The Best Private Student Loan Rates for

Find Private Student Loan Options For Your School

Find Private Student Loan Options For Your School

Nitro Recommended
Sallie Mae
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Sallie Mae® has developed a wide range of private education loans, and other education-related services to help make students' dreams of higher education a reality.

  • APR: 1.13% - 12.60%1
  • Loan Types: Undergraduate
  • Loan Terms: 10 - 15 years3
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Why Get a Student Loan from Sallie Mae?

Students and families can invest in their education with private education loans designed to responsibly bridge the gap between personal resources and federal student aid.

Private education loans:

Sallie Mae is committed to serving their borrowers so they can successfully pay their loans and build their credit.

  • 100% U.S. based loan originations and loan servicing representatives
  • Financial literacy resources
  • 24/7 account self-service available online and by phone
  • Team dedicated to helping our borrowers in the military

Key features of Smart Option Student Loan® from Sallie Mae:

  • Competitive interest rates — variable rates start from 1.13% APR to 11.23% APR1 for undergraduate students (as of July 22, 2021). Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount.
  • Pay now or later - Defer your payments until after school or choose an in-school repayment option that fits your needs.1
  • Discounts: Save with auto debit - get a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction when you enroll in and make monthly payments by auto debit.1
  • Detailed review of Sallie Mae Student Loans

Get the money you need for school from Sallie Mae

Nitro Recommended
CollegeAve
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College Ave is one of the newest and most-innovative lenders in the private student loan marketplace.

  • APR: 0.99% - 12.99%1
  • Loan Types: Undergraduate, Graduate & Parent
  • Loan Terms: 5, 8, 10 & 15 Years
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What Are the Benefits of a College Ave Student Loan?

College Ave stands out in two areas: flexibility and ease of use.

If you want extremely flexible loan repayment options, you should definitely consider looking into student loans from College Ave.

College Ave allows multiple repayment options. For example, if you’re a student, you can opt to make full-principal plus interest payments, interest-only payments, or flat payments of amounts as low as $25 per month while you’re still in school. Borrowers may also defer payments until school is complete.

Key features of a student loans from College Ave:

  • Easy online application process — apply through a streamlined user interface and get an answer in as little as three minutes
  • Build-your-own repayment plan — select from a variety of repayment terms to configure your loan payoff in the way that best fits your needs, including the option to make flat monthly payments while you’re still in school
  • Extremely user-friendly website with tools to help you select the right loan for your unique circumstances
  • Detailed review of College Ave Student Loans

Get a personalized quote from College Ave now

Nitro Recommended
Ascent
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To help you borrow responsibly, Ascent has incorporated financial education into their application process.

  • APR: 1.48% - 12.95%
  • Loan Types: Undergraduate & Graduate
  • Loan Terms: 5, 10 & 15 Years
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What are the benefits of an Ascent student loan?If you're in the market for a student loan, Ascent has three unique benefits that you should pay attention to:

  1. 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward** 
  2. Non-Cosigned loan options for juniors, seniors and graduate students
  3. Graduated Repayment option to make monthly payments more affordable + and deferment and forbearance plans, which can be hard to come by with private lenders

Ascent offers a 1% Cash Back** Graduation Reward if you meet certain qualifying criteria. This is a very unusual benefit among student loan lenders. Depending how much you borrow, your reward could be enough to cover your first monthly payment ... or to buy a new outfit to wear on job interviews.

Key features of a private student loans through Ascent:

    • 1% CASH BACK Graduation Reward
    • CUSTOMIZE your loan with flexible repayment options
    • COVER UP TO 100% of your tuition & living expenses
    • AVOID FEES - No application, origination or disbursement fees
    • 0.25%-2.00% INTEREST RATE REDUCTION for enrolling in automatic payments
    • RELEASE YOUR COSIGNER after 24 consecutive on-time payments
    • FREE financial Tools

Detailed review of Ascent Student Loans

Nitro Recommended
Citizens
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Citizens is an established bank with a solid history in student lending.

  • APR: 1.03% - 10.95%
  • Loan Types: Undergraduate, Graduate & Parent
  • Loan Terms: 5, 10 & 15 Years
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Why Get a Student Loan from Citizens One?

Citizens One offers student loans for undergraduate and graduate studies, as well as parent loans. It also has special offerings for business and law degrees and medical and dental degrees.You can apply for a loan as small as $1,000.Maximum aggregate loan amounts are:9

  • $90,000 for undergraduate
  • $110 for graduate
  • $180,000 for business/law
  • $150,000 or $295,000 for healthcare profesionals (depending on degree)

Citizens also offers a multi-year approval option. 8With their exclusive multi-year approval, you could qualify now through graduation. No searching for a loan each year or having to re-apply. You just simply request your funds once approved.

Key features of a student loan from Citizens:

  • Helpful online tools — Use the calculator to take a lot of the guesswork out of the application process.
  • Competitive rates — some of the lowest starting APRs in the student loan space, with variable rates as low as 1.03%1 APR, and fixed rates as low as 3.23%1 APR with loyalty2 and autopay3 discounts. (as of September 2021). 
  • Flexible repayment terms — conserve cash-in-hand by deferring payments or by spreading out your loan payments over several years.10
  • Detailed review of Citizens Student Loans

Start your private student loan application now with Citizens.

