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Private Student Loan Lenders Without Cosigner
If you’ve exhausted the federal student loan amount in your financial aid package but still need funds, a private loan may seem like a natural next step. While private student loans can help close your education financial gap, in many cases, private student loans require a co-signer.
International Student Loan Without A Cosigner
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), 90% of new private student loans require a co-signer. Finding a willing co-signer on your debt can be difficult. But some student loans don’t have a co-signer. Find private student loans without a co-signer here.
Private lenders are private financial institutions that rely on credit to determine your eligibility. It can be difficult to get approved when you are young and have limited or poor credit, or no credit history at all. But some private student loans don’t have a co-signer requirement. Let’s review the best student loans without a cosigner.
Sallie Mae, one of the most popular private student loan lenders, does offer private student loans without a cosigner, but they do promote having a cosigner, and for good reason. Co-signers can help student borrowers qualify and can help undergraduate students obtain lower interest rates. Graduate students may have a better chance of getting approved for a student loan without a cosigner, but Sally Mae still recommends a cosigner for them. Their loans are very convenient and you can get the whole year’s money with one application, saving time. We list them here first because they tend to convert the best resources for our readers due to the vast network of schools they can lend to. We list the remaining lenders in alphabetical order.
Ascent is one of the few private student loan companies that specializes in non-cosigner loans to college juniors, seniors, and graduate students. You can borrow up to $20,000 per year for tuition and eligible living expenses. Combined with Stafford loans and other financial aid, that could be enough to cover your last year or two of college without any help from your parents. You can defer loans while in school, and Ascent offers a 1% cash back bonus when you graduate. Ascent also offers a 1% interest rate discount on its Undergraduate Future Income Loan product if you sign up for automatic payments.
What Student Loans Can & Can’t Be Used For
CitizensBank offers private student loans without a co-signer to borrowers with good credit (more on that later). There are no application or origination fees. You can also get up to 0.50% interest rate reduction by signing up for autopay (0.25%) and already having an account with them (0.25%). There are 5, 10 and 15 year repayment terms available.
College Ave private student loans typically require a co-signer and a minimum credit score, but you can see if you qualify for a private student loan without a co-signer.
Using the link above, you’ll be able to use their pre-qualification tool to see if your credit score is good enough to get a loan on your own. If you are an international student, College Ave will require you to have a cosigner on your private student loans.
Discover Bank offers private student loans that don’t require a cosigner, but you must have good credit to be approved. If you have limited or no credit history, you will need a co-signer. But if you have established credit and are in good standing, you can get a student loan without a co-signer. There is an exception for international students who do require a U.S. citizen co-signature.
Best Student Loans Of 2023
Serious private student loans have no down payment or origination fees. Earnest tends to offer more generous borrower protections than some other lenders on this list, such as a nine-month grace period (usually six) and the ability to skip a payment each year if needed. Most borrowers using Earnest require a co-signer. However, highly qualified borrowers with some work experience may be able to successfully apply on their own. Earnest will fund 100% of school-certified costs of attendance up to $250, 000.
Funding U offers undergraduate student loans that don’t require a co-signer. As a smaller lender, you can borrow up to $15,000 per academic year, with a lifetime maximum of $75,000. You can quickly get prequalified in just two minutes. They use information based on your federal loans and academic merit as part of the loan decision. Funding U is one of the few private lenders that does not require a credit history, making it easy to get a private student loan without a co-signer. Juniors and seniors are most likely to be approved.
If you don’t want to apply for a joint loan, be sure to review your federal student loan options through your financial aid package.
We always underwrite private student loans without a co-signer, but be sure to check out federal student loans first as they don’t require a minimum credit score and the interest rates are fixed. When you sign up for automatic payments, you can get an automatic payment discount.
Private Student Loans
The biggest difference between federal student loans and private student loans is that federal loans do not require a credit check. Instead, federal borrowers simply fill out the FAFSA. Since private student loans are credit-based, they do require a check.
Additionally, federal student loans have fixed interest rates, and private student loans can have fixed or variable interest rates. You also have more repayment options with federal student loans, and in most cases, these loans don’t require a co-signer.
No doubt. It seems like almost all private student loan lenders have a caveat – to get approved for a private student loan without a co-signer, you must have good credit. So if you have no credit history and want a student loan but don’t have a co-signer, you might be out of luck. But how do you get credit? So what is good credit?
According to Experian, good credit means a FICO credit score of 700 or above. Your credit score is a number that shows your creditworthiness and helps lenders determine how likely you are to repay a loan.
Things To Know About Private Student Loans
Credit is primarily built through your payment history and credit utilization ratio—which accounts for 65% of your credit score. Following these actions may improve your credit:
You can keep an eye on your credit score using sites like Credit Karma or Credit Sesame. Your bank or credit card may also provide you with access. You can build credit over time by making on-time payments and keeping your balance low. When you have a good credit score, you can qualify for more loans.
Both federal and private student loans have the same purpose – to pay for your education. Although they do the same thing, they are very different. Federal loans come from the government; private loans come from financial institutions.
Most federal loans do not require a credit check or a co-signer, while private student loans are credit-based and require a co-signer. Beyond this, there are significant differences in borrower interests.
Useful Guide On What Is Student Loan Cosigner? Why Do I Need One?
Federal student loan borrowers can choose income-driven repayment options to make their monthly payments more affordable ($0 in some cases). Borrowers also have the option of deferment and forbearance if they encounter difficulties. Best of all, if your balance is not paid off at the end of the repayment period, you can get student loan forgiveness under various programs like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, as well as income-driven programs. When you apply for a federal student loan, a variety of repayment plans are available to you. You can choose between a standard repayment plan or an income-driven plan that suits your needs.
Private student loans offer limited benefits to borrowers, and benefits may vary by lender. But there is absolutely no forgiveness or income-based options. Therefore, if you want to get out of debt or make repayments more affordable, it may be more difficult to use a private loan.
Interest rates on private loans may also be higher depending on the private lender, your credit, and other factors.
Therefore, we recommend taking advantage of federal student loan options before considering private student loans. Private student loans should be a last resort and should be carefully evaluated. If you do need a private loan, there are some important factors to consider, and you’ll need to consider multiple private lenders to find the right one.
What Is A Student Loan Cosigner?
For the most qualified borrowers, you may be able to find private student loans with higher interest rates than federal student loan rates for the 2022-2023 school year.
Ready to apply for a private student loan without a co-signer? First, check your credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com to make sure everything is correct. if
