April 24, 2008 by Mara Strom Don’t you just love it when your alma mater does something newsworthy that makes you truly proud to say you went to school there? Well, that’s what happened to me yesterday, when I learned some great news about Tufts University! My alma mater recently unveiled its plans to be the first university in America to help encourage students to work in the public sector by paying off their student loans. Tufts grads working either for non-profit organizations or for government agencies will be eligible for the award, which will cover a portion of their monthly loan payments and make certain career choices a lot more viable. In 2005, Tufts reported that the average starting salary for one of its grads working in the public sector was about $25,000 a year (mo...

April 21, 2008 by Mara Strom Summer is just around the corner. Which means, it’s time to start your search for the perfect summer job or internship — you know, the one with enough earning potential to cover your contribution to tuition, room and board for next year. Summer jobs are undoubtedly a cash cow for many working students, but if you’re looking for a less labor-intensive way to earn some extra money for college, then check out our scholarship update. Today’s update includes two great opportunities with deadlines coming up this week. You don’t have much time left, and one of these requires a serious essay, so check them out quickly! 1. The Student-View Scholarship This is more like Publisher’s Clearing House than a traditional scholarship, but hey, $1...

April 17, 2008 by Mara Strom If you’re a recent college grad straddled with a sizeable chunk of student debt, you’re in good company. In fact, a study by The National Center for Education Statistics indicates that 50% of all college grads have an average of $10,000 or more to pay back on their college loans. Let’s say you’re a little better than average and take out $18K in loans. Here’s what you’ll be looking at: $207 per month for 10 years, if you’ve got a Stafford Loan with a (relatively low) fixed interest rate of 6.8%. And P.S. On the original principle, you’ll be paying back another $6,900 in interest. If you want to see the breakdown for your specific loan, check out the nifty student loan calculator at finaid.org. Now consider that the average starting s...

Taxes Are Due… And So Are Some Scholarships Applications April 14, 2008 With the IRS filing deadline looming, you may not even realize that the week of April 15th is also a popular deadline for many scholarships. Hopefully you’ll be getting some money back from the government’s stimulus package (unless, of course, your parents still claim you as a dependent) – but even still, applying for scholarships is a better long-term strategy to pay for your educational future. You don’t have much time for these three scholarships with deadlines later this week, so check them out now! 1. Sallie Mae Fund American Dream Scholarship The United Negro College Fund has teamed up with the Sallie Mae Fund to offer scholarships to African American students from low-income families. Scholarships rang...

April 10, 2008 America’s largest not-for-profit guarantor of private student loans declared bankruptcy Monday night. The Education Resource Institute or “TERI” explained its decision to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy by citing a sharp increase in the number of borrowers defaulting on their loans plus the troubled credit market. TERI currently has more than $17 billion in outstanding guarantees. How could TERI’s announcement impact you? For current borrowers, your loan will likely be unaffected. Future borrowers, however, may encounter problems. Here’s the rundown on some possible scenarios. How Guarantors Work When you are approved for a student loan, the bank or lending organization seeks a guarantor to repay the loan should you default on it. The guarantor co...

America’s Top Colleges Are More Popular Than Ever April 7, 2008 It’s April, which means that if you were one of the hundred thousand high school seniors shooting for an Ivy League education, you already know your fate. Hopefully you’ve spent the past few days celebrating that golden acceptance letter. But if you’ve been consoling yourself instead, perhaps this will help: you’re in very good company. The number of applicants to America’s Ivy League has reached an all-time high (the rates are double what they were just 10 years ago), and the percentage of students offered admission is scraping the bottom of the award letter barrel. Here are some stats: According to The New York Times, Harvard fielded over 27,000 applicants – and only 7 out of every 100 got in. Yale was a bi...

April 3, 2008 by Mara Strom Did you know that a Stafford or Perkins student loan is one of the only forms of debt that cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy claim? Student loans are with you for life – so you need to be serious about paying them back. If you haven’t paid back your loans for 270 days (and have not arranged for deferment or forbearance), then you’re in default. Three out of four people who default on their loans do so after dropping out of school. In addition to trashing your credit rating and bringing collection agencies to your front door, defaulting on your student loans entitles the government to intercept your tax returns and garner up to 15% of your take-home pay. Convinced that defaulting is serious? Here are 10 steps to prevent it: 1. Don’t bite off more ...

March 31, 2008 For families struggling to finance their children’s educational expenses, supplemental borrowing can be an important resource. Supplemental borrowing is particularly useful to those families that do not qualify for need-based financial aid or those families that qualify but whose financing needs are greater than their aid package. One of the most reliable sources of supplemental borrowing is the Federal Direct PLUS Loan. The PLUS, which stands for Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students, is a federally-backed loan for parents paying for their dependent child’s undergraduate education. PLUS Advantages The advantages offered by the Federal Direct PLUS Loan include: • Federal backing, ensuring stability • Non-need based, only based on credit rating • ...

Physical Therapists May Soon Be Eligible For Loan Forgiveness Physical therapists might be enjoying some student debt relief in the near future if Congress gets its way. On February 7, the House approved The College Opportunity and Affordability Act, H.R. 4137, which would allow physical therapists to apply for student loan forgiveness. The wide-reaching Bill, introduced by Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX), aims to overhaul the 1960s Higher Education Act and ensure better access to college education for all qualified Americans, especially those from low- and middle-income families. Among its many priorities, H.R. 4137 would provide service-based loan forgiveness as a means to encouraging students to enter “critically needed” fields. Physical therapy is now co...

Scholarships, Fellowships and Assistantships For Graduate Students Congratulations! You’ve (finally) finished your undergraduate degree and are ready to move on to grad school. If you thought tuition, fees, room and board were costly for your four-year school, then you are in for real sticker shock with graduate education. The good news is that unlike undergraduate students, grad students may be eligible for a host of school-based and outside funding opportunities specifically designed to support advanced education. These opportunities include work-based tuition-support programs, such as teaching assistantships and research assistantships; research fellowships; and graduate student scholarships. For more on navigating each of these funding opportunities, read on: Graduate Assis...