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Astrive(R) Student Loans Web Site Redesigned to Serve as Knowledge Hub for Education FinancingNew Content and Tools Provide Borrowers With Roadmap for Navigating Changing Student Loan EnvironmentBOSTON, MA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 07/23/08 -- With today's credit market making it more difficult for some Americans to fund their higher education and creating need among families for direction regarding available options, the Astrive Student Loans website (www.astrive.com) has been overhauled to become an information destination for students and families with questions or concerns about paying for college. Astrive Student Loans is a proprietary brand of Union Federal Savings Bank, which is a subsidiary of The First Marblehead Corporation (NYSE: FMD). "In today's economic environment, we're finding that what students and families need more than ever is good information and reliable resources to help plan how to pay for college. The revamped Astrive.com serves as a knowledge hub for higher education financing," said Jack Kopnisky, Chief Executive Officer and President of First Marblehead. "We hope that Astrive.com helps families make smart decisions about the best sources of funds." Taking inspiration from those who have recently achieved their higher education goals, Astrive.com has been designed to represent "the voice of experience." Kopnisky notes that the site uses an array of interactive tools, video testimonials, and database search engines to provide answers to questions and to prepare students and their parents for the realities of paying for school by directing their attention to a few key principles:
-- Start Early -- thoughtful planning, regardless of what stage of your
education you are in (e.g., high school, college, continuing education),
can make a big difference.
-- Know Your Options -- there are several funding sources that you should
be considering for college costs in addition to family contributions:
grants and scholarships first, Federal student loans, and additional
sources of funding, including private student loans such as Astrive Student
Loans.
-- Make a Plan -- set goals, keep track of deadlines, and talk to your
family and school's Financial Aid Office to ensure that you'll be able to
afford all of your education-related expenses.
Specific features of the revamped site include:
-- Videos from real students offering advice to their peers on how to
"ace financial aid."
-- A calendar that lets families see exactly what sorts of steps they
should be considering and decisions they should be making at any given
point in the year.
-- Links to search engines that help students find free money through
scholarships and grants.
-- Family discussion guides for talking about how students are going to
pay for college, and what the impact of those decisions will be.
-- Ways to budget and cut costs so families can reduce overall college
spending.
-- Advice on establishing and maintaining good credit, finding cosigners,
and other tips to help ensure that options are available should families
choose to turn to private loans to help pay for college.
"With the cost of college still on the rise, household budgets getting stretched in every direction, and Federal aid not keeping pace, many families are becoming concerned as the fall semester looms," Kopnisky said. "We believe the new and improved Astrive.com site will reinforce the fact that, with proper planning and budgeting, the resources are out there for most people to get the money they need for college." About Astrive Student Loans -- After scholarships, federal loans and federal grants are exhausted, an ever-widening gap still exists -- a gap between what students have and what they really need for their college education. Since 2004, more than 100,000 students have used Astrive Student Loans to borrow over $1.5 billion for education financing. Astrive Student Loans have been, and may continue to be, funded by lenders other than Union Federal Savings Bank. For more information, go to www.astrive.com. About The First Marblehead Corporation -- First Marblehead provides financial solutions that help students achieve their dreams. The Company helps meet the growing demand for private education loans by offering national and regional financial institutions an integrated suite of design, implementation and capital market services for student loan programs. First Marblehead supports responsible lending and is a strong proponent of the smart borrowing principle, which encourages students to access scholarships, grants and federally-guaranteed loans before considering private education loans. For more information, go to www.firstmarblehead.com. Contact: |
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