Federal vs Private Student Loans: Which is Best

• 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.

SALLIE MAE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. CHECK SALLIEMAE.COM FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE PRODUCT INFORMATION.

Smart Option Student Loans® are made by Sallie Mae Bank. Sallie Mae, the Sallie Mae logo, and other Sallie Mae names and logos are service marks or registered service marks of Sallie Mae Bank. All other names and logos used are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

Edvisors is not the creditor for these loans and is compensated by Sallie Mae for the referral of Sallie Mae loan customers.

© 2023 Sallie Mae Bank. All rights reserved. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries, including Sallie Mae Bank are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.

• 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.
• FORGET FEES – No application, origination or disbursement fees. No prepayment penalty if you choose to pay your loan off early.
• COVER UP TO 100% of your tuition and eligible living expenses.

* 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.  

• 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)^*
• Easy online application!
• No origination fees, late fees, and no insufficient fund fees. Period
• Up to four repayment types (including no payments while in school) and multiple repayment terms help you find the loan that fits your budget
• 0.25% discount when you set up autopay^*

*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)