Copyright © 2012
Iowa College Student Aid Commission
All rights reserved.
Iowa College Aid Insider - January 2012 Edition
Iowa College Aid Designates John R. Justice Grant Recipients
Iowa College Aid FY 2011 Annual Report
News You Can Use
Financial Literacy is Winning in Iowa
I Have A Plan Iowa™ Scholarship Finder
Real World Design Challenge
The New Year Brings Opportunity for Success
Iowa College Aid Designates John R. Justice Grant Recipients
Iowa College Aid FY 2011 Annual Report
News You Can Use
Financial Literacy is Winning in Iowa
I Have A Plan Iowa™ Scholarship Finder
Real World Design Challenge
The New Year Brings Opportunity for Success
Iowa College Aid Designates John R. Justice Grant Recipients
The Iowa College Student Aid Commission has designated 18 recipients of the John R. Justice Grant Program for the State of Iowa. This federally-funded program provides annual loan repayment assistance to public prosecutors and defenders employed in Iowa and is designed to help Iowa attract and retain talented attorneys in public interest law. Applicants are required to sign a service agreement stating they will remain employed as a public prosecutor or public defender for a period of service not less than three years. Iowa College Aid reviewed a total of 40 applications from the five congressional districts. Each of the 18 recipients will receive an average of $5,827 in loan repayment assistance. Funds will be paid directly to loan holders in August 2012, after the recipient’s employment is verified.
Iowa College Aid FY 2011 Annual Report
Iowa College Aid has released its annual report for FY 2011. This report, required of all State of Iowa agencies, discloses the activities of Iowa College Aid from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. Highlights of this year’s report include:
News You Can Use
Iowa College Aid is excited to announce the addition of News You Can Use to the Tools for Students section of www.IowaCollegeAid.gov. In this highly-competitive job market, students need to take advantage of every opportunity to help them stand out from the crowd. News You Can Use provides high school and college students with expert advice and tips as they plan for college and a future career. It is Iowa College Aid’s intention as a state agency focused on helping Iowa families plan, prepare, and pay for college, to give every advantage we can to Iowa students. With this in mind, News You Can Use will host articles covering a variety of topics important to Iowa high school and college students. Current articles include:
Students and families are encouraged to check back often for new information they can use to succeed in high school, college and beyond.
Financial Literacy is Winning in Iowa
The students of Iowa have voted, declaring personal financial responsibility a key issue. In 2011 alone, over 2,000 students were certified through the Iowa Financial Literacy Program, accessible through
I Have A Plan Iowa™. Iowa high schools with the highest number of certified students in financial literacy are Ankeny High School in Ankeny, followed by Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs, and Washington High School in Washington. “Iowa is leading the charge in providing cutting-edge financial literacy to all its students,” said Iowa College Aid Executive Director Karen Misjak. “The students receiving certification through the Iowa Financial Literacy Program have mastered concepts such as budgeting, saving, using credit cards wisely, and making smart borrowing decisions that will help them as they go on to college or enter the workforce,” explained Misjak. The Iowa Financial Literacy Program is a 10-module online learning platform that serves as a capstone to a school’s financial literacy curriculum. The platform tracks individual student progress and knowledge gain, and provides students who successfully complete the course with a certification in financial literacy that can be a powerful tool for job applications, college searches and internships. For more information regarding the Iowa Financial Literacy Program, as well as additional resources available to Iowa families as they plan, prepare and pay for college, visit www.IowaCollegeAid.gov or call Iowa College Aid’s Information Service Center at 877-272-4456.
I Have A Plan Iowa™ Scholarship Finder
Financial aid award letters offer a combination of aid including scholarships and grants (which do not have to be repaid) and student loans (which must be repaid). Student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt in the United States. This is a harsh reminder of the importance to search and apply for as many scholarships and grants as possible. In addition to federal and state scholarships and grants, that can be applied for by completing the FAFSA and Iowa Financial Aid Application, there are private scholarships offered by businesses, civic organizations or religious groups, many of which go unawarded. Private scholarships are typically awarded based on specific criteria, such as academic success, extracurricular activities, leadership, community involvement and race or ethnicity. A little time spent researching now can result in money saved later! I Have A Plan Iowa™ provides an easy-to-use scholarship finder that matches potential scholarships to student information. Students can search for scholarships by keyword, save scholarships to their portfolio or link directly to the scholarship application. The I Have A Plan Iowa™ Scholarship Finder can be accessed by those heading off to college in the near future, or even by sophomores and juniors who are planning ahead. Check it out at www.IHaveAPlanIowa.gov under the Financial Aid Planning tab.
