Page 5 FINANCIAL AID UPDATE " M soaßy bur ittu ocorrnar "HE ekreßoni F• 32 A STGO6iff Law," Old loans can get new rates Campus Digest News Service Hundreds of former students are refinancing their old education loans at new lower rates and easier repay ment structures due to a quirk in rules imposed by Congress on the basic Guaranteed Student Loan program. Those rules do not apply to a separate new program of loan con solidation administered by the Stu dent Loan Marketing Association. As a result former students can choose a repayment schedule of up to 20 years, ten more than that granted to new borrowers. The old borrowers can also lock in an interest rate of only 7 percent for the entire period compared to the 9 percent charged now, and old bor rowers don't have to pay the five per cent "origination fee." A graduated repayment plan is also available to old borrowers only. This plan allows for even lower monthly payments now with gradually higher payments as the students move up in the working world. The refinancing through the SLMA is in effect a new loan, an extension of credit at lower rates. The consolidations are currently available to former borrowers under the guaranteed-loan program, the National Direct Student Loan pro gram, or both. Debts must total at least $5,000 in principal and interest and involve at least two creditors if total is $7,500 or less. The repayment period for the original loan must have already Law Tests Changed Educational Tes announced major chan Admissions Test and to encourale •ros•ec • 4 ,- r .c..euic .reers th-n n ears •ast . Prospective candidates should keep in mind that there will be different procedures during this transition period for those candidates considering entering law school before and after October 1, 1982. During this transition period, students considering enterin law school in the Fall Law School Admissions Test The regular registration dead line for this administration will be May 17, 1982. Also, students should keep in mind that the June 16, 1982 administration of the LSAT will be the only one of the four national administrations of the examination during the 1982-83 academic year given here at Penn State-Capitol Campus. Other administrations will be on October 2, and December 4, 1982 and on February 19, 1983. These examination administrations will not be administered at Penn State-Capitol Campus. Prospective students interested in taking the LSAT and registering for the LSDAS should stop by the Counseling Center, W-117, to find out all the details of the new procedures and to pick up the appropriate registration and information materials. begun and loan payments must not have been delinquent for old bor rowers to be eligible. One example of how the SLMA program can ease the strain of paying back student loans would be, for in stance, a student who owes $20,000 and is currently paying $232 a month over a ten year period. Through SLMA he could reduce his payments to $155 a month over 20 years, and if he chose the graduated repayment plan his monthly payments would drop to $125 at first and gradually in crease to $216 by the end. The Reagan Administration, which recently proposed that the interest on regular guaranteed loans be raised to market rates two years after the bor rowers have left college, is expected to seek some sort of clarifying legisla tion so the interest on the consolida tion loans cannot be lower than the rate charged for the regular loans. The SLMA does not know yet what the size of its potential market for consolidation loans is, but at this point the association's managers see the program as a profit-making ven ture which helps students at the same time. As is the case with the basic guaranteed-loan programs, federal interest subsidies make up the dif ference between what borrowers pay to lenders and prevailing market rates. If the program continues to, grow, its benefits may become available later on to present and future par ticipants, although perhaps at dif ferent rates. The future of con solidating student loans is uncertain, however, in part due to complicated legislative provisions that may be changed. ting Service and the Law School Admiss ges in the procedures for registering the Law School Data Assembly Services. tive law school candidates to initiate 1983 should iven on June 16 1982 °fret $OO To AN 0 SPE-CAL "'IN) "5- ive serious attention to re College grads forced into low-level jobs Campus Diget News Servic e Government statistics show that colleges are turning out more graduates than the economy requires and as a result the Labor Department predicts that during this decade one in four college graduates will take jobs in occupations that don't require a college education. Some employment economists are claiming that the value of a higher education has been oversold, resulting in a "tattering of the American dream." They say this overselling will have disruptive social consequences. Minorities have been told for years to get an education to gain equal standing, but with the cur rent glut of college-trained people there are no more guarantees of high level, prestige jobs. Along with taking less prestigious jobs, college grads are having to settle for a lot less money. The pay premium for a college education isn't there anymore and in some cases the grads are over-looked just because of their education. The number of women graduates entering the temporary employment field is also increasing. Many women view temporary work as another way of breaking into the crowded employ ment picture. People in personnel departments are going to have to drop the idea of avoiding overqualified applicants, ac cording to economists, because they will be seeing more and more of them. ion Service have for the Law Schoo The chan:es are lication their a isterin Fewer poor at Harvard Campus Digest News Service Harvard University is receiving fewer and fewer applications from students from less affluent families. The acting dean of admissions for Harvard College and Radcliffe Col lege said the number of applications from students whose parents did not attend college had declined by more than a third in the past three years, down to 16 percent of the total number of applications. The dean said it appears many students are not even bothering to ap ply because of the increased costs of tuition and the decreased financial aid available. He said they are not inquir ing about the various financial aid programs that are available. The dean said this trend was unfor- tunate because Harvard is continuing to admit students "regardless of financial need." Conservation Energy experts from Pennsylvania and the nation will come together to discuss energy conservation and the use of renewable energy in the 1980's on Wednesday, June 23. The Governor's Energy Council is sponsoring this first of its type conference on "Strategies for Conservation and Renewable Energy in Pennsylvania: Building a Consensus." Lt. Governor William W. Scranton HI, chairman of the Covernor's Energy Council, characterized the conference as "an unprecedented opportunity for state and local government officials, public interest group representatives, energy users, financial institutions, and utilities to examine current trends, explore new ideas, and recommend future policy directions." Scranton noted that the states first comprehensive energy policy projects the increased use of renewable energy. That policy was unanimously adopted by the Governor's Energy Council and is currently being implemented. It also targets conservation as an immediate and effective method of reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The one day conference, coordinated by the Penn State Capitol Campus, will be held at the Penn Harris Motor Inn, Camp Hill, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Daniel Yergin, Harvard lecturer and co-author of the book "Energy Future" will be the featured speaker. Mr. Yergin is recognized as one of the foremost authorities on energy, alternative resources, and the future of American power. Included in the agenda are four con servation and renewable energy panel discussions on opportunities for Penn sylvania, state and local government strategies, private and community based delivery systems programs, and the role of utilities in delivery systems. Among the participating panelists will be: Institute for Local Self-Reliance Director, David Morris; Lawrence Berkley Laboratory Energy and En vironment Program Leader, Dr. Arthur H. Rosenfeld; Department of Com munity Affairs Secretary, Shirley Dennis; Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Chairman, Susan M. Shanaman; and Philadelphia Gas Works President, Steven Schachman. recently desi.ned Also participating will be State Senator D. Michael Fisher; State Consumer Advocate Walter W. Cohen; Pittsburgh Action Housing Executive Director Jon Zimmer; and State Representative James L. Wright, Jr. "We must look at the future as an opportunity to use energy more ef ficiently and to rely on Pennsylvania resources for a greater share of our energy needs," said Scranton. "Con servation and the increased use of renewable energy resources are essential for insuring reliable, economic energy supplies." The number of conference participants is limited. Registration must be com pleted by June 18. Additional information is available from Penn State Capitol Campus, Continuing Education, Mid dletown, PA 17057; phone (717) 948-6275. for the June 10, 1982 Conference
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