NASFAA President & CEO Dr. Phil Day sent letters to Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to seek confirmation of the Administration's intent to use a portion of the $700 billion economic stimulus package to support private student loans.

"The private student loan market is in a very troubling condition," Day wrote. "Nearly two-thirds of the 60 top lenders no longer offer loans."

Students who are ineligible for federal student aid or who still lack funds even after exhausting other forms of aid will be most hurt by the floundering private student loan market, according to Day.

"These students cannot attend college without private educational loans," he wrote. "Without government intervention and correction of this aberration, countless students will be denied the financing they need to reach their higher education goals."

The full letter is available online.

Posted 11/18/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.