LendEDU

LendEDU (pronounced Lend-E-D-U) is an online marketplace for a variety of financial products, including student loans, personal loans, and credit cards. It has been compared to Lendingtree.com, but for student lending.[1] In 2018, LendEDU encountered controversy when it was revealed to be the undisclosed owner of "Student Loan Report", and its CEO was accused of "deceiving news organizations with a fake source".[2]

LendEDU
Founded2014
FoundersNate Matherson & Matt Lenhard
Headquarters
Hoboken, New Jersey
,
U.S.A.
Websitelendedu.com

History

Nate Matherson and Matt Lenhard, University of Delaware students, attended the Iowa Startup Accelerator in summer 2014 with the idea for an online tutor-booking platform they called ShopTutors. The original idea was dismissed, and LendEDU, an online marketplace for student loans and student loan financing, became their focus; as someone with nearly $50,000 in student loan debt, Matherson was looking to refinance his student loans and realized the potential business idea that would eventually become LendEDU.[1][3][4] Through the program, LendEDU earned $50,000 in funding from Built by Iowa.[5] Additionally, LendEDU received a $5,000 grant from the University of Delaware's VentureOn program which focuses on the development of small businesses.[6]

The University of Delaware spoke about LendEDU in the 167th Commencement for the 2016 graduating class.[7]

Through 2015, the company expanded using resources from the Horn Program Venture Development Center. They were chosen to participate in Y Combinator in December 2015.[4][8] At that point, it had raised a total of $120,000 in funding.[9] At the start of the program, LendEDU received $120,000 for seven percent of the company.[4]

As part of Y Combinator's Winter 2016 class, LendEDU saw a 50 percent net monthly revenue growth. In April 2016, LendEDU was on track to reach $50,000 in monthly revenue and achieve profitability.[10]

After Y Combinator, LendEDU moved to New York City area, specifically Hoboken, New Jersey.

As of November 2020, LendEDU continues to operate out of Hoboken, New Jersey and the basic functionality of the site has remain largely unchanged since the company's inception. In addition to working in the student loan space, LendEDU now also has expanded to other financial verticals including mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, and insurance.

Platform

The LendEDU platform operates with the same basic functionality for the different financial products it features on its website like student loans, mortgages, personal loans, and various insurance products. What was originally a platform that only gave users the option to compare student loan refinancing options, the platform now compares lenders, rates, terms, and qualification requirements for student loan refinancing, private student loans, personal loans, mortgages, various insurance products, credit cards and more.

The LendEDU platform enables consumers to compare lenders, rates, terms, and qualification requirements for financial products specific to the consumer's financial situation.

For example, a borrower looking to refinance their student loans could compare lenders, rates, terms, and qualification requirements to find a student loan refinancing option that fits his or her specific situation.[11]

LendEDU's site also features a number of calculators that the site maintains will help consumers "compare repayment options, payoff strategies, refinancing savings, tax deductions, and more."[12]

Charitable works & Initiatives

LendEDU's philanthropic efforts include work with One Tree Planted, a reforestation program that plants trees around the world in collaboration with partnering companies;[13] the LendEDU Scholarship, which offers $1,000 scholarships to two students at the high school or college level two times per year;[14][15][16][17] and donations to local charities in New Jersey like The Hoboken Shelter, Advance the Cure for MS, and the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.[18][19]

In September 2019, LendEDU was a co-sponsor for the Pride Center of New Jersey's first annual gala that celebrated the Pride Center's 25th anniversary of service to New Jersey's LGBTQ community. Other sponsors of the event included Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, WellCare, and KP Edgestone Realty. [20]

In the News

LendEDU's data and research have been featured in press reports.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27]

In June 2019, LendEDU released another study that evaluated how seriously student loan debt weighs on consumers that are filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy,[28] and this report was covered by media outlets like Business Insider[29] and Diverse Education[30]

LendEDU's "top 50 college financial literacy program" rankings are based on a multitude of factors, including the number of workshops and resources available, access to one-on-one financial consultation, and incentivizing programs available.[31]

In August 2020, LendEDU published its fifth annual "Student Loan Debt by School by State" report that revealed the average student loan debt per borrower figure in the United States had increased to $29,076 in 2019 compared to $28,565 in 2018. [32]

In September 2020, LendEDU released a survey of 1,000 U.S. homeowners that found 55% of those who became homeowners amid the pandemic already regret the decision, mostly due to financial reasons.[33]

Drew Cloud Controversy

Around 2016, a Web site called "The Student Loan Report" started conducting surveys and issuing reports. A 2018 report, quoted by outlets including Fox News, CNBC, and Inside Higher Ed, stated one in five had invested student loan money in digital currency. According to a subsequent investigation by the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Web site's ostensible founder, "Drew Cloud", despite having "corresponded at length with many journalists" to provide stories, turned out to be fictitious. The Chronicle accused LendEDU of "deceiving news organizations with a fake source" by using the pen name "Drew Cloud." The Chronicle also criticized that, despite LendEDU's ownership of the Student Loan Report, no association between the two had been disclosed.[34][35][36] The Atlantic criticized that "The opaque process of managing student debt can be confusing, and LendEDU's strategy seized upon that confusion to encourage people to consider courses of action, including refinancing, that would make the company money."[37]

