Financial Aid

If you think Bluetooth is a rare dental condition and an app is what you eat before the entree, you might not be a candidate for today's high-tech, whiz-bang smart phones. Instead, you might be happier with a mobile phone geared toward seniors. Those phones typically don't have Web-surfing capability, GPS maps and video games. Instead they have large buttons, oversized digital readouts and hearing-aid compatibility, along with a relatively simple calling plan. Although senior-friendly phones aren't new, their lower prices and variety are. A recent price skirmish among wireless companies means seniors can get an easy-to-use cellphone and cheap service to go with it, said Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy for the independent and nonprofit Alliance for Generational Equity.

President Obama has signed an executive order that the administration says will crack down on colleges that prey on military veterans with misleading information about financial aid, credits and programs. The move comes amid reports of for-profit schools aggressively targeting veterans and the tuition assistance money provided in the G.I. Bill. Administration officials said they've seen a pattern of some schools enrolling large numbers of military students. Some of the schools lure the students in with false promises of generous financial aid or take advantage of veterans suffering from brain injuries sustained at war. "That's appalling.

To help students during the recession, USC is announcing an 8% increase in the funds it expects to commit to undergraduate financial aid for the 2009-10 school year. The additional money, all in the form of grants, would amount to about $13.2 million on top of the $165 million in general aid funds that the Los Angeles school awarded to undergraduates this year. USC also spent about $15 million this year on scholarships that are restricted by donors to particular groups of students and expects that amount to remain about the same in the fall.

California State University graduate students won a reprieve this week when officials decided to continue offering financial aid that helps about 20,000 postgrads pay for school. Students learned last week that Cal State was considering eliminating State University Grants for graduate students, while maintaining the funding for undergrads. The grant program currently waives tuition costs for about 120,000 low-income students, including about half of the university's 40,000 postgrads.

The college dreams of thousands of students who are illegal immigrants moved closer to fulfillment Wednesday after the state Senate approved a bill that for the first time would give them access to public financial aid. Part of a two-bill package known as the California Dream Act, the measure would allow undocumented students who qualify for reduced in-state tuition to apply for Cal Grants, community college waivers and other public aid programs....

You don't have to be a math major to understand this statistic: The average student loan debt of last year's college graduates topped $25,000 — the first time it's exceeded that mark. Seniors who graduated in 2010 had an average student loan burden of $25,250, up 5.2% from the $24,000 owed by those in the class of 2009, according to a report by the Project on Student Debt at the Institute for College Access & Success in Oakland. Some experts had expected a bigger increase in debt given the gloomy economy, but increased financial aid at some schools partially offset the hit for low-income students and those at pricier colleges.

President Obama has signed an executive order that the administration says will crack down on colleges that prey on military veterans with misleading information about financial aid, credits and programs. The move comes amid reports of for-profit schools aggressively targeting veterans and the tuition assistance money provided in the G.I. Bill. Administration officials said they've seen a pattern of some schools enrolling large numbers of military students. Some of the schools lure the students in with false promises of generous financial aid or take advantage of veterans suffering from brain injuries sustained at war. "That's appalling.

If you have a child headed to college or headed back to college, you have an onerous job to do this month. It's time to fill out federal financial aid forms, preferably online. You may think you're too wealthy to get financial aid and filling out the so-called Free Application for Federal Student Aid is too much of a hassle under those circumstances. Do it anyway. In addition to qualifying students for scholarships and work-study awards, this form is required for any student who wants to get a federal student loan, which is a relatively cheap and flexible way to finance college and to allow your child to build a credit rating while still in school.

World leaders agreed Friday to provide financial support to the newly forming governments of Tunisia and Egypt, adopting President Obama's plan to help build lasting democracies in those countries. As they wrapped up their annual summit here, leaders of the Group of 8 industrialized nations directed the International Monetary Fund to provide loans and other financial support. Although they did not commit to specific pledges of financial assistance individually, the leaders suggested they would do so either in direct loans or debt forgiveness or through contributions to international banks and funds.

