Sallie Mae vs FAFSA

I don't know what "Sallie Mae" stands for, but I think it has "Stafford" in it somewhere. I assume Stafford was a congressperson who authored the bill that brought Stafford loans into being. These are loans for graduate students, law students, medical students, like that. But they aren't cheap loans like student loans used to be. They're eight and a half percent, though you can bargain them down a point or so in various ways after you graduate. But for students they might be the only loans they can get.

So, U Karlovy 2nd Medical has an agreement with the US dept of Ed which allows US students at their school to partake of these loans. However, when Frank went to start an application there, he found out that his school code, which FAFSA (the central application service) gave him and verified, gets him kicked off the website to the beginning.

So I go on the phone. I speak to two different very nice, very helpful people, and two hours later I have the answer: the FAFSA school code is G33003, but the Sallie Mae school code is 033003. Meanwhile I have a bad hour in there where I can't find the copy of the letter which authorizes Karlovy students to participate, and a new search for 2nd medical faculty (after many iterations of the name of the school in both Czech and English) results in 1st medical and 3rd medical but not 2nd. But verifying the school code by the other route works. Surprisingly (or not?), these school codes are not sequential . . .

Anyway, that's my whole morning gone. However, I did work out some plotting kinks for The Conduit, and I did sweep the kitchen floor, and I did find out that the flat rate priority mail box is about the size of a ream of standard paper ($37 to send him a pair of longjohns and a pair of pants?), and I did print out what I have to read for tomorrow, and I found those longjohns.

late to work.

USians -- go to this poll and vote

At Democracy for America, you can participate in a poll as to who you'd like to vote for. It gives you first second and third choices. So far, Al Gore has 31% of the vote, followed by Barack Obama at 22% and John Edwards at 18%(my rounding), then Kucinich at 17% and Clinton at 5%. Among the people voting for Al Gore as their first choice, its Barack Obama at just over 27%, John Edwards at just under 27%, Kucinich at 22%, Clinton at 9%.

Clearly, if you did get to all the Democratic voters, the spread and exact placements might be different, but I don't think it would be as different as the newspapers would like to think. I don't know why Obama does so well in spite of the fact that his politics are just as bad as Clinton's.

My dream ticket: Edwards/Kucinich.

On another front, MacUmba. Samba percussion, and bagpipes. They do "Steam Train." I'm not sure I approve of the middle part, but it is interesting. I think the percussion works well with "Cullen Bay."