Do You Need a Cosigner for a Student Loan?
If you’re planning to get a private student loan, chances are high that you’ll need a creditworthy cosigner to get approved. Even if your credit is great, adding a cosigner can help you get a lower interest rate — saving you money.
Note: If you’re not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you may still be eligible for a student loan but you may require you to find a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to cosign the loan.
If you’re looking to borrow a federal student loan, most loans will not require a cosigner. There is one exception, a federal Direct PLUS Loan. A PLUS loan is the only type of federal loan which will require a credit check, and possibly a cosigner. If you’re denied a PLUS loan because you have adverse credit you will have the option to file an extenuating circumstances appeal or to apply with a creditworthy cosigner.
What is a Cosigner on a Student Loans?
Who Can Cosign a Student Loan?
How to Find a Cosigner For a Student Loan
What Does a Cosigner Need For a Student Loan?
Does Cosigning a Student Loan Affect Credit?
Can I Cosign a Student Loan with Bad Credit?
Finding a Cosigner: 5 Qualities to Look For
What is a Cosigner on a Student Loan?
A cosigner is someone with a strong credit and employment history who agrees to be equally responsible for your student loan. Most undergraduate students will need a cosigner on a private student loan because they do not meet the minimum credit and work history requirements. Lenders are looking for assurance that the borrower (you) will be able to repay the loan, and they need see a track record that includes at least a couple years of employment or earnings, plus a strong FICO® score.
Essentially, the idea behind having a cosigner is the lender has another way of ensuring they get their money back. If the borrower can’t or doesn’t make the payments, the cosigner will jump in to help repay the loan. You should also know that missed or late payments will ding both credit reports. Ultimately, the cosigner is just as responsible for repaying the loan as you are.
Who Can Cosign a Student Loan?
Each lender will have their own requirements, but generally speaking, any adult U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident with strong credit can cosign a student loan. “Strong credit” is determined by each lender but it is pretty standard to see a minimum FICO score requirement of 680, along with an absence of things like bankruptcy, foreclosures, liens, and student loan defaults. A track record of on-time payments and a strong debt-to-income ratio are also vital. It’s common for cosigners to be parents, grandparents, an aunt or uncle, or in some cases a spouse.
How to Find a Cosigner for a Student Loan?
When you ask someone to cosign a loan, you’re asking them to fully share the responsibility of your student loan with you. If you don’t pay on the loan, they will be held responsible for the debt. Understanding what you are asking someone to do when they cosign a loan is very important. It’s a pretty big ask.
Because of this, it’s common for students to reach out to close family and friends first. Of course, not everyone has this option available to them. Some students reach out to people in their communities, such as church members, or members of other organizations they are involved in.
If you are a college junior or senior with good grades, you may qualify for a non-cosigned loan from a lender like Ascent.
What Does a Cosigner Need for a Student Loan?
Cosigners need to meet the lender’s citizenship and credit criteria to qualify for private student loans. This includes having a strong credit score, a low debt-to-income ratio, proof of income and earnings history, and no adverse line items on the credit profile (example: bankruptcy). Of course, each lender’s underwriting criteria will vary and some will be stricter than others.
The other thing that cosigners need is a high degree of trust in the student borrower. On whose behalf are you are agreeing to cosign the loan? Your son or daughter? Niece or nephew? Child of a family friend that you’ve known for a few years, but do not have a good understanding of how responsible that person may be with finances, let alone their likely ability to repay this loan after graduating? Cosigning a loan means putting a lot of confidence in the primary borrower, and knowing you will have ongoing means of communicating with him/her should issues arise. For example, if you cosign a loan for Sue can you say with certainty that Sue will be in touch with you regularly once she moves to another city? If the lender calls you to locate Sue, will you be able to say where to find her? Remember that you are on the hook for payments if Sue drops the ball. So even if the lender cannot find her, it’s important that you know how to track her down so you can avoid being the only one responsible for paying the loan and protecting your credit.
