To what school are you going? Many schools have preferred lending arrangements with certain lenders. When you use these lenders, you might be more likely to see fees waived. In addition, they might have better customer service and your fin. aid staff might be more knowledgable about them if problems come up.
When shopping around, look to see whether people charge the full default/guarantee and origination fees. Some waive them (although I think a change in the law might mean all charge a 1% fee--not sure). Also see what if they offer interest rate discounts after graduation for (1) automatic deductions and (2) on-time payments.
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