The College Board is ending its Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) student loan program. They will not accept new loan applications after Oct. 15, 2007, but will continue to honor its obligations to existing borrowers through the 2007-2008 academic year.
The College Board’s decision to end its student loan program was based on the enactment of new legislation and codes of conduct regarding the student loan industry.
Read the full press release.
Two bills, one in the House and one in the Senate, will deliver student loan reforms not seen in over 60 years. This is great news given that the average U.S. college grad leaves college with $19,200 in debt. Many students struggle to pay down their college debt, which usually comes due within 6 months of graduation. This struggle is exacerbated when students pursue careers in public service or teaching, careers that traditionally pay lower salaries. Even students that accept jobs in higher-paying career fields can find themselves unable to manage student loan payments, rent on new apartments and, oh yeah, food.
Both the House and the Senate’s bills will provide some much-needed relief to current and future college students, and families considering the amount of debt their students’ may have to carry in order to attend their first-choice schools. Though, the House bill, the 2007 College Cost Reduction Act, may be the most beneficial to the most students.
Get the full scoop on Everybody ElsesGuidetoCollege.comÂ
This July public colleges in Washington State will join those in Connecticut, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Iowa in waiving tuition and fees for state residents who are disabled veterans or the spouses or children of members of the U.S. military or National Guard who are killed or disabled while on active duty, or who are taken prisoner or are missing in action. Washington legislators passed the bill on April 8, 2007 and signed into law on Monday.
Connecticut’s law provides free tuition to all public colleges and universities for qualified veterans, but no books or other fees.
Minnesota’s law waives undergraduate tuition at public colleges and provides up to $750 a year for books, supplies and living expenses.Iowa’s revised policy grants post-Sept. 11 “war orphans” up to $5,500 a year for tuition, fees and books at public colleges and universities.
New Hampshire’s updated law covers the current wars as well as unspecified future conflicts, providing eligible students up to $2,500 a year for four years.
Washington’s bill only applies to public colleges; private colleges are encouraged to participate. There is a limit on the total amount of tuition and fees that can be waived, an age restriction for dependent children (ages 17-26), a time limit after which surviving spouses cannot use the benefit (10 years after the death of the veteran) and a requirement that veterans using the waivers be totally disabled. And, while State appropriations to the colleges will cover some of the lost revenues, veterans will be encouraged to use any remaining GI Bill benefits before using the waivers.
Check out the latest scholarships, athletics, internships and other information for college-bound students at Everybodyelsesguidetocollege.com, a great online resource for all college-bound students. Everybodyelsesguidetocollege.com also features hundreds of scholarships, internships, grants and more for minority students.
Foster Youth face many challenges when preparing for college, not the least of which is navigating the financial aid process. Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be troublesome for foster youth given that they are more likely to be supporting themselves and/or live in atypical family/custodial arrangements that may be difficult to articulate on a form designed for typical parent-dependent child arrangements.
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) and the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) partnered to complete the valuable guide, Foster Youth: Tips for Completing the FAFSA.
The 2006-2007 School Year (July 1st, 2006 – June 30th, 2007):
The 2007-2008 School Year (July 1st, 2007 – June 30th, 2008):
| State | Deadlines |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Alaska | April 15, 2007 – date received@ |
| American Samoa | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Arizona | June 30, 2008 – date received@ |
| Arkansas | For Academic Challenge – June 1, 2007date received@ For Workforce Grant – check with your financial aid administrator |
| California | For initial awards – March 2, 2007For additional community college awards - September 2, 2007 – date postmarked*^ |
| Colorado | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Connecticut | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Delaware | April 15, 2007 – date received@ |
| District of Columbia | June 30, 2007 – date received by state* |
| Federated States of Micronesia | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Florida | May 15, 2007 – date processed |
| Georgia | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Guam | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Hawaii | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Idaho | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Illinois | First-time applicants – September 30, 2007Continuing applicants – August 15, 2007 -date received#@ |
| Indiana | March 10, 2007 – date received& |
| Iowa | July 1, 2007 – date received ^@ |
| Kansas | April 1, 2007 – date received#*@ |
| Kentucky | March 15, 2007 – date received#& |
| Louisiana | July 1, 2007 (date received)^ |
| Maine | May 1, 2007 – date received@ |
| Marshall Islands | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Maryland | March 1, 2007 – date received& |
| Massachusetts | May 1, 2007 – date received#^@ |
| Michigan | March 1, 2007 – date received& |
| Minnesota | 30 days after term starts (date received) |
| Mississippi | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Missouri | April 1, 2007 – date received@ |
| Montana | March 1, 2007 – date received#& |
| Nebraska | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Nevada | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| New Hampshire | May 1, 2007 – date received@ |
| New Jersey | June 1, 2007 if you received a Tuition Aid Grant in 2006-2007All other applications – October 1, 2007, for fall and spring terms; March 1, 2008, for spring term only – date received^& |
| New Mexico | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| New York | May 1, 2008 – date received*^@ |
| North Carolina | March 15, 2007 – date received& |
| North Dakota | March 15, 2007 – date received& |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Ohio | October 1, 2007 – date received@ |
| Oklahoma | April 15, 2007 (date received)# for best consideration |
| Oregon | March 1, 2007Final deadline – Check with your financial aid administrator # |
| Palau | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Pennsylvania | All 2006-2007 State Grant recipients and all non-2006-2007 State Grant recipients in degree programs – May 1, 2007. All other applicants – August 1, 2007 -date received*@ |
| Puerto Rico | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Rhode Island | March 1, 2007 – date received#& |
| South Carolina | June 30, 2007 – date received@ |
| South Dakota | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Tennessee | For State Grant – March 1, 2007#For State Lottery – September 1, 2007 – date received@ |
| Texas | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Utah | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Vermont | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Virginia | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
| Washington | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| West Virginia | March 1, 2007 – date received*^& |
| Wisconsin | Check with your financial aid administrator |
| Wyoming | Check with your financial aid administrator* |
*Additional form may be required. Contact your financial aid administrator or your state agency.
^ Applicants encouraged to obtain proof of mailing.
# For priority consideration, submit application by date specified.
@ = Deadline by midnight, Central Daylight Time.
& = Deadline by midnight, Central Standard Time.
BATON ROUGE –- A proposed new program at LSU is designed to assist low-income students by supplementing TOPS and other financial aid packages to help those students pay for more of their college costs.
The “Pelican Promise†program would provide additional funding to students already receiving TOPS, Pell grants, and various other fee waivers and grants available to low-income students.
College students with drug convictions face financial aid restrictions under a current education act that will be up for revision this summer by Congress.
The Department of Education reported that approximately 198,000 college students around the country have been denied financial aid because they checked “YES” for the question on the FAFSA: Have you been convicted for the possession or sale of illegal drugs for an offense that occurred while you were receiving federal student aid?
