Undergraduate Plus Loan Comparison

Comparison of Lender Benefits

Chase (Lender Code: 811571)
Loan Fees Paid by Student	3%
Student Benefits	1% Default Fee as of 1/1/09
Condition Required to Achieve Benefit	None
Under What Conditions Are Benefits Lost?	None
Under What Conditions Can Benefits Be Re-Instated?	n/a

Citibank (Lender Code: 826878)
Loan Fees Paid by Student	3% Origination Fee
Student Benefits	Receive a 0.25% interest rate reduction when you enroll in our auto-debit payment program A Federal Default Fee as low as 0.00% depending on the guarantor of the loan Deferment option- Defer payments while your child is in school Interest only option- Interest only payments for either 24 or 48 months Federal Loans are originated and held by Citibank, N.A. as trustee for The Student Loan Corporation. Specific terms and conditions apply to these offers. Visit studentloan.com or call 1-800-STUDENT for full details and disclosures.
Condition Required to Achieve Benefit	On-time payments, EdFund Guaranty
Under What Conditions Are Benefits Lost?	Delinquent Payments
Under What Conditions Can Benefits Be Re-Instated?	50% Interest rate reduction can be reinstated after 24 on-time payments

Citizens Bank (Lender Code: 833880)
Loan Fees Paid by Student	All PLUS loan borrowers are federally mandated to pay the 3.00% origination fee. 0-1.00% Default Fee, based on guarantor chosen by the school. With AES servicing and a PHEAA guarantee, the default fee is 0%. 1% Default Fee as of 1/1/09
Student Benefits	0.25 Interest rate reduction for automatic payment deduction from any bank account * Defer payment for 6 months after student graduates or attends school less than part time
Condition Required to Achieve Benefit	Must enroll in automatic payment deduction from any bank account.
Under What Conditions Are Benefits Lost?	The interest rate reduction benefit will be lost if the borrower stops automatic payment deduction or experiences 3 non sufficient funds within a 12 month period.
Under What Conditions Can Benefits Be Re-Instated?	If the borrower lost the interest rate reduction benefit due to stopping automatic payments, they can regain the benefit by re-enrolling in automatic payment deduction from any bank account. If the borrower lost the interest rate reduction due to non sufficient funds they can regain the interest rate reduction by re-enrolling in automatic payment deduction from a different bank account.

Edamerica (Lender Code: 831453)
Loan Fees Paid by Student	All borrowers will be assessed a 3% origination fee as mandated by the federal government.
Student Benefits	AES will underwrite the 1% default fee for all borrowers. Edamerica will offer a 0.25% interest rate reduction for participating in auto-debit.
Condition Required to Achieve Benefit	Borrowers will receive the following: 1% default fee with AES guarantee. Borrowers who choose to participate in auto-debit will receive a 0.25% interest rate reduction.
Under What Conditions Are Benefits Lost?	The PLUS Loan interest rate reduction benefit requires payments to be made on-time. When a payment is made on the 16th day or later after the stated due date, then it is considered late, and the benefit is lost. The interest rate reduction for ACH payments is revoked if the borrower discontinues their ACH enrollment.
Under What Conditions Can Benefits Be Re-Instated?	The interest rate reduction of 0.25% is contingent on borrower’s participation in ACH process.

Student Funding Group, LLC (Lender Code: 834312)
Loan Fees Paid by Student	3% Origination fee
Student Benefits	1% Default Fee after 1/1/09 .25% Interest rate reduction for auto-debit of payments
Condition Required to Achieve Benefit	Enrollment in automatic payment deduction from any bank account.
Under What Conditions Are Benefits Lost?	If the bank withdrawal request is rejected three times for insufficient funds
Under What Conditions Can Benefits Be Re-Instated?	There is no reinstatement for the benefit loss due to a three time rejection for insufficient funds

Borrower Eligibility: US citizen and creditworthy parent, adoptive parent, or stepparent of a dependent undergraduate student who is enrolled at least half-time at an eligible institution.

FEES Zero federal default fee 3% origination fee

Annual Loan Limits Borrow the total cost of attendance minus other financial aid.

Standard Repayment Begins 60 days after loan funds are disbursed to the school. Borrower make take up to 10 years to repay. This method provides borrowers with the lowest total loan cost.

• SALLIE MAE UPromise Loan Link - Borrowers who join UPromise can link their eligible Sallie Mae loan account to their UPromise account and designate a percentage of the rewards earned through UPromise to help pay down their student loan balances. To qualify for Sallie Mae loan credits, the borrower must, prior to entering repayment, sign up, on Manage Your Loans, Sallie Mae’s online account management tool, to receive account correspondence and information by email.

The above lenders are listed alphabetically, based on the amount of loan fees paid by the student.  Currently, lenders may charge a 1% origination fee and a 1% default fee on each Stafford Loan.  Those lenders who don’t assess the full 2% in fees offer this as an automatic benefit.

Lenders may offer other benefits with these loans.  Some require students to meet certain conditions and these conditions are listed in the chart above.  Also displayed are under what conditions a student can lose the benefit.  Finally, if a student loses a benefit, some lenders offer provisions under which the student may rehabilitate the benefit.

IMPORTANT: Except for payment of fees, most borrower benefits will be lost if the loan is consolidated or goes into default.  If you are uncertain about any benefit, contact your prospective lender for clarification.

To select a lender, click on the lender or program name and follow the instructions for completing your Stafford Loan application.

Due to the current credit climate, many lenders continue to change loan fees and benefits. While UArts updates this information as soon as we receive it from the lenders, we cannot confirm the fees and benefits listed below will be the final terms of your loan, even if you are currently applying or have already applied for your loan. If you have concerns, please contact your lender.

How Lenders Were Ranked

The University of The Arts submitted a request for information to lenders who have established reputations in the student lending business and those with whom current and past UArts students have had student lending relationships. The chart above represents the results of this lender survey, along with follow up requests for changes in terms and benefits.

The lenders are listed based on whether or not all fees are waived; they are listed alphabetically within each group.  In some cases, the default fee is paid by the loan guarantor, rather than by the lender.  If a lender uses multiple guarantors, at least one of which pays the default fee, we have assumed the default fee is paid for purposes of this Lender List, and have included on the lender page only those guarantors who pay the fee. It is possible that conditional benefits could exceed automatic benefits, BUT ONLY IF YOU QUALIFY FOR AND RETAIN THEM.

Please note you are not required to use any of the listed lenders and will not be penalized or disadvantaged if you choose to borrow from another lender.  Be sure to compare the fees and terms of all student loan products to determine which are best suited to your needs. If you choose not to use a lender listed, please contact your lender for application procedures.