Cognition Financial
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About Us

Cognition Financial (formerly The First Marblehead Corporation) was founded in 1991 with the goal of helping students reach their educational goals through access to funding. Along with Tuition Management Systems and Cognition Lending (formerly First Marblehead Education Resources, Inc.), Cognition Financial has leveraged innovative thinking and analytical rigor to develop innovative financial and technological products for our partners and their clients.

  • Originally, Cognition Financial changed the way educational institutional loans were facilitated.
  • Cognition Financial then changed availability of and access to education loans for students and their families.
  • Through the Monogram Loan platform, along with our lender partners, Cognition Financial changed the structure and flexibility of private student loans.
  • Now, through the raise^ private student loan program which we designed in conjunction with, and which is offered through, our lending subsidiary, Cognition Lending, we are increasing the availability of funding.
  • Looking forward, Cognition Financial will marry capital needs with capital resources to develop new, inventive products.
  • The results speak for themselves:
    • Facilitated $23B+ in private student loans
    • Processed $52B+ in tuition payments

Financial Products

Monogram® Platform

Monogram® Platform: Cognition Financial’s Monogram platform is a fully outsourced, end-to-end private student loan solution for lender clients. The platform is designed to be flexible and helps our lender partners target risk profiles that align with their portfolio objectives. Product offerings include development of a customized private-label program, including a proprietary scorecard, school sales and marketing support, active portfolio management, and loan loss protection.

Private Student Loan products offered by our lending partners

raise^

raise^ is the latest private education loan product designed by Cognition Financial to make private student loans more accessible. It is offered through our lending subsidiary, Cognition Lending Corporation.

The Custom Choice Loan®

A private student loan offered by SunTrust Bank, the Custom Choice Loan is a customizable, competitive private student loan available to undergraduate and graduate students.

Graduate Business School Loan

A private student loan offered by SunTrust Bank, the Graduate Business School Loan is designed to help graduate students seeking an MBA, or other advanced business degree, pay for college by offering great rates and a variety of benefits.

Kinecta Private Student Loan

Kinecta Private Student Loans through Kinecta Federal Credit Union offer competitive rates with customized options to best fit your lending needs.

Union Federal Private Student Loan funded by SunTrust Bank

A private student loan offered by SunTrust Bank, the Union Federal Private Student Loan can help pay for college with great rates and a variety of benefits.

AAA Advantage Student Loan funded by SunTrust Bank

A private student loan offered by SunTrust Bank in partnership with AAA Northeast Bank.

School Services (Tuition management/Payment plans)

Tuition Management Systems (TMS), a Cognition Financial subsidiary, facilitates tuition payments through a simple, secure platform. Product offerings include payment plans, online payments, merchant services, 1098-T reporting, refund and disbursement solutions. Visit tuitionmanagementsystems.com to learn more.

Learn more

Contact Us for more information.

Company History

1991
First Marblehead launches and begins working with schools to provide loans to students and their families
1994
Begins partnering with lenders to back private student loans
1998
prepGATE, a K-12 private student loan, is introduced
2001
Purchases a student loan origination platform and private student loan database
2002
Launches consumer-based loan products
2003
First Marblehead goes public, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
2009
Launches Monogram Loan Platform
2010
Purchases Tuition Management Systems, a tuition payment company
2016
Company goes private, launches raise^ private student loans funded by First Marblehead Education Resources, inc. to increase access to student loans
2017
Announces move to Boston, MA and company name changes to Cognition Financial (formerly First Marblehead) and Cognition Lending (formerly First Marblehead Education Resources)

Fundamentals

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (series IDs - CUUR0000SAM, CUSR0000SAH1, CUUR0000SAF, Consumer Price Index, All Urban Consumers - (CPI-U), U.S. city average, all items, CUUR0000SEEB01) and U.S. Census Bureau, Income Statistics.

"Three Charts Explain the Student Loan Mess.” Bloomberg. Accessed April 19, 2017.

MeasureOne, The MeasureOne Private Student Loan Performance Report Q3 2014, “Delinquency Trends by Quarter.”

“Fall enrollment survey” (IPEDS-EF:95-99); and IPEDS Spring 2001 through Spring 2013. US Department of Education. Enrollment component. National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Accessed May 27, 2016.

"Work-Life Earnings by Field of Degree and Occupation for People With a Bachelor’s Degree: 2011." Census.gov. Accessed May 27, 2016.

"Years of Cuts Threaten to Put College Out of Reach for More Students." Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Accessed April 19, 2017.