As parents, our EFC far-exceeds the annual cost of our daughter’s education. We want her to be responsible for some of her education cost, but she doesn’t qualify for any grants or federal aid. Instead, we were offered a PLUS loan. Unless she takes out a private loan, are we out of luck on lower-interest financial aid?
+ Should have been offered an unsubsidized Stafford loan
+ Brad also writes in: A few weeks ago, you had Dr. Paul Wrubel on (which was an excellent interview by the way). He mentioned that for each child you have attending college at the same time, you could save a year’s worth of college. Did I hear that right? Was he talking about time or money?
+ Money - two kids in school at the same time can drastically change EFC calculations

Podsafe Music
+ Rich Palmer, Future Retrospect

Reminders
+ Add the show to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/
+ Register for PodCamp Boston for free
+ Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.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.

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast

FAP633: Expert interview with Yvonne Gittens 2: How to get into MIT, Audiopharm

Listen now:

Expert Interview
+ Part 2 of the Yvonne Gittens interview
+ Ever wondered what a top school like MIT looks for in applicants? She’ll tell you, plus how much consideration you actually get in the admissions process - it’s different than you might imagine!

Promo
+ Private student loans from ActEducationLoans.com

Podsafe Music
+ Audiopharm, Last Ride

Reminders
+ Add the show to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/
+ Register for PodCamp Boston for free
+ Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.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.

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast

FAP632: 7 steps to career growth, Sallie Mae, Adrina Thorpe

Student Financial Aid News
+ BankNet360: Sallie Mae said Friday that it expects Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase to “honor” the terms of their contract to purchase Sallie Mae.
+ The purchasing group includes two private equity firms, J. C. Flowers & Company and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe. Sallie’s statement made no direct references to the hedge funds in its statement.
+ The banks, which had agreed to buy Sallie Mae for $25 billion, plans to return to the negotiating table and seek a lower price, The New York Times reported Thursday. If the group fails, it may move to scuttle the deal.
+ “We expect these banks to honor their commitments under that contract, not breach that contract,” Sallie Mae said in a statement. The company said that the College Cost Reduction Act does not constitute a material adverse effect under the merger agreement.
+ A battle at Harvard about textbook prices according to IHE

Scholarship Update
+ Freedom From Religion Essay Scholarship
+ $4,900 - $2,000 grand prize
+ Essay on freedom from religion
+ Next opens up in February 2008
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Jobcast
+ Leesa Barnes launches her book tour today, Podcasting for Profit. The Financial Aid Podcast is in there somewhere
+ Get 2 chapters for free
+ Good framework for any entrepreneurial venture, not just podcasting for money
+ Good framework for your career search
+ Wheel of Venture!
+ Assess
+ Plan
+ Launch
+ Grow (Market)
+ Profit
+ Measure
+ Optimize
+ Repeat Steps 4 - 7

Podsafe Music
+ Adrina Thorpe, Midnight

Reminders
+ Add the show to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/
+ Register for PodCamp Boston for free
+ Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.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.

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast

I’ll be presenting on Tuesday night at Emerson College on the topic of Social Networking and career search. In anticipation of the short 20 minute talk I’ll be giving as part of a panel, I’ve put together a small slide deck for participants and attendees.

Download the slide deck in PDF format.

Many thanks to Amanda Mooney and Bryan Person for creating this opportunity to discuss cutting edge social networking ideas for boosting your career.

I’m making some changes around here at the Financial Aid Podcast. One of the biggest changes you’ll notice is that I actively encourage you to now get the show every day by email. After doing some thinking about RSS and email, I’ve decided to promote email as the way to get the show every day for a couple of reasons.

First, email is EASY. Just about everyone gets email. Folks who are new to computers and the Internet intuitively grasp email. Folks new to podcasting don’t need more technical hurdles to listening to podcasts - and email fits the bill nicely. You’ll receive an email with new shows every day that I publish a show.

Second, email is easy to share. One click on the Forward button and you’re sending it to whoever you want, however you want, and you don’t have to worry about giving your friends’ email addresses to a third party. For those of you using feeds and feed readers, there’s no real easy way to share RSS feeds. OPML was supposed to be that, but how many people can easily share OPML files? Even in feed readers like Google Reader, in order to share an item you… email it.

For all of its flaws and issues with deliverability, etc. email is still one of the best ways to stay in touch. If you’d like to get the Financial Aid Podcast via email every day, just sign up here:

Your personal information will not be sold, shared, or distributed:

FAP631: Free stuff Friday for the iPhone, Sallie Mae, Dollars, Natives of the New Dawn

