Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes and Blog

FAP932: Scholarship craziness, heavy metal Hanukkah, MASFAA 2009

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:36:00 PST

FAP932: Scholarship craziness, heavy metal Hanukkah, MASFAA 2009 Download the MP3 file here. Weekly Financial Aid Roundup Why does college cost so much? Merit based scholarships getting the axe. Scholarship Update Entertainment abounds in the results of our $10,000 scholarship. We hope to have a confirmed winner really soon. In the meantime, our next $10,000 scholarship deadline is December 15. Focus on Financial [...]

Question for you: why does financial literacy fail?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:21:09 PST

I’ll be speaking on Thursday at the Massachusetts Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators annual conference on the topic of financial literacy, but wanted your take: why do financial literacy efforts fail? Leave your thoughts in the comments! Scholarship Points bonus code: FINLITFAIL

FAP931: Swine flu, credit cards, and our $10,000 scholarship

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:46:38 PDT

FAP931: Swine flu, credit cards, and our $10,000 scholarship Download the MP3 file here. Weekly Financial Aid News Insane credit card rates! Swine flu! Scholarship Update Tomorrow we’re giving away $10,000. Are you ready? Free Stuff Friday 4GB drive from MicroCenter Brilliant Brunette Shampoo Clorox wipes Nescafe Taster’s Choice Bottle of Cherry Coke (20oz) Menchie’s Yogurt Toy from Mattel at Sears Desk Clock Target 8×10 Free Song of the Week Gretchen Parlato “In [...]

FAP930: Financial aid, tuition increases, blankets, and grilled chicken

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:38:22 PDT

FAP930: Financial aid, tuition increases, blankets, and grilled chicken Download the MP3 here. Weekly Financial Aid Roundup Back to the old format. I just like it better. Student Loan Network $10,000 Scholarship Tuition costs up as much as 6% at publics Income based repayment problems Scholarship Update Scholarships for agriculture studies New York Women in Communications Foundation 2010 Scholarship Program National ACT High School Poster [...]

FAP929: Digital Foundations for Career Success

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:08:38 PDT

FAP929: Digital Foundations for Career Success Download the MP3 file here. I’ve really been enjoying these single topic, focused podcasts we’ve been doing the last 3 weeks, and I think I’m going to keep that format rolling, as opposed to a summary of the news, which you can get daily at the Financial Aid News, along with [...]

FAP928: What’s ahead for your financial aid future

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:06:28 PDT

FAP928: What’s ahead for your financial aid future Download the MP3 file here. Expert Interview In this 25 minute interview with Maria Simos, CEO of e-Forecasting.com, and Dr. Evangelos Simos, Professor of Economics at the Whittemore School of Business at UNH, we talk about the current financial conditions impacting students and families, what industries are likely to be [...]

FAP927: Personal finance guide, part 2

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:05:13 PDT

FAP927: Personal finance guide, part 2 Click here to download the MP3 file This week, we continue our personal finance guide and talk about debt reduction methods, plus some scam warnings. Grab the PDF version of the guide here. 5 most recent Financial Aid Podcast posts Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by FeedBurner Did you enjoy this? If [...]

FAP926: Personal finance guide, part 1

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:59:13 PDT

A special this week – the first in a series of personal finance shows. Click here to download the MP3 file Personal Finance Part 1 Key concepts: - Opportunity cost - Time is money - Interest is rent How to budget. Scholarship Points Instructions Are you a Scholarship Points member? In today’s show, get a Points code for 20 Scholarship Points by subscribing to [...]

FAP925: A lesson to remember from September 11

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:26:21 PDT

FAP925: A lesson to remember from September 11 Today’s Financial Aid Podcast is going to be different than usual, on account of the fact that it’s September 11, 2009, eight years after a day that we can’t and shouldn’t forget. No scholarships or Scholarship Points today or mentions about business as usual, because there’s more important [...]

