United States Distance Learning Association (140 Gould St., Needham, MA 02494; 800-275-5162; www.usdla.org). The association’s purpose is to promote the development and application of distance learning for education and training. They serve pre-K through grade 12 e nike air max plus ducation, higher education, home school education, continuing education, corporate training, military and government training, and telemedicine. USA Group Funds (P.O. Box 7039, Indianapolis, IN 46207-7039, 30 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46 nike air max 360 204-3503; 317-849-6510; 800-LOAN-USA; 800-562-6872; www.usagroup.com). Does not lend directly to students but guarantees education loans made by lending institutions. Will send a free copy of its “Education Loan Guide,” which describes federal loan programs such as the Stafford and PLUS programs. USA Group offers a loan consolidation service with no fee, allowing borrowers to consolidate cheap nike air max 90 several student loans into one and extending the repayment terms. On their Web site, they offer “In Your Interest: A Common-Sense Guide to Repayment Strategies for Federal Education Loans,” which explains different repayment strategies, such as ten-year level repayment, long-term level repayment, graduated repayment, income- sensitive repayment, and income-contingent repayment, as well as how loan consolidation works. The USA Group’s Web site offers calculators to help you figure how much different repayment plans will cost you. PART TWO: Financing Your Present and Future Needs FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REGULATORS Sallie Mae (formerly Student Loan Marketing Association) (11600 Sallie Mae Dr., Reston, VA 20193; 703-810-300 women nike air max 0; www.salliemae.com). Makes a secondary market in student loans and helps students consolidate their existing loans. Offers the SMART LOAN program at 800 nike air max 90 infrared -524-9100 to enable borrowers to consolidate their student loans. Offers the Great Rewards and Smart Rewards programs, which allow borrowers who repay their loans on time to get a reduction in the interest rate on the remaining balance of their loan. Great Rewards enables Stafford loan borrowers who make their first 48 scheduled monthly payments on time to receive an intere nike air max tn st rate reduction of two full percentage points for the remaining term of the loan. Smart Rewards is a similar program for SMART LOAN (consolidation) borrowers who make their first 48 scheduled payments on time. They are rewarded with an interest rate reduction of one full percentage point for the remaining repayment term. The Great Returns program helps heavily indebted Stafford borrowers who make their first 24 scheduled payments on time to receive an account credit equivalent to federal origination fees up to 3 percent (less $250). Another Sallie Mae program is called Direct Repay, which allows you to repay your student loans through an automatic debit on your checking or savings account and earns you a quarter-point interest rate reduction on your loan as long as you make payments through the plan. For questions on these programs or other college financing questions, call Sallie Mae’s College Answer line at 800-239-4269. United States Department of Education (Federal Student Aid Program; 400 Maryland Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20202; 800-433-3243; www.ed.gov). Oversees all federal aid programs. Will send brochures titled “Looking for Student Aid,” “Funding nike air max 360 Your Education,” and “The Student Guide: Financial Aid from the U.S. Department of Education,” which explains Pell grants, SEOGs, college work-study programs, Perkins loans, Stafford loans, and PLUS and SLS loans. Also publishes a useful guide titled Preparing Your Child for College: A Resource Book for Parents, available free from the Consumer Information Center (Pueblo, CO 81009). Guide answers questions about college, such as why your child might want to attend college, how to choose a school, and how to finance a college education; also lists sources of further information about educational financing programs. For information on the Education Department’s direct loan origination and consolidation program, call the Federal Direct Student Loan Origination Center at 800-557-7392 or 800-557-7394. If you already have an existing loan and have a question about it, you can call the Direct Loan Servicing Center at 800-848-0979. MILITARY SOURCES OF FINANCIAL AID Air Force ROTC (HQ/RROO, 551 E. Maxwell Blvd., Maxwell Air Force Base, AL 36112-6106; 205-953-2091; 800-522-0033, ext. 2091; www.afoats.af.mil), or see a local recruiter. Offers the following free brochures: “Air Force ROTC and Your Future”; “Air Force ROTC: An Opportunity to Succeed”; “ROTC Scholarships for Medical and Nursing Students”; and “Science and Engineering.” CHAPTER 12: How to Finance a College Education Army ROTC (GoldQUEST Center, P.O. Box 3279, Warminster, PA 