Everyone knows that college costs too much now days and President Obama is doing something about it. Proposing his Race To The Top program for colleges, he spoke on the campus of the University of Michigan to a packed house.

If colleges want to continue to get top level funding for aid programs, they would have to demonstrate that they provide an affordable education system that includes good value. Colleges wouldn’t be able to just keep raising their rates anymore without a subsequent reduction of grants and aids coming from the taxpayers.

Perkins loans would be increased from $1 billion to $8 billion under Obama’s proposal and there would be some grant competitions as well that aim to increase the incentive for colleges to keep their tuition down. Obama grants in the amount of $1 billion  and 55 million would be up for grabs in such a competition that would be similar to his Race For The Top program for the lower grades.

Another good thing he outlined was a requirement that all colleges offer a clearer picture of their costs and financial aid packages. One thing that is very difficult today for both students and their parents is how to accurately determine just how much each college would cost and the benefits of each. When you have a state college costing x amount of dollars and another costing double that, it is very hard to figure out what you get for your money. Obama’s new “shopping sheet” proposal will help make things clearer.

One bad thing is that all of President Obama’s education plans he laid out today must be approved by Congress. With the record Congress has of passing the President’s legislation, that makes it unclear whether they will go along and pass these important, long overdue changes.

Today’s colleges must start putting the students first and that means a return to the days when a higher education was affordable. If our future is going to be bright, we need to make sure college prices hold steady or start going down so that more students can get the education they need to be productive adults. Obama recognizes this and hopes his new vision will be shared by Congress so that these measures can be enacted.

Today President Obama is making more news by announcing new rules for student loans in this country which will be changed in 2012 to make things easier on the millions of students who have school debt. This was actually set to go into effect in 2014 but he wants it to start next year.

Under the plan, the maximum repayment amount will be reduced from 15% to 10% of a person’s annual discretionary income. Student loan relief is becoming a much bigger need in America as the cost of going to college continues to rise year after year. Students find themselves graduating with increasing amounts of debt into a world where unemployment rates are rising as well. In addition to lowering the percent that needs to be repaid each year, this new act will forgive the remaining debt a student has after 20 years instead of the 25 years set in place right now.

Additionally, any borrower that has a loan from the Family Education Loan Program (FELP) AND a loan directly from the government will be allowed to consolidate the two. This will result in a lower percentage of interest for the consolidated loan and will help millions of students pay less each month.

This new Obama student loan plan is something that is way overdue as our students continue to find themselves in a deeper financial hole each year. By giving them some loan relief, Obama is showing that he understands their needs and hopes that they will understand that he is doing everything he can to help them out.

President Obama is going to give a major jobs speech next Thursday, September 8th. He plans to give it in front of both houses of Congress and that means it is a big deal as that only happens a handful of times during any Presidency. But why is this speech such a big deal and can Obama really create jobs?

The fact is that no President can directly create jobs, at least not in the private sector. The only jobs he can make are government jobs or government funded jobs like the ones that were supposed to result from the stimulus bill of 2009. By signing legislation that opens up federal money for the states, jobs can be created but many critics say those are aren’t long term sustainable jobs as the government is not a business and does not contribute to the GDP. The stimulus bailout has not helped create jobs in the numbers that were needed and many of them were temporary jobs anyway.

Indirectly a President CAN help businesses in the private sector by lowering taxes and doing away with federal regulations that hurt companies ability to grow. Government can stifle business with all the the red tape that has to be gone through now days and many economists are frustrated with Obama because they say he is not “business friendly”. They feel he has done more things to hurt the economy than help it.

The unemployment rate has gone from 7+ percent when he got elected to 9+ percent now which is why there is so much attention focused on this speech. That unemployment number needs to come down soon and this jobs speech is one of his most important if he wants to keep his Presidency in 2012.

According to a recent Gallup poll, President Obama’s approval rating is very low at 39% and down significantly from it’s highs. In order to get that approval rating back up, he needs to show leadership and new ideas in the jobs area because it is the countries biggest need right now. Obama’s jobs speech on Thursday may be a turning point for the economy and show that he is the right man for the job.

The next couple of months is the time of year when everyone is thinking about and planning for their trips back to school. Moms, single moms, college students, community college students, and everyone else who is trying to get an education is adding up the numbers and trying to figure out ways to pay for tuition. Scammers know this and that is why you have to be careful.

