FAP625: Student loan consolidation benefits go away, Mail bag, Matthew Ebel

Student Financial Aid News
+ Chronicle: The proportion of minority students among American undergraduates rose to 32 percent in 2004, from 17 percent in 1976, but minority students’ academic performance still lags behind that of their white classmates, according to a report released on Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Education.
+ Minority students face persistent challenges. In 2005, for example, more than a third of foreign-born Hispanic young adults were high-school dropouts — almost triple the rate for Hispanic young adults born in the United States, according to the report.
+ Hispanic students outrepresented black students in college enrollments in the 2003-4 academic year, but black students earned more postsecondary degrees, the report says. A larger percentage of black students received financial aid than did other groups, and black students’ average award — $10,500 — was the highest. Hispanic students’ average financial-aid award — $9,000 — was the lowest for all groups, says the report, which collects data from multiple sources.
+ Chronicle: A college education pays in more ways than one, according to a report released by the College Board on Wednesday. In addition to higher personal earnings for the graduates themselves, the report says, society at large benefits. College graduates are more likely to volunteer, vote, and donate blood, according to the report, and they have a higher tolerance of differing views.
+ The report, “Education Pays 2007: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society,” is the latest in an annual series from the College Board.
+ Some of the benefits college graduates derive from their education include a higher rate of employer health and pension benefits, and lower unemployment and poverty rates, as well as greater lifetime earnings. Over a 40-year period, people who have earned a bachelor’s degree can expect to earn 61 percent more than those who attained only a high-school diploma, the report says.
+ We received official word from all of our loan underwriters that effective October 1, all borrower benefits are going away for federal student loan consolidation. Even for loans in process, if the loan doesn’t fund before October 1, it will not receive benefits. We’re notifying anyone who will be impacted.

Scholarship Update
+ Abercrombie & Fitch Scholarship Program
+ The UNCF/Abercrombie & Fitch Scholarship Program will provide 4-year scholarships to a total of 22 students enrolled in a UNCF member or university or any other accredited 4-year college or university. Scholarships of $3,000 will be awarded annually, up to 4 years. Award amount will be based upon students unmet financial need and will be renewable as long as the recipient continues to meet the eligibility requirements.
+ October 13 deadline
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Mail Bag
+ Robert writes in: In what year did the NSLDS get started? When did colleges start reporting loan details? I am currently experiencing a loan dispute on a perkins loan, the attorney for the college sent me a print off of a loan detail they say is from the NSLDS but it does not look like the website that I use.I thought you needed a gov issued pin number to access that information. Any info you can give would be very helpfull thank you
+ NSLDS began in 1994.
+ There are two versions of NSLDS, NSLDS for students and NSLDS for Financial Aid Professionals
+ The one for FAPs is an ugly brown and looks like something Martha Stewart might have cobbled together, color-wise, while in prison
+ NSLDS for students is white and blue.
+ Guido Stein writes in: I am sure that you get this all the time, but, I am an uncle and I would like to know what the best thing I can do for my new nephew for college savings. Where should I start his college fund?
+ Joe writes in: So if I have a $10,000 loan from the government and an investment that will guarantee me 8% return over the next 10 years, I think I would be better off investing it.
+ If I pay the loan off in full, I will have no debt/interest and no future earnings from the investment.
+ Using a future value calculations, the $10,000 invested at 8% would grow to be $22,196.40 over that 10 year period. The loan and interest payments would be a total of $13,809.66. If I invest the money today I would be up over $8,000 in 10 years - correct? This assumes I can manage the monthly payment on the student loans with my monthly income. If not, I would have to use some of the principal and interest from the investment to cover the monthly loan costs. For simplicity, let’s assume I can make the monthly payments after the investment.
+ Inflation is not a factor as much as time value of money. Another way to look at is this. If I invest and grow my $10,000 to $22,000 in 10 years and discount the value of that $10,000 to present value using 3% inflation, it exceeds the $10,000 currently owed on the loan. The present value of the investment is greater than the loan amount owed so I should invest.
+ Let me know if I am missing something.
+ That’s assuming you can find an investment that will guarantee you a yield of 8% APR over the next 10 years - and if you do, please post it here so we can all invest in it.
+ Current CD and savings yields are around 4.75% and change - ING has a 5 year CD for 5% APY, or 4.89% APR. Given that calculation, you would have a yield of $16,291, assuming monthly compounding and buying another 5 year CD in 5 years with the full proceeds plus earned interest. Accounting for CPI inflation figures for the last 10 years (which is conservative), that would be $12,729.64 in today’s dollars.
+ Using a student loan calculator, you’d pay $3,809.66 in interest. If you could save $3,809.66 in today’s dollars or earn $2,729.64 in today’s dollars, which would you rather take?
+ Jeffrey writes: I am a stock analyst that follows the for-profit education sector. I believe we have communicated with one another in the past. I know there was some fears that the new student loan bill would include a ban on opportunity pools. Did that happen in the bill signed on Friday? What would it mean exactly?
+ FinAid.org: Tying benefits, such as override or opportunity pools, to inclusion on or preferred placement within a preferred lender list. See August 1, 2003 memo from Cathy H. Lewis, Office of Inspector General, US Department of Education, concerning the use of opportunity pools. (A review of private student loan securitizations suggests that as much as 15% of a lender’s private student loans are made without regard to traditional FICO-based underwriting criteria. Allowing a school to override a lender’s rejection of one private student loan application for every ten funded private student loans is not in itself an illegal inducement. However, providing such an opportunity pool in exchange for inclusion on the preferred lender list or basing the number or dollar amount of overridden application decisions on FFELP volume, as opposed to private student loan volume, probably crosses the line.)
+ NY State legislation - SLATE act - bans opportunity pools in NYS - other legislation is still pending

CoverCast
+ Matthew Ebel, Hallelujah

Reminders
+ Add the show to your iTunes by visiting http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com/itunes/
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+ 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.

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