Student Financial Aid News
+ NYTimes: The consortium that had agreed to buy Sallie Mae for $25 billion plans to return to the negotiating table and seek a lower price, people close to the group said yesterday. If the group fails, it may move to scuttle the deal.
+ The buyers — the private equity firms J. C. Flowers & Company and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, as well as two banks, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America — met Tuesday to discuss the best way to pressure Sallie Mae into accepting a lower price, these people said.
+ While the group is hoping to renegotiate the price of Sallie Mae, these people said, it may also be willing to walk away and pay the $900 million breakup fee.
+ If that happened, the deal would become the biggest casualty of the tighter credit market, which persists despite the Federal Reserve’s decision on Tuesday to cut interest rates.
+ The buyers also appear to be reacting to legislation that Congress passed over the summer that would reduce subsidies to student lenders.
+ Though they have intimated threats before, the group intends to sit down with Sallie Mae’s parent, the SLM Corporation, as soon as President Bush signs the bill into law, these people said. That could be as early as this week.
+ Got Sallie Mae loans? Consolidate them with StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ IHT: The world dumped the dollar on Thursday, pushing the greenback to an all-time low of $1.40 against the euro and to parity with the Canadian dollar for the first time in three decades as currency traders around the world digested the full implications of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s new course for interest rates.
+ Against the Canadian dollar, the currency of the largest U.S. trading partner, the dollar tumbled to one-to-one, a level not seen since the 1976, the early phase of a currency crisis that would eventually send shock waves through the global economy.
+ the U.S. economy now seems to be providing fresh evidence that a meltdown in real estate prices might jar consumers into spending less - a fear evidently shared by policymakers at the Fed. That has given a fresh impetus to traders bearish on the dollar.
+ Oil prices set another record on Thursday, reaching $82.55 a barrel in New York.
+ What does this all mean for you? Among other things, it means that being a tourist in other countries will be expensive for Americans
+ More exports, cheaper exports (more jobs)
+ More expensive imports
+ More tourists here
+ In terms of financial aid, it means that economic indicators are showing a slowing economy. As much as possible, try to minimize your borrowing (which sounds weird coming from a student loan company) and borrow in terms of lowest rates
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Private student loans at ActEducationLaons.com

Scholarship Update
+ The Global Solutions Flash Movie Contest is for students, budding artists, multi-media designers, and activists who are interested in making some cool web videos. We hope their inspiring shorts will stand out in an era of ubiquitous technology, of infotainment, and of reduced attention spans, and inspire every-day people to watch, listen, learn, and take action on the global issues that they care about. Cash prizes are awarded (based on the five-person judging panel) for first place, second place, third place, and the viewer’s choice.
+ $2,000 prize
+ Deadline May of each year
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Free Stuff Friday
+ All iPhone/iPod Touch apps today
+ iPhone Chat
+ Google Reader
+ OneTrip shopping list
+ iTweetr
+ Gas prices
+ METAR
+ iPhone Travel
+ iActu
+ 101 cookbooks on your device
+ GoMovies movie listings
+ Cheap MF Amazon comparison shopping
+ Widgetop
+ iPhlickr
+ Lots more at iPhone Application List

Podsafe Music
+ Natives of the New Dawn, Good Day

Reminders
+ Add the show to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/
+ Register for PodCamp Boston for free
+ Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.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.

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast

FAP630: Federal funds rate change, mail bag, Matthew Ebel

Student Financial Aid News
+ Chronicle: Senate bill S 1561 currently in the Judiciary Committee, would allows private student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy
+ 5 year wait time in proposal
+ Big econ news: FOMC cuts funds rate by 50 basis points on Tuesday
+ What does this mean for you?
+ Any loan based on the prime rate is based on the federal funds rate
+ Funds + 3% = Prime
+ Credit cards, mortgages, even some student loans
+ LIBOR, which powers Act Education Loans, is not directly related to prime/fed funds
+ LIBOR will drop because ultimately if the fed funds rate is lower than LIBOR, banks will borrow from the Fed rather than each other

Scholarship Update
+ The Excellence in Predicting the Future Award is a $400 cash gift awarded every two months by Troy Studios to encourage students to pursue economics or simply to learn more about the world they live in. The award winners are chosen based on their performance in a contest. The contest is open to all students of all nations, regardless of field of study. To enter the contest, students should sign up for a free account on the cenimar.com website and then use the Cenimar Prediction Market to buy and sell predictions about the future in the same way that they might buy and sell corporate stock on a commercial stock market. The prediction market trading is done using play money that is given to the student for free.
+ Awarded every 2 months - next is Oct 10
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Mail Bag
+ Jenn writes in: I have another question. You mite not be able to answer it, but I thought I should give it a shot.
+ As of right now I go to Cosmetology school and i have a part time job at a salon. I live with my aunt and uncle because my mom and I have had bad problems my whole life. I recently just moved in with my aunt but I don’t have my own room or barley any space for myself and my family is not the most stable or loving family either.. So i was wondering if there was any way of getting a loan while im in school to pay for an apartment and stuff around the apartment while im in school (kinda like room and board) and when i get out of school pay it back on a payment plan until its paid off.
+ I was just wondering if its possible. If not I’ll just have to wait until im done with school and working full time and making good money. thanks for your time.
+ Yes, you can. You can apply the proceeds of any student loan after tuition and fees to living expenses
+ You can also apply for private student loans to exclusively cover such expenses
+ This guy wrote in: so wats good with grants and loans im tryna start college
+ File your FAFSA online at FAFSAonline.com
+ Get Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Get parent loans at ParentPLUSLoan.com
+ Get private student loans at ActEducationLoans.com

Promo
+ PodCamp Boston

Podsafe Music
+ Matthew Ebel, Lost My Way
+ Preorder the new album, Goodbye Planet Earth

Reminders
+ Add the show to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/
+ Register for PodCamp Boston for free
+ Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.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.