You should be especially suspicious of any back to school grants and loans that also use the “Obama” name because there are no “official” programs that carry his name. Yes, he supports everyone getting an education, yes he would like grants and loans to be easy to get, and yes he would like to increase the dollars everyone can qualify for in their quest for quality learning. However, there is nothing that officially has his name attached to it. So, if you see the Obama school grant, the Obama mom’s grant, or anything like that advertised you should do extra research first before you sign up or send in money.

It should also be noted that all United States grants are FREE and you should not have to pay money to get them! If you agree to pay someone to help you understand them or help you figure out which ones to apply for that is your decision but you should know that all grants are free.

Scammers and people who are less than honest know that this is back to school season and it is a good time for them to try to trick people into paying for help and services. Sometimes grants, loans, and scholarships can be very confusing and that is why people will try to take your money and guarantee they will get you one. Make sure you understand that no one can guarantee they will get you financial help and that is especially true for grants and scholarships.

Now that it is June, most schools are out but that doesn’t mean you can relax when looking for school loans and grants for next year. The summer goes by quickly and if you want to give yourself the best chance to get scholarship or grant money, you need to be working at it now.

This is THE WORST economy most of us have seen in our lifetimes. Jobs are so hard to get that many people are giving up. Clearly, if you want a job you will have to work hard to get one and be prepared for a long drawn out hunt.

The same thing can be said for school grants, education loans, college scholarships, and any other type of financial aid you will need to stay in school next year. Competition and demand is high for any kind of government debt relief meaning you should NOT be waiting to apply. Get started now, plan your strategy early, and get your applications in  ahead of the rush.

There is very little news and analysis that is optimistic about the jobs outlook and the economy. The escalating national debt breaks new records every day and this is causing a lot of concern over the direction of our country and our futures. President Obama is going to come under increasing scrutiny as the election approaches, especially if the unemployment rate remains over 9%. Even though he is a popular President, ultimately people need jobs and money. Hope alone is not enough.

You shouldn’t assume things are going to get better any time soon and you need to do what you can to secure your own future. If that means going to school or college to continue your education, you have to get out there NOW and start making plans and finding ways to pay for it. DON’T PROCRASTINATE!

President Obama on October 5, 2010 had the first community college White House summit. The President met with over one hundred college presidents and teachers to discuss how community colleges can play a bigger part in our education system. The Obama school grants program is for community colleges as well but you don’t hear too much about community colleges in the news. It turns out they are a great choice for many Americans and will become more important for several reasons.

First of all, community colleges are much less expensive than going to state or private schools and you can get a degree in 2 years. For students that can’t afford the more expensive tuition at a four year college, going to a community college is a great alternative. It is much better to have a degree from a community college than no degree at all in the eyes of employers.

Students who graduate from community colleges can then apply to traditional 4 year universities and finish their final two years there. The degree they get will be from the more prestigious 4 year college and  no one will ever know that the first two years of your degree were completed at a community college.

In the coming years there will be a lot more jobs that require a two year degree so community colleges need to do well and be supported. America has to embrace our community colleges and fund them so that our workers can be educated and get jobs.

President Obama last year announced a 10 year plan costing 12 billion dollars in grants that will help foster partnerships between colleges and businesses as well as do many other things to help keep community colleges strong. These Obama community college grants would improve education programs, update existing learning programs, develop new learning programs, and also modernize some of the existing facilities. President Obama said he is committed to helping the community college in our country because of the greater role he sees them playing in the future.

Right now, community colleges are packed and hard to get into. Much of this is because regular 4 year colleges cost so much and have tuitions that continue to go up. Many students can only afford 2 year schools and these Obama community college grants will help the whole system. The charitable foundation of Bill and Melinda gates has also announced it’s own 35 million dollar community college grants program that will pay for students to finish their degrees in the nine states that need the help the most.

There is a bit of confusion now that so many people are heading back to school or want to go back to school. Paying for your education is VERY difficult with tuitions being so high in 2010 and many women are looking for grants. There are lots of ads on the Internet saying that you can return to school with a grant. Specifically, women are going online looking for:

grants for single Moms
Obama grants for single Moms
grants for single mothers
Obama grants for single mothers
grants for mothers
Obama grants for mothers
grants for Moms
Obama grants for moms
Grants for over 40

Well, you get the idea. Many women are going online hoping to find school grants that are SPECIFICALLY for mothers and single mothers.These women probably know there are school grants for students but they are hoping to find grants that are just for moms or single moms that they might qualify for or ones that might even be easier to qualify for than normal student grants.

The truth is that there are no school grants for single moms or mothers. There just aren’t any that are targeted for those two specific groups.