FAP924: Student loan debt repayment, outlet malls, free stuff

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:34:16 PDT

FAP924: Student loan debt repayment, outlet malls, free stuff Click here to download the MP3 file Student Financial Aid News Students borrowing more than ever. Have you read about income based repayment? Private student loan swap proposal. Scholarship Update NASA ASEE scholarship. The Aeronautics Scholarship Program (ASP) offers our nation’s research leaders of tomorrow exceptional funding: Undergraduate Students * $15,000 awarded for [...]

FAP923: Back to school financial tips special

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:39:46 PDT

FAP923: Back to school financial tips special Click here to download the MP3 file A change of pace for today’s show as you head back to school, some back to school financial tips 1. You don’t need a student credit card on campus. Everyone will say you do, but honestly, you really don’t. 2. Make a budget BEFORE the [...]

FAP922: Social media scholarship, last minute financial aid, free stuff

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:32:19 PDT

FAP922: Social media scholarship, last minute financial aid, free stuff Click here to download the MP3 file Student Financial Aid News From Forbes Magazine: “Most states have quasi-governmental agencies that monitor the status of federally subsidized student loans and administer loan forgiveness programs for those who follow certain career paths,” Forbes reports. “Many of these agencies temporarily foot the [...]

FAP921: FAFSA oversimplification, scholarship newsletter, gay chorus covers

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 05:31:39 PDT

FAP921: FAFSA oversimplification, scholarship newsletter, gay chorus covers Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup FAFSA oversimplification and consequences. Watching student loan company profits. Scholarship cuts. Scholarship Points Instructions Are you a Scholarship Points member? In today’s show, get a Points code for 20 Scholarship Points by subscribing to the podcast and listening to the episode. Subscribing is [...]

FAP920: Video of Scholarship Winner

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:41:54 PDT

Congratulations to Tiffany Beebe of College of Idaho! 5 most recent Financial Aid Podcast posts Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by FeedBurner Did you enjoy this? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you. Subscribing for free means you don’t have to remember to download it every day. + + + [...]

FAP919: $10,000 Scholarship, Scholarship Points, Scholarship eBook

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:55:04 PDT

FAP919: $10,000 Scholarship, Scholarship Points, Scholarship eBook Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup Notes from College Goal Sunday. Scholarship Update Our new Scholarship eBook is out! Today is the deadline for our $10,000 scholarship drawing. Scholarship Points A video on how to use refer a friend: Are you a Scholarship Points member? In today’s show, get a Points code [...]

Now hiring: Senior Web Applications Developer, Quincy, MA

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:40:45 PDT

We are currently seeking a Senior Web Applications Developer to work full time in our Quincy, MA office. This person will work closely with other developers and marketing personnel to build interactive web-based applications on a LAMP platform. The ideal candidate has extensive experience building and maintaining complex web applications as well as managing internal [...]

Notes from Massachusetts College Goal Sunday meeting

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:05:13 PDT

Some quick field notes from the Massachusetts College Goal Sunday meeting as I’m on the road; a full podcast will be coming later. 1. Completed financial aid applications at a nearby community college are up 184% year over year; enrollments are up 30%, while state funding is down. 2. As the FAFSA changes more and more under [...]

FAP918: Student loans, FAFSA changes, scholarship dailies

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:22:46 PDT

FAP918: Student loans, FAFSA changes, scholarship dailies Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup FFEL termination Perkins Loan changes FAFSA changes Scholarship Points Instructions Are you a Scholarship Points member? In today’s show, get a Points code for 20 Scholarship Points by subscribing to the podcast and listening to the episode. Subscribing is fast, easy, and free. If you [...]

FAP917: Diminishing student loans, IOU student aid, Twitter scholarships, Mystery song

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:30:43 PDT

FAP917: Diminishing student loans, IOU student aid, Twitter scholarships, Mystery song Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup US Bank exiting student lending. An alternative student loan proposal. Questionable issues at the FSA Ombudsman office? California IOUs for student aid? Scholarship Search A refresher on using Twitter to find scholarships. Scholarship Points Instructions Are you a Scholarship Points member? In today’s [...]

