NextStudent Enters U.S. Capital Markets for First Time

Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) April 28, 2006 -- NextStudent Inc., one of the nation’s premier education funding companies, through its affiliate companies, last week completed its first securitization of student loans when the NextStudent Master Trust I issued $571 million in Auction Rate Student Loan-Backed Notes in a nonregistered private offering.

Citigroup was the lead investment bank on the deal. Co-managers included JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and RBC Capital Markets.

“With the successful issuance of these securities, NextStudent has completed its transformation from a student loan and scholarship search/marketing company to a student loan finance company,” said Donald F. Fenstermaker Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Phoenix-based NextStudent.

The proceeds of the transaction were used to purchase a portfolio of federally guaranteed Consolidation, PLUS and Stafford student loans previously held through a bank warehouse facility. Additionally, approximately $150 million was pre-funded for the purchase of PLUS, Stafford and Consolidation student loans during the next six months. “This will provide additional student loan capital for our school channel origination platform,” said Fenstermaker.

About NextStudent

NextStudent, http://www.nextstudent.com/, listed at No. 17 on the Top 100 Consolidating Lenders for fiscal year 2005, is dedicated to helping students and their families find affordable ways to pay for college. NextStudent offers one-on-one education finance counseling and has a portfolio of highly competitive education lending products and services including an online scholarship search engine, federally guaranteed student and parent loans, private loans, student loan consolidation programs and college savings plans.

The NextStudent Scholarship Search Engine, one of the nation’s oldest and largest scholarship search engines, is updated daily, available free of charge, completely private -- and includes a database of 2.4 million scholarships worth approximately $3.4 billion.

For more information about NextStudent and its student loan programs (http://www.nextstudent.com/), please visit the company’s Web site at http://www.nextstudent.com/.

Contacts:

Donald F. Fenstermaker Jr.

Chairman, CEO

NextStudent

(602) 300-8559

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