SunTrust Private Student Loan Disclosures
Before applying for a private student loan, SunTrust recommends comparing all aid alternatives including grants, scholarships, and both federal and private student loans.
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Certain restrictions and limitations may apply. SunTrust Bank reserves the right to change or discontinue these programs without notice. Availability of all loan programs is subject to approval under the SunTrust credit policy and other criteria and programs may not be available in certain jurisdictions.
1. The 2% principal reduction is based on the total dollar amount of all disbursements made, excluding any amounts that are reduced, cancelled, or returned. To receive this principal reduction, it must be requested from the servicer, the student borrower must have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher and proof of such graduation (e.g. copy of diploma, final transcript or letter on school letterhead) must be provided to the servicer. This reward is available once during the life of the loan, regardless of whether the student receives more than one degree.
2. Interest rates and APRs (Annual Percentage Rates) depend upon (1) the student’s and cosigner’s (if applicable) credit histories, (2) the repayment option and repayment term selected, (3) the requested loan amount and (4) other information provided on the online loan application. If approved, applicants will be notified of the rate applicable to your loan. Rates and terms are effective for applications received after 7/01/2018. The low APR assumes a 7-year $10,000 loan, with two-disbursements and no deferment. The high APR assumes a 15-year $10,000 loan with two disbursements.
The variable interest rate for each calendar month is calculated by adding the current One-month LIBOR index to your margin. LIBOR stands for London Interbank Offered Rate. The One-month LIBOR is published in the "Money Rates" section of the Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition). The One-month LIBOR index is captured on the 25th day of the immediately preceding calendar month (or if the 25th is not a business day, the next business day thereafter), and is rounded up to the nearest 1/8th of one percent. The current One-month LIBOR index is 2.125% on 7/01/2018. The variable interest rate will increase or decrease if the One-month LIBOR index changes.
The fixed rate assigned to a loan will never change except as required by law or if you request and qualify for the auto pay discount.
3. The 15 year term is only available for loan amounts of $5,000 or more. Payment examples (all assume a 45-month deferment period and a six-month grace period before entering repayment, and the Partial Interest Repayment option): 7 year term: $10,000 loan disbursed over two transactions with a 7-year repayment term (84 months), and a 8.468% APR would result in a monthly principal and interest payment of $199.90. 10 year term: $10,000 loan disbursed over two transactions with a 10-year repayment term (120 months) and an 8.938% APR would result in a monthly principal and interest payment of $162.92. 15 year term: $10,000 loan disbursed over two transactions with a 15-year repayment term (180 months) and a 9.423% APR would result in a monthly principal and interest payment of $136.90.
4. Any applicant who applies for a loan the month of, the month prior to, or the month after the student’s graduation date, as stated on the application or certified by the school, will only be offered the Immediate Repayment option. The student must be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for the partial interest, fully deferred and interest only repayment options unless the loan is being used for a past due balance and the student is out of school. With the Full Deferment option, payments may be deferred while the student is enrolled at least half-time at an approved school and during the six month grace period after graduation or dropping below half-time status, but the total initial deferment period, including the grace period, may not exceed 66 months from the first disbursement date. The Partial Interest Repayment option (paying $25 per month during in-school deferment) is only available on loans of $5,000 or more. See footnote 3 for payment examples. With the Immediate Repayment option, the first payment of principal and interest will be due approximately 30-60 calendar days after the final disbursement date and the minimum monthly payment will be $50.00. There are no prepayment penalties.
5. Earn an interest rate reduction for making automatic payments of principal and interest from a bank account (“auto pay discount”). Earn a 0.25% interest rate reduction when you auto pay from any bank account and an extra 0.25% interest rate reduction when you auto pay from a SunTrust Bank checking, savings, or money market account. The auto pay discount will continue until (1) automatic deduction of payments is stopped (including during any deferment or forbearance) or (2) three automatic deductions are returned for insufficient funds during the life of the loan. The extra 0.25% interest rate reduction when you auto pay from a SunTrust Bank account will be applied after the first automatic payment is successfully deducted and will be removed for the reasons stated above. In the event the auto pay discount is removed, the loan will accrue interest at the rate stated in your Credit Agreement. The auto pay discount is not available when your payments are deferred or when the loan is in forbearance, even if payments are being made.
6. Private student loans that can be refinanced with a new SunTrust private student loan are private student loans and private consolidation loans that the student applicant used for, or to refinance loans used for, certain postsecondary expenses, not currently past due. Loans that cannot be refinanced into this loan are (1) private student loans for which the student applicant is not the primary borrower, (2) Federal student loans and (3) student loans made by an educational institution. Loans being refinanced must have been used for “qualified higher education expenses”. Qualified higher education expenses, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code, generally include tuition and fees, room and board, costs for rental or purchase of any equipment, materials, or supplies required of all students in the same course of study, an allowance for books, supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses, and a reasonable allowance for the documented rental or purchase of a personal computer.
7. The minimum loan amount is $1,001 with exceptions based on the student’s state of permanent residence, as follows: Alaska: $5,001, Colorado: $3,001, New Mexico: $2,501, Oklahoma: $5,101, Rhode Island: $5,001, South Carolina: $3,701. The maximum annual loan limit to cover in-school expenses for each academic year is determined by your school’s cost of attendance, minus other financial aid such as federal student loans, scholarships or grants, up to $65,000 for the Custom Choice Loan or up to $95,000 for the Graduate Business Loan. The loan amount must be certified by the school. In any event, the loan amount cannot cause the aggregate maximum student loan debt (which includes all student loans and certain unsecured consumer debt) to exceed $150,000 for the Custom Choice Loan or $175,000 for the Graduate Business Loan, per applicant (on cosigned applications, separate calculations are performed for the student and cosigner). If you choose the In-School Refinance Option, the maximum amount that you can refinance is subject to the aggregate maximum student loan debt limit ($150,000 or $175,000) minus the amount that you are applying for to cover in-school expenses.
8. A cosigner may be released from the loan upon request to the servicer, provided that the student borrower is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien, has met credit criteria, and met either one of the following payment conditions: (a) the first 36 consecutive monthly principal and interest payments have been made on-time (received by the servicer within 10 calendar days after their due date) or (b) the loan has not had any late payments and has been prepaid prior to the end of the first 36 months of scheduled principal and interest payments in an amount equal to the first 36 months of scheduled principal and interest payments (based on the monthly payment amount in effect when you make the most recent payment). As an example, if you have made 30 months of consecutive on-time payments, and then, based on the monthly payment amount in effect on the due date of your 31st consecutive monthly payment, you pay a lump sum equal to 6 months of payments, you will have satisfied the payment condition. Cosigner release may not be available if a loan is in forbearance.
9. The legal age for entering into contracts is 18 years of age in every state except Alabama (19 years old), Nebraska (19 years old, only for wards of the state), and Mississippi and Puerto Rico (21 years old). Private student loans funded by SunTrust are not available to students or cosigners who are permanent residents of Iowa or Wisconsin.
10. Principal and interest payments may be deferred while the student is enrolled at least half-time at an approved school, and during the six month grace period after graduation or dropping below half-time status, but the total initial deferment period, including the grace period, may not exceed 66 months from the first disbursement date. Any accrued but unpaid interest will be capitalized (added to the unpaid principal loan balance) when repayment of principal and interest begins. There are no prepayment penalties. Making interest only or partial interest payments during in-school deferment (including the grace period) will not reduce the principal balance of the loan.