FAP829: GI Bill expansion, pirated textbooks, mail bag

July 1, 2008 @ Financial Aid Podcast Daily Free Internet Radio On Demand from financialaidpodcast@gmail.com (Christopher S. Penn )

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Student Financial Aid News
+ Chronicle: College students are increasingly downloading illegal copies of textbooks online, employing the same file-trading technologies used to steal music and movies. Feeling threatened, book publishers are stepping up efforts to stop the online piracy.
+ One Web site, called Textbook Torrents, promises more than 5,000 textbooks for download in PDF format, complete with the original textbook layout and full-color illustrations. Users must simply set up a free account and download a free software program that uses a popular peer-to-peer system called BitTorrent. Other textbook-download sites are even easier to use, offering digital books at the click of a mouse.
+ Inside Higher Ed: President Bush signed a supplemental war spending bill Monday that includes a dramatic expansion of GI Bill benefits for veterans who have served on active duty since September 11, 2001. The new GI Bill, championed by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) would provide up to the cost of in-state tuition at the most expensive public college in a veteran’s state, a monthly housing stipend based on a college’s location, and an extra $1,000 annually for books. Currently, GI Bill benefits are worth just $1,101 monthly, and many are wonder how the infusion of new funds for veterans might impact where they choose to attend college. The GI Bill expansion is estimated to cost $62 billion over 10 years.
+ Be sure to check in with the Veterans Administration to learn how to take advantage of your new benefits

Scholarship Update
+ If you could send a message on a science, technology, or health issue to the next U.S. president and Congress, what would it be?
+ Voice your vision for science and society to win cash and other prizes!
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+ Energy security. Nuclear weapons. Genetic engineering. Climate change. Stem cells. Space militarization.
+ Science and technology issues have enormous implications for society at large. The next U.S. president, Congress, and local leaders will confront topics that matter to young people, such as climate change, affordable health care, nuclear weapons buildup, and U.S. economic competitiveness in science and engineering.
+ Here’s how to deliver your message:
+ YouTube Video/Flash Video 5-minute limit or
+ Digital Audio/Podcast 5-minute limit or
+ Written Essay/Editorial 750-word limit
+ Prizes:
+ Grand Pug-Prize: $2,000
+ Second Pug-Prize: $1,000
+ Third Pug-Prize: $500
+ Best Video Pug-Prize: $100+
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+ DEADLINE: July 15, 2008
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

Mail Bag
+ Brittney writes in: What if a student’s marital status changes during a school year they have already been awarded money for? Do they just need to wait and change it the next time they file their FAFSA? Or do they need to notify FAFSA in some way?
+ Brittney - if the money’s been awarded, then you just file differently the following year.
+ Linda writes in: What if you were in a foster home and was adopted by the forster parent who received money from the state for you. Are you considered independent?
+ Linda - if you’ve been adopted, then you’re no longer a ward of the state and are now a dependent student.
+ David writes in: I’m David, greencard holder, 22, both of my parents passed away years ago, living alone with a partner and a child that’s hers. I filled out my FAFSA already as independent, claiming my partner as a dependent, receiving more than half of her support from me. In my taxes I had no dependents since she has no SS#. I’m getting more money for school by claiming myself as independent?
+ David - if the child in the house is deriving its support from you, and you claimed the child as a dependent on your taxes, then you would be an independent. Your partner would need to be your spouse to make the claim for her.
+ See this blog post on who is a dependent vs. independent student
+ M Reyes writes in: I’m confused as of what to borrow : parent plus loan or Alternate student loan. I understand that there is not deferrement on Parent plus loan. Is it true? I will appreciate much if could answer. thank you.
+ There is deferment on PLUS loans, but there are other key differences
+ See lots of student loan options at StudentLoanNetwork.com

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