Lana Oconnell
American Education Services (AES) is a loan servicer, not a lender, and it manages the accounts of millions of student loan borrowers. If AES services your FFELP or private student loans, you make loan payments directly to them. AES offers several ways to manage your account and make payments on your federal or private loans, including online, by telephone, or by mail. You can also set up automatic debit payments by enrolling in Direct Debit with AES. If you cannot afford your payments, you can contact AES to discuss alternative repayment options, such as an income-driven repayment plan or a temporary pause on your payments.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| What is AES | A loan servicer, not a lender. |
| Who owns AES | Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) |
| What does AES do | Manages accounts of student loan borrowers, collects and processes student loan payments, helps borrowers change their payment plans, answers queries, and reports payments to credit bureaus. |
| What loans does AES service | Private loans and commercially held Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans. |
| What loans does AES not service | FFELP loans held by the U.S. Department of Education and other federal loans. |
| How to pay AES student loans | Online, by telephone, by mail, or through the AES's 24/7 self-service phone feature. |
| What if I can't afford payments | Contact AES to find out what options are available. You may be eligible for an alternative payment plan or may be able to pause your payments. |
| What if I have multiple loans | You may have multiple servicers. |
| How to switch loan servicers | Refinance or consolidate your loans. |
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What You'll Learn
- Payment methods: online, by phone, by mail, or automatic debit
- Payment plans: alternative plans, pausing payments, and changing due dates
- Loan forgiveness: discharge, teacher forgiveness, and the PSLF program
- Financial hardship programs: deferment, forbearance, reduced payments, and postponement
- Switching loan servicers: refinancing or consolidating your loans
Payment methods: online, by phone, by mail, or automatic debit
There are several ways to pay your AES student loan. You can pay online, by phone, by mail, or by setting up an automatic debit payment process.
To pay online, you will need to sign up for AES's online account management tool, Account Access. This will allow you to manage your loan account online and view information specific to your loans.
To pay by phone, you can contact your loan servicer, American Education Services (AES), at (800) 233-0557 between 7:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.
To pay by mail, you will need to send a cheque or money order to the address provided by your loan servicer. Make sure to include your loan number or Social Security number on the cheque or money order and allow enough time for processing and delivery.
You can also set up an automatic debit payment process, where your loan payment is automatically deducted from your checking or savings account each month on the due date. This is a free service that ensures on-time payment and may even qualify you for an interest rate reduction. To set this up, you will need to provide your loan servicer with your bank account information.
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Payment plans: alternative plans, pausing payments, and changing due dates
American Education Services (AES) is a loan servicer, not a lender. It manages the accounts of millions of federal and private student loan borrowers. If AES services your FFELP or private student loans, it handles your payments and repayment options.
If you are struggling to make your payments, you can contact AES to find out what options are available. You may be eligible for an alternative payment plan or may be able to pause your payments. For example, if you are returning to school or are deployed in the military, you may be eligible for a forbearance or deferment.
Federal student loans serviced by AES may be eligible for student loan forgiveness programs. These include Closed School Discharge, Income-Driven Repayment, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Private student loans serviced by AES are not eligible for loan forgiveness.
You can make payments toward your AES student loans online, through the mobile app, by phone, or by mailing a check or money order. To pay by phone, call 800-233-0557. To pay by mail, include your AES account number and send your payment to:
American Education Services
PO Box 65093
Baltimore, MD 21264-5093
You can also set up automatic payments by enrolling in Direct Debit with AES. This will automatically withdraw the payment from your bank account each month.
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Loan forgiveness: discharge, teacher forgiveness, and the PSLF program
American Education Services (AES) is a student loan servicer, not a lender. It was established by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA), a quasi-nongovernmental organisation, to service student loans nationwide. AES manages the accounts of millions of federal and private student loan borrowers.
If you have an AES student loan, it is either a federal student loan owned by a guaranty agency or a private student loan owned by someone other than the federal government. This means that AES student loans are not eligible for forgiveness because they are not owned by the U.S. Department of Education.
However, AES can help you explore repayment options, including lowering monthly payments on federal student loans by placing you in an income-driven repayment plan (IBR or ICR) and on private student loans by offering you a temporary interest rate reduction. AES can also help you with the following:
- Qualifying for student loan forgiveness under various programs provided by the federal government, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Teacher Loan Forgiveness, and student loan discharge due to total and permanent disability or death.
- Removing a co-signer after making consecutive qualifying student loan payments and the primary borrower demonstrating they have a good credit score and income.
- Temporarily pausing payments with deferments and forbearances.
If you cannot afford your payments, you can contact AES to find out what options are available. You may be eligible for an alternative payment plan or may be able to pause your payments. Forbearance or deferment may be an option if you're returning to school or are deployed in the military.
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Financial hardship programs: deferment, forbearance, reduced payments, and postponement
If you are facing financial hardship and are struggling to make your AES student loan payments, there are several options available to you. These include deferment, forbearance, reduced payments, and postponement. Here's what you need to do:
Deferment and Forbearance
If you are unable to make your monthly payments, you may be eligible for a deferment or forbearance, which are temporary suspensions of repayment. To find out if you qualify, contact AES directly. During a deferment or forbearance, interest will continue to accrue, and you will be responsible for repaying it. The only exception is federally subsidized loans during periods of deferment, where the government pays the interest.
Reduced Payments
If you can manage smaller payments, you may want to consider applying for an alternative repayment plan. AES may be able to work with you to find a payment plan that better suits your financial situation. Contact AES to discuss your options and see if you qualify for a reduced payment plan.
Postponement
In some cases, you may be able to postpone your student loan payments. For example, if you are returning to school or are deployed in the military, you may be eligible for a forbearance or deferment and can pause your payments. Again, contact AES directly to discuss your eligibility and explore this option further.
Remember, AES is a loan servicer and not a lender. They manage the accounts of millions of student loan borrowers but do not provide the loans themselves. As such, they can work with you to find a repayment plan that suits your needs and help you understand your options, but the specific terms of your loan may vary depending on your lender.
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Switching loan servicers: refinancing or consolidating your loans
American Education Services (AES) is a loan servicer, not a lender. It manages the accounts of millions of student loan borrowers. If AES services your FFELP or private student loan, you make your loan payments to them.
If you are unhappy with your current loan servicer, you can change it by refinancing or consolidating your loans. However, this comes with some trade-offs. If you consolidate your federal loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan, you will have the option of choosing a loan servicer. However, if you refinance your federal loan with a new private student loan, you will no longer be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs, and you may lose the protection of loan discharge or forgiveness in the case of death or permanent disability.
If you consolidate non-direct loans into a Direct Loan, you gain certain federal protections and benefits such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), which can eliminate your balance after 120 qualifying payments (10 years). While consolidating your loans may slightly increase your interest rate, it will lock you into a fixed rate, so your payment won't change over time.
On the other hand, if you have private student loans, you don't have the same protections or benefits as federally-funded loans, but you can consolidate multiple loans into one private loan or refinance to get a better interest rate.
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Frequently asked questions
AES offers several ways to pay your student loan, including online, by telephone, and by mail.
To pay your AES student loan online, you can sign into your AES account and select Payments and Billing to get started.
To pay your AES student loan over the phone, call (800) 233-0557.
To pay your AES student loan by mail, include your AES account number on a check or money order made payable to AES and send it to the following address: American Education Services, PO Box 65093, Baltimore, Maryland 21264-5093.
If you can't afford your AES student loan payments, you can contact AES to discuss your options. You may be eligible for an alternative payment plan, or you may be able to pause your payments.
