Student Loan FAQs

Rates are determined based on creditworthiness of the borrower and the cosigner, if any. Requirements vary by lender. Creditworthiness is often defined as meeting the following financial and credit standards:

• Proof of current income (if self-employed, applicant must have been in business for two years).
  
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or have a Permanent Resident Alien status.
• Two years of satisfactory credit history.
• Meet debt to income requirements.

You may qualify for a better rate if you apply with a cosigner because a cosigner usually has a more established credit history than a student borrower. When applying with a cosigner, both you and the cosigner will complete the application for credit, will sign the loan note and are responsible for repayment of the loan obligation. Keep in mind a private student loan may have a higher interest rate than federal loans, so explore all federal options before applying for a private student loan, only borrowing what you absolutely need. PNC requires a creditworthy cosigner for 17 year old students.

PNC does not offer student loans to international students. We recommend contacting your school’s financial aid office to find out what options may be available to international students.

PNC does not offer student loans to international students. We recommend contacting your school’s financial aid office to find out what options may be available to international students.

PNC requires that both the primary borrower and the cosigner, if any, are U.S. residents and can provide proof of residency.

Automated payments are loan payments that are automatically deducted from your checking or savings account. It's easy to set up with your lender or loan servicer. You can usually pick which day of the month you want the funds taken out. What's great about automated payments is you don't have to worry about sending a check each month. Most lenders offer an incentive for borrowers who participate in automated payment programs. The PNC Solution Loan® offers a 0.50% interest rate discount for automated payments, which can result in savings over the life of the loan.

For Undergraduate, Graduate, and Health and Medical Professions Loan borrowers: Funds are disbursed directly to the school. Borrowers may contact their school to find out more information on how they disburse excess funds.

For Bar and Residency Loan Borrowers: Funds are disbursed directly to the borrower.

Paying toward your loan while in school, even making small payments that aren't required, will reduce the total amount you'll pay back over time. You can always prepay your PNC Solution Loan® without penalty.

Any interest that isn't paid each quarter will capitalize, or be added to, the principal balance of the loan at repayment. You’ll end up paying interest on the original principal amount borrowed plus all of the interest that has been capitalized.

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For the PNC Solution Loan^®, the repayment options are immediate, interest-only or deferred.

While enrolled in school, a student can start making monthly principal and interest payments by selecting the immediate repayment option. By selecting the interest-only option, an enrolled student would begin paying their student loan interest while deferring principal payments. The deferred principal and interest payment option allows a student to defer payment until six monthly after graduating or ceasing to be enrolled at least half-time basis.

For the PNC Solution Loan^®, three repayment term are available – 5, 10 and 15 years*.

*For more details and to access important rate, loan payment & product information, visit the loan product pages: Undergraduate, Graduate, Health & Medical Professions, Health Residency, Bar Study.

A student loan deferment allows you to temporarily postpone your monthly payments under certain circumstances, such as the following: Enrollment in school at least half time, economic hardship, unemployment, or military deployment.

Please note interest may continue to accrue during periods of deferment. Certain restrictions and conditions may apply. Contact your lender or servicer to discuss deferment options.

Student loan consolidation is combining multiple student loans into one loan. A Direct Consolidation Loan can be used to combine multiple federal student loans with a weighted average fixed interest rate. Through student loan refinancing, you can also consolidate multiple student loans (including private student loans) into one loan; however, you are applying for a new loan and can select new terms.

A satisfactory credit history is required in addition to two years of continuous income or employment, repayment performance on your current student loans and citizenship requirements. Please review the PNC Education Refinance Loan list of eligibility requirements for more details.

You can include any student loan debt used for financing your education. You cannot include any other types of debt even if it was used to pay education expenses, for example, credit card or mortgage. You may also be able to refinance your student loan debts even if you previously consolidated them into a single loan. Underlying loan types permitted:

Private

• Private student loans
• Private Consolidation/refinanced (previously refinanced student loans through private lender)

Federal

• Direct Subsidized Loans (Undergraduate/Graduate)
• Direct Unsubsidized Loans (Undergraduate/Graduate)
• Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans
• Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans
• Direct Graduate PLUS
• Direct Parent PLUS
• Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Graduate PLUS loans
• Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Parent PLUS loans
• Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Consolidation loans
• Direct Consolidation (previously refinanced federal student loans through Department of Education)
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal Nursing Loans
• Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS)
• Health Education Assistance Loans (HEAL Program)

Certain Federal Benefits Will Be Lost or Not Available if you refinance your federal loans through this PNC Education Refinance Loan. Please compare your current benefits with this program to ensure any loss of existing benefits is fully understood.

No, graduation is not a requirement to apply for the PNC Education Refinance Loan. However, you must not currently be in school and must be making payments on the student loans you wish to refinance.

To be eligible for a deferment, the student borrower must be enrolled full time in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at an eligible Title IV school.

The student borrower must complete and sign an in-school deferment request (alternative/private and federal deferment forms may be accepted) and submit proof of enrollment with a semester start date and an anticipated graduation date.

Servicer may obtain the information from the National Student Loan Clearinghouse. Student borrowers are eligible for up to 36 months of deferment as long as they verify enrollment in the program by completing and signing a deferment form. Interest will continue to accrue during periods of deferment.

There is no prepayment penalty. Making extra payments is a way to pay off your loans faster and save money on interest.