Preferred Lender List

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If you plan on borrowing a Federal Stafford or PLUS Loan and have not previously borrowed from the program, you will need to select a lender. The lender is the institution from which the money is actually borrowed, but the interest rates and terms of the loan are set by the U.S. Department of Education. Therefore the real difference among lenders is measured in terms of customer service, savings programs and repayment options.

Reasons for selecting a particular lender vary from person to person. Some choose a lender based on name recognition. Others prefer the immediate benefit of lower origination fees. For some the deciding factor is the long-term advantage of repayment savings programs, like an interest rate reduction as a reward for making payments on time.

To assist families in this decision, the Office of Financial Aid has compiled a list of institutions whom we consider excellent in the educational lending field. We have found each of these lenders to provide prompt reconciliation of loan issues. They also provide fast electronic payment of loan funds directly to your University billing account, and offer a variety of savings programs during loan repayment. Use the links provided in the lender chart below to learn more about each lender's services and available benefits for NU students. (If you are considering borrowing a PLUS, please see the PLUS Preferred Lender List.) You may also wish to use the loan calculators available on the FinAid! website to compute the potential savings of different repayment options.

Please note that you are not required to use one of these lenders. The Office of Financial Aid will process your loan with any lender you choose.

How was this list developed?

The Office of Financial Aid is committed to choosing lenders who provide good service and benefits to our students. This is done by surveying more than 20 lenders every two years. Beginning in December 2008, lenders will be surveyed on an annual basis. Lenders are asked to provide information regarding their benefits and services via a Request for Information (RFI). (View Northwestern's December 2006 RFI.)

The lenders' responses to the RFI are ranked using criteria developed by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). The results of these rankings and the responses to the RFIs are examined by a committee of financial aid administrators made up of members of the Undergraduate Office of Financial Aid as well as representatives from each of Northwestern's graduate and professional program financial aid offices. A second meeting is held with the Associate Provost for Enrollment Management and the Associate Vice President of Financial Operations. Northwestern’ s financial aid community presents their choices for inclusion on the list taking into account efficient processing, customer service (for parents, students, and administrators) and benefits to the borrower. The final selections must be approved by the Associate Provost and the Associate Vice President.

Northwestern continues to provide students and their families with a Preferred Lender List despite current concerns regarding such lists because we believe that it is helpful to our students, who often request guidance in the selection of a lender. The Preferred Lender List is intended as a guide only. The Office of Financial Aid will process a loan from any lender selected by a student.

Please check the lenders' websites to confirm Stafford benefits offered as they are subject to change. Links are provided below. Feel free to contact the Office of Financial Aid if you have any questions about the process or the lenders selected.

Lender:	Address:	Lender Code:	Stafford Origination Fee:


Access Group	P.O. Box 17162 Wilmington, DE 19850-7162 800/282-1550 www.accessgroup.org/ custompages/Northwestern Undergraduate.htm	#808851	1%

Edamerica	Loan Originations P.O. Box 31549 Knoxville, TN 37930-1549 800/337-6884 www.edamerica.net/nu	#831453	1%

Sallie Mae Education Trust	c/o Sallie Mae P.O. Box 59012 Panama City, FL 32412-9012 888/272-5543 www.customschool.com/ northwestern	#802218	1%

CitiBank	P.O. Box 6128 Sioux Falls, SD 57117-6128 800/967-2400 www.studentloan.com/ schools/northwestern	#826878	1%

Wells Fargo	301 East 58th Street North Sioux Falls, SD 57104 800/658-3567 wfefs.wellsfargo.com/ jump/il/ northwestern.html	#807176	1%



College Cost Reduction and Access Act. Congress has recently passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act and President Bush has signed it into law. This legislation will have an impact on federal loan programs, most of which will not go into effect until the 2008-09 academic year. While most of the provisions will be to a borrower�s advantage, there is still some question about how cuts in lender subsidies will impact student loan fees and borrower benefits. Our office is closely monitoring the effects of this legislation and will provide you with all relevant information as it becomes available. Please continue to check our website for updates. The MPN. In order to borrow from the Stafford Loan Program, students must complete a *Federal Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note. The MPN should be completed online by following the appropriate link for your chosen lender. These links have been created specifically for Northwestern undergraduate students, therefore you must use the links provided above to complete your MPN online. If you wish to borrow from a lender that is not on this list, a paper MPN form is available from the Office of Financial Aid or can be downloaded from this website (see Loan Materials - Federal Stafford Loan Application). Note that the Master Promissory Note does not ask for a loan amount or loan period. This is because it is designed to serve as a promissory note for both current and future Stafford borrowing. This means that you will not need to complete a formal loan application each year or each time your Stafford eligibility increases, unless a significant amount of time has elapsed since your last disbursement. The Master Promissory Note will remain on file with your lender. Stafford Offers & Adjustments. Each year your Financial Aid Award Notification will indicate the amount of Stafford Loan that you are eligible to borrow. If you choose to borrow this or a lesser amount, you must notify the Office of Financial Aid either by returning a signed copy of the award notice or by using the Accept/Decline Financial Aid page on CAESAR. If a mid-year adjustment results in increased Stafford eligibility after your initial loan has been processed, you must confirm your acceptance of the additional amount before we will process the increase. Unsubsidized Stafford and PLUS. You do not need to apply for need-based financial aid in order to be considered for either the Unsubsidized Stafford or PLUS Loans. However, you will need to complete a FAFSA before applying for an Unsubsidized Stafford to determine if you have any subsidized eligibility. A FAFSA is not required for the PLUS Loan. Loan Fees. Depending on your Stafford lender, you may be charged an origination fee of up to 1.5% of your loan. This fee covers processing costs, and will be deducted from your loan by your lender before the proceeds are sent to Northwestern. Interest Rates. Stafford and PLUS loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2006 have a fixed interest rate. The interest rate for the Stafford Loan is fixed at 6%. PLUS Loans have a fixed interest rate of 8.5%. Entrance and Exit Interviews. If you are borrowing a Stafford or Perkins Loan for the first time at Northwestern, federal regulations require that you complete an Entrance Interview* counseling session prior to receiving your first loan disbursement. The purpose of the sessions are to outline borrower rights and responsibilities. The information presented is loan-specific, therefore both a Stafford and a Perkins counseling session must be completed if a student is borrowing from both loan programs. Students should complete the Stafford Entrance Interview online at Mapping Your Future. The Perkins Entrance Interview will be completed online through iPROMise when you are completing the Perkins Loan Application and Master Promissory Note. Once at the Mapping Your Future website, follow these steps to complete your Stafford Entrance Interview:

	Select the appropriate link for the Stafford Entrance Counseling Session.
	Select "Illinois" from the list of available states.
	Select "Northwestern University (for undergraduates only) - Evanston, IL" from the list of participating institutions.
	Follow the instructions, reading all of the information presented and answering the questions.
	Fill out the student information form.
	Upon completion of the interview, you will receive a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

Perkins and Stafford Loan borrowers will in turn be required to complete an Exit Interview just prior to graduation or upon withdrawal from the University. These sessions are conducted by the Student Loan Office. Northwestern does not at this time participate in online exit counseling. Satisfactory Academic Progress. Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress in order to receive federal and institutional funding. Defaulted Loans. If you have defaulted on a prior Federal Stafford or Perkins Loan, you will not be eligible for additional loan assistance or other federal, state or University aid until you have satisfactorily met repayment terms of the defaulted loan. You must contact your previous lender or guarantee agency to correct your default or pre-claims status.