FAP728: Large pile of mail in the mail bag, Bush 2009 Budget

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Student Financial Aid News
+ Tomorrow is Super Tuesday - primary voting. In states where primaries are open and you’re eligible to vote, please do so. The official position of the Student Loan Network is neutral.
+ Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho (D), Illinois, Kansas (D), Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico (D), New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah
+ From the Chronicle: President Bush will ask Congress next week for a $2.6-billion increase in 2009 for the Pell Grant program for college students from low-income families, the Associated Press reported today..
+ The maximum Pell Grant is currently set to reach $4,731, following last year’s enactment of legislation cutting about $20-billion in student-loan subsidies over five years and diverting it to grants. With the expected $2.6-billion increase, the maximum Pell Grant is anticipated to reach $5,100 to $5,400.
+ The administration also will seek to eliminate 47 education programs, including Perkins Loans, to save about $3.3-billion, according to the AP report. The administration has proposed similar cuts in past years, with little success in getting Congress to go along.

Scholarship Update
+ Labs are Vital Scholarship
+ Students can compete to win a scholarship valued at up to $2,500 by submitting a video, advertisement, or T-shirt design that encourages others to consider careers in laboratory medicine. Recruiting students into the profession is a top priority - the American Society for Clinical Pathology estimates there currently may be as many as 40,000 unfilled clinical laboratory jobs in the United States.
+ The deadline for contest participants to submit an entry is March 7.
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Mail Bag
+ Angelo writes in: Hi: Is the expected family contribution amount the amount of money that parents are expected to pay every year or the total amount parents are expected to pay for a 4-year education?
+ Tammy writes in: What is the income limit parents can make and your child still qualify for a pell grant
+ Paula writes in: I have a FAFSA formula question: (I think I can ask a question here?) If a widowed parent with a $23K AGI, though receives $42K in social security benefits due to the death of her husband and files a 1040A, qualify for the Simplified EFC formula, where her assets are not included in the EFC calculation? Her son (the high school senior) earned nothing in 2007, though has saved $9K from the social security his mom receives for him. Would his assets count in the formula? I tried the FAFSA4Caster today, and there is a bug that bumps you out of the screen at the end.
+ I want to make sure that they don’t include her assets. She has only $68K to her name, no retirement, etc and I’d hate to have her penalized for having some assets. That’s her entire retirement fund (other than ss), and the mom is 57.
+ Jen writes in: If a scholarship application asks about a struggle with a life challenge or hardship. Would it be beneficial to bring up a disability such as mental illness? Or could that possibly hurt your chances of winning the scholarship.
+ Mike writes in: Under what circumstances can my daughter apply for financial aid based on her own income (and not mine)? Obviously, I assume that I cannot claim her as a tax dependent in order for her to apply for aid based only on her own income…. But are there other requirements as well? (ie. does she have to be over a certain age?, etc)
+ Jeff writes in: Enjoy your show, keep up the good work! I know you cannot give tax advice, but I was hoping you could help me understand something.
+ My dependent student started classes at Arizona State last Fall. He is a beneficiary of the FL Prepaid College Plan (529). This plan made 2 payments in 2007, one directly to ASU for room fees and the other payable to me for tuition reimbursement. FL Prepaid just sent 2 1099-Q forms, one for each payment. The recipient on one was the dependent student (for room fees) & I was listed as the recipient on the other.
+ I’m trying to understand why they sent one to the dependent student. It doesn’t make sense as he did not make tuition or room payments - they came out of my pocket.
+ Can you shed any light on this issue? Thanks!

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Reminders
+ Student Loan Network $10,000 Scholarship - Apply in 32 seconds or less!
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ Discuss this episode at the Financial Aid Forum!
+ Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook
+ FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com
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+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

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