Lastly, cosigners need to feel comfortable with the dollar amount of the loan you are being asked to sign. If you put imagine yourself being solely responsible for this loan, is it an amount you could reasonably afford if the primary borrower cannot pay? If not, you may want to reconsider.
Does Cosigning a Student Loan Affect Credit?
Yes. Cosigning a loan will affect the cosigner’s credit. Because a cosigner is a co-borrower, the loan will be reflected on their credit report. This will affect the cosigner’s debt to income ratio, and any missed payments will be reflected on their credit history.
Can I Cosign a Student Loan With Bad Credit?
The short answer is no. Typically, individuals with bad credit do not make good cosigners and will likely not meet the lenders’ minimum requirements. You would find out—pretty quickly—that having a poor credit score or adverse credit history will disqualify you. If you are denied, the student can certainly resubmit the application with a new cosigner. When in doubt, you can always contact the lender for additional details about qualification criteria. And remember that if you are denied, you are also entitled to a free copy of your credit report so you can review your history for yourself. This will allow you to uncover what may be leading to the denial (after all, it could happen again in another scenario), or to help you challenge any erroneous information contained in your credit report.
Lenders do not usually consider it a negative for the student to have no credit history, or even a thin credit profile. But they would certainly expect the cosigner to have a solid credit history. There are only a few lenders that offer non-cosigned student loans, which may be an option depending on the student’s academic level. Check out our comparison table to shop around.
Finding a Cosigner: 5 Qualities to Look For
1. Have a Good Credit Score
Most students need a cosigner because they don’t have a lengthy employment or credit history. Your cosigner should have a history of steady employment, and a history of paying their debts on time.
Lenders aren’t just looking for someone else to share the responsibility of the loan, they are looking to be paid back, so they want to loan money to people who have a proven history of managing their debts and financial obligations. And this isn’t limited to just credit cards, a mortgage or student loans. Things like late rent, utility bills, and unpaid medical bills can show up as negative items on a credit report as well.
Ideally, your cosigner will have no current or recent negative items on their credit report.
2. Have Stable Employment
Lenders want to know that the people they are loaning money to have the ability to earn. Most lenders look for at least two years of employment history. While some students may have this, most traditional students still don’t earn enough on their own, or don’t have a long enough credit history to apply without a cosigner. This also means your cosigner should be able to demonstrate stable employment.
3. Understand the Responsibility of a Cosigner
This may sound like a broken record, but we can’t emphasize it enough. Your cosigner shares 100% responsibility for your loan. If either of you do not pay the loan it will affect each of your individual credit histories. This is why cosigners are often parents or other close family members.
This obligation will tie you to your cosigner until the loan is paid off (or until you refinance your loans to remove the cosigner). Some lenders offer cosigner release when the primary borrower has made a certain number of on-time payments (typically 24 to 48 months). This is important, because some student loans offer repayment terms up to 20 years or more, depending on degree type.
Cosigners should be aware of the following:
- Total amount being borrowed
- The expected monthly payment
- Payment due dates
- Cosigner release terms and conditions (if applicable)
4. Have the Ability to Make the Monthly Payments
Your cosigner should have the ability to step in and make payments, if needed. That is why it is incredibly important for your cosigner to understand the loan that is being borrowed. If you provide them with an estimate of the monthly payment amount, it should be an amount they can afford.
If you think you will be unable to make a payment, contact your lender AND your cosigner immediately. Your lender may have short-term options to help you stay current (like decreasing or temporarily postponing your monthly payment). Note too, if your cosigner says they will pay the bill and then doesn’t, that will ding your credit as well as their's (remember, you are both sharing the responsibility equally). Your cosigner should be someone you trust.
5. No Recent Bankruptcies
Lenders want to work with borrowers who have a good credit history. A recent bankruptcy on your cosigner’s credit report will make lender approval highly unlikely. If the person you are planning to ask to cosign your loan has a recent bankruptcy, you will probably need to find a new cosigner in order to qualify.
What to do next?
