March, 2008

To Messiah College Students and Parents:

Many of you might have recently heard alarming reports in the media about disruptions in the credit markets affecting student loans, announcements from some student loan providers that  they will no longer participate in some or all of the student loan programs, and dire predictions that there will not be enough student loan money available this coming fall.

We want to take this opportunity to assure you that we expect no disruption in the ability of our students to receive the necessary student loan funds for the upcoming academic year.

The Messiah College Financial Aid Staff has been monitoring these student loan developments and has been in contact with our colleagues in the student loan community to assess the situation; we meet with the representatives of the various student loan lenders on a regular basis.  Additionally, through our membership in the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), we are continually updated on new developments in the student loan industry.

We work with a variety of lenders in both the government and private loan programs and many options are available to our students.  Furthermore, while some of the retraction in the student loan market has been by lenders hesitant to lend to students in certain high risk sectors, Messiah students are of a caliber that is valued by student loan lenders.

Based on these factors, and our general review of the student lending environment, we are very confident that our students will not experience any problems with access to student loans.

If you would like to read a more in-depth discussion of the current situation, please click here.

Otherwise, if you have any questions on this, or any other financial aid issue, please contact our office.

Sincerely,
Greg Gearhart
Director of Financial Aid