PNC Review: Student Loan Refinancing and Private Student Loans

When choosing a lender for student loans or student loan refinancing, the number of options can be overwhelming. It can be tempting to just go with a popular name and be done with it. 

PNC Bank is a lender you've probably heard of, but how does it stack up against the competition? We'll break down the important factors to consider below.

PNC Student Loans

PNC is a bank that offers private student loans for undergraduate and graduate students. It also provides student loan refinancing for existing borrowers.

PNC allows students to use a co-signer when they apply for a student loan. A co-signer is an individual, often a parent or relative, who commits to assuming financial responsibility if the original borrower defaults on the loan.

Unlike other private lenders, PNC offers co-signer release for borrowers who qualify. After making 48 consecutive on-time payments, borrowers can request that PNC remove the co-signer from the loan. Most lenders require that borrowers refinance the loan to remove the co-signer.

PNC allows borrowers to defer their loans completely while they’re in school. They also can make full payments or interest-only payments. Interest rates depend on whether you start making payments right away or if you defer loans until you graduate. 

PNC vs. Juno

Want to see how PNC stacks up against Juno? Read below to see the different options available with each lender:

Undergraduate loans 

PNC offers undergraduate student loans with five-, 10- and 15-year terms. Loan amounts range from $1,000 to $50,000 annually. Students may have an aggregate loan limit of $225,000, including both federal and private student loans.

Juno offers undergraduate student loans with five-, seven-, 10-, 12- and 15-year terms, a wider variety than PNC offers. Borrowers can choose from fixed-rate loans or variable-rate loans. 

Here’s how interest rates compare as of Oct. 11, 2021: 

Graduate loans 

PNC provides graduate school loans with five-, 10- and 15-year terms. Its graduate loans range from $1,000 to $65,000 annually, including loans for health and medical students. 

Law school students and graduates can borrow between $1,000 and $15,000 for expenses related to sitting for the bar exam. Doctors who are currently in a residency program can borrow between $1,000 and $15,000 for costs associated with applying to residency and moving expenses.

Juno offers graduate student loans, with the annual loan amount being the cost of attendance minus any other financial aid. Prospective Juno customers should have a credit score of 650 or higher or find a co-signer with a credit score of 650 or higher. Juno offers graduate student loans in five-, seven-, 10-, 12- and 15-year terms. 

Here’s how interest rates compare for graduate loans as of Oct. 11, 2021:

Student loan refinancing

Both PNC and Juno offer student loan refinancing to existing borrowers. To be eligible for a refinance loan through PNC, you must have at least 24 months of payment history with another student loan and two years of stable employment and income history. For new borrowers, these criteria may be impossible to meet. 

PNC offers student loan refinancing with both fixed-rate and variable-rate loans. The lowest interest rate is 3.44% APR for a fixed-rate loan and 2.22% APR for a variable-rate loan as of Oct. 11, 2021. These figures include a 0.50% interest rate discount if you set up automatic payments. If you choose manual payments, your interest rate will be 0.50% higher than what is listed.

PNC allows borrowers to refinance only up to $75,000 in total. If you have loans from medical or law school, that limit may be too low. 

Juno offers student loan refinancing with three different partners: Earnest, Laurel Road and Splash. All three lenders currently offer rates that are lower than what PNC offers. Juno is able to secure these low rates by using the bargaining power of thousands of borrowers.

Juno's Exclusive Student Loan Refinance Deals

	Rates	Juno Benefit	Check
Best for Most Can’t be refinanced with a cosigner	Fixed starting at 3.95% APR APR, Variable starting at 5.89% APR including the .25% autopay discount and the .25% Juno discount.	Rate reduction of 0.25%	Soft Credit Check to get rates; Hard Credit Check to refinance
Register for Earnest Deal (it’s free!)
Alternative Best for Most May be able to refinance with a cosigner	Fixed starting at 4.96% APR, Variable starting at 4.99% APR. May include autopay discount.	Up to $1,000 cash back based on loan amount	Soft Credit Check to get rates; Hard Credit Check to refinance
Register for Splash Deal (it’s free!)
Best for Medical Professionals May be able to refinance with a cosigner	Fixed starting at 5.74% APR, Variable starting at 5.49% APR *	Rate reduction of 0.25% *	Soft Credit Check to get rates;* Hard Credit Check to refinance
Register for Laurel Road Deal (it’s free!)

Juno's Exclusive Student Loan Refinance Deals

Borrowers who refinance through Juno can choose from one of three partner lenders. All three offer lower interest rates than PNC. Here’s how they compare as of Oct. 11, 2021: 

Juno offers a guarantee to borrowers that if they find a lower interest rate anywhere else on the private student loan market, Juno will beat that offer. Go here to fill out a form to submit a claim.