• by Aaron Baar , July 10, 2008

Paying for college can be a daunting prospect, particularly as tuition continues to increase and the economic outlook remains uncertain. But as a way to establish its name among the college crowd, newly established Virgin Money USA has created an online tool to help students--and parents--create the best financing package they can.

"Part of our overall mission is to make consumers understanding of financial services better and more fun," says Sarah Dekin, chief marketing officer of Virgin Money. "When we looked at college finance, we found there isn't an easy way to lay all those options against each other."

The online calculator, dubbed the Lender Blender, lets students plug in their school and financing options (ranging from "Mom & Dad" to Stafford and Perkins loans) to find what the company is calling a "blended rate" for their financing options. By varying the mix, students can determine a rate deemed palatable.

While the tool is located on the Virgin Money student loan page, it doesn't show a preference of one kind of loan or another, or push people toward Virgins service of helping manage loans between friends and family. That is by design, Dekin says. "For the tool to be credible, it needs to be objective," she says.

For now, the company is hoping to promote the Lender Blender organically via a button that allows people to e-mail their results to others. The company is also looking into the possibility of promoting the tool through social networking sites such as Facebook, which would fit the college-age demographic. However, the company wants to tread lightly in that space.

"It's a natural place for us to look," Dekin says. "It remains to be seen, however, how [those sites] extend into more serious matters." Virgin Money was originally founded as CircleLending, which was a company that helped manage loans between friends and family. Richard Branson bought the company last fall and renamed it Virgin Money. The company uses those tools to help friends and family finance mortgages, business loans and student loans.