Real World Design Challenge
GEAR UP Iowa staff and state-wide partners are organizing a Real World Design Challenge (RWDC) competition. RWDC is an annual competition that provides high school students, grades 9-12, the opportunity to work on real world engineering challenges in a team environment. Each year, teams of high school students are asked to address a challenge that confronts our nation's leading industries.
West High School in Davenport, Iowa has accepted and embraced the challenge. The West High team, which includes four students from the GEAR UP Iowa cohort, will be mentored by a former West High graduate who is an engineer from the Quad Cities with over 30 years of experience working in nuclear power, and who currently works for Boeing. The state competition for Iowa will be held on Feb. 18th at the Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines.
The New Year Brings Opportunity for Success
The start of a new year brings a new semester and for many GEAR UP Iowa students, the opportunity to recover fallen grades and improve their chances of graduating on time. One opportunity made possible by GEAR UP Iowa, Des Moines Public Schools GEAR UP, and TRiO programs at Central College, Simpson College, and DMACC, is College Access Program tutoring. Tutoring is currently offered every Tuesday evening from 4:00 to 8:00 at the Des Moines Public Library Central Campus, in the second floor computer lab. Students from any Des Moines Public High School can take advantage of one-on-one tutoring from local college students and/or online tutoring through Tutor.com. For more information, please contact Ashley West at Ashley.West2@iowa.gov or 515-868-1399.
The Iowa College Student Aid Commission has designated 18 recipients of the John R. Justice Grant Program for the State of Iowa. This federally-funded program provides annual loan repayment assistance to public prosecutors and defenders employed in Iowa and is designed to help Iowa attract and retain talented attorneys in public interest law. Applicants are required to sign a service agreement stating they will remain employed as a public prosecutor or public defender for a period of service not less than three years. Iowa College Aid reviewed a total of 40 applications from the five congressional districts. Each of the 18 recipients will receive an average of $5,827 in loan repayment assistance. Funds will be paid directly to loan holders in August 2012, after the recipient’s employment is verified.
Iowa College Aid FY 2011 Annual Report
Iowa College Aid has released its annual report for FY 2011. This report, required of all State of Iowa agencies, discloses the activities of Iowa College Aid from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. Highlights of this year’s report include:
- In its first year, nearly 33,000 applicants used the Iowa Financial Aid Application to determine their eligibility for state-funded financial aid programs.
- Nearly 26,000 Iowans received a total of over $58 million in scholarship, grant and loan forgiveness opportunities.
- 201,061 Iowa residents filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a five percent increase over the previous year and a 38 percent increase from the number of filers in 2006-2007.
- Iowans logged into I Have A Plan Iowa™, Iowa’s state-designated career information system, 964,748 times during FY 2011, a 27.8 percent increase over FY 2010.
- GEAR UP Iowa allocated approximately $647,000 directly to GEAR UP Iowa high schools to support programs which improve academic performance, increase academic aspirations and promote a college-going culture in Iowa.
- Over 245,000 printed publications regarding college access, college planning, financial aid, financial literacy and default prevention were sent to Iowa College Aid customers in FY 2011.
- Iowa College Aid recouped over $67 million in defaulted student loans on behalf of taxpayers.
News You Can Use
Iowa College Aid is excited to announce the addition of News You Can Use to the Tools for Students section of www.IowaCollegeAid.gov. In this highly-competitive job market, students need to take advantage of every opportunity to help them stand out from the crowd. News You Can Use provides high school and college students with expert advice and tips as they plan for college and a future career. It is Iowa College Aid’s intention as a state agency focused on helping Iowa families plan, prepare, and pay for college, to give every advantage we can to Iowa students. With this in mind, News You Can Use will host articles covering a variety of topics important to Iowa high school and college students. Current articles include:
- 10 New Year’s Resolutions for a College Student
- Secrets to a Successful Interview
- Why Volunteerism Matters on a College Admission Application
Students and families are encouraged to check back often for new information they can use to succeed in high school, college and beyond.
