Graduate Leverage introduces in house servicing and new programs to mitigate student debt
Waltham, MA - October 24, 2007 - Graduate Leverage (GL), a leading educational debt advisory service, announces the opening of its new loan origination and servicing branch in College Station, Texas. In response to a more than 1,000% surge in origination volume from 2006 to 2007, and to strengthen its commitment to students, Graduate Leverage has committed to life of loan servicing for all of its borrowers.
"Flexibility and control in our origination processing along with long term commitment to customers via life-of-loan servicing will uniquely distinguish Graduate Leverage's offerings to schools and borrowers," says Dan Thibeault, Graduate Leverage president and co-founder. "In rolling out this expansion of services, including the addition of the College Station, Texas facility, Graduate Leverage has committed to offering comprehensive loan servicing, adding to our deep commitment to providing high levels of service to borrowers."
Along with longstanding relationships with students at top graduate schools, Graduate Leverage exhibits a strong commitment to supporting financial aid offices with its suite of innovative products. These multi-faceted efforts have resulted in tremendous origination growth in 2007/2008 loan processing. At schools such as the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, GL has gone from virtually no volume to more than 75% of the incoming class. "We now have relationships at over 220 universities and expect this number to more than double in the upcoming year. I believe schools have recognized our strong commitment to higher service levels at a time when many of our competitors are scaling back," furthered Thibeault.
Since its inception, Graduate Leverage has been committed to mitigating students' debt burdens by optimizing entitlement programs afforded to them by the Department of Education. This has transitioned from Consolidation, to lender analysis and selection, and now with the passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, there are new entitlement programs that every student borrower should be able to comprehend. "We are in a great position as a company to respond and remain flexible to students needs; our ability to service our own loans will provide students greater savings while managing their debt holistically," said Thibeault.
Students have reported a similar experience as well. "I worked with Graduate Leverage for two simple reasons: they simplified the decision based on my specific situation, and the customer service was superb," said Alex Perez, a recent graduate of Rutgers Law School. "Borrower benefits are not always as good as they appear, and without this intermediary service, I don't see how any student could sort through the offerings and make the best decision," added Perez.
About Graduate Leverage
Founded in 2003 by Harvard MBA students, Graduate Leverage is a free educational debt advisory service that was created to help students manage their debt effectively. The first student loan intermediary, Graduate Leverage helps students, parents and Financial Aid officers better understand borrowing options in an increasingly complex market by providing analytical tools, APR analyses and advisory services that mitigate the cost of borrowing. In its goal to secure the best deals for all students, Graduate Leverage has helped more than 50,000 students and serviced more than $2.5 B in loans. For more information, visit www.graduateleverage.com.
Graduate Leverage introduces in house servicing and new programs to mitigate student debt - Clarification
November 2, 2007 - On October 24th, 2007, Graduate Leverage (GL) issued a press release announcing the launch of its in-house servicing. Within the press release Graduate Leverage stated, "At schools such as the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, GL has gone from virtually no volume to more than 75% of the incoming class." The 75% figure is based on Wharton students in the class of 2009 that are utilizing Graduate Leverage's advisory service. This includes students that take a loan from Graduate Leverage as well as students who only take advantage of our personalized recommendations without taking a loan through GL. 29% of borrowers in the incoming class eligible to take a federal loan have chosen Graduate Leverage as their lender. The initial press release should not be interpreted as 75% of the eligible borrowers have chosen Graduate Leverage as their lender.
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Media Contact:
Rich Masterpol
Graduate Leverage
Tel: 781.547.4158
Email: rmasterpol@graduateleverage.com