Nitro Recommended
ELFI
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Education Loan Finance (“ELFI”) makes financing your future simple by offering easy payment options, affordable rates, and flexible terms in an application process that is transparent and secure.

  • APR: 1.20% - 11.99%
  • Loan Types: Undergraduate, Graduate & Parent
  • Loan Terms: 5 - 15 Years
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Why Get A Student Loan Through ELFI?

ELFI believes education fuels empowerment, and because of that, we take the hassle out of obtaining a private student loan.

Want freedom? You can check your rate in minutes without it affecting your credit score.

Want savings? You won’t pay an application, origination or prepayment fee.

Looking for support? Your Student Loan Advisor will make sure there are no hiccups when receiving your funds. How’s that for feeling empowered?

Key features of a student loans from ELFI:

  • Prequalify to estimate your rate without affecting your credit score
  • Submit online application in minutes
  • No application fees, origination fees, or prepayment penalties
  • Low rates and flexible repayment terms to fit your needs and goals
  • Student Loan Advisor to guide you through the application process

Get a personalized quote from ELFI now

Nitro Recommended
SoFi
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SoFi helps undergrads pay for college without the hassle. See rates and terms in just minutes—and get access to tips, tools, and resources along the way.

  • APR: 0.99% - 11.33%
  • Loan Types: Undergraduate & Graduate
  • Loan Terms: 5, 10 & 15 Years
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Why Get A Student Loan Through SoFi?

A better way to pay for school. SoFi’s helped 300,000+ grads refinance their student debt. Now we’re helping undergraduates pay for school with competitive-rate private school loans.

  • All online. All easy. Finish our fast and easy online application all in minutes—and add a cosigner in just a few clicks.
  • Save money. Better rates and more savings versus other private lenders.
  • Repay your way. Pick the repayment option that works for you and your budget.

Key features of a student loans from SoFi:

  • We’re making it easy to apply and add a cosigner to your application in minutes.
  • No fees means no fees. That means no origination fees, no late fees, and no insufficient fund fees. Period.
  • SoFi has flexible repayment options to help you find the loan that fits your budget.
  • Get a 0.25% discount when you set up autopay. Plus, SoFi members can qualify for exclusive rate discounts.
  • Get a your rate in 3 minutes or less.
  • 98% of surveyed members would recommend SoFi to a friend.
  • SoFi Private Student Loans can cover up to 100% of the school-certified cost of attendance.

Get a personalized quote from SoFi now

Nitro Recommended
Commonbond
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CommonBond entered the student loan marketplace five+ years ago with a novel idea: bring the concept of crowdsourcing to college loans.

  • APR: 3.52% - 9.74%
  • Loan Types: Undergraduate & Graduate
  • Loan Terms: 5, 10 & 15 Years
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Why Get A Student Loan Through CommonBond?

CommonBond entered the student loan marketplace five years ago with a novel idea: bring the concept of crowdsourcing to college loans. The idea quickly garnered attention from investors and CommonBond took off.Some additional key factors to consider:

  • CommonBond has an award-winning care team (which is pretty rare for the student loan industry!).
  • They offer resources to the student and their families, such as an undergraduate student loan calculator which provides information about the different options you have to pay for school.

Key features of a private student loans through CommonBond:

  • Competitive rates: We use technology to keep our costs low so that we can offer you a competitive interest rate. The best part? No double-digit rates here!
  • Protections: Temporarily postpone payments if you run into financial difficulties. We’ve got your back, while you get back on track.
  • Service: Our award-winning service is second to none – and we're available by phone, email, and chat to answer any questions you have.
  • Social promise: For every loan we fund, we also fund the education of a child in need. So your loan doesn't just help you achieve your dreams, it helps a child in the developing world as well.
  • Detailed review of CommonBond Student Loans

Get your rate from CommonBond now

If savings, scholarships, and grants aren't enough to fully fund your college education, you might be considering taking out a private student loan. While you want to make sure that you're getting the beast deal possible, it's also important to ensure that you're working with a reputable lender.

Key Factors to consider when considering Private Student Loans:

  • Interest Rate
  • Repayment options & flexibility
  • Eligibility requirements

Only 8% of students get approved without a co-signer as most students have little income or no credit history.

Applying with a co-signer can greatly improve your chances of approval

Additional factors to consider when evaluating private student loan options:

PAYMENT FLEXIBILITY

Having a variety of payment plans to choose from means that you can select an option that will set you up for success. For example, if you're not able to make full payments while you're ion school, making interest-only payments until you graduate can prevent additional interest from accruing and inflating the size of your loan.

TIME TO FIND EMPLOYMENT

A grace period after graduation means that you're not obligated to start making full payments on your loan right away. A typical grace period is about six months after graduation or after your enrollment drops to half-time.

THE ABILITY TO RELEASE YOUR COSIGNER

Few incoming college students have the credit history to qualify for a loan on their own. Most reputable lenders will allow you to release your cosigner from their obligation after you've established your own positive credit history and made a certain number on of-time payments. It's a great way to thank your cosigner for their help.

RATE DISCOUNTS

Many lenders offer reduced interest rates to qualified lenders. For example, signing up for autopay can often yield a discount of 0.25 percentage points. That quarter of a percent can save you a lot of money over the life of your loan.

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