If you have a kid thinking about college, you've probably uttered "Fafsa." And you may have preceeded it with another word that starts with "F."

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and it has grown in to a 100-question behemoth that some say is deterring those students who most need the help paying for college.

In a New York Times story, Education Secretary Arne Duncan notes that "You basically have to have a Ph.D to figure that thing out."

Yikes. 

Congress being Congress, it voted last year to streamline the application - while at the same time adding seven questions to it.

But as the Times story notes, President Obama and others have pledged to improve the form, or ditch it altogether.

A fundraising initiative to raise money for financial aid at Duke University has netted $308 million, according to a news release from the university.

The $308 million appears to be the final take from the initiative, which began in 2005 and will establish 478 new scholarships and fellowships.

If this news seems a bit stale, you may be recalling Duke's announcement of just two months ago. That was when the university announced the initiative had topped the $300 million mark.

Apparently, it had just a bit more fundraising to go.

If you're applying to colleges now - or have a child doing so - and are intimidated by the financial aid application process, relax. You're certainly not alone.

That's why Duke put out this video conversation with Alison Rabil, the university's financial aid director.

Take notes.

The law school at the University of California at Irvine, which launches next year under the leadership of former Duke law professor Erwin Chemerinsky, wants to provide full scholarships for its entire inaugural class, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The full story is here, though it requires a Chronicle login and password.

Each scholarship is expected to be worth about $100,000, enough to cover tuition for three years, the Chronicle reports. The school hopes to have 60 students in its first class.

Chemerinsky's move west from Durham last year was a bit bumpy. Read more about that here and here.

At N.C. Central University, Chancellor Charlie Nelms wanted recently to hold a reception honoring Provost Beverly Washington Jones, who concludes work as the university's chief academic officer at the end of June.

Jones, who said last month she was surprised and disappointed when Nelms, who arrived on campus last year, told her he was replacing her, declined the reception.

Instead, she asked that people contribute to a $25,000 endowed scholarship in her name.

"I thought that would be much better than giving me a party," Jones said Wednesday.

The university cannot donate state funds to such a scholarship, so Nelms wrote a check towards the effort and encouraged trustees to do likewise.

"This is a way we can recognize, in perpetuity, the contributions of Dr. Jones, by making education available to young people," Nelms said. "This is what Dr. Jones' career has been all about."

Jones said her family will likely fund much of the scholarship over three years. It will be a need-based scholarship for an incoming freshman interested in leadership and a career in administration, Jones said.