In early 2023, the $223.1 billion Citizens Bank, N.A., of Providence, R.I., acquired College Raptor, an Iowa-based company that runs a website for helping families conquer college planning. For students wanting to compare college tuition or financial aid or discover schools with particular majors and more, the website is a great one-stop resource as the data is more comprehensive than some of the site’s competitors.
College Raptor was founded in 2012 in Iowa City, Iowa, by Bill Staib and Scott Blodgett after Staib found it hard to evaluate the true cost of college tuition because different websites had conflicting information.
Staib is a serial entrepreneur of companies with technology solutions, including Stockpoint, and is the primary inventor on six U.S. patents in the fields of investment banking, document processing, competitive analysis, industrial process control and internet commerce. So turning his college-tuition research into a website wasn’t much of a stretch.
BankBeat recently interviewed Staib and Chris Ebeling, executive vice president and head of student lending at Citizens, about the acquisition and what it means for College Raptor’s future and Citizens’ plans for utilizing this new access to potential borrowers. Those conversations have been lightly edited and condensed below.
What’s the story behind College Raptor? How did your prior experience play into it?
Bill Staib: Prior to the establishment of College Raptor, a common topic around the Staib family dinner table was college, especially since I have six kids who all planned to get a higher education. As a parent, one of the most important considerations was how I was going to afford tuition for six children. As I was researching colleges and calculating how much it would cost, I found that the sticker prices did not match the net prices.
I was researching and building comprehensive comparison spreadsheets for my own children but quickly realized how helpful a resource like this could be for other families. That massive spreadsheet eventually gave way to advanced AI algorithms that currently power the College Raptor website and continue to help millions of families find quality, affordable colleges each year.
I have always been a data geek, and when it came to searching for colleges and how to pay for them, there was lots of data out there. However, that data was not always accurate or easy to get, and there was not a useful search tool to compare all the different data points.
What facets of business creation were you in charge of? What’s your role today?
B.S.: I was originally focused on the back end including the recommendation engine, the net price calculator, and the business logic while Scott built most of the customer-facing website. I am still the president of College Raptor and involved with every facet of the business, just like I was at the very beginning.
What differentiates CR from competing platforms?
B.S.: College Raptor is the only college search platform that enables students and families to discover quality, affordable college options based on personalized estimates of financial aid, scholarships, academic match, and acceptance odds at every four-year college in the country. College Raptor works directly with hundreds of colleges and universities, is one of the leading Net Price Calculator providers in the country, and is uniquely qualified to deliver the most accurate cost estimates. College Raptor has always been laser-focused on the student experience, providing students with a tool to help them succeed.
When and how did Citizens begin focusing on student lending as a niche?
Chris Ebeling: Citizens has been in the student lending business for over 40 years. Much has changed in the industry during that time, and our current focus really came about following the 2008 financial crisis. While many large national lenders exited the business, Citizens had a counter view and leaned in, believing that product was needed by our existing customers and could help to set Citizens apart and drive new relationships. Starting in 2014, Citizens became the first national bank to offer student loan refinancing.
Citizens is a leader in student lending and offers numerous borrowing options for credit-qualified students, graduates, and their families. We also offer refinancing options for both private and federal student loans to credit-qualified borrowers. Similar to the broader bank, Citizens is distinctive in its breadth of student loan offerings, and we are continuing to expand our holistic solutions and advice for students beyond meeting their financial needs, which is where College Raptor comes in.
How and when did Citizens become aware of College Raptor?
B.S.: We found each other. We benefit from the additional resources that help us promote the site to engage even more students and parents.
C.E.: From research we conducted in 2021, we learned that the research journey on the financial aspect of selecting a college begins long before students apply to colleges, and is often rife with confusion, stress and feeling overwhelmed. We realized College Raptor could play a big role in those earlier experiences with both the parent and the student by providing content and tools to ease their concerns and help navigate a complicated financial aid system. We wanted to further educate consumers about the college planning and payment process by offering access to helpful tools such as the Scholarship Finder, College Match Tool, Loan Finder and Offer Letter Comparison.
Why College Raptor over other platforms?
C.E.: College Raptor offers Citizens unique opportunities to engage with prospective college students and their families as they navigate the college search and selection process, while strengthening our ability to provide personalized advice and insights during this important stage in their lives and bolstering our commitment to financial empowerment. College Raptor is most differentiated by their robust tools for consumers. Many sites have a one-off tool for scholarships or FAFSA applications, but College Raptor combines robust content with a comprehensive suite of tools, resulting in a compelling offering for high school students on their college research, selection and financing journey.
How has the acquisition benefited the two organizations?
B.S.: We now have a great ability to reach more students and families [who] could benefit from our resources. Our tools are still free, and Citizens has been an amazing partner in supporting the integrity of our tools and mission.
C.E.: Citizens is a longtime advocate for financial literacy and reaches families through community partnerships and financial empowerment programs across the country. The College Raptor acquisition continues those efforts by providing education and resources to help people make informed financial decisions about their future. The platform also represents a scalable acquisition channel for the bank, and while we continue to operate College Raptor as an independent and objective platform, there are opportunities to introduce Citizens’ capabilities in unique and differentiated ways to College Raptor customers.
What areas of growth or innovations do you have in mind for CR?
B.S.: In the future, we hope to reach as many students as possible and provide them with resources to make smarter financial decisions around college planning. We hope to have a huge impact on the subject of financing college nationwide and improve the overall financial picture for families looking for reliable solutions.