10 Quick Facts About Financial Aid

You may not know that...

1. In order to receive Federal financial aid a student may not have a drug conviction for an offense that occurred while you were receiving federal student aid (such as grants, loans, or work-study).

2. The U.S. government has declared that there are five basic costs associated with going to college and your financial aid package may be used for the following: tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, personal expenses, and travel.

3. There is no income cut-off to qualify for federal student aid. Everything from the size of a student’s family to the age of their parents is taken into consideration when determining the Expected Family Contribution.

4. Due to the current and unprecedented capital markets disruption, there is not sufficient available capital to continue making MI-LOANs. After considerable analysis and significant efforts to secure sufficient MI-LOAN capital to make new MI-LOANS, the difficult decision to temporarily suspend MI-LOANs had to be made.

5. The Michigan Advantage Consolidation is a federal loan consolidation program that allows eligible federal student loans to be combined into one loan with the following borrower benefits: 25% reduction in interest rate for automatic electronic payments and a one percent reduction in interest rate after 36 on-time payments with a minimum consolidation amount of $7,500.

6. The 2008 - 2009 edition of Paying for College in Michigan is a educational resource guide that provides information on college planning and student financial aid that is available online.

7. When the Obamas got married, their monthly student loan repayment (for undergraduate degrees from Columbia and Princeton, respectively, and two law school degrees from Harvard) was higher than their mortgage.

8. Male students 18 years or older must be registered to be considered eligible for all federal financial aid programs.

9. All federal programs grant assistance to students enrolled at least half-time, you do not need to be a full time student to receive aid.

10. Obama spoke on MTV about issues of concern to young voters, primarily student loans and financial aid. He said that special incentives would be potentially be offered to those students interested in pursuing careers in high demand like Math teachers and nurses.

Now you know :)