USA Funds Accepts Applications for $1 Million in Scholarships

/PRNewswire/ -- USA Funds®, a nonprofit organization that helps American families benefit from postsecondary education, announces that it is accepting applications online for a total of $1 million in USA Funds Access to Education Scholarships® to help students from low- to moderate-income households pay college costs.

The program offers $1,500 scholarships to qualified full-time or half-time undergraduates and to full-time graduate and professional students. Applicants for the scholarships must be enrolled or plan to enroll in course work at accredited two- or four-year colleges, universities or vocational/technical schools beginning with the fall 2011 term through Feb. 1, 2012.

The program assists students from households with an annual income of $35,000 or less. Up to 50 percent of the awards go to students who are members of an ethnic minority group or are physically disabled.

"USA Funds has helped more than 16,000 low- to moderate-income students pursue higher education through the award of more than $55 million in scholarships during the past nine years," said Robert C. Ballard, USA Funds senior vice president, access and outreach. "We're pleased to continue this tradition of scholarship support to help deserving students overcome financial barriers to college."

The scholarship application deadline is Feb. 15, 2011.

For complete eligibility information and to apply online, students should visit www.usafunds.org/scholarship. A Spanish-language version of the scholarship information and online application is available.

-----
Community News You Can Use
Click to read MORE news:
www.GeorgiaFrontPage.com
Twitter: @gafrontpage & @TheGATable @HookedonHistory
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
Twitter: @artsacrossga, @softnblue, @RimbomboAAG
www.FayetteFrontPage.com
Twitter: @FayetteFP

USA Funds Prevents $23.7 Billion in Student Loan Defaults

/PRNewswire/ -- USA Funds®, the nation's leading education loan guarantor, reports that it prevented $23.7 billion in defaults on more than 1.5 million past-due federal student loan accounts during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. USA Funds' default prevention efforts were successful in averting default on more than 93 percent of loan accounts on which payments were reported by the lender as being 60 days or more past due.

USA Funds' default prevention efforts saved U.S. taxpayers an estimated $22.5 billion and student loan borrowers a projected $7.8 billion in additional costs associated with student loan default.

"The severe economic recession has generated a significant increase in student loan payment delinquencies," said Carl C. Dalstrom, USA Funds president and CEO. "Despite these challenges USA Funds has worked hard to maintain its default prevention success rate to spare taxpayers and student loan borrowers the expense of default."

As part of its default prevention efforts, USA Funds supports a team of 250 full-time professionals who work to contact student loan borrowers who have fallen behind in their payments and counsel them about the options for resolving their payment issues. Those options include scheduling a payment; flexible repayment plans, including income-based repayment options; and deferment and forbearance to temporarily postpone or reduce a borrower's monthly payments.

Last year this default prevention team made more than 85 million phone calls and sent 2.7 million pieces of correspondence to borrowers to assist them in resolving their student loan payment issues.

To promote successful student loan repayment, USA Funds supports additional services, including online borrower counseling programs, personal finance education for college students, as well as default prevention support to higher education institutions.

If, in spite of these efforts, borrowers default on their loans, federal law requires USA Funds to continue to pursue recovery of outstanding amounts owed taxpayers. During the past fiscal year, USA Funds recovered more than $1.2 billion from borrowers in default on their loans. This figure includes more than $459 million in rehabilitated loans, which permit borrowers who previously defaulted on their federal student loans to restore their accounts to repayment and improve their credit record.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.artsacrossgeorgia.com
Arts Across Georgia

College Students, Parents May Reduce Taxes Based on College Expenses

/PRNewswire/ -- USA Funds(R), the nation's leading education loan guarantor, advises families that paid college expenses during 2008 that they may qualify for deductions or credits when they file their federal income tax returns.

"In recent years the U.S. Congress has enacted and extended measures to provide federal income tax benefits for families that pay tuition, fees and other higher education expenses," said Carl C. Dalstrom, USA Funds president and CEO. "USA Funds urges taxpayers to consider potential tax benefits that may apply to them as they prepare their 2008 income tax returns."

Among changes in the higher education tax benefits for the 2008 tax year are the following items:

Deduction for higher education expenses. Late last year Congress extended for the 2008 and 2009 tax years this deduction, which was scheduled to expire. Taxpayers may qualify to deduct from their taxable income up to $4,000 in tuition and fees that they paid during the year. Taxpayers do not have to itemize deductions to claim this benefit, but their modified adjusted gross income must be $80,000 or less -- $160,000 or less for married taxpayers filing joint returns -- to qualify for this deduction.

Hope and Lifetime Learning credits. The maximum Hope credit has increased to $1,800, up from $1,650 for the previous tax year. In addition, the maximum income permitted to qualify for the Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits has been increased by $1,000 for single taxpayers and by $2,000 for joint filers. Single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes of less than $58,000, and married taxpayers filing jointly with incomes of less than $116,000, now qualify for at least a partial credit. The Hope credit permits taxpayers to reduce their taxes for out-of-pocket tuition and fees for each of the first two years of postsecondary study. The Lifetime Learning credit provides a maximum $2,000 credit based on qualified tuition and related expenses paid for any year of postsecondary study. Taxpayers in portions of 10 Midwestern states that were declared federal disaster areas last summer may quality for higher Hope and Lifetime Learning credits.

Higher income limits for joint filers to qualify for student loan interest deduction. Taxpayers who paid interest on qualified student loans during 2008 may be eligible to deduct up to $2,500 from their taxable income. The income limits for married couples filing joint returns to qualify for this deduction have increased by $5,000. Single taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes of less than $70,000, and married taxpayers who file joint tax returns reporting modified adjusted incomes of less than $145,000, may qualify for at least a partial deduction.

Other higher education tax benefits. Taxpayers also should consider potential tax savings based on earnings from so-called 529 college savings plans and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, as well as employer-paid education benefits.

To help students and parents take advantage of these benefits, USA Funds offers a summary of these higher education tax benefits on its Web site at www.usafunds.org/taxbenefits. USA Funds also provides a brochure "Higher Education Tax Benefits - Expanded Taxpayer Savings," which is available free of charge from many colleges, universities and private career colleges.

USA Funds recommends that taxpayers consult with a qualified tax adviser or the Internal Revenue Service to determine their eligibility for any of these tax benefits.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page