<p>My daughter was given a subsidized Stafford loan and I am quickly becoming boggled by the choices we need to make. Is Keystone Best really our best option? (we are PA residents) Anyone have suggestions for lenders to use (or not use)?</p>
<p>it's a good option because they don't take any fees out of the loan amount. In other words, your school gets the full amount, not 1 or 3% less like some lenders do.</p>
<p>That is who we used for this past year. I am hoping that by the time my son graduates we will be able to consolidate to a lower rate (if it exists at that time).</p>
<p>With the Keystone Best I still have to choose a lender I believe. Who did you use for a lender?</p>
<p>KeystoneBEST</a> Stafford Loan Program - PNC</p>
<p>I actually had to apply thru Hesc.org because my son is in a New York school. I specified PNC as the lender</p>
<p>I have been checking into PNC. They seem to have some good features. The one question I have about them is that one place they say they have 0 origination fee and another place says 1.5. Inconsistancies make me wonder...</p>
<p>the website I gave you says no fees. I think that the rule may be different for different states</p>
<p>Look into EdAmerica. They work with Keystone Best and currently offer zero origination fees. They also hae excellent customer service!</p>
<p>Thanks for the EdAmerica recomendation. That's another one on my "list" that I'm checking out. Has anyone had any other types of loans from any of these lenders? (besides Stafford)</p>
<p>Update on EdAmerica: They will announcing that they will be collecting some of the origination fee from the students. I just received this information today from my rep.</p>
<p>I have heard that many lenders will be making changes. I was talking to Wachoiva and they said they will be getting new incentives and other changes to their loans within the next few weeks. After July though they aren't consolidating loans anymore but that's all he would tell me now.</p>
<p>Here are Wachovia's benefits:</p>
<p>Effective for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2008: </p>
<p>1 % rebate of the original loan amount after making the first 12 scheduled payments on time
· Benefit repair: If students miss one of the required 12 payments, they can restore their eligibility for the rebate with our benefit repair program by passing an online financial literacy course.
· 0.25% rate reduction with auto-debit payments</p>