18974-0128; national headquarters at Fort Monroe, VA 23651-5238; 800-USA-ROTC; www. tradoc.army.mil/rotc/index.html), or see a local recruiter. Offers the following explanatory brochures: “Army Nursing”; “The Army ROTC Two-Year Program”; “The Facts about Army ROTC”; “The Path of Leadership: Your Future as an Army Officer”; “ROTC Prior Service”; and “ROTC Science and Engineering.” Navy and Marines Corps ROTC (250 Dallas St., Naval Air Station, Pensacola, FL 32508-5220; 904-452-4960; 800-NAV-ROTC; www.cnet.navy.mil), or see a local recruiter. Will send a free brochure titled “The Navy-Marine Corps ROTC College Scholarships Bulletin.” PREPAID STATE COLLEGE TUITION PLANS Many states offer residents the opportunity to prepay college tuition costs at schools anywhere in the country years in advance. These plans allow parents or grandparent nike air max women s to lock in the current price of tuition at the state’s participating public or private universities. Most systems allow your child to go to any school in the country. If you choose a nonprogram school, you receive the tuition cost of a program school or a specified rate of return on your investment, typically about 5 percent. For more details on the plans available in your state, contact the programs at these phone numbers: Alabama Prepaid Affordable College Tuition; 800-252-7228 Alaska Advance College Tuition Payment Plan; 800-478-0003 Colorado Prepaid Tuition Fund; 800-478-5651 Florida Prepaid College Program; 800-552-4723 Illinois Prepaid Tuition Plan; 877-877-3724 Kentucky Guaranteed Prepaid Tuition Program; 502-564-4722 Maine Prepaid Tuition Plan; 877-668-1116 Maryland Prepaid College Trust; 888-463-4723 Massachusetts U-Plan; 800-449-6332 Michigan Education Trust; 800-638-4543 Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Plan; 800-987-4450 Nevada Prepaid College Tuition Plan Trust Fund; 888-477-4723 New Mexico Prepaid Tuition; 800-279-9777 Ohio Tuition Trust Authority; 800-233-6734 South Carolina Tuition Prepayment Program; nike usa online 888-772-4723 Tennessee BEST Program; 888-486-2378 Texas Tomorrow Fund; 800-445-4723 Virginia Higher Education Tuition Trust Fund; 888-567-0540 West Virginia Prepaid College Plan; 800-307-4701 Wyoming Advance Payment for Higher Education; 307-766-5766 PART TWO: Financing Your Present and Future Needs STATE COLLEGE SAVINGS PROGRAMS Many states offer plans in which residents can save money for college expenses and also get a tax break. The money in the account accumulates tax deferred. Even though the assets are held in the name of the parents, they are taxed at the child’s lower tax rate when they matriculate in school. Most state programs keep the money in conservative investments like Treasury securities and therefore pay a re nike air max usa latively low rate of return. Other states, such as Indiana, invest the money in a mix of stocks and bonds, offering participants higher potential rates of return, though with more risk. Check with your state to see how the money is invested. Alaska College Savings Program; 907-474-5927 Arizona Family College Savings Program; 602-229-2591 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan; 877-422-6553 California Golden State ScholarShare Trust; 877-728-4338 Colorado Scholars Choice College Savings Program; 800-478-5651 Connecticut Higher Education Trust; 888-799-2438 Delaware College Investment Plan; 800-292-7935 Florida College Savings Program; 800-552-4723 Georgia HOPE Scholarship; 800-776-6878 Hawaii College Savings Program; 808-586-1518 Idaho College Savings Plan; 208-334-3200 Illinois College Savings Pool; 217-782-1319 Indiana Family College Savings Program; 888-814-6800 Iowa College Savings; 888-672-9116 Kansas Postsecondary Education Plan; 785-296-3171 Kentucky Educational Savings Plan Trust; 877-598-7878 Louisiana START; 800-259-5626, x 0523 Maine NexGen College Investing Plan; 877-668-1116 Maryland College Savings Plan; 888-463-4723 Massachusetts U. Fund; 800-449-6332 Michigan Education Savings Program; 800-638-4543 Minnesota EDVEST; 800-657-3866, x3201 Mississippi Affordable College Savings; 601-359-3600 Missouri Family Higher Education Savings Plan; 888-414-6678 Montana Family Education Savings Program; 800-888-2723 Nebraska College Savings Plan; 402-471-3130 New Hampshire Unique College Investing Plan; 800-544-1722 New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust; 877-465-2378 New York’s College Savings Program; nike air max trainers 877-697-2837 North Carolina College Vision Fund; 800-600-3453 North Dakota College SAVE; 800-472-2166 CHAPTER 12: How to Finance a College Education Ohio College Savings Program; 800-233-6734 Oklahoma Coll nike air max 360 ege Savings Plan; 405-858-4422 Oregon Qualified Tuition Savings Program; 503-378-4329 Pennsylvania Investment Savings Program; 800-440-4000 Rhode Island Higher Education Savings Trust; 877-474-4378 Tennessee Investment Savings Program; 888-486-2378 Utah Educational Savings Plan Trust; 800-