Save Money with a Private Student Loan Consolidation from Medical School Loans
Even as a young child practicing medicine on your stuffed animals, you knew that you were destined to become a physician. But the road to obtaining your medical degree takes more than just the ability to mend the imaginary wounds of a teddy bear.
Alleviate the Pain of Private Student Loans with Medical School Loans
As a physician or medical student, you have spent numerous hours learning how to alleviate pain and working to aid in the healing of others. Yet ironically, after graduation from medical school, you may be the one who needs help—help to alleviate the burden that comes with excessive student loan debt.
U.S. Secretary of Education Visits Alaska for Updates on NCLB
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings visited Nome and Anchorage as part of her continuing tour of Alaska schools to meet with students and discuss their achievements under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Additionally, she observed classrooms and met with education administrators statewide. Senators Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski accompanied Secretary Margaret Spellings on the Alaska tour.
IRS Reminds Students of ''Tax-Advantaged Education Expenses''
On September 11th, the IRS news release ''Back-to-School Tax Breaks Help Teachers Pay Classroom Costs; Aid Parents, Students With College Tuition'' stressed the importance of saving receipts and maintaining expense records to take full advantage of deductions on educational expenses and credits available on federal income tax returns for 2007.
The Time to Consolidate Federal Medical School Loans is Limited!
At Medical School Loans, our priority is to serve our borrowers. We want to ensure that they receive the assistance they need in managing their student loan debt while saving as much as possible on their loans. Medical School Loans has a track record of helping borrowers do both, saving them thousands of dollars over the lives of their loans through its federal borrower benefits program.
California Students Get Relief, 2007-2008 State Budget Passed
An impasse blocking the approval of the 2007-2008 California state budget that provoked widespread discontentment among students and parents was finally resolved on August 24. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approved the state budget after a 52-day deadlock, enabling students to access state grants just as their fall semesters began.
GW Slips Down One Spot in U.S. News Rankings, Remains Number-One School for Financial Aid
The George Washington University slipped down another spot for the second year in a row in U.S. News & World Report's ''America's Best Colleges'' rankings. However, the university remained a leader in financial aid, according to the magazine. The survey ranked GW's need-based financial aid program first in the nation.
Study Finds More Preparation Needed for Transition from High School to College
A recent study conducted by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) found that the first semester of college is a pivotal period in students' academic careers. The study, titled ''Beyond Access: How the First Semester Matters for Community College Students' Aspirations and Persistence,'' followed first-time students enrolled in California community colleges aged 17 to 20 in the fall of 1998. The study, based on system data gathered over a six-year period, tracked graduation and retention rates of first-year students to arrive at its findings. The findings of the study suggest that it is most important to focus on preparing high school students for college and that simply increasing college access doesn't solve the problems faced in building a more educated population and workforce.
PHEAA Criticized for Excessive Spending on Executive Bonuses
Dick Willey, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), has received a $180,857 bonus on top of his salary of $289,118 per year. Three of Willey's vice presidents have been given bonuses worth $113,515, while a fourth received $52,436. Added together, the bonuses totaled more than $500,000.
The Chubb Institute fails to improve
The Chubb Institute is a chain of job-training schools with locations in New Jersey, New York City, Springfield, Chicago, and Arlington. In operation since 1970, The Chubb Institute offers training programs in a variety of fast-growing career areas like medical billing, CAD/drafting technology, graphic design and animation, medical billing and coding, surgical technology, computer networking and security, medical assistant programs, and massage therapy. In 2004, however, the school ran into regulatory troubles. Former students claimed that the school had promised more than it could deliver, and the students proceeded to initiate legal action.
Spellings announces $12 million in grants for tribally controlled schools
Nine tribally controlled colleges and universities will receive federal grants worth nearly $12 million. U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced that the grant, provided under Title III of the Higher Education Act, will allow colleges and universities to develop activities to improve and expand their services for students with Native American heritages.
Spellings Urges Colleges and Lenders to Comply with New Loan Rules
letters urge them to work together on the principles of the new regulations that the department proposed in June. However, the regulations, in light of the congressional ''sunshine'' acts and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's code of conduct, will not be effective until July 2008.
Walden University Announces Expansion of Scholarships
Accredited online distance-learning institution Walden University has announced masters, doctoral, and post-doctoral scholarships. The scholarships are an expansion of programs announced last year by the University which aim to increase the number of practicing scholars. These scholars are expected to directly apply solutions to vital social issues.
Senator Herb Kohl introduces bill to help students remain out of debt
Predatory lending is the use of unethical lending tactics to keep gullible borrowers in debt as long as possible. Predatory lenders usually target vulnerable groups like students, the elderly, minorities, and people with poor credit records.
Medical students to benefit from Nelnet-AMSA partnership
Nelnet and the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) have combined their expertise to help medical students pay for their education expenses. The complete student aid program is a customized loan to the members of AMSA, the largest medical student organization.
Ithaka Advocates Online Publishing by Universities
Scholars studying at American universities have a wide range of avenues available to them for distributing their scholarly work. The Internet has added an extra dimension to their endeavors, extending the concept of academic publishing to include ''virtual'' publishing.
