Student Loan Initiative: Alumni Lend To Current Scholars To Finance

New Student Loan Model

Benjamin Kessler, 27, financed some of the $150,000 he borrowed for graduate school with loans from alumni at his university.

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Can former students help solve the student loan crisis? That's the reasoning behind a new loan initiative launched last year at Stanford University, one of the nation's most elite and expensive colleges, where undergraduate tuition is now $40,050.

A handful of Stanford alumni created SoFi, a company that funds student loans with investments from alumni. The company is based on the peer-to-peer lending model popularized by microfinance organizations and websites like Kickstarter.com.

SoFi grew out of a recognition that the student loan market is "unsustainable," said SoFi CEO Mike Cagney in an interview with The Huffington Post. "You've got the government, the school, the students, and nobody is invested in another's success ? If you take the government out of the equation and introduce alumni, you create those connections and that investment."

Student loan debt today totals more than $1 trillion, a 14-fold increase from 15 years ago. It dwarfs the amount of the nation's credit card debt, which is just shy of $800 million. Those in the class of 2010 graduated with an average of more than $25,000 in student loan debt, according to the Project on Student Loan Debt. In 2009, nearly 9 percent of student loan holders defaulted on their government loans, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Last fall, SoFi piloted its loan product at Stanford's graduate school of business (where tuition runs $108,000 for its two-year program); a hundred students borrowed a total of $2 million from 40 alumni investors.

Ben Kessler, 27, a second-year MBA student at Stanford, borrowed roughly $150,000 to finance his education. While the majority of his loans are through Citibank and the federal government, about $35,000 came from SoFi.

Through SoFi, students not only receive loans but are also introduced to participating alumni who serve as mentors. For Kessler, that networking opportunity was one of the main attractions of the SoFi loan, whose 6.24 percent interest rate is comparable to those of his Citibank and government loans.

"I've sat down with three or four SoFi staff members [who] introduced me to a lot of different people in the alumni network, and to their own lenders and investors," said Kessler in an interview with The Huffington Post.

The fact that alumni are funding some of his loans does not increase pressure to repay them, Kessler said. "I feel the same pressure to repay my Citibank loan as compared to my SoFi loan. But what I do feel is that there's a relationship that stands to benefit if I do pay back the loan over time and if I do reach out and build a relationship with the people I've met through SoFi."

"There's no difference in what I stand to lose, but there's a lot more to gain," he added.

All the 100 Stanford MBA students who borrowed money from SoFi last year have kept up with their payments, Cagney said. That success, combined with eager alumni and enthusiastic investors, has enabled the company to expand. This year SoFi is planning to lend as much as $150 million to students at 40 schools, including some of country's most elite institutions, such as Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Duke and Georgetown universities.

The SoFi model has not affected Stanford alumnis' contributions to other scholarships and grants, said Cagney. He pointed out that none of the 40 Stanford alumni who funded SoFi loans changed their contributions to scholarship programs as a result of their investment. SoFi investors receive a 5 percent to 8 percent return on their loans and view it as a socially responsible investment, as opposed to a charitable donation, Cagney said.

Kessler is excited to put his SoFi contacts into action when he moves to the Midwest this summer. "I want to create a family business for my wife and future children to have as a stable source of cash flow and a stable source of income," he said. "Growing up in southern Wisconsin, I saw a number of small business that were doing well and people had a nice lifestyle, and that appeals to me."

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'Stingray' gadgets help cops track your cellphone

By Bob Sullivan

Why would the well-heeled suburb of Gilbert, Ariz., spend a quarter of a million dollars on a futuristic spy gadget that sounds more at home in a prime-time drama than a local police department?

The ACLU caused a stir Monday with its extensive report of cellphone surveillance?by local police departments, which routinely request location information and other data from cellphone providers, often under vague legal circumstances.

But one bit of information provided by Gilbert officials suggests that cops sometimes try to cut out the middle man. Buried in the 380 public records requests sent by the ACLU is a response from Gilbert which indicates that the town purchased a device that allows it to track cellphones on its own for $244,195.


"The Gilbert Police Department obtained a $150,000 grant from the State Homeland Security Program," the agency wrote to the ACLU in response to a public records request. "These funds, along with $94,195 of R.I.C.O monies, were used to purchase cell phone tracking equipment in June 2008 (total acquisition cost of $244, 195)."

?

Gilbert didn't offer additional details about the device to the ACLU, and Chief of Police Tim Dorn didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

But several surveillance experts said the device sounds like a gadget that's sometimes called a stingray. ?

The stingray, made by Harris Wireless Products Group of Melbourne, Fla., lets users set up what amounts to a fake cellphone tower and trick all phones nearby into connecting with it. That data can then be used to track the physical location of anyone nearby carrying a powered-on cellphone -- even if the citizen isn?t on a phone call. A stingray can also register other data, such as the phone numbers dialed by all phones while connected to it. The device reportedly cannot record or intercept the content of a phone call, so it does not act like a wiretap.

