Although it is a small organization, Cornerstone may be your loan servicer if you have federal student loans. The Department of Education uses loan servicers to administer student loans to borrowers.
In this Cornerstone student loan review, we’ll dive into this loan servicer’s available repayment options and discounts. We’ll also take a look at Cornerstone student loan reviews and complaints.
What is Cornerstone?
Cornerstone Education Loan Services is one of nine loan servicers used by the federal government.
The company doesn’t offer student loans. A loan servicer’s primary role is collecting payments for loans. It also handles other administrative duties.
Although Cornerstone has been handling federal student loans for the past 35 years, it is one of the smaller loan servicers used by the Department of Education. It is the nonprofit servicing division of the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority.
What types of student loans does Cornerstone service?
Cornerstone handles various federal student loans originated through the U.S. Department of Education. Federal student loans processed by Cornerstone include:
- Direct Subsidized Loans
- Direct Unsubsidized Loans
- Direct Consolidation Loans
- Direct Plus Loans
- Perkins Loans
If you aren’t sure if Cornerstone is your loan servicer, you can use the National Student Loan Data System to find out.
Services provided by Cornerstone
Processing loan payments and paperwork are the primary responsibilities of loan servicers. But Cornerstone also offers other services to borrowers.
Cornerstone provides customer service to borrowers who need loan deferment and forbearance. The company also assists borrowers who need to change loan due dates, obtain loan verification letters and set up third-party authorizations.
If you’re having trouble making monthly payments, Cornerstone can work with you to help you avoid defaulting on your student loans. It also helps borrowers change their repayment plans or postpone payments if necessary.
Additional services for military members
Cornerstone provides extra services to military service members. This includes loan deferment options for:
- Active duty
- Post-active duty
- No interest accrual benefits
- Documentation waivers
Repayment plans and more
As a loan servicer, Cornerstone can help make changes to your student loan repayment. Cornerstone customer service representatives have access to make changes to:
- Income-driven repayment plans
- Graduated repayment plans
- Extended repayment plans
- Deferment plans
- Forbearance plans
- Due dates
Work with Cornerstone if you need to make changes to your student loans or have any concerns or questions.
Discounts and repayment tools
Borrowers can also receive incentives for their Cornerstone student loan payments. Enrolling in automatic monthly payments, for example, will qualify you for a 0.25% interest rate reduction.
Cornerstone used to offer interest rebates for on-time payments. This plan was eliminated, however, for loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2012.
According to Cornerstone, the company works to “provide conscientious, personal service to borrowers and promote responsible repayment.”
Cornerstone reviews and complaints
Like most loan servicers handling federal loans, Cornerstone is not perfect. It has received complaints from dissatisfied customers.
Reviews from the Better Business Bureau are located under UHEAA. This is the government agency that administers Cornerstone loans. Many of the complaints pertaining to Cornerstone involve loans that were transferred from another loan servicer, ACS.
The Department of Education moved loans from ACS to other loan servicers, and many of them ended up going to Cornerstone. Unfortunately, the transition wasn’t smooth. Borrowers complained of communication lapses and incomplete transfers.
Poor customer service is a common theme in complaints about Cornerstone, especially in terms of a lack of communication, which has resulted in major issues for borrowers who need help with their student loans.
How to Contact Cornerstone
If you have issues with your Cornerstone student loans, your first option is to contact the loan servicer. You can contact Cornerstone representatives in several ways, including:
- Live chat
- Phone
Customer service hours are Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Mountain Time) and Friday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Mountain Time).
Phone Contacts
Toll-free customer service line: (800) 663-1662.
Phone line for service members: (844) 255-8326.
Email Contacts
Customer service: customerservice@mycornerstoneloan.org.
For service members: servicemembers@mycornerstoneloan.org.
Mailing Address
CornerStone Education Loan Services
P.O. Box 145122, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-5122
*Note this mailing address is not for payments.
Contact Cornerstone’s customer service for solutions for student loan repayment. Reach out if you think that something wasn't handled correctly. Errors with student loans can have a negative impact on your life and finances.
Options for people with loans serviced by Cornerstone
Borrowers unhappy with Cornerstone as a loan servicer have two main options. You can consolidate your federal loans and pursue loan forgiveness or refinance your loans.
Cornerstone student loan consolidation
The Department of Education assigns loan servicers after loans are disbursed. Borrowers can’t pick or switch their federal loan servicers.
The way around this restriction is to consolidate your federal loans. Consolidating your student loans involves combining selected federal loans into one new loan. During the consolidation process, you’ll get to choose from a list of federal loan servicers.
This option makes sense if you’re planning to pursue loan forgiveness through an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. After making monthly loan payments for 20 to 25 years on an IDR plan, any remaining loan balance is forgiven. There are tax implications involved with this forgiveness strategy, but there’s also time to prepare and save money to pay off the taxes.
Refinance your Cornerstone student loans
Borrowers may be able to lower their interest rate and pay off loans faster by refinancing their federal loans. Student Loan Planner® experts only recommend this option if your federal loan debt is less than 1.5 times your annual income, you work in the private sector and you are financially secure. If not, you’re better off pursuing loan forgiveness.
One advantage of refinancing is you get to choose the lender and servicer you deal with for your loans. Also, if you do decide to refinance, you can take advantage of available cash-back bonuses.
Refinancing your student loans could cut thousands of dollars in interest payments off your loan. If you do refinance federal loans, you will lose access to several federal protections. This includes loan deferment and forbearance, loan forgiveness and federal repayment plans.
Making decisions about your Cornerstone student loans
Regardless of which option you choose, stay informed about your Cornerstone student loans. Know the details of your student loans and all of the options available to you. This knowledge will allow you to find the best possible repayment strategy for your student loans.
One way to determine the best course of action is to use our student loan calculators. They can help determine payment costs and guide you toward the best repayment plan for your situation.
If you’re unsure which way to go, contact our student loan advisors. They’ve worked with hundreds of people like you to find the right repayment strategy.
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