Check out this digital magazine, “Guide to Internships”

Internships are a great way to gain experience in your particular field of interest, to gain real working experience, and to expand your network of contacts.

Here is a reminder of what the current student loan interest rates are:

Undergraduate students

If the first payment of your subsidized loan is between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011: the interest rate on your loan is fixed at 4.5%

If the first payment of your subsidized loan is between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2010: the interest rate on your loan will be fixed at 3.4%

Graduate and professional degree students

The interest rate is fixed at 6.8%

Direct Unsubsidized Loans

The interest rate is fixed at 6.8% for all borrowers – undergraduate and graduate

Don’t forget to pay your loans! Check out What Happens If You Default on Student Loans for the possible consequences.

1. American Indian College Fund

2. Arab American Scholarship (administered by the Lebanese American Heritage Club)

3. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute

4. Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust

5. Jalen Rose Charitable Fund

6. League of United Latin American Citizens

7. National Association of Hispanic Journalists

8. National Future Farmers of America Organization

9. Smithsonian Latino Center Young Ambassadors Program

10. Spend a Semester in Washington, D.C.

11. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

For more information, check out the Ford Blue Oval Scholars website.

Applicants should create a film or video (5 minutes or less in length) that best communicates or interprets the message/mission of The Christophers that “One Person Can Make a Difference.”

Deadline: June 11, 2010

Video entries will be judged on overall impact, effectiveness of conveying theme, artistic merit, and technical proficiency.

Winners will receive the following cash awards:

First Prize—$2,000. Second Prize—$1,000. Third Prize—$500. Up to five Honorable Mentions—$100 each

For official contest rules, and to apply, please visit The Christophers’ website.

Good luck!

In honor of all the wonderful moms out there, we are posting another scholarship for single moms who are pursing their education.

The Patsy Takemoto Mink Education Foundation is offering five Education Support Awards of up to $2,000 each to assist low-income women with children. Deadline: July 15, 2010.

Patsy Takemoto Mink served in the US Congress, and was the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She worked on civil rights, civil liberties, peace, economic justice, and women’s rights.

Requirements:

• must be a woman, at least 17 years of age
• must be a mother, with minor children
• must be enrolled in a skills training, ESL, or GED program; or pursuing a technical/vocational degree, an associate’s degree, a first bachelor’s degree, or a professional/master’s/doctoral degree.
• must be enrolled in an accredited program during the 2010-2011 academic year
• must be low-income (annual family income less than $17,500 for a family of 2; $22,000 for a family of 3; $26,500 for a family of 4)

For more information, or to apply, visit the Patsy Takemoto Mink Education Foundation website.

Here are 5 of the Biggest College Scams:

5. University of Missouri Email Harvesting Scam

Between 2001 and 2004, two former University of Missouri students operated a national email scam that included over 2,000 colleges and universities, where they illegally collected over 8 million student email addresses. The spammers used these to send targeted spam emails to sell products and services, earning them $4.1 million. They used the University of Missouri computer network to send out the massive amounts of emails, and even after they were discovered the spammers continued to email students at other schools.  Four people were charged in the incident under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which says email fraud is a federal crime.

4. Purdue Textbook Scam

A student at Purdue University created 568 fake seller accounts on Half.com. He  advertised that textbooks were on sale for all of the fake Half.com seller accounts, so buyers sent in over $5.3 million dollars, thinking they were receiving textbooks for cheap. The student wired the illegally obtained funds back to his bank accounts in Malaysia. The scam was discovered once none of  the buyers received any of their textbooks.

3. Las Vegas Woman Scams $1 million in Student Aid

From January 2000 to March 2004, a Las Vegas woman (along with her 4 children and 3 grandchildren) obtained personal information from over 65 people, and used it to apply for federal student loans and grants for distance learning schools in several states. The financial aid checks were sent through the mail, and the funds were obtained with false identification documents. A financial aid officer noticed that many students were applying for financial aid using the same addresses and phone numbers, so the scam was discovered.

2. Terrorists Enroll in Fake Colleges to gain Student Visas into the UK

A Pakistani gang set up fake colleges in the UK, which allowed men from al-Qaida to enroll and gain entry on student visas. The students were able to stay in Britain longer, and the gang made almost £2m in less than two years from fake diplomas and fake tuition fees. 8 terrorist suspects were arrested in April 2009 for a bomb plot in Manchester and Liverpool. The suspects all came from the same “college”. All of the fake colleges that the authorities investigated in the UK were controlled by 3 young Pakistani businessmen, all of which entered the UK on a student visa.

1. Student Loan Scandal:

In 2007, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo uncovered illegal practices and conflicts of interest between colleges and student loan lenders. Revenue-sharing agreements with multiple colleges, as well as perks for the financial aid officials in exchange for placement on preferred lender lists were discovered. Some financial aid officials also owned financial stake in the loan companies they were promoting to their students. In 2007, the Student Loan Sunshine Act was passed which included provisions banning gifts, perks, and revenue-sharing agreements between student loan lenders and schools.

It’s crazy to think about how some people can get away with such extreme scams. Protect yourself and don’t become a victim when you are applying to schools and financial aid!

Check out more information on scholarship scams: Top 10 Scholarship Scams

Source: CampusGrotto.com, http://www.campusgrotto.com/the-10-biggest-college-scams-of-all-time.html

The goal of EducationGrant.com is to help make the process of researching college funding simple. We will help you to find exactly where to look to find out who qualifies for a Pell Grant, how to apply for FAFSA or what unique scholarships are available that most people are not aware of. So check back to the site often and new valuable content