President Obama’s administration is planning on simplifying the federal college aid form.  It currently consists of 153 questions, which many families give up on before finishing.  President Obama is seeking to make the application more user-friendly so more students may attend higher education.

Arne Duncan, Education Secretary announced the changes last Wednesday.  They are trying new avenues, in order to boost college enrollment among low and middle income students.  Duncan said "We need to educate our way to a better economy."  The new form will make the process easier for students and families applying for federal financial aid.

Due to the economic downturn, many students and their families are seeking financial aid.  After the recession the number of applications increased 12 percent to more than 16 million.  In 2007, 58 percent of college undergraduates applied for aid, and 47 percent received it.

Due to the high demand and the fact President Obama wants more people applying; the administration is trying to shorten the online Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  There will be two-thirds fewer screens to fill out.  There will also be a Web application where families can access their tax data already sent to the IRS. 

This tax information will help families answer the questions on the form.  Paperwork shouldn’t stand between students and a college degree.  The administration has a goal set and that is to increase the Pell Grants for low-income students by 75 percent over the next ten years.

There is money out there for education and it just got easier.  Because of the stimulus, over $17 billion has been designated for Pell Grants.  The Federal Perkins Loan Program will also increase to $6 billion in loans every year over the next decade.  There has never been a better time to get an education so sign up today and improve your life.

The Department of Education, starting this week will allow anyone with a federal student loan to apply for a program which will cap monthly payments based on income, and forgive remaining balances after 25 years.

Loans can even be forgiven after 10 years for those in the public service. Eligibility for the income-based repayment (IBR) is determined by the size of the loan, and income of the borrower. The plan will become available Wednesday for those that are interested.

This new IBR program comes from the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. It allows students that have both Federal Education Loan (FFEL) and Direct Loan Borrowers on all Stafford and graduate PLUS loans to apply.

Monthly payments would be less than 10 percent of an individual’s income for most of the expected one million people in the program.  Payments would not exceed 15 percent of any income above $16,000 a year. For those who earn less than $16,000 a year, they would not make any monthly payments.

This plan is supposed to help relieve those with average salaries that are struggling to repay student loans. By stretching the repayment over a longer period of time, monthly payments stay at a reasonable proportion of their income.

IBR "can lower costs and provide light at the end of the tunnel" for borrowers. There is greater financial flexibility to buy a home, pay off a car, save for retirement or save for their children’s education. However, the accruing interest can increase the loan.

The wise thing to do would be to maintain your payments and pay off the loan as soon as possible.  However, if someone does decide to go on the program and their salary jumps, and they are disqualified as a borrower for the capped monthly payments; then they are still responsible for the cost of the loan and the interest that has accrued to that point.

Granted this is easier said than done, but try to stay out of debt as much as possible. It’s better to be poor while you’re in college than being poor later on. There are lots of different options out there on how to finance your education, so check all of the different avenues before taking out a loan.

For those with debt this repayment plan can help those that are struggling to make ends meet; but only use the plan if it’s absolutely necessary.  The plan almost guarantees that the borrower will end up paying more on the loan the longer it takes to pay off. Getting an education is very important, but be careful with the loans that are used to finance that endeavor.

Joseph Carnevale a North Carolina student was arrested for vandalism after stealing three orange and white construction barrels to create a roadside monster thumbing a ride.

The student believed that he was creating a piece of street art.  Cops saw it differently.  The cops ruined the barrel monster and arrested Carnevale.  Online supporters in the hundreds want the charges dropped 
against the college student.  Apparently the construction company even wants Carnevale to create an exact replica of the first monster.

The college student had planned out his plot, and stolen the barrels near the North Carolina State University Campus.  The thought occurred to him during class and an hour after class he returned to start his masterpiece. 

The monster upon completion has an extended thumb.  Apparently he’s seeking a ride from passing cars.  The next morning the cops took apart the monster and collected evidence while they searched for the lawbreaker. 

Police were able to find Carnevale after a newspaper article gave enough clues that led them to a website identifying the student.  Carnevale has been charged with larceny and destruction of property.  Apparently this wasn’t his first encounter with barrels turned into street art.  He has  made other pieces with stolen barrels including an alligator. 

The construction company that owned the barrels does not wish to press charges.  They acknowledge that the publicity has been much better for their company than the cost of the damage of the barrels.  Since this incident didn’t result in anyone being injured, the company doesn’t want to press charges and the company wants him to make another one; let the kid go. 

In all honesty, I think it’s creative and I would love to see something like that on the street as I drive by.  It makes me think that cops in Raleigh do not have much to do; otherwise they would be looking for perpetrators that have committed serious crimes that have hurt people, rather than some student that made a barrel monster.