Financial Aid / Scholarship Information

 

Check out these links to financial aid and scholarship sites:

 

 

Fast Web:  http://www.fastweb.com

 

Xap:  http://www.xap.com

 

Srnexpress:  http://www.srnexpress.com

 

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA):  http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/  (cannot submit hard copy or on-line FAFSA form until after January 1, 2007)

 

NY Mentor:  http://www.nymentor.edu/ (can access financial aid steps)

 

Student Aid.Org:  http://www.studentaid.org/ - http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/fafsa.jsp - (these web sites provide information on the financial aid process and directs you to some of the more important and helpful financial aid guidance on the web)

 

Academic Competitiveness Grant: http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/NewPrograms.jsp

 

The Academic Competitiveness Grant provides up to $750 for the first year of undergraduate study and up to $1,300 for the second year of undergraduate study. The program became available for the first time for the 2006-07 school year for first year students who graduated from high school after January 1, 2006 and for second year students who graduated from high school after January 1, 2005. The Academic Competitiveness Grant award is in addition to the student's Pell Grant award.

 

To be eligible for an ACG each academic year, a student must:

·                       Be a U.S. citizen;

·                       Be Federal Pell Grant eligible;

·                       Be enrolled full-time in a degree program;

·                       Be enrolled in the first or second academic year of his or her program of study at a two-year or four-year degree-granting institution;

·                       Have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study (after January 1, 2006, if a first-year student, and after January 1, 2005, if a second year student);

·                       If a first-year student, not have been previously enrolled in an undergraduate program; and

·                       If a second-year student, have at least a cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale for the first academic year.

 

If you are completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online (www.fafsa.ed.gov), FAFSA on the Web will predetermine if you are eligible to answer the ACG questions. If you have submitted a paper FAFSA and have received your Student Aid Report (SAR) indicating that you may be eligible to answer the ACG questions, please call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4FED-AID.  You may also contact the financial aid office at your school for assistance regarding ACG.

 

 

 

The Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA):

 

http://www.tgslc.org/pdf/HERAHandoutSchool.pdf  

http://www.aessuccess.org/manage/rates/hera.shtml  

http://www.tgslc.org/hea/hera.cfm#HR4241

n February 8, 2006 President Bush signed into law the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA) effectively cutting federal spending by $12 billion, most coming from the student loan programs. In order to achieve the $12 billion savings, many changes were made to provisions in the Title IV programs.

This page contains resources regarding HERA and the resulting changes to the Higher Education Act.


2005 Reconciliation Bills

* Signed into law.


H.R. 4241
Title: Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
Sponsor: Rep Nussle, Jim [IA-1] (introduced
11/7/2005)
Cosponsors: (None)
Related Bills: H.RES.542, H.RES.560, S.1932
Latest Major Action:
11/18/2005 Passed/agreed to in House.
Status: On passage Passed by recorded vote: 217 - 215 (Roll no. 601).
House Reports: 109-276
Note: H.R. 4241, as passed House, was inserted in lieu of the text in S. 1932 and the amended S. 1932 was passed by the House. For further action, see S. 1932.
Summary: Higher Education highlights of this bill include:

  • Increases maximum Pell to as much as $6,000 per academic year and creates the Pell Grant Plus program for state scholars,
  • Permanently ends 9.5 percent floor subsidies and redirects the savings to increase teacher loan forgiveness,
  • Reduces reinsurance rates for lenders who are Exceptional Performers from 100 percent to 98 percent, and reduces the reinsurance for all other lenders from 98 percent to 96 percent,
  • Maintains guarantor reinsurance rates at 95 percent,
  • Reduces guarantor collection retention rates from 18.5 percent to 10 percent on default consolidations,
  • Reduces guarantor retention rates on regular collections from 23% to 20%,
  • Simplifies the student aid application process,
  • Consolidates the definition of an institution of higher education to encompass both non-profit and propriety schools,
  • Reduces the total loan fees in both Direct and FFEL programs to 1% by 2010,
  • Increases loan fees charged by lenders from 0.5% to 1%,
  • Increases annual loan limits while preserving aggregate loan limits,
  • Expands the definition of an institution of higher education to include for profit proprietary schools,
  • Provides students with an option of fixed or variable rate consolidation loans,
  • Implements a borrower-paid 1% fee for all consolidation loans,
  • Repeals the single holder rule,
  • Requires that lenders report to all three major credit bureaus,
  • Implements a two year, interest only student loan repayment plan,
  • Preserves both the FFELP and DL programs,
  • Increases the amount of consumer information schools and the accreditation agencies must make readily available to students and parents.

Text of bill

Back to Top


S. 1932
Title: Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.
Sponsor: Sen. Gregg, Judd [NH] (introduced
10/27/2005)
Cosponsors: (None)
Related Bills: H.RES.640, H.R.4241
Latest Major Action:
12/19/2005 Passed/agreed to in House; 12/21/2005 Passed/agreed to in Senate.
Status: Conference report Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 212 - 206 (Roll no. 670) in the House; conference report Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 51 - 50 in the Senate.
Latest Conference Report: 109-362
Summary: Higher education related highlights of this bill include:

