However, customers may send us unlimited numbers of e-mail messages with their questions throughout the period of their registration with us and one of our college financial aid experts on our support team will respond to you as soon as possible, normally within an hour of your message, and almost always within 24 hours. We encourage our customers to use electronic communication methods in order that we may maintain our reasonable rates. You may also contact a customer service representative with the U.S. Department of Education toll-free at 1.800.433.3243 or contact an experienced financial aid administrator at your college for assistance. The Stafford Loan is a federal loan program for students. The student and parent loan process can be confusing and slow.
Schools select to participate in either loan program.
The Direct Loan program is considered by some schools to be a simpler process overall as schools receive the funds directly from the U.S. Treasury similar to the Pell Grant and other federal aid programs and there are no private lenders, secondary markets, or guaranty agencies involved in the process. However, the government's Direct Loan program is generally not as competitive with the FFEL Program in terms of borrower discounts. Approximately 30 percent of all schools participate in the Direct Loan program. Refer to our Student and Parent Educational Loan page for more information. Our newsletter includes relevant articles associated with the student financial aid industry and aid delivery process that are of special interest to our student and parent customers.