Still, the stingray is at the heart of a hotly contested criminal case involving an identity thief named Daniel David Rigmaiden, who allegedly stole $4 million through a fake tax return scheme. Federal authorities used a stingray to find?Rigmaiden in California in May 2008, then sent him?to Arizona for trial.

Perhaps Gilbert was impressed with the result -- it says it acquired its device one month later.

In September 2011, a federal court in Arizona heard Rigmaiden's request to receive all details about the government's secretive use of the surveillance technology. Federal prosecutors are resisting disclosure because they say it will jeopardize use of the critical law enforcement technology in other cases.

Rigmaiden's case, as yet undecided, is largely seen as a test of the constitutionality of stingray and related police surveillance technologies. Would use of a stingray constitute a search, and thus require application for a time-consuming search warrant? Or do cellphone users give up their expectation of privacy by turning on a phone and carrying it in their pocket? The issues were discussed extensively in this recent Wall Street Journal story.

Use of a stingray-like device raises even thornier issues than cellphone records requests, said Catherine Crump, the lawyer who headed the ACLU project.

"I think when law enforcement starts purchasing technology that allows them to track cellphones in that manner, it raises a whole host of questions about how that technology is being used that are even more serious when they track people through carriers," Crump said. "At least when a carrier is involved, there's a third party that may raise concerns if the request is of questionable legality. But when a law enforcement agency can do on its own surveillance, that raises even more serious questions about whether there is appropriate oversight."

No other local police department that responded to the ACLU's public records requests mentioned purchase of a stingray-like device -- one other community mentioned borrowing such a gadget -- but Crump said that's because she didn't specifically ask about them.

"If I had to write the requests it over again, I would,? she said. ?We didn?t realize how big an issue these devices were at the time. We know that there are others purchased by other agencies around the country, mainly from press reports."

The Miami police department, for example, asked Harris for a price quote in 2008. The firm's response is still on the city of Miami's website. A more extensive price list from Harris can be found at this website.?

A spokesman for Harris Wireless said the company didn't comment on clients' purchases and referred questions to Gilbert's Police Department.

The use of fake cellphone towers by law enforcement has caught on outside the U.S., too. Britain's Metropolitan Police, which serves the greater London area and is that nation's largest police force, began deploying similar technology provided by England-based Datong PLC last year, according to The Guardian. The disclosure began a round of debate about civil liberties in Britain.

Matt Blaze, a computer science professor at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on stingray-like devices, said they are a mixed bag.

"Certainly these devices are powerful surveillance tools that, if misused, have the potential to be quite invasive against the privacy of innocent people," he said.? "But, then again, so do many other law enforcement investigative methods -- physical searches, hidden microphones, informants and so on. The question is how they are used, how often they are used and the oversight mechanisms in place to prevent and detect misuse."

Devices like stingrays are technologically limited in scope, however -- they can only monitor a limited physical area in real time -- so Blaze is less concerned about them than he is the revolving door of data between private companies and law enforcement.

"I'm less worried about law enforcement agencies with stingrays and other targeted surveillance gadgets than I am about location and other kinds of tracking through the carriers, especially when done without strong legal oversight or without probable cause," he said. "While I do worry about abuse of these kinds of electronic surveillance devices, the fact that they are inherently rather targeted in what they can collect acts as something of a built-in safeguard. I'm more concerned, in the long run, about large-scale surveillance capabilities being included in our communications infrastructure."

Still, privacy researcher Chris Soghoian ? who has written extensively on law enforcement use of cellphone technology for surveillance ? said police use of the stingray device is among the most troubling privacy developments in years. Some phone companies allow police officers to use a website to download customers? GPS location data easily, ?from the comfort of their own desks,? he said, and charge as little as $5 for the information. With phone company record access that easy and inexpensive, there?s no need for stingray, he argued.

?The real issue is that this device is about allowing police to perform surveillance when the phone company would say no,? said Soghoian, who is Graduate Fellow at the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research at Indiana University. ?This is not about saving time and money ? it?s about the fact that there?s no one to insist that the law be followed when a stingray is used.?

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Real Estate License | Finance information

I should point out that

in real life, buyers hardly enter into agreements signed with real estate agents.

