PNC Reviews: Student Loan Refinancing and Private Student Loans

Full Review

PNC's private student loan is best for borrowers who plan to start repayment while in school. The lender offers immediate and interest-only payment plans, as well as a 0.50 percentage point interest rate reduction for automatic payments, which is double what most lenders offer.

PNC private student loan at a glance

• No option to get personalized rate estimates via a soft credit check.

How PNC could improve

PNC could improve its private student loans by offering:

• Personalized rate estimates via a soft credit check.

• Transparency around applicant requirements.

PNC private student loan details

• Interest rates, fees and termsInterest rates, fees and terms

  • Soft credit check to qualify and see what rate you’ll get: No.

  • Loan terms: 5, 10 or 15 years.

  • Loan amounts: $1,000 to $65,000, depending on loan program.

  • Application or origination fee: No.

  • Prepayment penalty: No.

  • Late fees: Yes. A borrower in repayment may be assessed a fee for a payment received 15 days or more after the scheduled due date. The late fee is equal to 5% of the missed/late payment or $5, whichever is lower.

  Compare PNC's range of interest rates with other private student loan lenders. Your actual rate will depend on factors including your — or your co-signer’s — credit history and financial situation. To see what rate PNC will offer you, apply on its website.

• RequirementsRequirements

  PNC doesn’t disclose a lot of details about what it takes to qualify for its student loans. Lenders typically look for borrowers who have good credit and enough income to afford their debts and expenses.

  Financial

  • Minimum credit score: Did not disclose.

  • Minimum income: $17,500.

  • Typical credit score of approved borrowers or co-signers: Did not disclose.

  • Typical income of approved borrowers: Did not disclose.

  • Maximum debt-to-income ratio: Did not disclose.

  • Can qualify if you’ve filed for bankruptcy: Did not disclose.

  Other

  • Citizenship: Must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident alien (with a green card) or a non-permanent resident alien (with a visa).

  • Location: Available in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., plus American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

  • Must be enrolled half-time or more: Yes.

  • Types of schools served: Schools that are a part of the federal Title IV program and community college programs.

  • Percentage of borrowers who have a co-signer: Did not disclose.

• Repayment optionsRepayment options

  In-school repayment options

  • Full payment.

  • Full deferred.

  • Interest-only.

  Post-school repayment options

  • Grace period: 6 months.

  • Academic deferment: Yes.

  • Military deferment: Postpone payments if you're on active military duty.

  • Hardship forbearance: Provides a borrower with up to 12 months of forbearance in two-month increments. The borrower must have made 12 payments before becoming eligible to request an additional two months.

  • Co-signer release available: To qualify for a co-signer release, the borrower must submit a request, meet the consecutive & timely payment requirements for 48 payments, provide proof of income and pass a credit check.

  • Death discharge available: Yes.

  • Total and permanent disability discharge available: No.

  • Loan discharge if co-signer dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled: No.

  Repayment preferences

  • Allows greater-than-minimum payments via autopay: Yes.

  • Allows biweekly payments via autopay: No.

• Customer serviceCustomer service

  • Loan servicer: American Education Services (AES).

  • In-house customer service team: Yes.

  • Process for escalating concerns: Did not disclose.

  • Borrowers get assigned a dedicated banker, advisor or representative: Upon request.

  • Average time from application to approval: Immediately, in most cases.

• ExtrasExtras

  • Autopay discount: If you set up automated payments for your loan, PNC will reduce your interest rate by half a percentage point, which is a greater autopay discount than most lenders offer.

  • PNC Student Solution Scholarship: Win a $10,000 scholarship and gain access to financial literacy tools by registering with Decision Partners, an online financial literacy education provider, through PNC. More details.

Before applying for a PNC student loan

You can apply for a PNC student loan on its website. Before taking out a PNC student loan or any other private loan, exhaust your federal student loan options first. Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA, to apply.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s FAFSA Guide

Compare your private student loan options to make sure you’re getting the best rate you qualify for. In addition to interest rates, look at lenders’ repayment alternatives and the flexibility they offer to borrowers who struggle to make payments.

If you aren’t eligible for a PNC student loan

If PNC denies your student loan application, the lender will let you know why. Depending on the reason, you may want to consider other lenders or, if you haven’t already, try applying with a co-signer.

If you don’t have access to a co-signer — or still aren’t eligible with one — consider lenders that don’t require co-signers or specialize in bad or no credit student loans.

STUDENT LOAN RATINGS METHODOLOGY

Our survey of more than 29 banks, credit unions and online lenders offering student loans and student loan refinancing includes the top 10 lenders by market share and top 10 lenders by online search volume, as well as lenders that serve specialty or nontraditional markets.

We consider 40 features and data points for each financial institution. Depending on the category, these include the availability of biweekly payments through autopay, minimum credit score and income requirement disclosures, availability to borrowers in all states, extended grace periods and in-house customer service.