The Boston Globe reported that "Pollfish, the company that performed the survey for Matherson, said it arrived at its results independently, and that the findings were accurate."[38]

According to NPR, the Student Loan Report website received over 8,000 visitors in April 2018.[39]

In March 2020, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it reached a settlement with operators of LendEDU over allegations of misleading ratings and reviews.[40]

References
  1. Speiser, Matthew (16 December 2014). "Don't call it a pivot: UD undergrads ax SHopTutors, launch Lendedu". Technical.ly Delaware. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  2. "Drew Cloud Is a Well-Known Expert on Student Loans. One Problem: He's Not Real". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  3. Shieber, Jonathan (9 February 2016). "LendEDU Is Making Student Loan Refinancing Easier". TechCrunch. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  4. Lindsay Podraza (February 25, 2016). "UD startup guys are hard at work at California's prestigious Y Combinator". Technical.ly Delaware. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  5. Sarah Binder (May 12, 2015). "After returning to Delaware, LendEDU focused on attracting users". The Gazette. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  6. Michael Muckian (November 7, 2014). "Student Loan Startup Seeks Out CU Alliances". Credit Union Times. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  7. "167th Commencement | UDaily". www.udel.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  8. Constine, Josh (22 March 2016). "All 60 startups that launched at Y Combinator Winter 2016 Demo Day 1". TechCrunch. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  9. Ryan Pendell (February 17, 2016). "How LendEDU made it into Y Combinator on their second try". Silicon Prairie News. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  10. "All 60 startups that launched at Y Combinator Winter 2016 Demo Day 1 – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  11. Savage, Terry. "Student loan refinancing is picking up steam". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  12. Rathmanner, Dave (2019-10-04). "Find a Specific Student Loan Calculator for Your Needs". LendEDU. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  13. "LendEDU Announces Partnership With One Tree Planted". PRWeb. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  14. "About - LendEDU". LendEDU. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  15. "LendEDU Scholarship Fall 2018 – Deadline October 19th, 2018 - LendEDU". LendEDU. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  16. "LendEDU Scholarship - Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships - Grand Valley State University". www.gvsu.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  17. "LendEDU Scholarship | LendEDU | CollegeXpress". www.collegexpress.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  18. https://lendedu.com/blog/donation-to-new-jersey-charities-2019/
  19. https://advancethecure4ms.org/news-events/2019/5/13/lend-edu-makes-donation-to-advance-the-cure-for-ms
  20. "LGBTQ Community Gathers for 25th Anniversary Gala". New Brunswick, NJ Patch. 2019-09-19. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  21. Munk, Cheryl Winokur (2018-03-05). "Test Your Smarts on…Student Debt". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  22. Singletary, Michelle (2017-03-03). "Perspective | The alarming consequences of co-signing your child's student loans". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  23. Dickler, Jessica (2017-07-18). "Loans get even more expensive, tightening the chokehold on students". CNBC. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  24. "American Students Know Almost Nothing About Their College Loans". Bloomberg.com. 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  25. Glazer, Emily; Hoffman, Liz; Stevens, Laura (2018-03-05). "Next Up for Amazon: Checking Accounts". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  26. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trap-door-under-the-market-could-slash-sp-500-by-two-thirds-warns-fund-manager-2018-11-12
  27. https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/states-where-americans-have-most-student-loan-debt
  28. https://lendedu.com/blog/student-loans-bankruptcy/
  29. https://www.businessinsider.com/people-filing-for-personal-bankruptcy-carry-student-loan-debt-2019-6
  30. https://diverseeducation.com/article/147462/
  31. https://lendedu.com/blog/top-college-financial-literacy-programs/
  32. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2020-08-19/utah-new-mexico-among-states-with-lowest-average-student-loan-debt-report-shows. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-is-a-bad-deal-amid-the-pandemic-2020-9. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  34. "Drew Cloud Is a Well-Known Expert on Student Loans. One Problem: He's Not Real". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  35. "No, Students Probably Aren't Blowing Their Student Loans on Bitcoin". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  36. Siegel, Rachel (2018). "Widely quoted student loans expert exposed as fictitious creation of a for-profit company". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  37. Harris, Adam (2018). "The Undoing of an Online Student-Loan 'Expert'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  38. "College students are using student loans to invest in bitcoin. Yes, really - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2018-05-17.
  39. "'Student Loan Report' Admits Its Founder And Editor Is Fake". NPR.org. 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  40. "FTC Settles With Financial Company Over Fake Rankings Of Financial Products And Reviews - Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment - United States". www.mondaq.com. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
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