Hundreds of students showed up for the first annual Lender Fair Thursday in East McCastlain Hall. Students had the opportunity to meet with new lenders who will be processing student loans for the fall semester.
Starting in the fall, UCA will process student loans through the Federal Family Education Loan Program. This program will allow private lenders such as banks, credit unions and other lenders that participate in the FFELP to provide student loans.
Previously, students had only one option: getting a loan directly from the federal government. Cheryl Lyons, director for Financial Aid, said, ?This program will provide more options for loans and will allow students to decide which lender they want to go with. Each lender also has borrower benefits that the government could not give.?
?This program will benefit our students financially by making the loans less expensive and it will also be good for the economy,? she continued. ?Local lenders can also benefit from that relationship with students, which is good for the community. They also provide very competitive benefits for students.?
Chris Pitcock from the Student Loan Guarantee Foundation of Arkansas said, ?Marketing representatives are here telling students about each of their offers. In the future, students will then be able to decide which bank they would prefer to take a loan from.?
?Banks will compete for the business, making loans more attractive to the students. Banks may offer lower interest rates and provide other incentives that was not offered through the government, which will benefit students,? Pitcock said.
Lenders that participated in the event included: Arkansas Student Loan Authority, First Security Bank, First State Bank, Arvest Bank, Bank of America, Regions Bank, Simmons Bank, and U.S. Bank.
-Jessica Saylor