Building Your Credit as a College Student
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- Competitive fixed and variable APRs starting at 4.44%1
- Multiple repayment options including: full principal and interest, interest-only, deferred, and flat payment
- Flexible payment terms ranging from 5, 8, 10, and 15 years2
- Coverage up to 100% of your school-certified cost of attendance ($1,000 minimum)3
- No origination, application and processing fees, no fees for early repayment
- Apply online in 3 minutes and get an instant credit decision
- Applying with a cosigner can increase your chances of getting approved and could result in a lower interest rate
College Ave Student Loans products are made available through Firstrust Bank, member FDIC, First Citizens Community Bank, member FDIC, or M.Y. Safra Bank, FSB, member FDIC.. All loans are subject to individual approval and adherence to underwriting guidelines. Program restrictions, other terms, and conditions apply.
1Rates shown are for the College Ave Undergraduate Loan product and include autopay discount. The 0.25% auto-pay interest rate reduction applies as long as a valid bank account is designated for required monthly payments. If a payment is returned, you will lose this benefit. Variable rates may increase after consummation.
2This informational repayment example uses typical loan terms for a freshman borrower who selects the Deferred Repayment Option with a 10-year repayment term, has a $10,000 loan that is disbursed in one disbursement and a 8.35% fixed Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): 120 monthly payments of $179.18 while in the repayment period, for a total amount of payments of $21,501.54. Loans will never have a full principal and interest monthly payment of less than $50. Your actual rates and repayment terms may vary.
3As certified by your school and less any other financial aid you might receive. Minimum $1,000.
Information advertised valid as of 05/01/2023. Variable interest rates may increase after consummation. Approved interest rate will depend on the creditworthiness of the applicant(s), lowest advertised rates only available to the most creditworthy applicants and require selection of full principal and interest payments with the shortest available loan term.
- Variable Rates: 5.99% APR - 16.33% APR. Fixed Rates: 4.50% APR - 14.83% APR. Lowest rates shown include 0.25% interest rate discount with auto debit payments.1
- Apply online in minutes and receive an instant credit result2
- Multiple repayment options from in-school payments to deferred.1 No origination fee or prepayment penalty3
- Last year, students were 3x more likely to be approved with a cosigner4 and it may help you get a better rate.
- Borrow up to 100% of school-certified expenses, whether you're online or on campus5
Borrow Responsibly
We encourage students and families to start with savings, grants, scholarships, and federal student loans to pay for college. Students and families should evaluate all anticipated monthly loan payments, and how much the student expects to earn in the future, before considering a private student loan.
Loans for Undergraduate & Career Training Students are not intended for graduate students and are subject to credit approval, identity verification, signed loan documents, and school certification. Student must attend a participating school. Student or cosigner must meet the age of majority in their state of residence. Students who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents must reside in the U.S., attend school in the U.S., apply with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident), and provide an unexpired government-issued photo ID. Requested loan amount must be at least $1,000.
1Advertised APRs for undergraduate students assume a $10,000 loan to a student who attends school for 4 years and has no prior Sallie Mae-serviced loans. Interest rates for variable rate loans may increase or decrease over the life of the loan based on changes to the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent. Advertised variable rates are the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Interest is charged starting when funds are sent to the school. With the Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options, the interest rate is higher than with the Interest Repayment Option and Unpaid Interest is added to the loan’s Current Principal at the end of the grace/separation period. To receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate discount, the borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The discount applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment.
2In 2022, instant credit decisions were provided to 97.8% of applicants. Other applications typically received credit decisions in 3 to 5 business days.
3Although we do not charge a penalty or fee if you prepay your loan, any prepayment will be applied as outlined in your promissory note-first to Unpaid Fees and costs, then to Unpaid Interest, and then to Current Principal.
4Based on the percentage of borrowers who were approved for an undergraduate loan with a cosigner compared to the percentage of borrowers who were approved for an undergraduate loan without a cosigner from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022.5 For applications submitted directly to Sallie Mae, loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received, as certified by the school. Applications submitted to Sallie Mae through a partner website may be subjected to a lower maximum loan request amount. Miscellaneous personal expenses (such as a laptop) may be included in the cost of attendance for students enrolled at least half-time.