Most buyers and sellers use the Internet at some point to accomplish real estate research. Hey same expertise that your clients seek out when they want to plan a savings account for their child ?s education, formulate a retirement plan, or protect the value of their estate.

protect Estate

Many home buyers are not educated about the coverage abundantly needed to protect a home or real estate investment estate planning Consists of assorted actions, with almost all having three primary and oh-so-important purposes. to protect your privacy, to reduce taxes, and to make probate simple for your heirs. When you invest in real estate it is essential that you understand the types of insurance coverage that will best protect your property. We need to brief ourselves in order to protect our clients and our industry against The persistent attacks and ever-changing tactics of real estate con artists.

estate taxes

If your parents have an estate great enough to be concerned with estate taxes, then they probably won ? t want to give up that annual exclusion because it would ask for that they use up that much more of their unified credit against estate and gift taxes The client may also need to do some additional estate planning to meet other important objectives. ?Avoiding probate ?Reducing or Eliminating estate shrinkage? Providing sufficient liquidity to cover estate settlement costs ?Minimizing federal estate taxes and state death taxes? Providing for the orderly disposition of a business or professional practice ?

Maintaining the family ?s lifestyle and meeting other financial security objectives, To avert making mistakes, people need professional advice from a qualified attorney, trust officer, accountant or other financial advisors. Estate planning Consists of many actions, with almost all having three primary and oh-so-important purposes. To protect your privacy, to reduce taxes, and to make simple probate for your heirs

Consists of estate planning many actions, with almost all having three primary and oh-so-important purposes: to protect your privacy, to reduce taxes, and to make simple probate for your heirs. Over a period of time, your house will be entirely Transferred to your son without any toxic or estate taxes.

It is no secret that estate taxes can claim up to 55% of an estate that is taxable, Which is no mystery why so many businesses fall into debt become, bankrupt, or are sold due to the death of the owner or partner.

estate sales

Being an astounding salesperson and entering the real estate market does not guarantee similar sales success. The second level of virtual real estate investing is buying up networks of content sites and focusing on profitable product lines the traffic, affiliate product sales, services of all kinds, and for advertising commissions. It is so important to the real estate and mortgage industries, as each earned sale could generate thousands of dollars in sales commissions.

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Britain set for sweeping Internet, phone monitoring

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Bad blood boils over

Troy Tulowitzki was taken to the hospital for precautionary X-rays on his left elbow, which came back negative, after being hit by Ubaldo Jimenez?s very first pitch of the game Sunday.

Jimenez made it clear immediately afterwards that he was sending his former teammate a message, pounding his chest after the pitch. Tulo started to take some steps toward the mound, causing the benches to clear. Both players were held back by teammates before matters could escalate.

Jimenez and Tulo had already had it out a bit in the media this month. Jimenez has made it clear he felt disrespected by the Rockies when he was shipped to Cleveland at the trade deadline last year. Tulowitzki indicated that Jimenez was a difficult teammate. CBSSports quoted him saying the following in a March 8 article:

You try to get a feel for a teammate, and we can?t get anything back. People ask, ?Well, he?s your teammate, don?t you know what?s wrong with him?

We tried to ask him. And we couldn?t get anything in return.

Considering Jimenez?s history, one wonders why the Indians had him pitching today in the first place. He wasn?t ejected from the game, though he probably should have been. A five-game suspension is certainly warranted given his actions.

Update: Jimenez said after the outing that the pitch was unintentional and that his chest pounding was a response to Tulo?s words.

?The thing that got started was, he was calling me out (from the batters box). I mean, I?m a man. If somebody calls me out, I have to go. He was calling me chicken. He was calling me names,? Jimenez said.

The Denver Post?s Troy Renck also reports that the Rockies are expected to request that Jimenez be suspended.

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Seven Tips For Finding the Best Travel Deals

Best travel deals tip 1: Follow travel services providers on social media sites. These days, nearly every airline, hotel, resort and cruise provider has a presence on sites such as Facebook and Twitter and is using them to exclusively offer some fantastic deals. You may need to act fast the moment a deal is announced, though, since they usually have a short buying window before the offer expires. But, of course, you should not neglect looking for deals from more traditional sources such as the home sites of the travel services providers. And don?t forget to sign up for e-mail alerts and newsletters as well that will notify you as soon as deals become available.

Best travel deals tip 2: Stay flexible. If you want to avail of travel deals, you will have to adjust to their availability rather than the other way around.

Be prepared to be flexible about your date and time of departure or your preferred vacation destination.

Best travel deals tip 3: Avoid booking your trip during the peak season. You?ve probably heard it before, but it bears repeating: prices are always higher during peak travel seasons. But these peak periods will vary depending on your desired destination, so you will have to do some research. For example, winter is the peak season for tropical destinations. Spring, on the other hand, is the peak season for popular Spring Break destinations such as Mexico, Florida and the Bahamas. You can also save money by flying on a weekday rather than a weekend.

Best travel deals tip 4: Compare offers to find the best one. While it is more convenient to book a package deal that will provide you with everything you need for one price, you may be able to save more money by booking the components of your vacation separately.

Price each of the components based on the best prices you can find and then compare the total with the price of a package.