Start Buying the Music or Face It, says RIAA
On July 18, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sent out more than 400 letters to 23 schools informing them of illegal downloading of music on their campuses. The RIAA asked the universities to forward the letters to errant students. The University of Florida received around 50 letters, while Florida International University received about 16. Ohio State University received 19 letters and forwarded them to students. Several universities, including the University of Wisconsin and University of North Dakota, have refused to comply with the RIAA's request.
President Bush Threatens to Veto Appropriations Bill for Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services
The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to approve a 2008 spending bill for the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services. This bill proposes increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $390. Additionally, it includes an increase of $2 billion for the No Child Left Behind Act and proposes increasing funding by more than $227 million for a variety of programs addressing issues such as employment, job training, and worker protection.
Consumers Union Report on College Finance
A Consumers Union report states that parents and students, when choosing education loans, make mistakes such as selecting expensive loans. The report,
Virginia launches six-year plan to align K-12 standards with university-level education
It's no secret that Americans depend on schools to prepare their children for higher education and gainful employment. Recently, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) proposed a six-year plan to match K-12 teaching with university-level education. The plan, which would begin in 2007, aims to improve schools so that the schools, in turn, can better prepare students for college educations and ultimately enable them to become members of what the plan hopes will be a stable, dynamic workforce.
Ph.D. completion: reasons for non-completion
The Council of Graduate Schools recently released preliminary data collected for the Ph.D. Completion Project on completion rates by discipline. The aim of the project is to identify practices and strategies that will help more graduate students achieve timely completion of their Ph.D. programs. The 29 universities that participated in the survey included private and public as well as elite and up-coming institutions. The respondents to the survey were graduate students who completed their Ph.D.s in the fields of engineering, life sciences, math and physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
College Admissions Are Still Beyond the Reach of the Economically Underprivileged
College education is still a dream for almost 20 million of the nation's working poor adults, according to a report released on July 7 by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP). IHEP reports that in 2005, working poor adults between the ages of 24 and 64 earned an average salary of $19,000 per year compared to an average salary of $56,000 for non-poor adults. Even with monetary aid, studying at a state university is beyond the means of most working poor adults. The average cost of tuition and fees at universities stands at about $13,000, which is excessive for those with low incomes.
Fighting Identity Theft
Cology, Inc., will collaborate with LifeLock, which will in turn work with TuitionU.com to protect students from identity theft. LifeLock offers preventive measures to stop identity theft and provides a guarantee of $1 million. LifeLock protects its members from problems arising from the exposure of private, non-public information in the process of finding financial aid.
New Hampshire University System Approves Tuition and Aid Increase
The University System of New Hampshire’s board of trustees has approved a budget that includes a nearly 7% tuition hike for 2007-2008 in-state students. The budget also includes a 5.2% increase in tuition for out-of-state students along with an 11.3% increase in student financial aid. The university system has been increasing tuition and aid since 2000. Since then, tuition has risen by about 6% each year, while financial aid has increased by about 12%.
Texas A&M Charged with Failure to Report Human Exposure to Biological Agents
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has indefinitely suspended Texas A&M University’s federal research on the most dangerous infectious diseases. The university allegedly failed to report two 2006 incidents of researcher exposure to biological agents.
The Focus is Now on College Performance
Congress and the U.S. Department of Education are considering moves that would force colleges to publish information about their performance.
It's Harder for Some to Seek Help
Campus violence and the mental health of students are more than just broad issues to be addressed by administrators; they are part of the everyday reality on college campuses. Although research suggests that at least 20% of the U.S. population is affected by depression, serious research on how this statistic relates to college students is rarely done. Only in the wake of particularly violent campus events like the Virginia Tech shootings does the nation wake up and start to take stock of the situation.
Perkins Loans for Medical Students
With the costs of attending medical school on the rise, not many medical students can get by without borrowing some kind of loan to pay for the expenses involved. Fortunately, loan options and amounts are also increasing to counter the costs of obtaining a medical degree.
Taking Care of Your Undergraduate Loans while Pursuing Your MD
Congratulations on earning your undergraduate degree! You are now ready to move on to bigger things. You are ready to begin medical school and work towards earning your Medical Degree. The only thing keeping you from doing so is the thousands of dollars in student loan debt that you have from going to school for your BS or BA degree.
"Climate Neutrality" is the Buzz Phrase on U.S. Campuses
Our planet faces imminent environmental threat due to global warming. Average global temperatures have increased by around one degree Celsius since the last century. Much of this warming has been attributed to human activity and the industrial revolution. Businesses, manufacturers, and scientific institutions around the world are focusing on a variety of measures to combat global warming.
Yale Expands Healthcare Facilities; Florida Offers Financial Aid to Students in Technical-Training Programs
Yale University is all set to expand its healthcare facilities. The school recently bought Bayer HealthCare centers in West Haven and Orange, Connecticut. This move has provided the university with 550,000 square feet of additional laboratory space, as well as office buildings and other assets.
New Legislation Introduced to Forgive Private Student Loans upon Bankruptcy
This week, legislation was introduced by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (D) that would allow private student loans to be forgiven upon bankruptcy. Currently, neither private nor federal student loans will be discharged for a borrower who files for bankruptcy, with the rare exception of extreme hardship.