Once our office has determined your eligibility
for a Stafford loan, you will need to complete a
promissory note. On that form, you will specify a
lender of your choosing to fund your loan.
Since Stafford
loans are part of the federal government's Title
IV aid programs, eligibility requirements,
borrowing criteria, and repayment terms are
set by law. So, what
often differentiates one lender from the next is
what occurs when the Stafford loan is initially
disbursed
and when the loan is in repayment.
For example, some Stafford lenders withhold an origination
fee up to 1.0 percent from each loan disbursement,
while many others waive that fee. For loans in repayment,
many lenders offer borrowers ways to reduce the interest
rate or principal balance of their loans. These benefits
are almost always tied to timely payment by the borrower.
You may wish to take these factors into consideration
when selecting a lender.
You should also note that many lenders sell their
loans to servicing agencies. If your selected lender
uses a servicer, it will be the loan servicer who
will handle your payments, deferments, and forbearance
requests.
On this page is a list of commonly used Stafford
lenders. This list is representative of the various
organizations which fund federal Stafford loans,
including major banks, credit unions, lending groups
and non-profit organizations.
These particular lenders have been included because
they:
• offer benefits which allow responsible borrowers
to receive interest rate reductions or principle
rebates during repayment;
• have a proven track-record of reliable customer service;
•
utilize electronic processing compatible with the
university’s financial aid management system
ensuring consistent and timely delivery of loan funds.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of Stafford
lenders. In fact, Texas Guaranteed, the agency which
helps oversee the Stafford loan program in Texas,
currently works with over 300
different lenders.
Remember, the choice of lender is yours to make.
You just need to make sure your selected lender participates
in the federal Stafford loan program.
You will receive
more information about the Stafford loan program
during your online loan counseling session
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