15 Best Private Student Loans of this Year

Launched in 2019, SoFi Private Student Loans helps students pay for tuition and offers competitive fixed and variable rates. They do not have a maximum loan limit as long as your school certifies the cost. Their reward points system makes them unique and one of the best private student loan lenders. Students can earn reward points by using their app, like by checking their credit scores. The points earned can be redeemed towards the loan.

They offer transparency in their loan application, disbursement, and repayment. The loan is available for both full- and part-time graduate or undergraduate students enrolled at an accredited school. Moreover, they have a no-fee policy and offer a quick rate quote. For higher approval chances, they do require a minimum credit of 670. Students who are unable to fulfill that criteria can apply with a credit-worthy cosigner.

Sallie Mae bank offers the Sallie Mae private student loans to undergraduates, graduates, students in career training, and parents. Sallie Mae is one of the largest private student loan lending institutions in the U.S. The bank provides up to 100% of the loan amount requested by the borrower to cover all educational expenses as long as it is included in your school’s certified cost of attendance.

They offer low fixed and variable starting rates which are almost as good as federal loans; however, better rates are offered to those with excellent credit. For approval, they require a FICO score that is in the mid 600s at least. Adding a credit-worthy cosigner might help improve your credit situation and get better rates.

College Avenue is a private student loan that fits most borrowers’ goals and budgets. They are one of the best private student loan lenders with a low-interest rate. They have four different loan options and these include undergraduate student loans, graduate student loans, parent loans, and refinancing. Their user-friendly website helps borrowers calculate their payment terms based on the information they submit.

College Avenue requires either the applicant to have credit scores that are at least in the mid 600s or a cosigner that can meet the same criteria for approval. What makes them unique is the monthly scholarship program their student borrowers can apply to and receive $1,000 if selected.  They offer 4 repayment options and terms up to 15 years so borrowers can choose according to their convenience.

Funding U provides no cosigner student loans ranging between $3,000 to $20,000 per year to undergraduate students with fixed interest rates. They are a great lender choice for students with no or poor credit and who find it hard to get a cosigner. Funding U loan approval is based on the student’s academic achievement, course load, likelihood to graduate on time, and projected future earnings.

Ascent gives more opportunities to qualify for a loan both for undergraduate and graduate programs. They offer cosigned and non-cosigner credit-based loans and also a non-cosigned outcomes-based loan. Their credit-based loans do require at least a good score of 670 and above for a better chance of approval; however, the outcomes-based loan is based on the student’s GPA. The latter loan is a great choice for students with no credit and a GPA that is above  2.9. They also have a longer repayment term of up to 20 years on their student loans.

Citizens Bank is a popular private student loan lender with 1,100 nationwide. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions offering many financial products and services besides student loans. Along with providing loans to undergraduates and graduates, it also provides parent loans, refinancing loans, personal loans, business loans, and scholarships. The bank allows students to borrow a maximum of $150,000 in loans, or the total cost of education, whichever is lower.

The Citizens Bank does not disclose its minimum credit requirement but students with a good credit score or a credit-worthy cosigner have a better chance of approval.

Earnest differs from other private student loan lenders as it also looks into other aspects other than credit scores. They consider salary, debt-to-income ratio, and employment history for each borrower.

Earnest offers fair and customized rates to borrowers based on the information provided. They do a rate match for their borrowers for this purpose and their rate calculator helps borrowers easily understand how much they can borrow, interest rates, and refinancing information. They have a zero-fee policy and allow students to skip one payment per year without penalty. Their student loan minimum credit requirement is 665.

Custom Choice offers lower interest rates to its students compared to most of its competitors and allows students to borrow up to 100% of their cost of attendance. What makes this lender unique is the 2% principal reduction it offers with proof of graduation. They do not charge fees and have a 94% approval rate for returning customers.

They have multiple repayment options allowing borrowers some flexibility. They do not have a minimum credit requirement mentioned, but students with higher scores or those with credit-worthy cosigners have a better chance of approval.

Discover Bank offers private student loans that help to cover tuition, housing, books, and other school-certified costs of attendance. They offer a huge range of student loans including undergraduate, graduate, bar exam, consolidation, parent, residency, and degree-specific loans too like for MBA and Law Schools.

Their cash rewards for good grades make them a unique lender. Student borrowers with a 3.0+ GPA can qualify for a one-time cash reward on each new student loan. However, it’s best to redeem the cash rewards as soon as you can as the reward redemption period has a time limit and is specific to the type of loan. They do not disclose their minimum credit score for approval, but borrowers with good credit scores are more likely to get approved; otherwise, they will be required to cosign the loan for approval.

RISLA is a non-profit institution providing multiple financial products and services to U.S. citizens since 1981. It provides private student loans to graduates, undergraduates, and parents. It also provides refinancing loans and certificate loans to students. RISLA is ideal for students on their way to becoming nurses as they can pay zero interest for the first few years of their loan. Their loans are credit-based and require a minimum income of $40,000 for approval.

Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation or ISL Education Lending was established in 1979 and is a nonprofit corporation. ISL offers private loans to undergraduates, graduates, parents, and families. They offer other types of programs too like refinancing, scholarships programs, programs for families and reinvest funds in programs.

They have options for both cosigner and no cosigner loans for students. Their no-cosigner loans are for students with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.75 or above. This particular loan is called Partnership No-Cosigner Loan for Undergrads and the borrowers must make $25 monthly payments while they are enrolled in college until the beginning of principal and interest payments. This particular loan, however, has a higher fixed interest rate of more than 8%.

MPower specializes in lending to international students and they base their loan decisions on a student’s future potential rather than past credit. It also provides refinancing services and scholarship options to help international students achieve their dreams in the U.S. Their loan amounts range from $2,001 to $100,000 which can be helpful for international students as their tuition cost is usually higher than locals.

Since these loans are not credit-based and do not require cosigners, they have much higher interest rates. Also, MPower may carry out a credit check for those students who do have a credit history in the U.S. or Canada but the loan approval is not based on it.

Edly offers private student loans with income-based repayment options. It is an ideal lender for career training loans without a cosigner. Along with career training student loans, they provide no-cosigner loans to undergraduates and graduates too. EDLY has options for cosigned loans too for students who want more affordable loans as cosigners can help decrease the rates you get.

Education Loan Finance, popularly known as ELFI is an affiliate of SouthEast Bank in Tennessee. ELFI was launched in 2015 and aims to assist students with private loans and refinancing. SouthEast Bank provides different loan types that cover both undergraduate and graduate programs.

Upon applying, borrowers are assigned a Student Loan Advisor who walks them through the whole process. They also offer a forbearance option in the case of financial hardship or medical difficulty, with a forbearance period of up to 12 months. For approval, ELFI requires the borrower, or the cosigner, to have a credit score of at least 680.

Chicago Student Loans by A.M. Money bases its loans on merit instead of credit or income. Due to this reason, they do not require a cosigner either. They offer flexible repayment options based on the applicant’s income after graduation. This makes this loan highly favorable for students with academic excellence and poor credit.