I'm a Minneapolis girl, so North Dakota seems right next door to me, even from the Ozarks where I now live, but I've been around and I know that part of the country seems foreign to many people. No, we don't live in igloos in the North.

Here's the good news if you have a fear of snow, or cold in general. It really doesn't matter where you live. You can still be a student in the Continuing Education division at the University of North Dakota. They've got all kinds of really great online programs for non-traditional students. In fact, they've been focusing on students just like you and creating courses that are getting attention.

Julie Hjelle is a non-traditional student studying at UND from afar. She's an over-the-road trucker. Read Julie's story and find out how she does it. UND might be the right school for you, wherever you are.

Are you a non-traditional student at UND? Talk to us!

In a conference call with reporters last week, President Obama discussed his plans to make all student loans federal. The banks, of course, are fighting that. If I understand the situation correctly, they've been essentially acting as agents for the government anyway, making student loans they subsequently sell back to the Treasury Department.

According to an article by David M. Herszenhorn for the New York Times, Obama's plan "would save the government roughly $87 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office — money that the White House says should be used to aid impoverished students."

The administration’s view, shared by a number of Democratic lawmakers, is that the private lenders should no longer be paid by taxpayers to operate a virtually risk-free business in which they essentially use taxpayer dollars to originate loans, with repayment guaranteed, and then resell those loans to the Treasury.

Republicans fear the plan simply builds a bigger government. I hope the discussion includes comments from students of all ages, the people paying off these loans. What do you think about the whole matter?

Dan Rosenfield contacted me about two scholarship sites with which he's associated. One is Online Degrees, Financial Aid and Scholarships. The other is called College Scholarships, Colleges, and Online Degrees. Both look to be pretty comprehensive collections of your options out there.

I don't know about you, but I find too many choices immobilizing at times. How do you sort them all out? If you've got advice, join us in the forum.

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Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher and prolific writer. He wrote often about education, and specifically, science. If you're in the mood for food for thought. you might enjoy perusing a collection of his most famous quotations.

There's also a collection of inspirational quotations for teachers.

Do you have a favorite? Share it with us.