Alternative and PLUS Loans

preferred lender selection process

Preferred Lender Lists:

Selection Criteria:

In creating our Preferred Lender Lists, several factors have been considered:

  • Borrower Benefits Our preferred lenders offer competitive benefits such as zero origination fees for BC loans, interest rate reductions for borrowers who sign up for electronic payments and principal reductions for borrowers who make a certain number of on-time, consecutive payments. We monitor changes in these benefits offered by each lender to ensure that our preferred lenders offer the best benefits available to our students.
  • Customer Service All of our preferred lenders have provided consistently excellent service to BC borrowers for many years. We listen carefully to feedback from our students and parents regarding the level of service. If a lender on our list generates complaints, we strongly consider removing them from our list. These lenders have all agreed to working with BC's processing system and can insure quick turnaround time for disbursements.
  • Variety of Types of Lenders Some students and parents may already be doing business with a credit union rather than a national bank or vice versa. Some borrowers are more comfortable with a small lender as opposed to a national one. Because of these kinds of reasons, we are careful to include a wide variety of types of lenders on our list.

Our preferred lender list is reviewed each year and updated when necessary based on the criteria listed above. The Boston College Financial Aid area of the Student Services Office does not receive, and will not accept, inducements from lenders in exchange for inclusion on this list. Additionally, Boston College does not share in the profits from PLUS or Alternative loans. Borrowers are welcome to choose any lender that participates in the PLUS or Alternative loan process, regardless of whether or not it is on our preferred lender list.

If you would like to provide feedback on our preferred lender list, we welcome you to do so. Please email us at studentservices@bc.edu, call us at 800-294-0294, or visit us in Lyons Hall, Room 103.