Much is happening on Accepted and in the MBA admissions world  these days. Here goes:

• Birthday Ebook Sale. May 9-13  In honor of my birthday, I am giving you all 50% off all MBA admissions ebooks including:

Best Practices for MBA Admissions: Take advantage of the super advice captured in this transcript of a one-of-a-kind teleseminar.  Find out what are the 4 Pillars of a Successful Application, and most importantly, discover the concrete steps you can take to strengthen your pillars.

MBA BlastOff: 45 Terrific Tips to Launch Your MBA Application to Acceptance: Learn how to create a winning MBA application package including advice on writing your application, crafting your resume, working with recommenders, and preparing for your interview. 

The Consultant's Guide to MBA Admissions: Invest in the one resource written for YOU. Transform yourself from "just another consultant" into a distinctive, exciting prospect. Learn to mine your experiences and project the qualities schools value. This ebook has sample HBS essays.

The Finance Professional's Guide to MBA Admissions: If you are in investment banking, corporate finance, venture capital, or any financially related field that sends oodles of applicatants to top business schools, this ebook can teach you how to distinguish yourself from your competition and improve your chances of admissions. 

The Techie's Guide to MBA Admissions: Attention Techies: Are you afraid of being just another IT applicant. If so, The Techie's Guide to MBA Admissions is for you! Learn how to highlight your individuality and unique qualifications to create a distinct, exciting MBA application. 

MBA I.V.: Mainline to Top MBA Programs -- MBA Interview Questions and Tips: Invest in an ebook that provides the questions that have been frequently asked during recent MBA admission interviews at the top business schools as well as the advice you need to prepare for your interview. Exactly the information you need to ace your interview.

The Nine Mistakes You Don't Want to Make on an MBA Waitlist: Discover how to avoid the mistakes that doom so many on an MBA waitlist and make the right moves that increase your chances of acceptance. 

Create a Better Sequel: Reapply Right to B-School: Determine what went wrong and how to change the outcome. Get the information you need to navigate the MBA admissions maze and transform those thin rejections into fat acceptances. Buy this 28-page ebook today to propel your reapplication.  

• MBA Admissions Telethon on Tuesday May 13 at  10:00 AM – 12:00 PM PT/1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET (5:00 PM – 7:00 PM GMT). Sign up for FREE 15-minute consultations. Ask your most important MBA application questions.
• IMD admission chat with Janet Shaner, IMD's Director of MBA Marketing, and with an IMD participant. They will participate in this online chat where you can learn more about IMD's outstanding, international MBA program.
  
• Chicago GSB's monthly admissions newsletter has two timely articles: "Stay Engaged this Summer," on using the summer months to prepare for fall applications, and "Getting the Most Out of Your Campus Visit." For more on these topics, please see "Visiting Schools: Myths and Reality" and Best Practices for MBA Admission.
• MBAPodcaster's last two segments are winners. Check out "One Year MBA Programs," which focuses on Cornell's, Kellogg's,  and USC IBEAR's one-year MBA programs, and "Business School Admission's Panel: Top Schools Answer Your Application Questions," which presents admissions directors from  Columbia, NYU Stern, and Wharton discussing their respective admissions processes. If you are interested in any of these programs, you owe it to yourself to either listen to the podcast or read the transcript. 

  

AAMC released the following announcement:

 Dept. of Education to increase health professions student loan limits

In response to an AAMC-led group letter sent last fall to Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, the Department of Education has agreed to raise the combined aggregate Stafford loan limit for health professions students from $189,125 to $224,000. Secretary Spellings sent a letter to AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., last month, in which she announced the increase in student loan limits and promised to provide additional information as soon as possible. This increase is entirely in unsubsidized Stafford loans and will allow medical students to borrow at a 6.8 percent interest rate.

For more information: http://www.aamc.org/advocacy/library/educ/corres/2008/022808hploanlimits.pdf

Reacting to similar moves by Harvard and Swarthmore, the University of Pennsylvania today announced sweeping changes to its financial aid program. These changes will eliminate loans from the aid packages offered to financially eligible undergraduate students regardless of family income. Roughly 40% of undergraduates qualify for need-based aid.

Penn will start implementing the plan next year and have it fully implemented for the academic year 2009-10. 

The announcement did not say what income levels will qualify as "financially eligible." 

Harvard announced earlier this week an expanded program of financial support for undergraduate students. The program was summarized by Inside Higher Education as follows:

• Create a “0 to 10 percent standard” under which students from families with incomes up to $60,000 will not be expected to make a family contribution, those with incomes greater than $60,000 and up to $120,000 will be paying a sliding scale of 0 to 10 percent of their income, and those from $120,000 up to $180,000 will pay 10 percent of income. Those in the under-$60,000 bracket are continuing an earlier aid initiative by the university, but those in the other brackets will see substantial reductions in expected family contributions.
• Loans will be eliminated from all aid packages and replaced with grants.
• Home equity will be eliminated from calculations of family wealth, a move that is expected to result in the university spending more than $2.5 million a year extra in aid.

I anticipate that you will see expanded aid programs at other top colleges as the elite schools compete to attract a wider range of the middle class. 

The Wall St. Journal in "Weathering the Storm in Student Loans" outlines student options and recommends strategies for obtaining the best rates on financial aid in the aftermath of the student loan scandal.

The key passage:

"It makes the most sense to shop around for a federally guaranteed loan because new lenders, knowing the government stands behind the loans, may be more willing to cut prices to quickly build market share. What's more, nonprofit groups and some state-run programs may offer better deals on these loans, and new online tools are emerging that can help borrowers compare loan offerings."

The article discusses options for undergraduate and graduate students.