  • Expands "auto-zero" to families with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) of not more than $20,000,
  • Increases income protection allowance for both dependent students and certain categories of independent students,
  • Increases first and second year loan limits from $2,625 and $3,500 to $3,500 and $4,500 respectively,
  • Increases graduate and professional student unsubsidized loan limits from $10,000 to $12,000,
  • Increases loan limits for students seeking professional credentials from $5,000 to $7,000,
  • Authorizes PLUS loans for graduate and professional students,
  • Increases PLUS loan interest rate from 7.9% to 8.5% fixed,
  • Reduces lender reinsurance from 98% to 97% for new loans beginning July 1, 2006,
  • Phases out the 3% borrower origination fee in the FFELP by 2010 and reduces the 4% borrower origination fee in the Direct Loan Program to 1% by 2010,
  • Allows for a 3-year military deferment for borrower's whose first loans are disbursed on or after July 1, 2001,
  • Reduces guarantor collection retention fees on defaulted consolidation loans to 10%,
  • Prohibits guarantors from retaining any collection retention fees from defaulted consolidation loans that exceed 45 percent of the agency's total collections on defaulted loans,
  • Reduces the number of months of on time payment remittance needed to rehabilitate defaulted loans from 12 months to 9,
  • Reduces reinsurance for exceptional performers from 100% to 99%,
  • Permanently eliminates the 9.5% floor loans,
  • Restricts participation in the school-as-lender program to those already in the program,
  • Requires school-as-lender participants to maintain chort default rate of not more than 10%,
  • Requires that earnings, less administrative costs, from the sale of loans from the school-as-lender program be directed to need-based aid,
  • Creates the Academic Competitiveness grant program and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) grant programs,
  • Requires guarantors to increases the amount of consumer information made available to students and families concerning institutions of higher education and available programs, and
  • Requires guarantors to participate in the development of training for students concerning budgeting and financial management.

Text of Bill

Back to Top

HERA Guidance: School Issues Adobe Acrobat pdf document
HERA Guidance: Lender Issues Adobe Acrobat pdf document
HERA Guidance: Borrower and Student Issues Adobe Acrobat pdf document

 


National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators:  http://www.nasfaa.org/Categories/Category_CampusNews.asp

 

FinAid.Org:  http://www.finaid.org/ - http://www.finaid.org/educators/netresources.phtml  (Information regarding: Loans, scholarships, savings, military aid, other types of aid, financial aid applications, answering your questions, calculators, beyond financial aid for parents, students, and educators)

 

All About College:  http://www.allaboutcollege.com/netguide/financial-aid.htm (find college scholarships; find college grants free, scholarship experts (free), financial aid resources, student loans, recommended books for scholarships and financial aid, college directories for undergraduate and graduate schools, study abroad, and test prep)

 

Princeton Review:  http://www.princetonreview.com/home.asp (find scholarships and aid, explore colleges and careers, improve your standardized test scores and skills)

 

HESC:  http://www.hesc.com/bulletin.nsf/  (applying for aid, managing your loan or grant, college lenders, information about TAP, and college and career planning)

 

Student Loan.com:  http://www.studentloan.com/ (planning and paying for college, applying for a loan and repaying student loans, understanding your award letter)

 

Wells Fargo.com:  https://www.wellsfargo.com/student/loans/undergrad/index.jhtml (undergraduate loans, student loans, federal loans, private loans, parent loans, consolidation loans…etc.)

 

U.S. Department of Education:  http://www.ed.gov/parents/landing.jhtml?src=pn (promoting educational excellence for all Americans – No Child Left Behind…etc.)

 

Salliemae and Nelliemae:  http://www.salliemae.com/ - http://www.nelliemae.org/   (sites are all about various loans – how to plan and prepare for college, finding loans…etc.)

 

World's largest scholarship database: http://www.SchoolSoup.com . Compare the size of our database ($32 Billion in awards) to other popular scholarship search websites.

 

Find Money For College: http://scholarship.com/   - Completely free to use, database consists of over 3,000 sources worth up to $3 billion, avoid scholarship scams!

 

Knowledge for College: www.CollegeAnswer.com/newsletter - A comprehensive resource that takes the guesswork out of planning and paying for college. …”it walks students through the entire “going-to-college” process-from early planning and estimating costs to understanding student loans…” 

For Parents: www.ParentAnswerService.com

 

New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association, Inc. (NYSFAAA): Information on financial planning for college and financial aid: http://www.nysfaaa.org

 

The College Aid Awareness Network: Information from New York State financial aid professionals; offers personal assistance: http://www.nysfaaa.org/caan

 

NAFEO "Writers of Passage" Essay Competition
This partnership between The Sallie Mae Fund and NAFEO was established to focus national attention on the importance of developing good writing skills.
[Learn More]


Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation
The Truman Scholarship provides funding to students pursuing graduate degrees in public service fields. Students must be college juniors at the time of selection.
[Learn More]


Education Is Freedom Scholarship Program
Provides college scholarships to high school seniors that are
U.S. resident for one year at time of application. Applicants must also be current U.S. high school senior and have a GPA of 3.0 to 3.5 (4.0 scale).
[Learn More]


Simon Youth Foundation Community Scholarship
Established to meet the financial needs of students in communities that host Simon shopping centers (most areas do). The goal of the Foundation is to apply a holistic approach to the educational experiences of our youth.
[Learn More]


Micron Science and Technology Scholars Program
A merit-based scholarship competition recognizing excellence in academics and leadership. The competition is conducted in
Idaho, Utah, Texas, Colorado and Virginia.
[Learn More]


 

 

 

 

 

Internships at L'Oreal
Our goal is simple: to offer you valuable professional experience and help you get a better idea of who we are. To make the exchange more fulfilling, we give you real operational responsibilities.
[Learn More]


Internships At FDIC
At the FDIC, you can combine your academic studies with on-the-job experience. The Student Career Experience Program (SCEP), may lead to a permanent job upon graduation.
[Learn More]


American Express Jobs and Internships
If you are a current undergraduate student, you may be interested in joining American Express in one of the many full-time opportunities that exist for rising seniors.
[Learn More]