As high school seniors watch their mailboxes waiting for thick envelopes that signal a college acceptance, their parents wait for another form of communication from schools ? financial aid award letters. Those letters describe what aid, if any, is being offered to reduce the high cost of a college education. But in some cases, the letters are so dizzyingly complex that students and their families misunderstand what they're being offered. "I've seen students misinterpreting the award letter, thinking that they're getting a free ride," said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Finaid.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul is holding up the Senate floor this week with a filibuster calling for an end to U.S. financial support to Egypt. The Kentucky senator is protesting the Egyptian government's treatment of Americans working at non-governmental organizations, some of whom have been blocked from leaving the country and are now being forced to stand trial on charges stemming from their work, as our Los Angeles Times colleagues have reported...

President Obama embraced the idea of federal action to restrain the rapidly increasing cost of higher education, giving a boost to a long-simmering policy idea that has gained steam amid growing frustration with rising tuition. His proposal that colleges and universities cut costs or risk losing out on some federal aid was part of a larger package of ideas for college affordability unveiled by the president on Friday in a speech at the University of Michigan. Obama wants to increase funds for higher education, mostly through an expansion of federal loan programs.

Dear Liz: I have an 18-year-old daughter who wants to attend a private, out-of-state school. I don't have any money saved for her education and do not make enough to cover the cost of this college. What are my options? She's an A student and is planning to go to medical school. Answer: You need to have the conversation you probably should have initiated a few years ago, before she started the college application process. She must understand that what she wants and what you can afford to provide for her may be two very different things.

Were it not for the financial aid that helps cover the cost of his tuition, it is unlikely that Devonte Jackson would be able to attend UC Berkeley. The political science major has two campus jobs, but his $12,000 state-paid Cal Grant is the glue that holds his education dreams together. Tuition, books, housing and other fees top $31,000 annually. But Cal Grants could become much harder to obtain for new students under restrictions proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown as part of his 2012-13 budget.

Reporting from Sacramento -- Critics of illegal immigration announced Friday that they were unable to obtain the needed 500,000 petition signatures to ask voters to repeal the California Dream Act. The two-part measure, which allows undocumented immigrants access to both public and private financial aid at UC and Cal State campuses and at community colleges, was signed into law last year by Gov. Jerry Brown. The failure "is disappointing news," said Assemblyman Tim Donnelly (R-San Bernardino)

Reporting from Sacramento -- A California lawmaker who has been a vocal advocate for gun rights was detained by police Wednesday at Ontario International Airport after attempting to take a loaded gun onto an airplane. Tim Donnelly, a Republican from San Bernardino and the Assembly's lone tea party member, was headed for a Sacramento-bound flight to attend the opening of the new legislative year. Authorities said screeners at the security checkpoint discovered a loaded .45-caliber Colt Mark IV pistol and an ammunition magazine with an additional five rounds in his carry-on luggage.

Dear Liz: I have an 18-year-old daughter who wants to attend a private, out-of-state school. I don't have any money saved for her education and do not make enough to cover the cost of this college. What are my options? She's an A student and is planning to go to medical school. Answer: You need to have the conversation you probably should have initiated a few years ago, before she started the college application process. She must understand that what she wants and what you can afford to provide for her may be two very different things.

Some of the poorest elderly and disabled people admitted to this country on humanitarian grounds will lose their cash assistance in October unless they have naturalization applications pending, federal officials say. Letters have been sent to 3,800 recipients of Supplemental Security Income, including some in California, warning them that their eligibility for the federal program could end Sept. 30, said Lowell Kepke, a spokesman for the Social Security Administration. The deadline has caused concern among refugee advocates, who point out that some of these legal immigrants aren't able to pass the citizenship exam or can't yet apply because of delays processing their green cards.

In the parking lot of a closed Pasadena restaurant, a handful of tea party volunteers huddled under a tent to escape a sudden downpour of rain. They were there to gather signatures to repeal AB 131, or the California Dream Act, which gives illegal immigrants access to state financial aid at public universities and community colleges. The rain smudged their signs, they were shouted at by a driver who called them racist, and the turnout was lower than they'd hoped. But they were undaunted.

Trying to ease the burden of families squeezed by the recession and skyrocketing tuition costs, UC Berkeley announced plans Wednesday to extend financial aid to thousands of students from households earning $80,000 to $140,000 a year. With the program, which starts next fall, UC Berkeley becomes a pioneer among public universities in a national effort to make a college education more affordable for a wider swath of middle-income families. Well-funded private colleges previously have led the way. UC Berkeley officials called the move a response to reports in California and around the country that some middle-income households are being priced out of the University of California and are reluctant to take on high levels of debt.