Update: CornerStone Education Loan Services, a subsidiary of the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority, has announced it terminated its federal loan servicing contract on Oct. 21, 2020. CornerStone was previously signed to service federal student loans through 2022, as the Department of Education has started welcoming new federal loan servicers into the fold.
If you’re among the approximately 1 million borrowers with CornerStone loans, your debt will be transferred to another servicer in the coming months, according to reports. Forbes reported that CornerStone loans would end up with FedLoan Servicing, a servicer whose own government contract expires in December 2021.
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CornerStone Education Loan Services — commonly referred to as CornerStone student loans — is a federal loan servicer. The company might be who you end up with when you take out federal student loans. If you have CornerStone education loans, here’s what you need to know to take advantage of all the company has to offer.
- CornerStone student loans: the basics
- What we like about CornerStone student loans
- What to keep in mind about CornerStone student loans
- Are CornerStone student loans right for you?
CornerStone student loans: the basics
When it comes to federal student loans, you don’t get to choose your loan servicer. Instead, the U.S. Department of Education appoints one to you after you receive your loan.
CornerStone is one of 10 federal loan servicers. It’s a nonprofit organization run by the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA) and is headquartered in Salt Lake City. Despite the name, the company services federal loans nationwide, not just the loans of Utah residents.
If CornerStone is your loan servicer, you will receive a letter from it once your loan is disbursed. CornerStone only works with federal student loans, not private student loans. That means you might end up with it if you have any of the following loans:
- Direct Subsidized Loans
- Direct Unsubsidized Loans
- Direct PLUS Loans
- Direct Consolidation Loans
- Perkins Loans
If you’re unsure whether you have CornerStone student loans, log into the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Office website.
If you’re struggling with your student loans, CornerStone Education Loan Services might be able to help in the following ways.
1. Alternative payment plans
Making your payments on time and in full each month can be difficult when you have a small salary. If you’re in danger of falling behind, input your CornerStone loan login or contact its customer support right away.
If you can afford to put some money toward your loans each month — but not the full payment that’s due — you might be able to work out an alternative payment option. Depending on your situation, you might qualify for an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan.
With an IDR plan, the loan servicer caps your monthly payments at a percentage of your discretionary income and extends your repayment term. You’ll pay more in interest over time, but an IDR plan can dramatically reduce your payments to give you more breathing room in your budget.
You can apply for an IDR plan via the FSA website.
2. Deferment or forbearance
If you can’t afford to make any payment at all, you might qualify for a loan deferment. During a deferment, you can pause payments on your debt for up to 36 months.
If you have subsidized loans, the government will cover the interest that accrues on your debt. You might be eligible for a deferment if you’re unemployed, have a financial hardship or are currently enrolled in school.
Entering forbearance is similar to deferment. It allows you to postpone payments on your loans for up to 12 months at a time. Unlike deferment, you’re responsible for paying the interest that accrues on your debt, regardless of the type of loan you have.
3. Forgiveness and discharge
If you’re eligible for federal forgiveness or discharge programs such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness, closed school discharge or total and permanent disability discharge, you can download the necessary forms on your servicer’s website without having to enter your CornerStone loan login.
What we like about CornerStone student loans
If you have CornerStone education loans, the following benefits can help you manage them.
Automatic payment discount
Keeping up with your payments is important to ensure you stay on track to pay off your debt and to protect your credit. To avoid late fees and other issues, you can set up automatic payments on your account. You won’t have to worry about manually making payments each month, and you’ll receive a 0.25% interest rate reduction.
Change your due date
If your debt is current (not delinquent), you can request to change your payment due date by entering your CornerStone loan login or calling its phone line. You might prefer pushing back your due date until a paycheck comes through, for example, or align it with your other monthly bills’ due dates.
In-person customer service
If you have CornerStone student loans, the company is one of the few loan servicers that offer in-person help. You can walk into their headquarters Monday through Friday during normal business hours to discuss your loans and any questions you might have. The building’s address is:
Board of Regents Building, Two Gateway
60 South 400 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1284
If you aren’t close to Salt Lake City, the CornerStone call center is open Monday through Friday but is unavailable on weekends. You can speak to a representative by calling 800-663-1662.
What to keep in mind about CornerStone student loans
Federal loan servicers have long been a target of borrower frustration, with some even facing lawsuits. While CornerStone student loans shouldn’t be lumped in with more infamous servicers, it’s not the perfect repayment partner for every borrower.
Not all customers satisfied
Just as with other federal loan servicers, CornerStone has seen its share of customer service complaints. A quick look at customer reviews for CornerStone/UHEAA show a mixed bag, with some borrowers upset over the information or service provided, while others are quite satisfied.
That said, CornerStone did manage to avoid ending up on the list of five servicers with the most complaints, as reported in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s October 2019 report.
NextGen might soon replace Cornerstone services
CornerStone Loans allows customers to make payments on its website, over the phone or by snail-mailing a paper check or money order.
