<p>Has anyone else received their refund check from a college or university based on the settlement with the NY Attorney General on student loan practices? S1 got a check in the mail today from Penn with a letter stating it was because Penn received a "fee" as a result of promoting CitiBank student loans. "Penn and Citibank partnered in 2000, when Citibank agreed to provide CitiAssist Loans to Penn students at an interest rate lower than the prevailing one....Penn had generally used these fees to support its student financial aid programs." It all sounds so harmless, doesn't it? Too bad the students and parents weren't informed about the "partnership" before they chose a lender.</p>
<p>I will have to go the various Penn websites to find out the details of how the refund was calculated.</p>
<p>New York's Attorney General, Andrew M. Cuomo, is expanding his investigation of student loans in relation to athletic departments, also:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12442220%5B/url%5D">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12442220</a></p>
<p>Interesting link, paying3tuitions. It sounds like the college mentioned in the news segment got $75 per referral, so maybe Penn got $60 per referral. In the report they called it a "kickback." I know Penn definitely promoted the CitiAssist loan. My S1 did not need anyone to co-sign and it was fast to get, so that was the reason he took it out, but the school provided the information on how to apply, and did not refer him to any other lenders. I didn't even realize Penn was part of the investigation until the check came.</p>