FAP916: Student loan payment changes, online degrees

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:31:30 PDT

FAP916: Student loan payment changes, online degrees Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup Online degree effectiveness. Decline in scholarship funding. Student credit cards take another hit. Scholarship Update Congratulations to Karalynn Moran who won our $2,500 Scholarship Points award for June. Operation Homefront. Scholarship Points Instructions Are you a Scholarship Points member? In today’s show, get a Points code for [...]

FAP915: FAFSA, GI Bill, Scholarship Points, Mail Bag, Free Stuff

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:30:21 PDT

FAP915: FAFSA, GI Bill, Scholarship Points, Mail Bag, Free Stuff Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup Changes to the FAFSA. Changes to Veterans benefits. Scholarship Points Update We’re getting ready to start revamping Scholarship Points. Add your thoughts about what’s working and what’s not. We’re going Seth Godin Tribes style here. Also, Scholarship Points referral points awards [...]

Clearing out the mailbag

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:23:03 PDT

With no show last Friday due to travel, I wanted to take some time to answer the mailbag rather than make people wait. Carol writes: I just read your e-book on finding scholarships. My son is finishing his sophomore year in HS. Is it really appropriate to be applying for scholarships now, when he hasn’t even applied [...]

FAP914: Student credit cards, interest rates, Over Again

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:40:19 PDT

FAP914: Student credit cards, interest rates, Over Again Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup Student loan consolidation and Treasury Bills Scholarship Update AORN Foundation Scholarship Program. To provide scholarships to students who are pursuing a career in perioperative nursing and to registered nurses who are interested in and committed to perioperative nursing to continue their [...]

FAP913: Income based repayment, Canada, and free stuff

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:21:01 PDT

FAP913: Income based repayment, Canada, and free stuff Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup 529 plans getting hammered. Scholarship Update Scholarships begging for applicants on MySpace. In the interest of providing additional opportunities to potential students, the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges has once again moved the deadline for submission for a $1,000 or [...]

FAP912: National sales tax, student loan consequences, Rich Palmer

Fri, 29 May 2009 05:11:33 PDT

FAP912: National sales tax, student loan consequences, Rich Palmer Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup Last Friday, the credit card bill was signed into law by President Obama. Farewell, student credit cards as we know them. California’s kind of imploding, budgetarily-speaking. Consequences of CCRAA and anti-FFEL legislation surfacing now. Figuring out that you can’t spend what [...]

FAP911: Student credit cards, Congressional hearings, Jonathan Coulton

Fri, 22 May 2009 05:06:50 PDT

FAP911: Student credit cards, Congressional hearings, Jonathan Coulton Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup Goodbye, student credit cards. A perspective on student loan programs. Impending bank failures. Scholarship Update Google has a photo contest running. $7,500. Details at our free college scholarship search site. Scholarship Points Instructions Are you a Scholarship Points member? In today’s show, get a Points [...]

Congressman George Miller would like a word with you

Wed, 20 May 2009 05:18:44 PDT

You know how special you guys are, listeners of the Financial Aid Podcast? The House Committee on Education and Labor knows you by name. I got an email from the Committee last night. From George Miller and the House Committee on Education and Labor: On Thursday, May 21, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a [...]

FAP910: Making money, free tuition colleges, student lending

Fri, 15 May 2009 05:26:19 PDT

FAP910: Making money, free tuition colleges, student lending Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup 8 colleges with no tuition Focus on Financial Aid A compendium of our library. Before College Scholarship Search Secrets – eBook and video detailing how to use Google and other free tools to find scholarships Finding Financial Aid – a short eBook outlining the [...]

Go make some money with other people’s free stuff

Tue, 12 May 2009 07:49:14 PDT

It’s that time of year again – the end of the semester, graduation, and free stuff. Lots of free stuff. Take a look at your local Craigslist, especially if you live anywhere near a college or university. If you’re in the City of Boston, for example, you can’t sneeze without hitting a college. Start looking through all the [...]

