FAP381: A FAFSA kerfuffle, lots of surveys, sculpture scholarship, terrorists on campus, Matthew Ebel

Student Financial Aid News
+ If community colleges want to see more students graduate or finish programs, what should institutions do? Add new testing or assessment programs?
+ There may be a simple answer. A national analysis of graduation and program completion rates at community colleges has found that institutions with higher percentages of full-time faculty members have higher completion rates. The study was conducted by Dan Jacoby, the Harry Bridges Professor of Labor Studies at the University of Washington, whose paper on the research is forthcoming in the Journal of Higher Education.
+ AllianceBernstein, an investment company that works with state college savings plans, commissioned a survey of 1,358 parents with pre-college age children and a household income of at least $50,000. Consistent with previous surveys, this one found that Americans donât actually save nearly enough for college expenses, even though parents expressed a strong commitment to helping their children with college expenses.
+ Many of those parents apparently believe that their children will bring in scholarships:
+ 72 percent believe that their children have special talents or qualities that will earn them scholarships.
+ 72 percent report that they encouraged their children academically to earn scholarships.
+ 47 percent report that they encouraged their children in athletics to win scholarships.
+ 38 percent said that they encouraged artistic talent in their children to win scholarships.
+ A major theme of the report is that parents could do more to save, regardless of their income levels. Of parents in the survey, 58 percent say that they spent more on dining out or take-out food in the last year than on saving for college. In other categories of spending, 49 percent report that they spent more on vacations, 38 percent more on electronics, and 31 percent more on their childrenâs allowance than on saving for college.
+ Such figures may explain why only 27 percent of parents in the survey believe that they will meet their goal for college savings.
+ Online "phishing" scams may seem like yesterdayâs news, but theyâre still disturbingly effective, according to a study conducted at Indiana University at Bloomington.
+ To test how well the online fabrications work, the researchers sent out e-mail messages that adopted a common phishing tactic: using an eBay logo on messages to prod recipients to respond with their account information. About 14 percent of the people contacted took the bait.
+ British officials are preparing to ask university employees to spy on âAsian lookingâ or Muslim students who may be involved in extremist groups, The Guardian reported. The British newspaper reported that government officials have prepared a document to be sent to universities stating that some Islamic groups on campuses have become recruiting grounds for terrorist groups, and thus require more monitoring by everyone.

Scholarship Update
+ Sculpture Space Sculpture Artists Residency
+ 20 scholarships for $2,000
+ Live in residence at a studio for 2 months
+ Extensive requirements
+ Deadline November 1, 2006
+ Details at our free scholarship search web site
+ Search term: scholarship deadline october 31, 2006

Survey Results
+ Which social network site is your favorite?
+ MySpace: 55%
+ Facebook: 18%
+ Friendster: 0%
+ Xanga: 0%
+ Cyworld: 0%
+ Tribe: 0%
+ None: 27%
+ New survey up - what are you going to be for Halloween?

Mail Bag
+ The fact that you have links on your page to websites that charge for filing the FREE application for Federal Student Aid pretty much pisses me off. I love my field because I enjoy helping students not only finance their education, but I also give them the knowledge they need to survive paying back their loans. Here you are starting the process by ripping them off from the start! Pages like this only add to stress, anxiety, and uncertainty students have about coming to Financial Aid in the first place. STUDENTS trust your Financial Aid professionals at your schools they will always have the knowledge and info you need! -Charlene, FA Administrator
+ Paid FAFSA consultation is NOT right for everyone, or even most people
+ However, there is a segment of people for whom time is more valuable than money
+ Should students use paid FAFSA applications? Definitely not to start with
+ Should parents? If your time is more valuable than your money, it's worth considering - the FAFSA can take about 30-45 minutes to fill out, assuming you type reasonably quickly and you have your IRS 1040 data
+ Again, it's definitely NOT the right choice for everyone, but the choice is there for those who want it
+ Start with the free FAFSA version at FAFSAonline.com

Podsafe Music
+ Matthew Ebel, Bright Northern Lights
+ Check out Matthew's sci-fi themed music podcast, High Orbit
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com.
+ The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network.

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