Student Loan News, Updates and Blog Posts

They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, but that’s not true at all! One lucky winner will be roaring on March 31 after winning 10K!

Who remembers the $10,000 Pyramid? Anyone? It was the original game show hosted by Dick Clark in 1973 before it later became the $25,000 Pyramid in 1982. I’ve seen the reruns on the Game Show network and it looks challenging. You go head to head against an opponent (with your celebrity counterpart) before you step into the Winners Circle and have 60 seconds to get six clues right to earn your 10K. It’s a brain strain for me. Personally I’d prefer something a little less pressure packed. And on that note, what if I told you that scholarshippoints.com offers students a chance to win 10K with little brain strain at all? Would you be interested? Of course you would!

On March 31 the Student Loan Network will be awarding one lucky student 10K! That’s right, $10,000 big ones for college. You don’t need to hold a certain major, have a certain income, or be able to solve clues in a pyramid. You just sign up for free and enter. That’s it! To sign up (click here).

Before we delve into that answer you should first know that twenty-four is an important number for you to take note of, and not just because of government agent Jack Bauer. Twenty-four is the age when you officially move from a dependent to independent student in the school’s eyes, unless you have a child of your own, are married, or are emancipated.

If you are twenty-four or meet one of the aforementioned criteria above than this legal guardian question is a moot point for you as you do not need to list parental information on your FAFSA. For all others the answer is no. A legal guardian, foster parent, grandparent, or other relative is not treated as a parent for purposes of filing a FAFSA, unless that person has legally adopted you. Adopted parents are viewed the same as biological parents for FAFSA purposes.

So what happens if you are under the age of 24 and submit your FAFSA with no parental information? It will get rejected because, as we just mentioned, a legal guardian, foster parent, grandparent, or other relative is not treated as a parent for FAFSA purposes. The school’s FAO will then need to do a professional override, which would change your status from dependent to independent, which would allow you to access more federal aid.

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Can you believe how low the prime rate has dropped? The cost of borrowing funds is lower than a limbo specialist right now. I just love me a good recession.

As of today the prime rate currently stands at the bargain basement price of 3.25%. The last time the prime was this low Dwight Eisenhower was our commander and chief. The primes 50-year low makes private loan products very attractive right now.

For those students who’ve exhausted federal loan options and are in need of a private loan (click here). The interest rate is based off the prime which ranges from ½ point below prime, for those with stellar credit, to 4.75 points above prime for those with less than spectacular FICO scores.  Keep in mind that a co-signer is required.

In addition, like a federal Stafford loan the loan is fully deferrable until six months after school.

There is a new economics stimulus Bill that has been introduced into the House of Representatives, that could potentially increase your student aid package that you receive from your school.

The stimulus bill, would be part of the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009″ which is being designed to hopefully save millions of jobs, jump start the economy, and (cross your fingers) give you more financial aid:)

Here are the details:

• Raise Pell grant maximum by $500 (from $4,850 to $5,350)
• Increase unsub max amounts by $2000
• provide $490 million dollars extra for work study for undergrad and graduate students
• Provide $50 million to help the Dep’t of Ed administer new and surging student aid programs through this ever changing educational environment

Sounds pretty good to me…except the Stafford loan sub and unsub limits still don’t come any where close to covering tuition at a private university. Thoughts on this new proposal?

Claiborne Pell, the senator who created the college grant program to aid lower-income students, would be happy to hear that the 44^th President is looking to increase the maximum Pell Grant allotment from $4,850 to $5,350 by injecting 15.6 billion dollars into the program under the new economic stimulus bill.

In 1976, the first year the Pell Grant program was fully funded, the maximum allotment was $1,400, which covered about 70% of the cost of attendance at a typical four-year public college. Today, given education costs have been soaring at a rate far greater than inflation (nearly tenfold in the past three decades in fact) the Pell Grant only covers about 30% of the cost of tuition. Needless-to-say students can use all the help they can get.

