<p>dlbarber,</p>
<p>Part of the dfelay may be caused by the constant changes lenders are making to repayment benefits and upfront costs. I have been receiving updates from lenders almost daily. I have also delayed finalizing my temporary “Recommended Lender List” because I am not sure who wil be in FFELP lending for the long haul.</p>
<p>When and how do we actually pick the lender? My D did her Stafford interview and I don’t believe there was anything on there to indicate what lender she would pick.</p>
<p>Your lender would be selected when you complete the Master Promissory Note. You need to check with the financial aid office to determine how they have their students complete the MPN. Some schools still use paper MPN’s while others have an electronic system set up.</p>
<p>Mom of three, you may have to specifically and clearly ask to pick a lender. Ethical schools and FA officers therein will routinely tell potential students and parents that they do have a choice from the various companies. However, despite recent press exposes and federal and state circuit court orders there are some institutions that still find ways to ignore that requirement. In Colorado one large institution has had longstanding issues with not advising students of lender choices beyond NNet corporation, a company which has had substantial issues with financial impropriety. Information about which has been covered recently in various reputable news sources including The Chronicle, Salon.com and On Point.
Essentially, you may have to be proactive to protect your financial interests. Ethical FA officers would no doubt find such proactive actions on your part appropriate, and the ones attempting to abrogate their ethical duties would find that some do know their rights as borrowers-an action which may help to protect others in the future.
In the past students and graduates have trusted colleges unreservedly but those days are lost perhaps for good. The collegiate funding situation has become very complex, and some have taken untoward advantage of that condition. So its best to be very proactive in ensuring one’s own financial interests regarding student loans.</p>