Why do so many women hope to find such grants that are meant just for them? Again, it is probably because of the speech Barack Obama made last year about his desire for moms to return to school and get their degrees. Whenever a speech like that is made, some people assume things about the speech and interpret it to mean that he is setting up some special Obama school grants just for single moms and women.

After awhile, word spreads and people hear it from other people and so on. Additionally, advertisers for school loans and grants pick up on this and phrase their ads using words that make it sound like grants for single mothers really do exist. They do this to try to get more business.

In the end we have a situation like we have now: women going online everyday searching for Obama grants for single mothers or Obama grants for mothers and nothing like that even exists! There are still the regular Pell grants that women and anyone else can get but nothing just for Moms. As always, if for some reason I am wrong about this please leave a comment and let me know.

But what about men? There are lots of men that are also in the same situation as women and they want to go back to school to get their degrees as well. Now that jobs are so hard to find, if they can’t get a good job, maybe it is the right time for men to also try to return to college and finish their degree.

Obama school grants pretty much is about Pell grants and not much more. As I have spoken about before, there are no special school grants, education grants, or college grants that President Obama has started. Pell grants have gone up a bit so you get a bit more in 2010 than you did in 2009 but that is about it.

Scholarships 4 Dads - you can win a $10,000 scholarship and it is 100% free to enter. There is a drawing each month and Scholarships 4 Dads is BBB accredited. A very simple sign up will get you entered and you can also find information on schools there too.

If you are a mom, there is a drawing for you too. Scholarships 4 Moms is also totally free to enter and there is also a drawing every month. It is also BBB accredited and very easy to enter for your chance to get a free $10,000 education grant scholarship.

It is important to get your college degree if you can and that holds true for both moms and dads, men and women, and single moms and single dads too. An education is something you can always use to help you get a better job and so now might be the right time for you to start looking.

I have to admit, I am really confused. With any president there is hype. Some of it is generated from within the administration and some from the media. It just goes with the territory.

This last year I have heard alot of talk about President Obama and how he is committed to education. I have of course heard about the Obama student loans bill that passed and will  take the loan process out of the private sector. I have heard about Obama Pell grants and I get emails all the time about Obama college grants and where to go to get them. I have also heard about the Obama moms back to school grants and other such things. All together, I have heard a lot of hype about this president and his desire for us as a country to be better educated.  

Where have I heard about all these things? I have heard about them on television, on radio, in newspapers, in magazines, in advertisements on the Internet, in my email box, and by word of mouth. With all this publicity, I had assumed that he had at least initiated something new for students or substantially increased the aid available to them.

An that is why I am confused. After looking into government Pell grants here at the ED.gov website, it seems that there really isn’t much new to talk about. The maximum amount you can get for an “Obama Pell grant” in the 2010-11 year has been raised from $5,350 to $5,550. That it? A $200 increase is all they have gone up? Does that even come close to keeping up with the amount tuition’s have gone up in a year?

From what I can tell, there is no new special Obama education grant of any kind and there is nothing set aside just for Moms, single parents, or women. Returning to school is admirable but all you will get this year is an additional $200 over last year and that is only if you are able to qualify for the whole amount.

If I am wrong about this please leave a comment and let me know. Point me in the right direction where I can find out more. It’s just that with all the hype, I had expected more.

I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately with headers that look just like the one above (without the “not”). Usually they are in my spam folder but occasionally one slips through into the real folder. They seem to lead to different online colleges or some other college placement type website.

Is it true that you can really get $10,000 from Obama or an Obama school grant? Or are these emails just more of the same over the top advertising to get your attention and mislead you? I clicked a link that said “financial aid packages” on one of the sites and this is what I got:

I don’t know where they are coming up with the 10K number…perhaps it just sounds good. The numbers above ($5,350 and $2500) don’t even add up to $10,000.

Obama school turnaround grants have been in the news lately but those are grants that are going to be given to the schools that are successful in well, turning themselves around. They are not grants for individual people like moms who want to go back to school.

Advertisers continue to feed off of and use the public’s perception that there are real and new Obama debt relief grants, Obama back to school grants, Obama grants for moms, and any other kind of Obama government stimulus grants that they are now entitled to and can get. The truth is that there is very little out there for the average person that wasn’t there before Obama got elected.

There are new amounts available for Pell Grants but it is not that much more than before and it hardly keeps pace with inflation. Certainly the increase doesn’t match how much college tuition is going up across the country. Anyone can apply for these school grants and may even be lucky enough to get one. But is Obama just giving away $10,000 for anyone to go back to school like these ads want you to believe? Nope, not even close.