Soon, however, submitting payments and other services will likely be done through the FSA’s NextGen platform. The Department of Education has started to renovate its FSA website to become a one-stop-shop for borrowers who have multiple loan servicers. By February 2020, Great Lakes and Nelnet borrowers were able to make payments in one place, with other servicers like CornerStone due to follow suit. In the future, you might not need to remember your CornerStone loan login at all.
Are CornerStone student loans right for you?
As a student loan borrower, you probably don’t have a very positive opinion of your student loan servicer. After all, you fork over hundreds of dollars each month — of course you’re not crazy about them.
But your loan servicer plays an important role in managing your student loans. It manages your payments, processes your paperwork and can even helps you if you can’t afford your payments.
If you have CornerStone student loans, it’s wise to check out the company’s website and see all the resources it has available. From financial literacy primers to alternative payment plans, CornerStone education information and tools give you the ability to take charge of your loans and become debt-free.
Unhappy with your loan servicer? Find out what you can do to get a new servicer.
Andrew Pentis contributed to this report.
Interested in refinancing student loans?
Here are the top 9 lenders of 2022!Lender | Variable APR | Eligible Degrees | |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | 1.74% – 8.70%1 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 1.74% – 7.99%2 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 1.74% – 7.99%3 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 1.89% – 5.90%4 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 1.74% – 7.99%5 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 2.05% – 5.25%6 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 1.86% – 6.01% | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | N/A7 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 1.99% – 8.38%8 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
Check out the testimonials and our in-depth reviews! 1 Important Disclosures for Splash Financial. Splash Financial DisclosuresTerms and Conditions apply. Splash reserves the right to modify or discontinue products and benefits at any time without notice. Rates and terms are also subject to change at any time without notice. Offers are subject to credit approval. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in an eligible state and meet applicable underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. Lowest rates are reserved for the highest qualified borrowers. If approved, your actual rate will be within a range of rates and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, a responsible financial history, income and other factors. Refinancing or consolidating private and federal student loans may not be the right decision for everyone. Federal loans carry special benefits not available for loans made through Splash Financial, for example, public service loan forgiveness and economic hardship programs, fee waivers and rebates on the principal, which may not be accessible to you after you refinance. The rates displayed may include a 0.25% autopay discount The information you provide to us is an inquiry to determine whether we or our lenders can make a loan offer that meets your needs. If we or any of our lending partners has an available loan offer for you, you will be invited to submit a loan application to the lender for its review. We do not guarantee that you will receive any loan offers or that your loan application will be approved. Offers are subject to credit approval and are available only to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who meet applicable underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers will receive the lowest rates, which are available to the most qualified borrowers. Participating lenders, rates and terms are subject to change at any time without notice. To check the rates and terms you qualify for, Splash Financial conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, if you choose a product and continue your application, the lender will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect your credit. Splash Financial and our lending partners reserve the right to modify or discontinue products and benefits at any time without notice. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen and meet our lending partner’s underwriting requirements. Lowest rates are reserved for the highest qualified borrowers. This information is current as of May 4, 2022. 2 Rate range above includes optional 0.25% Auto Pay discount. Important Disclosures for Earnest. Earnest DisclosuresStudent Loan Refinance Interest Rate Disclosure Actual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your income. Fixed rates range from 2.99% APR to 8.24% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Variable rates range from 1.99% APR to 8.24% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Earnest variable interest rate student loan refinance loans are based on a publicly available index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The variable rate is based on the rate published on the 25th day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent. The rate will not increase more than once per month. The maximum rate for your loan is 8.95% if your loan term is 10 years or less. For loan terms of more than 10 years to 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 9.95%. For loan terms over 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 11.95%. Please note, we are not able to offer variable rate loans in AK, IL, MN, NH, OH, TN, and TX. Let us know if you have any questions and feel free to reach out directly to our team. 3 Important Disclosures for SoFi. SoFi DisclosuresFixed rates range from 3.49% APR to 7.99% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Variable rates from 1.74% APR to 7.99% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates on 5-, 7-, and 10-year terms are capped at 8.95% APR; 15- and 20-year terms are capped at 9.95% APR. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. This benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your monthly payment. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi. 4 Important Disclosures for Laurel Road. Laurel Road DisclosuresAll credit products are subject to credit approval. Laurel Road began originating student loans in 2013 and has since helped thousands of professionals with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees consolidate and refinance more than $4 billion in federal and private school loans. Laurel Road also offers a suite of online graduate school loan products and personal loans that help simplify lending through customized technology and personalized service. In April 2019, Laurel Road was acquired by KeyBank, one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies. Laurel Road is a brand of KeyBank National Association offering online lending products in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. All loans are provided by KeyBank National Association, a nationally chartered bank. Member FDIC. For more information, visit www.laurelroad.com. As used throughout these Terms & Conditions, the term “Lender” refers to KeyBank National Association and its affiliates, agents, guaranty insurers, investors, assigns, and successors in interest.
