MOST NOTEWORTHY: Some of today's more noteworthy downgrades included Dean Foods Co (DF), Louisiana-Pacific Corp (LPX), Costco Wholesale Corp (COST), Alcan Inc (AL) and Horizon Offshore, Inc (HOFF):

• Dean Foods Co (NYSE: DF) was cut to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan to reflect future guidance concerns after management's cautious tone.

• Louisana-Pacific Corp (NYSE: LPX) was downgraded to Strong Sell from Buy at Matrix USA. The firm believes a weak housing market is having a significant negative impact on shares and sees downside to $14/share.

• Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ: COST) was taken off the Strategic Stock List at UBS based on valuation.

• Bear Stearns cut Alcan (NYSE: AL) to Peer Perform from Outperform based on valuation.

• Oppenheimer downgraded Horizon Offshore (NASDAQ: HOFF) to Neutral from Buy on news of the acquisition by Cal Dive International (NYSE: DVR) as the firm believes the likelihood of a materially higher bid is low...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Goldman cut Federal Signal Corp (NYSE: FSS) to Sell from Neutral.

• AG Edwards downgraded EPIQ Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: EPIQ) to Hold from Buy.

• Raymond James downgraded United Community Banks, Inc (NASDAQ: UCBI) to Neutral from Buy.

• Wachovia cut Targa Resources Partners LP (NASDAQ: NGLS) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Gerdau Ameristeel Corp (NYSE: GNA) was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman.

• Nucor Corp (NYSE: NUE) was taken off Goldman's Conviction Buy List.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

In this multi-part personal finance series, readers will learn various ways to help save money for a college education, from off-the wall-scholarships and 529 programs to the right time to refinance your loans. Parents and students alike who read this series will find something to help reduce the costs of a higher education before, during and after it takes place.

Part IV: Financial Aid

Last year, 1.8 million low- to moderate-income families missed out on help from the government because they did not fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA for short, which is needed to qualify for any federal, state and some institutional financial aid awards, according to the American Council on Education. In addition, the Council estimated that 1.5 million families missed out on the Pell Grant, an award of $4,310 that does not have to be paid back, just because they failed to file the proper paperwork.

If I told you the government would give you $4,310 if you simply filled out a form, you'd do it in a heartbeat right?

In this multi-part personal finance series, readers will learn various ways to help save money for a college education, from off-the wall-scholarships and 529 programs to the right time to refinance your loans. Parents and students alike who read this series will find something to help reduce the costs of a higher education before, during and after it takes place.

Part III: Work For It

When my friend James was in college, his parents made him learn the value of a dollar the hard way. They forced him to work during his education and didn't give him cent towards his schooling. He took out student loans and worked several jobs in his four-year stint at State, from after-school swim instructor to late-night security guard, he worked them all. Believe me; after all those hours of working while going to school full-time, he learned the value of a dollar. What he didn't know at the time, was the amount of college loans that piled up in the four years he was away.

Here are a few ideas that could help you not make the same mistakes he made:

As expected, the Federal Reserve Board is leaving rates unchanged following their meeting today. The federal funds rate will remain 5.25% until next month's meeting. While many analysts believe this lack of change will continue through the end of the year, some are saying that one more increase will take place in the next few months.

Unfortunately, Ben Bernanke gave no interesting snippets in the press release announcing the results of the Fed meeting, so we'll just have to wait for the juicy stuff I suppose.