Loan to Learn Responds to Ongoing Campaign Against Financial Aid Community

(An Open Letter from Loan to Learn to the Financial Aid Community)

WASHINGTON, August 31, 2006 - The need for greater investment in higher education and the ever-increasing value of that investment have never been more evident or important than they are today. Yet the challenge of paying for a college education has never been greater.

Recent inflammatory statements and advertisements have fostered a regrettable atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust in the academic community, causing problems for schools, financial aid administrators and students alike. Many of these statements call into question the integrity and intentions of financial aid professionals at America’s institutions of higher learning. It is Loan to Learn’s (EduCap Inc.) position that these individuals, many of whom have spent their careers looking out for the best interests of students, do not deserve to be attacked as part of a marketing campaign.

Twenty years ago, EduCap Inc., revolutionized the education finance industry by creating the direct-to-consumer private student loan market. Realizing the need for loan options beyond needs-based federal programs, EduCap pioneered privately-funded, creditbased education lending as the first true, practical source for students in need of additional funding above amounts provided by schools and the government. In addition, EduCap was the first to securitize student loans on Wall Street, tapping capital markets which greatly enlarged the pool of funds available to serve education financing needs. As a result, billions of dollars have been put to work helping countless numbers of students go to school.

Significantly, these milestones have not been achieved at the expense of the financial aid community, but rather in concert with financial aid professionals at America’s colleges and universities. This commitment to helping meet the college financing needs of all students, through widely-acclaimed programs such as Loan to Learn, remain at the heart of EduCap’s mission today. We believe that through higher education, all students have the potential to change the world. Our dream is a nation in which every student has the opportunity to realize that potential.

Making that dream a reality is far beyond the ability of any one entity acting alone. That’s why it is so important for the education finance and financial aid communities to embrace multiple loan options and solutions. Both the student loan industry and financial aid administrators need to encompass federal and private student loans as complementary elements of a seamless education financing process. It takes a partnership of schools, government and private enterprise to offer the broad mix of education aid and financing required by today’s diverse student population. EduCap, with its long tradition of innovation, will continue to work closely with financial aid professionals to ensure that this seamless process serves the best interests of students and their families.

EduCap has respect for the rapport between students, their schools, and their financial aid administrators and staff. Without the expert guidance provided by thousands of dedicated financial aid professionals, the college plans of many students would never be realized. Despite budgetary constraints and limited staffing, America’s financial aid administrators have come through year after year, and we applaud them for a job well done.

At Loan to Learn, we are committed to working with financial aid professionals to provide America’s students with the finest in education financing options. With the best interests of your students and their families as our guiding principle, we at Loan to Learn will continue to be a trusted partner in the higher education financing process.

Loan to Learn looks forward to the privilege of continuing to work with you, your colleagues and your students in the months and years ahead.

About Loan to Learn
Loan to Learn is a program of EduCap Inc. EduCap pioneered the non-government student loan industry in the late 1980s and launched the multi-billion dollar private education financing industry. Under the leadership of financial services entrepreneur Catherine B Reynolds, EduCap has achieved and impressive number of "firsts" in the student lending arena, including the first nationwide credit-based student loan program, the first student loan securitization in Wall Street history, and the first program to provide access to affordable student loans as an employee benefit. For more information about Loan to Learn, visit our Website at www.loantolearn.com