The time, effort, and dedication you put towards your college career may have a large impact on your success in the future. This is why it’s so worthwhile and important to invest in your college career now – even if that means taking out loans. If you’ve tried other ways to make ends meet on your college payment like grants, scholarships, and savings to no avail, then it might be time to take out a private student loan.
In order to pick a private student loan that’s right for you, you should take a look at the interest rate. A lot of the time, private student loans base their rates on your credit score and banking. They might also require your parent to be a cosigner in case you cannot make your payments anymore. Private student loans use online lenders and banks as opposed to the government, in the case of federal loans.
To help you choose which private student loan is right for you, we’ve made a list of the six best private student loans out there.
Sallie Mae
Even though Sallie Mae requires a cosigner, they offer some of the lowest rates out there. There are no fees if you want to pay the loan off early and no origination fee. It also offers perks like credit score tracking and repayment terms of five to fifteen years. They also offer both fixed and variable interest rates. You can carry the loans on your own and qualify for a co-signer release after making 12 on-time payments. Application is quick and easy. There’s a fixed APR of 4.74-11.35% and a variable APR of 2.75-10.22%.
The only downside to Sallie Mae is that you cannot choose the length of your repayment term.
MEFA
The MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority) offers fixed rates, which means you’ll get stability with your monthly payments. There’s no application and no disbursement fees. One of the only downsides to the MEFA private student loan is that the only repayment term option for grad students is 15 years.
Ascent
This is a great private student loan if you’re a graduate student or upper classman who has no credit or income. You can also use a cosigner to pay off the Ascent loans quickly. You can also use autopay to make biweekly payments.
They offer multiple in-school repayment options. The only downside of the Ascent private student loan is there are fewer repayment term lengths when compared to other lenders. Additionally, there needs to be a minimum income of $24,000 for the co-sign option.
EDvestinU
EDvestinU is a great option for private student loans. There are flexible repayment options, no application or disbursement fees, and you’ll get a .05% autopay discount. There’s a variable APR of 3.796 – 9.790% and a fixed APR of 4.516 – 9.260%. The only downside of the EDvestinU private student loan is that the cosigner or borrower must have an income of at least $30,000.
Discover
One of the best private student loans out there in regards to a repayment policy is Discover. There’s no application and no late payment fees. There’s also no fee if you want to pay the loan off early. You have four repayment terms to choose from: fixed, deferred, interest-only, or full.
Better yet, if you have a 3.0 GPA or above, Discover offers a one percent cash reward on each new student loan. If you need some flexibility on your payments, then the Discover private student loan may be best for you.
Citizens Bank
If you’re majoring in business, law, or healthcare, then you should consider the Citizens Bank private student loan. They tailor the loan for students majoring in those fields. There’s no origination or disbursement fees and no application. They offer a 0.25% loyalty discount and a 0.25% payment discount. They have a fixed rate of 4.72 – 12.04% and a variable rate of 2.80 – 10.91%.
With these private student loans, you’ll be able to major in the courses that you want, without having to worry about how you’re going to afford them. Choose a private student loan that suits your needs and current financial situation – and enjoy some of the best four years of your life!