FAP909: End of Student Credit Cards, Student Loan enrollment

Fri, 08 May 2009 05:21:35 PDT

FAP909: End of Student Credit Cards, Student Loan enrollment Click here to download the MP3 file Updated: a bug in the MP3 address has been fixed! Weekly Financial Aid Roundup Amazon Kindle DX. Elimination of Student Credit Cards Scholarship Update Check out our pile of featured scholarships! Scholarship Points Instructions Are you a Scholarship Points member? In today’s show, get a Points code [...]

Social Media Prerequisites Session

Thu, 07 May 2009 10:09:48 PDT

For those folks who will be attending the College Goal Sunday forum and other college access initiatives, this is a recorded session of a talk I regularly deliver on social media – a quick rundown of prerequisites and some starter suggestions and tools you can use. Slides: 5 most recent Financial Aid Podcast posts Subscribe to RSS headline [...]

Never sign something you don’t understand

Tue, 05 May 2009 05:34:34 PDT

This may seem obvious, but it bears saying: Don’t sign anything you don’t understand. Take a look at that student loan form and read through it. See the pages of fine print after the initial application page? Read those pages. If you don’t understand something in those terms, don’t sign the loan application, because the moment you [...]

Daily Financial Aid News moving

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:32:58 PDT

A quick note to let you know that the Daily Financial Aid News blog posts are moving over to FinancialAidNews.com – be sure to stop by and subscribe! 5 most recent Financial Aid Podcast posts Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by FeedBurner Did you enjoy this? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get [...]

Daily Aid 117: How to save money for college safely

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:36:57 PDT

Daily Aid 117: How to save money for college safely Student Financial Aid News From Inside Higher Ed: With Congress poised to give the White House a smoother path to push its plan to end the lender-based student loan program, President Obama warned Friday that he was girding up for a fight with banks and their “army of [...]

FAP908: Comparing student loans, Selective Service, Free stuff, Bob Gentry

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:16:00 PDT

FAP908: Comparing student loans, Selective Service, Free stuff, Bob Gentry Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup A new article looking at the differences in interest rates for various graduate student loans over at GradLoans.com. Scholarship Update National Geographic’s Galapagos Exploration award, plus ScholarshipPoints.com drawings in just 6 days. Scholarship Points Instructions Are you a Scholarship Points member? [...]

Daily Aid 116: Private student loans vs. federal student loans, your thoughts

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 05:18:27 PDT

Daily Aid 116: Private student loans vs. federal student loans, your thoughts Student Financial Aid News From the Chronicle: “The percentage of students taking out private loans has increased by nine percentage points over the past five years, from 5 percent to 14 percent, according to a new analysis of Education Department data that was released last week,” [...]

Daily Aid 115: How much to borrow in student loans, selective service question

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:28:02 PDT

Daily Aid 115: How much to borrow in student loans, selective service question Student Financial Aid News From the New York Times: They bought into the notion that if they went to college — never mind the debt — their degree would lead to a lucrative job. And repaying their student loans would never be a problem. But [...]

Earth Day Special: Going green without spending green

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 05:24:00 PDT

Earth Day Special: Going green without spending green On the question of: What are some ways that college students can go green without spending a ton of money? A bunch of people posted some really terrific responses. Since today’s technically a holiday in Massachusetts, where the Student Loan Network is headquartered, I thought I’d post this Earth Day [...]

FAP907: Free scholarships book giveaway, Earth day free stuff

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:30:55 PDT

FAP907: Free scholarships book giveaway, Earth day free stuff Click here to download the MP3 file Weekly Financial Aid Roundup The show turned 4 years old this week! Sallie Mae’s student loan proposal – a review. Scholarship Points Instructions Are you a Scholarship Points member? In today’s show, get a Points code for 20 Scholarship Points by subscribing to the podcast [...]

Daily Aid 114: Sallie Mae Federal Student Loan Proposal

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:44:20 PDT

Daily Aid 114: Sallie Mae Federal Student Loan Proposal Student Financial Aid News From InsideHigherEd: Sallie Mae (ticker: SLM), which as the country’s largest student loan provider has a lot to lose from the Obama administration’s proposal to eliminate the Family Federal Education Loan Program, is floating an alternative that would save the program but cut its costs [...]