FAP423: How to write a great scholarship essay, our new education jobs board, inflation, cyber-crime, Jerzy Jung

Student Financial Aid News
+ A national survey of freshmen has found that what they most value in a college education is professional preparation, followed by academic quality and affordability. The survey was conducted by Eduventures, a consulting company.
+ The importance of professional preparation as the leading value driver was consistent across all levels of academic preparation- respondents who scored below 1,000 on the SAT were nearly identical in the value they place on professional preparation as those who scored in excess of 1,500. A range of professional-related programs and services were viewed as valuable to respondents, including 1) access to internships, 2) quality of career office, and 3) placement record with employers, respectively.
+ From Bloomberg: Federal Reserve policy makers will probably leave their benchmark interest rate unchanged today and signal the economy isn't slowing enough to diminish the risk of higher inflation.
+ The Federal Open Market Committee will keep the rate at 5.25 percent, according to all 101 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, extending a respite from two years of increases that ended in June.
+ From the Chronicle of Higher Education: If thereâs still a perception that cybercrime is the domain of teenage collectives and rogue actors, itâs time to scrap that notion. According to McAfee, the Internet-security firm, well-organized gangs are using âKGB-styleâ strategies to recruit collegiate computer-science students.
+ Just as the Russian intelligence agency sought out skilled students during the Cold War, savvy Internet gangs are trawling for underpaid college-goers who can engage in some effective virus-writing, reports The New Zealand Herald. Some groups have even identified promising students in other disciplines, convinced them to take computer-science courses, and then planted those students in businesses as âsleepers,â says the McAfee report.
+ According to McAfee, cybercrime is especially lucrative and tempting in the eastern part of Europe â where students may see hacking and online money-laundering as viable alternatives to low-paying jobs.

Scholarship Update
+ What makes a great scholarship essay?
+ Obey the rules rigidly - if an application says 500 words, 501 words is not okay.
+ Hit the deadline
+ Identify values and themes of the institution
+ Do research
+ Tie together concepts that other candidates will probably miss
+ Ze Frank's That Makes Me Think Of
+ Collaborate with Google Docs!
+ Would your essay make a good movie? A good podcast? Is it fundamentally a good story?
+ Read it to people. Watch carefully their body language.
+ Use story language and structure - what's the plot of your story? Is it boy meets girl? Quest? Underdog bests leader?

Jobcast: Our New Education Jobs Board
+ Come on by our education jobs board at Jobs.Edvisors.com
+ Focused on education jobs
+ Sign up is quick and painless
+ Unlike other job boards, you just copy and paste your cover letter and resume
+ Copy and paste right from a LinkedIn.com profile page
+ Option to consolidate your student loans as well during application
+ Add this to your career search toolbox
+ Watch out for that Apply to Job link when you're logged in - one click and you've applied!

Podsafe Music
+ Jerzy Jung, Lips of Your Gods
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
+ Stop by our MySpace page!

Reminders
+ Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com
+ Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com
+ Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com
+ FAFSA form online filing at FAFSAonline.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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