Preferred Lenders

Federal Stafford Loans and Federal PLUS Loans

Based on a careful review of borrower benefits, customer service and other factors, the Financial Aid Office recommends the following lenders for Federal Stafford Loans and Federal PLUS Loans:

• ALL Student Loan
  
• Chela Education Financing
• Citibank
  
• EdAmerica
• Sallie Mae Education Trust
  
• Stanford Federal Credit Union
• StuFund (Student Funding Group)
  
• Wells Fargo

You may compare the benefits offered by our preferred lenders by using our online lender comparison tool.

PLEASE NOTE: You are not required to use one of our preferred lenders. You may use any lender that participates in the Federal Stafford and/or PLUS loan programs.

Selection Process for Preferred Lenders

Federal Stafford or PLUS loan borrowers may choose any lender that participates in the Federal Family Education Loan program. The basic terms of the loans (maximum interest rate, maximum fees, deferment options) are set by the federal government. However, many lenders offer special benefits to borrowers. The Stanford Financial Aid Office encourages you to compare the benefits offered by different lenders so that you can make an informed choice.

To make the selection process easier, the Financial Aid Office has identified a group of eight participating lenders for our Preferred Lenders list. If you select a lender from this list, you can be assured that you will receive outstanding borrower benefits and customer service. In creating this list, we have considered several factors:

Borrower Benefits

Our preferred lenders offer competitive benefits such as zero origination fees for Stafford loans, interest rate reductions for borrowers who sign up for electronic payments, and principal reductions for borrowers who make a certain number of consecutive, on-time payments. We monitor changes in benefits offered by each lender to make sure that our preferred lenders offer the best benefits available to borrowers.

Customer Service

All of our preferred lenders have provided consistently excellent service to our borrowers for many years. We listen carefully to feedback from our students and parents regarding level of service. If a particular lender generates complaints, we will strongly consider removing them from our list. These lenders have all agreed to work within Stanford’s processing system and can insure quick turnaround time.

Variety of Types of Lenders

We know that some students and parents may want to borrow from a credit union rather than a national bank, or vice versa. Some borrowers choose small lenders whose sole business is student loans. Others are more comfortable with a nationally known bank with whom they may already have a relationship. For these reasons, we are careful to include a wide variety of types of lenders in our preferred list.

Student/Parent Demand

Your opinion matters! If a significant number of Stanford students or parents request a lender that is not on our preferred list, we will evaluate that lender for future inclusion in the list. If we notice that one of our preferred lenders is no longer popular with our borrowers, we may consider removing them from the list.

Our list of preferred lenders is reviewed and updated every year based on the criteria listed above. The Stanford Financial Aid Office does not receive, and will not accept, inducements from lenders in exchange for inclusion in the preferred lender list.

Stanford does not share in the profits from student loans. Borrowers are welcome to choose any participating lender, regardless of whether it appears on our preferred lender list. To select a lender that is not on the list, call our loan guarantee agency, Northwest Education Loan Assocation (NELA), at (800) 979-4441.

If you would like to provide feedback on our preferred lender list, we welcome you to contact us. You can send an email message to financialaid@stanford.edu, call us at (888) 326-3773, or stop by our office at Montag Hall, 355 Galvez St.