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast

FAP629: Expert Interview with Yvonne Gittens, new Matthew Ebel single

Expert Interview
+ First half of an interview with Yvonne Gittens, the now retired director of financial aid at MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
+ Yvonne offers some great scholarship and financial aid tips in this interview
+ Part 2 next week

Podsafe Music
+ Matthew Ebel, Lost My Way
+ Pre-order the album Goodbye Planet Earth

Reminders
+ Add the show to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/
+ Register for PodCamp Boston for free
+ Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.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.

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast

FAP628: Facebook owns your life, private student loans, Rebecca Loebe

Listen now:

Student Financial Aid News
+ NASFAA: “Kimberly Cummings remembers last spring when a young women walked into her office at Montana State University, concerned about having $40,000 in private student loans and an interest rate of 19 percent,” reports the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. “‘What is going on?’ wondered Cummings, who works for the nonprofit Student Assistance Foundation, counseling students on college loans. What’s going on is an explosion in private student loans. And that has people who advise MSU students on finances very, very worried. Private loan companies are selling a growing number of students on easy money for college. An unknown number of private loans go directly from the lender to the students’ pockets. Some analysts predict that at the rate they’re growing, private loans could someday surpass federally guaranteed loans, which total $60 billion nationally.”
+ Reminder: borrow federal student loans before private student loans
+ A lot of companies, with the recent legislative changes, will be pushing private student loans MUCH harder - and because they’re unregulated by the Department of Education, there are fewer limits about what you can and cannot do in advertising them
+ Opinion: Ultimately, the problem starts with out of control tuition. Federal student aid hasn’t kept pace with 7% annually increasing tuition, and private student loans fill that need for better or worse
+ Until tuition costs are addressed, lending will continue to be aggressive, whether it’s federal, private student loans or other equivalent forms of financing
+ Your strategy? To pay for college with as few costs as possible - combining scholarships, working if necessary, federal student aid, and yes, private student loans like those at Act Education Loans

Scholarship Update
+ Castrol Outperformers Scholarship
+ $7,500 award
+ May 31 deadline
+ Contest is open to legal U.S. residents who are between the ages of 16 and 25 who are or planning to pursue an education in preparation for a career in the automotive industry. This contest requires the submission of an essay to participate. All entries will be judged equally on the following criteria. Your essay should cover as many of the criteria listed below as possible. Passion (65%)
+ Unusual or unique automotive related activities
+ Participation in automotive related groups, clubs or organizati
+ Automotive related honors.
+ Creative Projects or ideas that demonstrate love of performance Uniqueness of Individuals Talent ( 35%)
+ Breadth of automotive skill set
+ Unique projects performed
+ Persistence in overcoming obstacles
+ Ability to diagnose/fix problems
+ Character and attitude towards accomplishing goals. The essays will be judged by a panel of brand and technical professionals who will determine the winners.
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Cover Your Assets
+ Chronicle: Earlier this month Facebook made an announcement that, at first glance, seemed fairly innocuous: The social network decided to make “limited public search listings” available to people who weren’t using the site.
+ What that means, essentially, is that search engines like Google and Yahoo will now be able to locate Facebook users who haven’t designated their pages as “private.” Philip Fong, a Facebook engineer, wrote on the company’s blog that search-engine links would only show only the names and thumbnail photos of Facebook users: “We’re not exposing any new information, and you have complete control over your public search listing.”
+ But even that information is too much, according to the editors of The Cornell Daily Sun. In a fierce editorial, the newspaper accuses Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder, of invading the privacy of his site’s faithful patrons:
+ At an age when most of us are just trying to enjoy college, it’s unfortunate that we have to be so conscientious about our every move — and that Zuck feels the need to play the role of Main Cop. It’s the latest in a string of indications that Facebook isn’t the plucky upstart of a cultural phenomenon it was three years ago.
+ The Daily Sun worries that Facebook’s new policy will make it easier for employers to scrutinize students’ Facebook pages, and that could be a valid concern.
+ Think carefully always about what you publish online. There is no such thing as a private social network.
+ Have you actually read Facebook’s terms of service?
+ When you post User Content to the Site, you authorize and direct us to make such copies thereof as we deem necessary in order to facilitate the posting and storage of the User Content on the Site. By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.
+ Short version: those drunken beer bash photos you posted? Facebook can sell them without your explicit permission (because you’ve already granted it in the terms of service) to Girls Gone Wild or any other information broker

Podsafe Music
+ Rebecca Loebe, Over Again
+ Live at the Lizard Lounge

Reminders
+ Add the show to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/
+ Register for PodCamp Boston for free
+ Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.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.

Direct MP3 file download: MP3 file

Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast