Best Student Loans

With federal undergraduate student loans and some private loans, there are annual and lifetime limits on how much you can borrow. But with Earnest, you can borrow up to the total cost of attendance, and you can have up to 15 years to repay your loan. 

Earnest offers a longer-than-usual grace period. Instead of six months like you get with federal loans, Earnest gives you nine months after graduating or leaving school before you have to start making full principal and interest payments. 

Earnest has competitive variable and fixed interest rates, and it backs its rates with a guarantee. It will match any competitor’s rate and give you a $100 Amazon gift card once your rate match is complete. 

Earnest also offers student loan refinancing and parent loan refinancing. 

With typical student loan marketplaces, you submit a pre-qualification form, undergo a soft credit check, and are shown offers from the platform’s partner lenders. There isn’t usually an advantage to using a marketplace other than being able to compare offers from several lenders at once. 

Juno works differently. When you join Juno, it places you in a group of similar borrowers. It uses that group to negotiate loan terms with its partner lenders. As a result, you may be eligible for lower interest rates than you’d get shopping on your own. 

Keep in mind that Juno works by negotiating as a group, so you cannot get a loan instantly. Make sure you start the process well ahead of time so you have the money you need to pay for school. 

Some of Juno’s partners offer additional incentives, such as cash-back bonuses. And if you find a lower rate elsewhere, Juno’s partners will match that rate and give you 1% of the loan amount as a cash-back bonus. 

Juno connects borrowers to loans from leading lenders, and it also works with lenders that lend to international and DACA students. 

When it comes to private student loans, eligibility requirements, repayment options, and rates can vary between lenders, so it pays to shop around. But reviewing offers from several lenders can be time-consuming; that’s where Credible comes in. 

Credible isn’t a lender; it’s a marketplace that allows you to get quotes from several leading lenders at once with just a soft credit inquiry. It connects borrowers to several different types of loans, including loans for undergraduates, graduate students, and parent borrowers. 

For graduate students exploring their financing options, ISL Lending could be a valuable option. It offers loans with interest rates that can be lower than those of federal graduate loans, and it allows students to borrow up to the total cost of attendance. Unlike federal graduate loans, ISL Lending doesn’t charge origination or disbursement fees. 

While most private student loan companies require borrowers to have co-signers, ISL Lending has an option specifically designed for graduate students who don’t have one. Its non-co-signed graduate loan has higher rates than co-signed options, but it provides loans to graduate students who may not have access to a creditworthy co-signer. 

If you’re an undergraduate student, qualifying for a private student loan on your own can be difficult. Most lenders require strong credit histories and full-time salaries, or you may need a co-signer. If you don’t have a relative or friend who can co-sign your loan, Funding U can be a useful option. 

Funding U offers fixed-rate loans exclusively for undergraduate students who don’t have co-signers. You can borrow up to $20,000 per academic year, and there are no application or origination fees. 

With College Ave Student Loans, you borrow money to pay for associates, bachelor’s, or graduate programs, and you can pick from several repayment options and terms. You can choose a loan term of 5, 8, 10, or 15 years—more options than some other lenders offer—to get an in-school repayment plan that works for you. 

College Ave is especially helpful for students in health professions. With a health professions loan, you can defer your payments for up to 48 months after you leave school if you participate in a medical residency or fellowship. 

While College Ave allows you to apply with a co-signer, its requirements for co-signer releases are more strict than other lenders. You can only apply for co-signer release after more than half of your repayment term is over. For example, if you have a 10-year term, you can only apply after at least five years have passed. 

Although federal loans usually have lower interest rates than private loans, parent loans can be the exception. Federal Parent PLUS Loans have the highest interest rate of all federal loans; Parent PLUS Loans disbursed for the 2022–2023 academic year have a rate of 5.58%. Plus, they have a 4.23% disbursement fee.

SoFi’s parent loans may be a cost-effective alternative. Borrowers with excellent credit may qualify for a loan with a lower rate than Parent PLUS loans, and SoFi doesn’t charge origination, disbursement, or late fees. 

If you’re an international or DACA student, qualifying for a private student loan in the U.S. can be challenging. While some lenders will work with non-citizens, they usually require applicants to have a co-signer who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. 

But with MPOWER Finance, students can qualify for a private student loan without a co-signer. Students can borrow up to $50,000 per year—up to $100,000 over their lifetimes—and have 10 years to repay their loans. Plus, MPOWER offers discounts for automatic payments and for providing proof of graduation and employment.

Student loan refinancing is a way to lower the interest rates on your student loan debt and save money. Splash Financial is our choice as the best company for refinancing because it’s a mini-marketplace that allows you to compare offers from multiple lenders at once, and may provide some very low rates. 

By filling out one form, you can review refinancing options from several banks and credit unions. Splash allows you to refinance undergraduate and graduate student loans. And some of Splash Financial’s partners even offer spousal loan refinancing, so you can combine your debt with your partner’s. 

With private student loans, you usually need good to excellent credit or a co-signer to qualify for a loan. Ascent Funding is one of the few lenders that doesn’t require a co-signer. It offers an outcomes-based loan for borrowers who have insufficient credit histories and don’t have any credit. 

The outcomes-based loan is available to college juniors or seniors and graduate students, and you can have up to 15 years to repay your loan. 

Depending on the type of loan you choose, you may qualify for an autopay discount that reduces your interest rate by as much as 1.00%. Or, you may qualify for a 1% cash-back reward once you graduate.