The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.

Full Review

PNC refinances loans for borrowers who did not graduate and have fewer refinance lenders to choose from as a result. Its 0.50 percentage point interest rate reduction for signing up for automatic payments is also double what most lenders offer.

PNC offers four loan terms — 5, 10, 15 and 20 years — and requires borrowers to have made payments on their loans for two years before refinancing. Borrowers can refinance a maximum of $200,000, depending on the loan program.

PNC student loan refinancing at a glance

• Borrowers without a degree can refinance.

• No option to get personalized rate estimates via a soft credit check.

• You must have repaid loans for at least 24 months before you can refinance them with PNC.

• You can refinance federal PLUS loans.

How PNC could improve

PNC could improve its student loan refinance product by:

• Offering personalized rate estimates via a soft credit check.

How much can refinancing save?

» MORE: Banks that refinance student loans

PNC student loan refinancing details

• Interest rates, fees and termsInterest rates, fees and terms

  • Soft credit check to qualify and see what rate you’ll get: No.

  • Loan terms: 5, 10, 15 or 20 years.

  • Loan amounts: $10,000 to $200,000.

  • Can transfer a parent loan to the child: Yes.

  • Application fee: No.

  • Prepayment penalty: No.

  • Late fees: Yes. A borrower in repayment may be assessed a fee for a payment received 15 days or more after the scheduled due date. The late fee is equal to 5% of the missed/late payment or $5, whichever is lower.

  Compare PNC's range of interest rates with other private student loan lenders. Your actual rate will depend on factors including your — or your co-signer’s — credit history and financial situation. To see what rate PNC will offer you, apply on its website.

• RequirementsRequirements

  PNC doesn’t disclose a lot of details about what it takes to qualify for student loan refinancing. Lenders typically look for borrowers who have good credit and enough income to afford their debts and expenses.

  Financial

  • Minimum credit score: Did not disclose.

  • Minimum income: 17,500.

  • Typical credit score of approved borrowers: Did not disclose.

  • Typical income of approved borrowers: Did not disclose.

  • Maximum debt-to-income ratio: Did not disclose.

  • Can qualify if you’ve filed for bankruptcy: Did not disclose.

  Other

  • Citizenship: Must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident alien (with a green card), or a non-permanent resident alien (with a visa).

  • Location: Available to borrowers in all 50 U.S. states and Washington D.C., plus American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

  • Must have graduated: No.

  • Must have attended a school authorized to receive federal aid: Yes.

  • Percentage of borrowers who have a co-signer: Did not disclose.

• Repayment optionsRepayment options

  • Academic deferment: Postpone payments if you go back to school.

  • Military deferment: Postpone payments if you're on active military duty.

  • Hardship forbearance: A hardship forbearance provides a borrower with up to 12 months of forbearance in two-month increments. The borrower must have made 12 payments before becoming eligible to request an additional two months.

  • Co-signer release available: To qualify for a co-signer release, the borrower must submit a request, meet the consecutive & timely payment requirements for 48 payments, provide proof of income and pass a credit check.

  • Death discharge available: Yes.

  • Total and permanent disability discharge available: No.

  • Loan discharge if co-signer dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled: No.

  Repayment Preferences

  • Allows greater-than-minimum payments via autopay: Yes.

  • Allows biweekly payments via autopay: No.

• Customer serviceCustomer service

  • Loan servicer: American Education Services (AES).

  • In-house customer service team: Yes.

  • Process for escalating concerns: Did not disclose.

  • Borrowers get assigned a dedicated banker, advisor or representative: Upon request.

  • Average time from approval to payoff: Did not disclose.

• ExtrasExtras

  • Autopay discount: If you set up automated payments for your loan, PNC will reduce your interest rate by half a percentage point, which is a greater autopay discount than most lenders offer.

Before refinancing with PNC

You can apply for a PNC refinanced student loan on its website. Before deciding on a student loan refinance lender, compare multiple student loan refinance options to make sure you’re getting the best rate you qualify for. In addition to interest rates, compare lenders’ repayment options and the flexibility they offer borrowers who are struggling to make payments.

If you aren’t eligible to refinance with PNC

If PNC denies your refinance application, the lender will let you know why. Depending on the reason, you may want to consider other lenders or need a co-signer.

NerdWallet recommends prequalifying with multiple refinance lenders before you apply. This will let you know which lenders you may be eligible with, without affecting your credit.

STUDENT LOAN REFINANCE RATINGS METHODOLOGY

Our survey of more than 29 banks, credit unions and online lenders offering student loans and student loan refinancing includes the top 10 lenders by market share and the top 10 lenders by online search volume, as well as lenders that serve specialty or nontraditional markets.

We consider 41 features and data points for each financial institution. Depending on the category, these include the availability of biweekly payments through autopay, minimum credit score and income requirement disclosures, availability to borrowers in all states, extended grace periods and in-house customer service.

The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.