Best travel deals tip 5: Look for extras. Even if you have to pay full price for a particular package, if it comes with extras, you may still be able to enjoy substantial savings. For example, if you book a certain number of nights at a hotel, they may be willing to throw in an extra night for free. Or you may be able to avail of extras such as free meals or entrance to in-house sports facilities or spas.

Best travel deals tip 6: Choose your vacation destination based on your travel availability. If you have to take your vacation at a certain date, you can save money by choosing an off-peak destination that offers lower rates. For example, if you can only leave in spring, consider going to Puerto Rico or the Bahamas which are more affordable during this season.

Best travel deals tip 7: Look for deals from mid-priced and upscale providers. Although they charge higher prices, they also have more room to cut prices compared with bargain travel providers. And you may be able to get better accommodations at cheaper rates.

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Hipsters in Finance | Wall Street Oasis

Fellow monkeys, I have a confession to make:

I am a hipster who wants to be an investment banker.

As I have lurked through these very boards, I've noticed that the hipster investment banker is a mythical creature that few of you have ever seen, or even spoken of. Some have argued that a few of WSO's most active members tend toward the obscure, but to call them hipsters would be a mode of extremeness that even the most trollish members of our community might not tolerate.

I am not, however, a full-blown hipster. I enjoy early-90s hip hop, the indie music scene in general, neo-noir movies, and intellectual conversations that always run in circles and never amount to much of anything. If available, I'll always choose an independent coffee shop instead of a Starbucks, not because I am a coffee snob (I don't even drink it often), but because the atmosphere is more appealing to me. I am infinitely more attracted to hipster girls than I am to sorority girls, and I wouldn't even utter "finance girls" in the same breath. I wear jeans that fit normally, casual dress shoes (think oxfords), and a non-plaid button down routinely, so I suppose that is another point of difference.

I'm a huge social liberal, but the classic hipster and I diverge on all issues economic, for good reasons (they're just wrong in the absolute sense). I'm not an Occupier, and I'm not a supporter of what liberal economic policies have become. I am also not here to start a political debate, so I'll leave that aspect of this post here.

Are there people like me out there in the finance world? If I had to pick my crowd, I'd much rather hang around a bunch of people who drink PBR and talk about random, sometimes geeky, shit than around your prototypical "models and bottles" investment bankers. Is this social lifestyle sustainable in IB (not a trick question, I know social lives go out the window anyway), or will the other folks just ostracize me as soon as they pin me as a closet hipster?

Now don't get me wrong, I am still a total hawk in the workplace, know how to get shit done quickly, am demanding of myself and others, expect perfection, etc., but I have a slew of eclectic interests and friends that wouldn't be caught dead wearing a suit to work.

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Colombia 'milestone' as jungle captives freed

Jose Miguel Gomez / Reuters

Soldiers and police officials held hostage by the FARC rebels arrive at Villavicencio's airport after being freed Monday.

By msnbc.com staff and news services

Colombia's FARC rebels freed 10 members of the armed forces held hostage in jungle prison camps for more than a decade on Monday, the last of a group the drug-funded group had used as bargaining chips to pressure the government.

The four soldiers and six policemen were released to a humanitarian mission led by the International Committee of the Red Cross in what the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia called a gesture of peace.


Wearing olive fatigues and seeming well fed and relatively healthy, the 10 men stepped off a helicopter provided by Brazil after the Marxist rebels freed them in a remote area of southern Colombia.

Following their successful recovery from the jungle, the hostages were taken to the city of Villavicencio, received by medics of the security forces and some immediately reunited with family members in the VIP lounge of the small airport, according to a report on local English language news website Colombia Reports.

It said the release marked a ?milestone? in the Colombia conflict.

Smiling and joking with a medic, one soldier left the aircraft draped in the Colombian flag and skipping with joy. Each carried a plastic bag of belongings and one was accompanied by what appeared to be a small pig that had been his pet in the jungle. Another had what looked like a monkey on his shoulder.

"To these victims of the intolerance and cruelty of the guerrillas, soldiers and policemen of Colombia, welcome to freedom," President Juan Manuel Santos said from the presidential palace. "Freedom has been long delayed, but now it's yours."

The release could signal that the FARC is taking tentative steps toward a bid for talks that may end Latin America's oldest insurgency after five decades of killing and destroying economic infrastructure.

But many Colombians remain skeptical that the guerrilla group, which is still believed to be holding as many as 700 civilian hostages for ransom, will lay down its weapons after having used previous peace talks to strengthen their forces.

The logistics of feeding and moving hostages has become more difficult for the FARC as an increasingly effective U.S.-backed military offensive has killed its leaders and driven the guerrillas back into ever more remote regions.

As a result, the police say, cases of kidnapping for ransom have fallen 90 percent since 2000 to 208 incidents last year, while the number of extortion cases surged 33 percent in 2011 from the previous year.

Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

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Bin Laden's relatives get short prison sentence

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