Financial Literacy is Winning in Iowa
The students of Iowa have voted, declaring personal financial responsibility a key issue. In 2011 alone, over 2,000 students were certified through the Iowa Financial Literacy Program, accessible through
I Have A Plan Iowa™. Iowa high schools with the highest number of certified students in financial literacy are Ankeny High School in Ankeny, followed by Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs, and Washington High School in Washington. “Iowa is leading the charge in providing cutting-edge financial literacy to all its students,” said Iowa College Aid Executive Director Karen Misjak. “The students receiving certification through the Iowa Financial Literacy Program have mastered concepts such as budgeting, saving, using credit cards wisely, and making smart borrowing decisions that will help them as they go on to college or enter the workforce,” explained Misjak. The Iowa Financial Literacy Program is a 10-module online learning platform that serves as a capstone to a school’s financial literacy curriculum. The platform tracks individual student progress and knowledge gain, and provides students who successfully complete the course with a certification in financial literacy that can be a powerful tool for job applications, college searches and internships. For more information regarding the Iowa Financial Literacy Program, as well as additional resources available to Iowa families as they plan, prepare and pay for college, visit www.IowaCollegeAid.gov or call Iowa College Aid’s Information Service Center at 877-272-4456.
I Have A Plan Iowa™ Scholarship Finder
Financial aid award letters offer a combination of aid including scholarships and grants (which do not have to be repaid) and student loans (which must be repaid). Student loan debt has now surpassed credit card debt in the United States. This is a harsh reminder of the importance to search and apply for as many scholarships and grants as possible. In addition to federal and state scholarships and grants, that can be applied for by completing the FAFSA and Iowa Financial Aid Application, there are private scholarships offered by businesses, civic organizations or religious groups, many of which go unawarded. Private scholarships are typically awarded based on specific criteria, such as academic success, extracurricular activities, leadership, community involvement and race or ethnicity. A little time spent researching now can result in money saved later! I Have A Plan Iowa™ provides an easy-to-use scholarship finder that matches potential scholarships to student information. Students can search for scholarships by keyword, save scholarships to their portfolio or link directly to the scholarship application. The I Have A Plan Iowa™ Scholarship Finder can be accessed by those heading off to college in the near future, or even by sophomores and juniors who are planning ahead. Check it out at www.IHaveAPlanIowa.gov under the Financial Aid Planning tab.
Real World Design Challenge
GEAR UP Iowa staff and state-wide partners are organizing a Real World Design Challenge (RWDC) competition. RWDC is an annual competition that provides high school students, grades 9-12, the opportunity to work on real world engineering challenges in a team environment. Each year, teams of high school students are asked to address a challenge that confronts our nation's leading industries.
West High School in Davenport, Iowa has accepted and embraced the challenge. The West High team, which includes four students from the GEAR UP Iowa cohort, will be mentored by a former West High graduate who is an engineer from the Quad Cities with over 30 years of experience working in nuclear power, and who currently works for Boeing. The state competition for Iowa will be held on Feb. 18th at the Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines.
The New Year Brings Opportunity for Success
The start of a new year brings a new semester and for many GEAR UP Iowa students, the opportunity to recover fallen grades and improve their chances of graduating on time. One opportunity made possible by GEAR UP Iowa, Des Moines Public Schools GEAR UP, and TRiO programs at Central College, Simpson College, and DMACC, is College Access Program tutoring. Tutoring is currently offered every Tuesday evening from 4:00 to 8:00 at the Des Moines Public Library Central Campus, in the second floor computer lab. Students from any Des Moines Public High School can take advantage of one-on-one tutoring from local college students and/or online tutoring through Tutor.com. For more information, please contact Ashley West at Ashley.West2@iowa.gov or 515-868-1399.