FAP757: Free coffee, free food, Free Stuff Friday Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + Chronicle: Congress cut subsidies to private lenders while tightening rules on how they operate. More than a dozen lenders have already announced that they are leaving or scaling back their participation in the federally guaranteed loan program, and many more could follow. + Congress’s changes, though, may prove responsible for only a fraction of the turmoil facing private lenders. The tightening of credit has prevented many lenders from raising needed capital and, combined with subsidy cuts, has led some lenders to conclude that the federally guaranteed program is no longer a worthwhile enterprise. + Most interesting tidbit from the article was a comment that the Department of Education Direct Loan program will have newer, easier to use systems that will allow colleges to offer both FFEL and Direct lending programs together + Believe it or not, that’s a good thing - it puts Direct Lending on an equal footing as any other federal student loan program and opens up the remaining 19% of colleges that are Direct-only to FFEL lenders + Inside Higher Ed also reports that the vast majority of students don’t go hog wild on Spring Break, instead opting for school sponsored trips or just going home. Scholarship Update + Detroit Queen of the Highlands scholarship + Perfect example of a small local scholarship + $1,000 award + June 2 deadline + Must be of Scottish descent + Details at our free college scholarship search site Free Stuff Friday + BlueLock for Windows + Hulu is now open + Mark march 21st on your calendar - Dunkin’ Donuts is giving away a free iced coffee. + Dunkin’ Donuts free ground coffee sample + Limited Too has buy one get one free Webkinz. + Free Hamburger Helper samples + Hat tip to Connie Bensen - Cool Text has 1,200 free fonts + Hat tip to Chris Johnston - 8 page ebook on how to get good recommendations for college admissions + Environmental tip: get a clothes drying rack and/or clothesline. You will save money on quarters, energy, and extend the life of your clothing, not to mention reduce your environmental footprint + Financial tip: if a company goes into bankruptcy and you have a gift card for it, it’s now worthless - sorry. Chapter 11 treats gift cards as debts, not as cash. Free Song of the Week + Adrina Thorpe, Midnight Did you enjoy today’s show? If so, please consider subscribing for free to get it delivered to you . Subscribing for free means you don’t have to remember to download it every day. + + + Direct MP3 file download: Click here to download the MP3 Reminders + + Financial Aid Podcast Show Notes at FinancialAidPodcast.com. + Free scholarship search secrets eBook at StudentScholarshipSearch.com/ebook + FAFSA form tutorials and free help at FAFSAonline.com + Grad student? Get graduate financial aid information at the GradLoans.com blog! + Stafford federal student loans at StaffordLoan.com + Student loan consolidation at StudentLoanConsolidator.com + Private student loans available at any time - visit AlternativeStudentLoan.com + The Financial Aid Podcast is a publication of the Student Loan Network. I want to hear from you! Email me at financialaidpodcast {at} gmail {dot} com, visit http://www.FinancialAidPodcast.com, or call 206-350-1208. Technorati Tags: financial aid financialaidpodcast ShareThis Less