If the economic stimulus bill goes thru as constituted the $500 Pell Grant maximum allotment increase will be in place for the upcoming 2009-2010 academic year.

First off, your school and federal government both require that you complete a student loan exit counseling interview if you took out any federal student loans while in school. Failing to complete your exit counseling interview may prevent you from receiving your diploma or obtaining your transcripts to attend another school. Needless-to-say, it is of paramount importance that you complete an exit interview.

So what is it? Basically exit counseling covers a number of topics including the necessity of paying back your student loans, deferment options, reasons for loan cancellation, and identifying who your lender is. It’s amazing to me how many students don’t know who their lender is, but I guess out of sight out of mind.

Exit counseling is important because it provides you with vital information on how much you owe and how to best manage your loans once you leave school. It also outlines all of your rights and responsibilities.

Exit counseling is essentially the book end to the entrance counseling you completed when you began school.

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A scholarship is defined as a sum of money or aid granted to a student, because of merit, need, or other, to pursue his or her studies. That seems pretty straight forth, with the exception of the “other” category. It is this category I would like to discuss further.

When I was going to school in the early 90’s I filled out paperwork, wrote essays, and hoped my poverty line upbringing would entitle me to some free money. And while I did get some Benjamin’s it wasn’t near enough. Now fast forward to 2009. I work for a great company that is GIVING AWAY thousands of dollars each month for FREE! That’s right, no essay, no interview, no FAFSA form, just you. We don’t care if Mom and Dad make $20,000 or $200,000 per year – you’re in the running!

We’re an equal opportunity giver awayer, well kinda. You can accrue daily points simply by logging in, reading a blog to get a code, or by taking a survey. The more points you collect the better your chances of winning. You then enter your points into the monthly drawings. We give away between $3,500 and $10,000 per month! We’ve come a long way since our $250 per month pledge a few years ago.

Get on board. Win some cash. We’re way cooler than the Red Hot Chili Peppers who like to give it away, give it away, give it away now.

To register to become a scholarshippoints.com member (click here).

People often think about scholarships, perhaps even talk about them, but the majority of people don’t extend the effort needed in order to obtain a scholarship. Not everyone is smart enough to receive merit scholarships…but those are not the only ones out there. It is also pretty easy to win scholarships…if you know where to look for them.

Scholarshippoints.com is a website that gives away scholarships to members of the site who perform fun, simple activities. Joining is free and fast, and the more “points” you earn, the more entries you get for each scholarship giveway.

StudentScholarshipSearch.com is a site where you can search for all different kinds of scholarships that you think might pertain to you for FREE.

These are just 2 examples of easy ways to win and find scholarships. It definitely pays to take initiative with funding your education…sitting back and waiting for things to come, results in a huge amount of debt that you will most likely regret in the not so distant future.

People often think about scholarships, perhaps even talk about them, but the majority of people don’t extend the effort needed in order to obtain a scholarship. Not everyone is smart enough to receive merit scholarships…but those are not the only ones out there. It is also pretty easy to win scholarships…if you know where to look for them.

Scholarshippoints.com is a website that gives away scholarships to members of the site who perform fun, simple activities. Joining is free and fast, and the more “points” you earn, the more entries you get for each scholarship giveway.

StudentScholarshipSearch.com is a site where you can search for all different kinds of scholarships that you think might pertain to you for FREE.

These are just 2 examples of easy ways to win and find scholarships. It definitely pays to take initiative with funding your education…sitting back and waiting for things to come, results in a huge amount of debt that you will most likely regret in the not so distant future.

The FAFSA blog is sponsored in part by:

Five most recent FAFSA form help blog posts:

Subscribe to RSS headline updates from:

To qualify for federal student aid, you must have completed high school or an equivalent educational course (like a GED).

The FAFSA blog is sponsored in part by:

Five most recent FAFSA form help blog posts:

Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: