To qualify, you must:
- Be enrolled or plan to be enrolled in a degree, certificate, or diploma granting program at an eligible school
- Be a NY, OH, or VA resident attending an approved schoolin or out of state (with the exception of PA)
Approved School
Federally-approved educational institution under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 - Be a citizen or a permanent resident of the United States
- Be a borrower or co-signer who meets the minimum credit requirements
- Be a student regardless of enrollment status, including if you are enrolled less than half-time1
- Each year, you may borrow up to 100% certified cost of attendance (tuition, fees, room, board, books, transportation expenses, and miscellaneous expenses) minus any financial aid you are receiving (including other loans and work-study) as certified by your school's financial aid office.
-
Aggregate loan limitsfor a Keystone Student Loan ($150,000) apply.
Aggregate Loan Limits
Total amount of Keystone Student Loans borrowed and disbursed during a student's academic career.NOTE: Less than half-time students may only borrow a maximum of $5,000. - The minimum loan amount is $1,500.
No, there is no pre-payment penalty and no application, origination, or
late fees.
If you have not reached the
age of majority
based on the law of your state of residence, you will be required to obtain a Age of Majority
The age a person is considered an adult.
co-signer
. You may also be required to obtain a co-signer if you don't meet the minimum credit
requirements.Co-signer
A co-signer is a person who accepts equal responsibility for the repayment of the loan.
NOTE: Approval for private education loans is based on
your credit score, credit history, and debt-to-income ratio. Although you may not be required to
obtain a co-signer, you may benefit from a
creditworthy
co-signer if you do not meet the minimum credit requirements. Having a co-signer may
increase your chances that the loan will be approved and, perhaps, may get you a better interest
rate.Creditworthy
Having a satisfactory credit rating
The Keystone Student Loan Program allows for co-signers to be released from
their responsibilities after meeting certain requirements.
Co-signer release requirements include:
- Making 48 consecutive on-time payments of principal and interest while in repayment,
excluding deferment and forbearance time
- Payments are considered on-time if they are received no later than 15 days after the due date
- A lump sumpayment counts as one qualifying payment
Lump Sum
An amount paid all at once, that is equal to two or more monthly installment payments.
- Upon completion of making 48 consecutive on-time payments, the borrower must provide proof of income, as well as pass a debt-to-income calculation and credit check
- Must be in repayment making your full billed monthly payment amount
- The use of any deferment or forbearance will not count toward the co-signer release payment counter. The payment counter will resume once the deferment or forbearance ends
If you would like to apply for this benefit or have questions, please
contact the servicer of the loan, American Education Services (AES) at 1-800-233-0557 Monday to Friday, 7:30 AM to 9:00 PM
(ET).
NOTE: Both the borrower and any co-signer remain
responsible for the student loan account until the co-signer release request is approved, if
applicable.
Once the co-signer is released, they will no longer be held responsible for
the repayment of loan. This responsibility will remain solely with the original borrower of the
loan.
You are eligible for one 6-month grace period from the date of graduation
or from the date you stop being enrolled at least half-time.
You can be granted full cancellation of the disbursement if the funds are
returned within 120 days of disbursement.
We offer competitive, fixed interest rates, which means you never need to
worry about your interest rate going up! Check out the rate range today.
Keystone has two great interest rate rewards, which could save you a total
of 0.75% off your fixed interest rate:
- Graduation benefit: Once we receive notification that you graduated, we will apply a 0.50% interest rate reduction to your account.
- Direct Debit benefit: Once you apply and are approved for our free,
automatic electronic payment service (Direct Debit), we will apply a 0.25% interest rate reduction to your account.
Direct Debit
Direct Debit is a free service that sets up an electronic deduction from your checking or savings account each month.
Most schools automatically send enrollment information to your servicer,
AES, within several weeks of graduation. Once received, your account will be updated to reflect
the interest rate reduction. The rate reduction will be retroactively applied to the date of
your graduation.
If it has been more than 3 months since your graduation and you haven't
been notified your account automatically received the interest rate reduction, contact your
school's registrar. A certified copy of your diploma or transcript showing you have graduated
will need to be sent to
AES by either you or your school.
Direct Debit is a free, automated payment service. It's not only
convenient—you don't have to write a check or pay for a stamp—you will also qualify
for a 0.25% interest rate reduction when you are approved for Direct Debit.
Immediate Repayment: If you want to get a head start on
paying back your loan right away, this is the option to choose. With this option you will:
- Be eligible for the lowest interest rate available
- Pay your loan off earlier by making principal and interest payments while in school
- Pay the least amount of interest over the life of the loan compared to the other repayment plan options
NOTE: Your first payment will be due within 30 to 60 days
after the date of your final
disbursement
. For less than half-time students, Immediate Repayment is the only repayment plan option.
Disbursement
Disbursement is the transfer of loan funds from a lender to the
school
Interest Only: If you want to avoid
interest capitalization
this is the repayment option for you! With this option you will:Interest Capitalization
Capitalization is the addition of unpaid interest to the principal
balance of a loan. Capitalization of interest results in a higher principal balance and
additional finance charges over the course of repayment and may cause your monthly amount
to increase.
- Be responsible to pay the accrued interest during school
- Enter repayment with the starting principal balance of the original amount you borrowed
NOTE: Interest payments will begin 30 to 60 days after the
loan's first disbursement. Full payments, payments made toward principal and interest, will not
begin until 30 to 60 days after the expiration of your
grace period
.Grade Period
A grace period is a 6-month period before the first payment on a loan
is due. The grace period begins the day after you graduate, leave school, or drop below
half-time status and ends the day before repayment begins.
Partial Interest Payment: To get a head start on paying
the interest that accrues on your loan; this is a great option for you! With this option you
will:
- Be required to pay a fixed $25.00 a month payment2 that is applied toward your loan while you are in school
- Have less interest capitalize when you enter repayment
NOTE: Payments will begin 30 to 60 days after the loan's
first disbursement. Full payments, payments made toward principal and interest, will not begin
until after the expiration of your grace period.
Full Deferral: If you don't want to worry about making
payments until you leave school, this option is available to you! With this option you will not
need to make payments while in school; however, you will end up paying the most amount of money
over the life of the loan compared to the other repayment plan options.
NOTE: Payments will not be due until after you separate
from school and any applicable grace period has expired.
The minimum monthly payment for a Keystone Student Loan is $50.00 a month,
unless you select the Interest Only or Partial Interest Payment repayment plans. You have the
option to choose between three terms3 to make repayment fit
your needs:
NOTE: The longer your term, the more interest you could
pay over the life of the loan.
Below are the items you should have ready when filling out your
application:
- Name, address, and telephone number
- Date of birth and Social Security number
- Email address
- Name and location of school you are or plan on attending
- Annual income
- Grade level and anticipated graduation date
- Academic period for which you would like to receive the loan
- Co-signer's name and email address (if applicable)
- Mobile phone to receive one-time passcode for electronic signature
There are three easy ways to save money on your loan:
- Pay early: If you make your payment before your due date, more of the payment will be applied toward principal.
- Pay more frequently: Making payments more frequently, such as making biweekly payments, can help lower your principal balance and interest amount paid. By making payments every 2 weeks you end up making an extra full payment a year.
- Pay extra: Making a lump sumor paying more than your monthly payment can lower your principal faster, which means you accrue less interest.
Lump Sum
An amount paid all at once, that is equal to two or more monthly installment payments
1 Loans taken for a less than half-time academic period may borrow up to $5,000.
2 Partial Interest Payment: After the in-school and grace periods, any unpaid interest will be repaid along with principal. For example, a borrower of a $10,000.00 loan will pay $25.00 per month for 52 months (46 months in school and 6 months in grace). Following that time period, if that borrower selected a 10-year repayment plan and received a periodic interest rate of 8.48%, the borrower would have an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 7.66%, monthly payments of $148.38 for 120 months, and a total amount repaid of $19,105.51. The borrower in this sample qualified for a 0.25% Direct Debit benefit for the entirety of the repayment period and a 0.50% graduation benefit applied at the end of the 52-month partial interest period.
3 Repayment Terms (No interest rate discounts were applied to these examples.):
- A borrower of a $10,000 loan who selects a 5-year (60 months) repayment term may receive an APR between 5.27% and 10.69%, monthly principal and interest payments between $190.00 and $326.63, and a total amount repaid between $11,399.87 and $19,597.88.
- A borrower of a $10,000 loan who selects a 10-year (120 months) repayment term may receive an APR between 6.46% and 10.93%, monthly principal and interest payments between $113.45 and $211.83, and a total amount repaid between $13,613.55 and $25,420.10.
- A borrower of a $10,000 loan who selects a 15-year (180 months) repayment term may receive an APR between 6.96% and 11.18%, monthly principal and interest payments between $89.77 and $179.89, and a total amount repaid between $16,158.79 and $32,380.26.
Please note these APRs are estimates and may differ from the actual rates received.
4 Loans taken for less than half-time are only eligible for a 5- and 10-year repayment term.
NOTE: Subject to aggregate loan limits.
The Keystone Student Loan Program is a credit-based loan program. Applicants, including co-signers, are subject to credit qualifications, completion of an application and credit agreement, and verification of application information. PHEAA uses applicant FICO score to determine eligibility and interest rates. Higher credit scores may mean an applicant is offered a lower interest rate.
PHEAA reserves the right to discontinue all programs or benefits without prior notice.