FAP741: How the Federal Reserve affects student loan rates Listen now: Student Financial Aid News + SFGate.com: In a radical change to its financial aid program, Stanford University will announce today that it will no longer charge tuition to students whose families earn less than $100,000 a year. + In addition, the university will waive room and board fees for students whose families earn less than $60,000 a year. + The university is making the change in the wake of published reports last month that its endowment had grown almost 22 percent last year, to $17.1 billion. That sum had begun to attract attention from lawmakers who want wealthy institutions to do more to reduce tuition costs. Financial aid also will increase to families that make more than $100,000 a year. + MSNBC: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that the underlying quality of municipal and student-loan debt securities is strong. + Well, duh. Student loan debt cannot be forgiven or cancelled even in bankruptcy + Check for Scholarship Update + Life is full of special moments with your family and friends that you have captured in pictures. Weddings, graduations, vacations and birthdays are some of the occasions where some of our most treasured images are created. Share your family and friends photos for a chance to win $350. Rewards: + Grand Prize: One winner, selected from all entries based on 50% creativity and 50% viral activity, will win a $350 scholarship or cash. + First Runner Up: One winner, selected from the top 1,000 highest scores based on 50% creativity and 50% viral activity, will win a $300 scholarship or cash. + Second Runner Up: One winner, selected from the top 1,000 highest scores based on 50% creativity and 50% viral activity, will win a $100 scholarship or cash. + Most Viral: One entry, chosen from the top 1,000 entries receiving the most attention across the Internet will win a $350 scholarship or cash. + Deadline May 27, 2008 + Details at our free college scholarship search site Mail Bag + Emily writes in: What are the effects of the federal funds rate cuts on student loans? + Perkins loans are unaffected + Stafford loans and Parent PLUS loans before July 1, 2006 are variable rate loans tied to the 91 day Treasury Bill + The federal funds rate and the 91-day T-Bill often march in lockstep + The federal funds rate also controls the Prime Rate which in turn affects some private student loans + Prime vs. LIBOR + Charlie writes in: In filing the fafsa for a divorced couple, does it make sense to have the parent with virtually no income file or should the parent with an income file? If the no income parent is the better choice what about the loss of the child tax deduction for the income earner? + The FAFSA needs to be attributed to the parent that the child lived with more than 50% of the year. Failing that, it’s the parent that provided more than 50% of the financial support, and failing that, it’s whoever claims the child on the IRS 1040. 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 + Student Loan Network $10,000 Scholarship - Apply in 32 seconds or less! + 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 + 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