BOSTON, 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:
Janice D. Walker
Corporate Communications
617-638-2047
Jeff Landis
Corporate Communications
617-638-2277
