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FAP871: State FAFSA deadlines, broadband scholarship, job references

August 28th, 2008

FAP871: State FAFSA deadlines, broadband scholarship, job references

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Student Financial Aid News
+ Forbes: “Corinthian Colleges is boosting its profits by increasing student enrollment, but the downside for the for-profit operator of North American colleges and trade schools is that it now expects an increased number of defaults,” Forbes reports. “‘During the fourth quarter, we implemented several changes to offset the loss of Sallie Mae privates tudent loans for students with subprime credit profiles. We established a new company-sponsored student lending program, ACCESS, and thus far, have arranged financing for the vast majority of students through Title IV, cash payments, ACCESS and other resources,’ said Corinthian Colleges Chief Executive Officer Jack Massimino. Corinthian said student loan defaults increased to 9.1% of revenue in the fourth quarter vs. 6.2% in the prior year. Revenue for the quarter rose 18.3% to $274 million, from $231.6 million a year earlier, below analysts’ expectations of $276.6 million.”
+ Boston Globe: For most students, college is a four-year rite of passage - a time to dabble in multiple subjects before settling on a major or a chance to spend a semester abroad - with frat parties sprinkled in between, That’s a luxury some students say they can no longer afford. Soaring tuition costs are prompting a small but growing number of students to compress their college careers into three years and, in the process, save their parents and themselves tens of thousands of dollars. The crop of early graduates often comes from middle-class families who might not qualify for need-based financial aid, college officials say.
+ Some policies adopted by local colleges can make it easier to graduate early. Suffolk University introduced online courses this summer to help working students squeeze in extra credits at their own pace. Berklee College of Music allows students who test out of classes to receive credits for those classes, at no charge. Like some other schools, Wellesley College offers classes during semester breaks.

Scholarship Update
+ Broadband Changed My Life Scholarship
+ The goal of the Alliance for Public Technology’s national Broadband Changed My Life! campaign is to raise awareness of the benefits of advanced broadband and encourage its universal deployment and adoption.
+ Now you can enter the new Tell the Next President Contest! Stories should be 50-300 words ideally, although they can be longer. The focus is to share the story of how high-speed internet access has changed your life and your family members’ lives, or how you would like to see broadband used to change the lives of others.
+ The deadline for entries is October 1, 2008. Three winners will be announced in late October and the prizes will be $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place. A panel of APT Board members and staff will judge the entries. Early next year, a memorandum with the best contest entries will be sent to the new President and the first place winner will receive a trip to Washington and a ticket to an Inaugural ball.
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Mail Bag
+ Hi. My name is Cecilia and I began college last year without financial aid, which was a mistake. Now I am interested in filling a fafsa form out but my state’s(california) deadline was januray 1 to march 2,2008. Does that mean I am too late? And if my mother claimed me for her taxes in 2007 and she is a nurse but now I am living with my father and he can only pay some of the tution. Also he has been claiming me most of my life. Does that also mean I have to wait till 2009? Thank you for your time. Please try to help with my questions because I’m very confused.
+ File your FAFSA anyway - it’s free!
+ State deadlines are different than federal deadlines - at the least, you’ll be able to get some Stafford loans
+ State deadlines only affect state financial aid like the CalGrant
+ Whoever you lived with more than 50% of tax year 2007 is the claimant on the FAFSA for this year’s FAFSA
+ On January 1, the 2009 FAFSA opens up for the 2009-2010 school year and whoever you lived with more than 50% of 2008 is the claimant

Jobcast
+ Recommendations are critical to the success of a resume portfolio
+ Think of these as short references - testimonials
+ Gather them in places like LinkedIn
+ Gather them the old-fashioned way, too
+ Ask for recommendations diplomatically but earnestly
+ Ask for recommendations with details if possible and appropriate
+ Bad: John did a fine job as our summer intern. I’d recommend him for the future.
+ Good: John did a fine job as our summer intern, handling customer service issues and helping to keep our loan applications on track, especially when it came to calling back customers.
+ Great: John did a fine job as our summer intern, handling customer service issues and helping to keep our loan applications on track, especially when it came to calling back customers. He managed to call back a record 267 customers in just 10 days and closed 44 loans entirely by himself.

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