Archive for the Capitol Hill Category
Reported in Marketwatch
Student loan borrowers who commit to a decade of public service may see the remaining balance on their federal student loans forgiven under the government's new public-service loan forgiveness program.
Borrowers who enter public-service fields such as law enforcement, public education, or certain nonprofit work could have their remaining federal student loan debt forgiven, provided they work full-time for 10 years in an eligible public-service field and make 120 mo
July 21, 2008
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Reported by Gil Kaufman - M TV
Ohio GI Promise essentially grants vets full scholarships at state's public schools.
Just a week after President Bush signed off on a new GI Bill that essentially guarantees veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars full scholarships at their home state's public colleges and universities, Ohio has upped the ante by announcing that it will offer in-state tuition rates to those who attend college in the Buckeye State.
According to The New York Times, the Ohio
July 10, 2008
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New rate schedule follows:
First disbursement of a loan:
Interest rate on the unpaid
balance
Made on or after
And made before
July 1, 2008
July 1, 2009
6.0 percent
July 1, 2009
July 1, 2010
5.6 percent
July 1, 2010
July 1, 2011
4.5 percent
July 1, 2011
July 1, 2012
3.4 percent
The above chart is for subsidized loans only; unsubsidized Stafford Loans remain at 6.8%.
June 27, 2008
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Reported in the Memphis Business Journal
Tuition and fees at Tennessee colleges and universities will increase 5.85 percent in 2008-09, according to the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association.
For the 2008-09 school year, the average published tuition and fees for undergraduate students attending a TICUA member private four-year institution in Tennessee will be about $18,000 per year. Last year, students attending four-year private institutions in Tennessee paid 28 per
June 26, 2008
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Reported by Amy Rolph - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The University of Washington Board of Regents approved two controversial changes for the state's flagship university Thursday -- one that will have some students reaching deeper into their wallets and another that already has divided faculty in science departments.
The regents voted to raise tuition 7 percent for most students starting this fall -- an increase of more than $400. They also decided to move forward with the creation of a Coll
June 13, 2008
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Reported by Janet Frankston Lorin - Bloomberg
A U.S. program to support college lenders is ensuring that students will get the government-backed financial aid they need for the 2008-2009 academic year, after a seizure in the credit markets threatened the flow of funding.
At Michigan State University in East Lansing, 6,042 students have received $26 million in federally guaranteed loans since early May, said Val Meyers, associate director of financial aid, in an interview on June 6. SLM Cor
June 11, 2008
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What most families don’t realize is that the economic stimulus check they may have already received was nothing other than a return of their own money! Depending on how much you actually paid???????? in taxes, you may have or will soon receive a check from Uncle Sam. If you got a refund for 100% of what was withheld, then the stimulus check will actually come from the US treasury.
Don’t spend it all in one place, or simply put it into a 529 Savings Plan; you may need it to drive to
June 10, 2008
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On May 7, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, which was supposed to quell panic in the student loan crisis. However, in reality, it did nothing more than add fuel to an ongoing fire by ensuring that the colleges and lenders will benefit at the expense of students and their families.
The new law follows on the heels of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA), and should be re-titled the Ensuring Continued Increases to
June 4, 2008
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In 2007, the College Cost Reduction Act (H.R. 2669) increased both the Pell Grant (benefiting students) and the Stafford Loan (benefiting colleges & lenders). While there are far more Stafford borrowers than Pell recipients, the rich got richer at the expense of those less affluent.
Now, in May, 2008, the student loan crisis is taking another turn which will be reinforced by federal legislation, the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (H.R. 5715). Once again, to no
May 8, 2008
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The big print giveth:
In Sept. President Bush signed a law adding $85 million to the previously allocated $238.1 million for 39 predominately black colleges.
The small print taketh away:
The Bush administration's new budget cuts aid to the schools by the same amount, angering Democrats who helped provide the money!
March 20, 2008
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"Students have a right to ...
1. Pay off college loans early without incurring an early-repayment charge. Yes No
2. Cancel a private loan within three days of signing an agreement with a lender. Yes No
3. Take 30 days after approval for a private loan to think about whether the loan is needed without risking changes to the loan terms. Yes No
4. Take out a loan from the lender of a student's choice, regardless of whether that lender is on a student's colleg
February 29, 2008
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Due to the recent budget cuts of $113,000,000 affecting 17,000 freshmen at Florida's 11 public universities, FL State will be trimming its enrollment by 1,500 students, thereby making FAU the school of choice for many of those rejects. FAU is also feeling the pinch and will cut its enrollment by 1,800. FAU, the Univ. of FL and the Univ. of Central FL have capped 2008-2009 at the previous year's level.
Prospective students better keep their grades up - or else!
February 25, 2008
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In countless locations in over 40 states, college financial aid officers and state officials are the main sources of information at this new generation of financial aid night called, College Goal Sundays. Traditionally, financial aid nights are held in the fall at thousands of high schools, and it is here that parents and their students learn about the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), the CSS Financial Aid Profile, federal loans, and grants for very low income families. However,
January 30, 2008
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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH-TV) - Legislation that could help thousands of Hoosiers continue their college educations is sailing through the statehouse.
Indiana students who receive state-sponsored financial aid must use it or lose it. A bill that passed the House of Representatives unanimously would do away with a time limit.
Megan Johnson is an IUPUI sophomore who works full time in the University's Financial Aid Office. She knows she will not graduate in four years. If it would take more than te
January 30, 2008
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Swarthmore College will eliminate student loans in its financial aid packages and replace them with scholarships beginning next academic year.
December 12, 2007
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Reported by Eileen Ambrose - Baltimore Sun
Once in a while, something that sounds too good to be true is, well, true. Count the Central Scholarship Bureau as one of them.
The Pikesville nonprofit offers scholarships and interest-free college loans of up to $10,000 a year for needy Marylanders. Its aim: Cover the shortfall between the cost of attending college and the financial aid package.
Loans are common. Interest-free loans aren't. And if you're a student or parent of a child in col
November 25, 2007
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Reported by Larry Gordon in the Los Angeles Times
The high price of college textbooks is a hot issue, not just among disgruntled students weary of spending more than $100 on an economics or a chemistry tome. In Sacramento political circles, efforts to lower those costs have produced two pieces of legislation that are competing for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature.
The main authors of both are Democrats, and the two legislators say they are trying, among other things, to get more
September 24, 2007
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Connecticut residents have a tax loophole in their 529 Savings Plan. Any taxpayer who sets up a Connecticut Higher Education Trust College Savings Program (CHET), regardless of income, or whether there’s a college or college-bound student in that household, can claim a $5,000 deduction on their state tax return. Here's how it works:
1. If your filing status is married filing jointly and you have a dependent, be they toddler, student, or older adult:
Set up a CHET
Name
September 14, 2007
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For Georgia residents, there's a tax loophole in the 529 Plan. Anyone who sets up a Georgia 529 Plan, regardless of income, or whether there's a college or college-bound student in that household, can claim a $2,000 deduction on their state tax return. Here's how it works:
1. For families with a college or college-bound student, simply set up the plan and make a tax deductible contribution of no more than $2,000 and name a parent as owner, and a student as the beneficiary. If y
September 7, 2007
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Reported by Matthew Franck - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Missouri's supply of scholarships for needy students isn't keeping up with demand, even after pumping $45 million into college financial aid.
As a result, the state has lowered the maximum awards available to students through the new Access Missouri Scholarship by 30 percent, compared with original projections.
When the scholarship was created this spring, legislators had hoped to offer a maximum scholarship of $2,150 each year to s
September 7, 2007
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