6 Examples of typical costs for a $10,000 Smart Option Loan with the most common fixed rate, fixed repayment option, 6-month separation period, and two disbursements: For a borrower with no prior loans and a 4-year in-school period, it works out to a 10.28% fixed APR, 51 payments of $25.00, 119 payments of $182.67 and one payment of $121.71, for a Total Loan Cost of $23,134.44. For a borrower with $20,000 in prior loans and a 2-year in-school period, it works out to a 10.78% fixed APR, 27 payments of $25.00, 179 payments of $132.53 and one payment of $40.35 for a total loan cost of $24,438.22. Loans that are subject to a $50 minimum principal and interest payment may receive a loan term that is less than 10 years.
Information advertised valid as of 05/25/2023.
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- AFFORDABLE variable rates starting at 6.16% APR with Automatic Debit Discount*
- 1% CASH BACK Graduation Reward*
- NON-COSIGNED option may be available for undergraduate juniors and seniors.
- PAY AFTER LEAVING SCHOOL – Customize your loan with flexible repayment options – start payments after graduation.
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* Ascent's undergraduate and graduate student loans are funded by Bank of Lake Mills, Member FDIC. Loan products may not be available in certain jurisdictions. Certain restrictions, limitations; and terms and conditions may apply. For Ascent Terms and Conditions please visit: www.AscentFunding.com/Ts&Cs
Rates are effective as of 5/01/2023 and reflect an automatic payment discount of either 0.25% (for credit-based loans) OR 1.00% (for undergraduate outcomes-based loans). Automatic Payment Discount is available if the borrower is enrolled in automatic payments from their personal checking account and the amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. For Ascent rates and repayment examples please visit: www.AscentFunding.com/Rates
1% Cash Back Graduation Reward subject to terms and conditions. Cosigned Credit-Based Loan student must meet certain minimum credit criteria. The minimum score required is subject to change and may depend on the credit score of your cosigner. Lowest APRs require interest-only payments, the shortest loan term, and a cosigner, and are only available to our most creditworthy applicants and cosigners with the highest average credit scores.
Up to four repayment types (including no payments while in school) and multiple repayment terms help you find the loan that fits your budget
- Variable Rates: Starting variable rates range from 5.16% APR - 13.13% APR (with autopay)*, and will never exceed 13.95% (sometimes lower in certain states as required by law)
- Fixed Rates: Fixed rates range from 4.49% APR to 13.98% APR (with autopay)*
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- Up to four repayment types (including no payments while in school) and multiple repayment terms help you find the loan that fits your budget
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*UNDERGRADUATE LOANS: Fixed rates from 4.49% to 13.98% annual percentage rate ("APR") (with autopay), variable rates from 5.16% to 13.13% APR (with autopay). GRADUATE LOANS: Fixed rates from 5.25% to 13.60% APR (with autopay), variable rates from 5.79% to 13.07% APR (with autopay). PARENT LOANS: Fixed rates from 6.50% to 13.98% APR (with autopay), variable rates from 6.32% to 13.13% APR (with autopay). For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. Interest rates for variable rate loans are capped at 13.95%, unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law. Lowest rates are reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. If approved for a loan, the interest rate offered will depend on your creditworthiness, the repayment option you select, the term and amount of the loan and other factors, and will be within the ranges of rates listed above. The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. Information current as of 04/28/2023.
Terms and Conditions Apply. SOFI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or other eligible status and meet SoFi's underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. To qualify for the lowest rate, you must have a responsible financial history and meet other conditions. If approved, your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, evaluation of your creditworthiness, years of professional experience, income, and a variety of other factors. Rates and Terms are subject to change at anytime without notice and are subject to state restrictions. SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers, or may become available, such as Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment or PAYE. Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Financing Law License No. 6054612. SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Lending Corp., NMLS # 1121636. (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org)