Web sites that allow borrowers to compare student loans proliferated in the wake of last year's scandals that exposed conflicts of interest in the lending industry. Now the credit crunch is shifting demand for loan-comparison sites again, providing both new challenges and opportunities. More financial-aid officers are also pointing their students to sites like SimpleTuition--one of the most-prominent online loan-comparison products--to help them navigate a tight market. The credit problems, coupled with recent cuts in federal subsidies to lenders, has also created difficulties for SimpleTuition. Fewer lenders are willing to pay for placement on the site, and some are dropping out of the student-loan business altogether.