Private student loans are best used to pay college costs after you’ve borrowed the maximum you qualify for in both subsidized and unsubsidized federal student loans.
Private student loans come from banks, credit unions and online lenders, and unlike federal student loans for undergraduates, they require a credit check. That means most undergrads will need a co-signer in order to qualify. Private student loans also are more expensive than federal loans-especially now that federal loan rates are at historic lows-and typically don’t offer the flexible repayment options their federal counterparts do.
That’s why there is no five-star lender on our list of private student loans: In the vast majority of cases, the best college financing option is a federal student loan.
- Best Private Student Loan Options
- Rhode Island Student Loan Authority
- Ascent
- SoFi
- A.M. Money
- College Ave
- Funding U
- Discover
- PNC Bank
Fixed APR
Rhode Island Student Loan Authority, known as RISLA, is a nonprofit based in Rhode Island that lends to students across the country. It offers two different loan types for undergraduate students, which each come with their own fixed interest rates. One loan requires immediate repayment, and one lets you defer payments until six months after you leave school. Everyone who qualifies for each of the loan types gets the same rate, which makes it easy to compare RISLA loans with others you’ve qualified for.
For borrowers who struggle to afford their loan after graduating, RISLA is one of the only private lenders to offer an income-based repayment plan, which limits payments to 15% of income for a 25-year period.
Eligibility: Applicants must show a minimum income of $40,000 per year and a minimum credit score of 680. Most undergraduate students will need a co-signer to qualify.
Undergraduate Fixed APR
Ascent offers both co-signed and non-co-signed student loans, which gives borrowers without co-signers more college funding options. We scored the company based on its co-signed credit-based student loan for undergraduates.
Ascent stands out for its range of payment reduction and postponement options, rare among private lenders. Borrowers can choose a graduated repayment plan, which provides a lower monthly payment to start that increases over time. That can be useful for graduates just starting out, who will likely make more money as they move up in their careers.
Borrowers also can pause payments if they’re experiencing a temporary financial hardship for one to three months at a time, up to a maximum of 24 months total. (Taking this forbearance means you will repay the loan over a longer period, though.) Interest continues to accrue during forbearance, which is true for the vast majority of private student loans.
Ascent also offers a graduation reward of 1% of the loan’s original principal balance. Check the conditions you must satisfy to qualify.
Loan amounts available: $2,001 up to total cost of attendance, to a maximum of $200,000 per academic year ($200,000 aggregate)
Eligibility: Student borrowers with no credit history can qualify with a creditworthy co-signer. Co-signers must show income of at least $24,000 for the current and previous year. Co-signers must have a minimum credit score of 660 if the student has a score of less than 700, and a minimum credit score of 620 if the student has a score of 700 or higher.*
Forbearance options: When experiencing financial hardship, borrowers can suspend payments for up to three months at a time, for a total of up to 24 months throughout the loan term. Only four rounds of forbearance (up to 12 months’ worth) may be taken consecutively.
Co-signer release policy: Available after 24 months of consecutive automatic debit payments, if the primary borrower meets certain credit score requirements.