Assumptions: Repayment examples above assume a loan amount of $10,000 with repayment beginning immediately following disbursement. Repayment examples do not include the 0.25% AutoPay Discount. Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): This term represents the actual cost of financing to the borrower over the life of the loan expressed as a yearly rate. Interest Rate: A simple annual rate that is applied to an unpaid balance. Variable Rates: The current index for variable rate loans is derived from the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and changes in the LIBOR index may cause your monthly payment to increase. Borrowers who take out a term of 5, 7, or 10 years will have a maximum interest rate of 9%, those who take out a 15 or 20-year variable loan will have a maximum interest rate of 10%. KEYBANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. This information is current as of April 29, 2021. Information and rates are subject to change without notice. 5 Important Disclosures for Navient. 6 Important Disclosures for LendKey. LendKey DisclosuresRefinancing via LendKey.com is only available for applicants with qualified private education loans from an eligible institution. Loans that were used for exam preparation classes, including, but not limited to, loans for LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, and GRE preparation, are not eligible for refinancing with a lender via LendKey.com. If you currently have any of these exam preparation loans, you should not include them in an application to refinance your student loans on this website. Applicants must be either U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents in an eligible state to qualify for a loan. Certain membership requirements (including the opening of a share account and any applicable association fees in connection with membership) may apply in the event that an applicant wishes to accept a loan offer from a credit union lender. Lenders participating on LendKey.com reserve the right to modify or discontinue the products, terms, and benefits offered on this website at any time without notice. LendKey Technologies, Inc. is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse, any educational institution. Subject to floor rate and may require the automatic payments be made from a checking or savings account with the lender. The rate reduction will be removed and the rate will be increased by 0.25% upon any cancellation or failed collection attempt of the automatic payment and will be suspended during any period of deferment or forbearance. As a result, during the forbearance or suspension period, and/or if the automatic payment is canceled, any increase will take the form of higher payments. The lowest advertised variable APR is only available for loan terms of 5 years and is reserved for applicants with FICO scores of at least 810. As of 5/17/2022 student loan refinancing rates range from 2.05% APR – 5.25% Variable APR with AutoPay and 2.49% APR – 7.93% Fixed APR with AutoPay. 7 Important Disclosures for PenFed. PenFed DisclosuresFixed Rate Loan Terms: 5 years/60 monthly payments, 8 years/96 monthly payments, 12 years/144 monthly payments or 15 years/180 monthly payments. Annual Percentage Rate is the cost of credit calculating the interest rate, loan amount, repayment term and the timing of payments. Fixed rates range from 3.29% to 5.43% APR. Rates are subject to change without notice. Fixed APR: Fixed rates will not change during the term. This rate is expressed as an APR. Since there are no fees associated with this loan offer, the APR is the same percentage as the actual interest rate of the loan. These rates are subject to additional terms and conditions, and rates are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. 8 Important Disclosures for CitizensBank. CitizensBank DisclosuresEducation Refinance Loan Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates range from 1.99%-8.38% (1.99%-8.38% APR). Fixed interest rates range from 2.99%-8.63% (2.99%-8.63% APR). IS Variable Rate Disclosure: Variable Rates advertised are based on the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) published in The Wall Street Journal on the twenty-fifth day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month. As of December 1, 2021, the one-month LIBOR rate is 0.09%. Variable interest rates will fluctuate over the term of the loan with changes in the LIBOR rate, and will vary based on applicable terms, level of degree and presence of a co-signer. Your final variable rate may be based upon the 30-day average SOFR index, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The maximum variable rate is the greater of 21.00% or Prime Rate plus 9.00%. ERL Variable Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates are based on the 30-day average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) index, as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As of May 1, 2022, the 30-day average SOFR index is 0.29%. Variable interest rates will fluctuate over the term of the loan with changes in the SOFR index, and will vary based on applicable terms, level of degree and presence of a co-signer. The maximum variable interest rate is the greater of 21.00% or the prime rate plus 9.00%. Fixed Rate Disclosure: Fixed rate ranges are based on applicable terms, level of degree, and presence of a co-signer. Lowest Rate Disclosure: Lowest rates are only available for the most creditworthy applicants, require a 5-year repayment term, immediate repayment, a graduate or medical degree (where applicable), and include our Loyalty and Automatic Payment discounts of 0.25 percentage points each, as outlined in the Loyalty Discount and Automatic Payment Discount disclosures. Rates are subject to additional terms and conditions, and are subject to change at any time without notice. Such changes will only apply to applications taken after the effective date of change. Federal Loan vs. Private Loan Benefits: Some federal student loans include unique benefits that the borrower may not receive with a private student loan, some of which we do not offer. Borrowers should carefully review federal benefits, especially if they work in public service, are in the military, are considering possible loan forgiveness options, are currently on or considering income based repayment options or are concerned about a steady source of future income and would want to lower their payments at some time in the future. When the borrower refinances, they waive any current and potential future benefits of their federal loans. For more information about federal student loan benefits and federal loan consolidation, visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/. We also have several resources available to help the borrower make a decision on our website including Should I Refinance My Student Loans? and our FAQs. Should I Refinance My Student Loans? includes a comparison of federal and private student loan benefits that we encourage the borrower to review. |