CHOOSE LENDER at Career Institute School

CHOOSE LENDER

Evaluating and Selecting a Student Loan Lender

Remember Each Lender is Different

We strongly encourage you to carefully evaluate the terms offered by lenders, even if you are taking out a FFELP loan where the interest rates are set by the government. It is essential that you educate yourself about the relative terms and benefits offered by lenders to ensure the best possible terms for your personal circumstances.

We encourage you to compare the following lender services when deciding which lender to select:

• Customer service is an extremely important piece of criteria that should be considered when selecting a lender. Top notch service should include:
  • 24 hr toll free 1-800 number where you can reach on associate quickly
  • The lender should not sell your loans at repayment or at least provide efficient notification of the sale so you know where to send your installments.
  • (preventing late payments and not knowing who to send your payment to)
  • Self -servicing lenders or maintaining the same third party service for the life of the loan repayment
  • Online account access and Email access to account representatives
  • Rapid problem resolution and knowledgeable staff
  • Low number of borrower complaints
  • Combined billing for federal and private loans
• Provide an Electronic on-line loan application process and instant approval
• Offer flexible repayment options to meet your affordability criteria
• Loan Interest rates and special benefits - These are very similar for the federal loan programs, but many lenders offer discounts at origination and at repayment. Some examples include:
  • Auto Debit interest rate reduction at repayment
  • Interest rate reductions with a certain number of on-time payments
  • Principal reductions at origination and/or at repayment
  • Late payment forgiveness
  • Lender pays the origination fee
  • Lender or guarantee agency pays the federal default fee
  • Ability to regain benefits if you lose them i.e. Due to late payment
  • Capitalize interest on your loan less frequently (quarterly or annually)

Questions to ask when you're choosing a lender:

• What are the incentives you offer at origination, repayment and during repayment?
• Is there a waiting period for the incentives? How do I have earned them and am I automatically enrolled and notified of them?
• What happens if I miss a payment?
• What happens if I request a deferment?
• How many of the borrowers actually receive the incentive?
• Is the lender knowledgeable and experienced and can they answer questions specific to you?
• What is the credibility? Are there many borrower complaints about the lender?
• How accessible is the lender online and hours of phone call center?
• How is their long-term commitment? Does the lender have a history of selling loans? Do they service their own loans or have life-of-loan servicing.

Many students and parents have asked for information about student loans and student lenders. CAREER INSTITUTE does not recommend or endorse particular lenders, and we encourage you to review all of the available information very carefully. Some helpful web sites are:

• Student Aid(external link)
• NASFAA(external link)
• FinAid(external link)