Attempting to choose the best banks that offer student loans may be confusing at times, especially if you’re a newbie. This uncertainty is the exact reason why we’ve put together this short guide, in an attempt to help you. Read on to find out how to borrow, refinance or consolidate private and federal loans, all personalized according to your current financial status.
The Basics on Student Loans
The first thing you need to know upon applying for a student loan is that no matter which financial institution you chose, they will all look at a plethora of criteria, such as the following.
- Your credit score
- How much you make every year or income per annum as you will find it otherwise called
- To what amount your savings come to
- The college degree type or your certificate of enrollment, should you still be in school.
Needless to say, you must meet all these criteria, and they have to be spotless. You must rank as high as possible when they draw the final line and calculate to see if you’re fit for a loan or not. Therefore, the primary thing you need to do is to research as much as you can on all the points highlighted above. Do your homework and see how you can up your credit score as well as your overall chances of them granting you the loan.
However, if you feel you do not qualify according to their standards after you’ve done this research, don’t panic. You can still apply for a loan, but with a tertiary person, usually called a cosigner, who will up your likelihoods of getting the money.
Which Are the Best Banks That Offer Student Loans?
Now that we’ve covered the basics, and you’ve understood that a loan requires a few weeks of study and research, we can move on to taking a look at the best banks that offer student loans. Here they are.
#1. The DRB or Darien Rowayton Bank
This bank is a preferred one among students because it focuses on consolidation as well as the refinancing of all student loans.
One important note here – you must have a bachelor’s or graduate degree to qualify for their loans. The choice of college does not matter, as long as you have a diploma.
Apart from offering loans to students, this bank also refinances loans made by parents. If your parents happen to have borrowed money to pay off your college, and you are now in the possession of a bachelor’s or graduate degree, they can apply for refinancing too.
The variable rates are between 4.17% and 5.77%, and the fixed rates between 4.70% and 7.00%. You may choose between 5, 7, 10, 15 or 20-year repayment terms. Also, the bank does not charge origination fees.
#2. SoFi
They too offer both refinancing and consolidation if you have a federal or private student loan. The second entry on our list of best banks that provide student loans requires you to have finished a graduate or undergraduate program and that you have the degree to prove it as well.
Here are their offers in numbers.
- Variable rates between 2.14% APR and 5.94% APR, which cap between 8.95% and 9.95% APR.
- Fixed rates between 3.50% APR and 7.74% APR.
- Repayment term of your choosing, between 5, 7, 10, 15 and 20-year.
This bank is also great because it offers what’s called the ‘unemployment protection’. It means that if you’re left without a job while you are still paying your college loan, the bank will stop the payments and help you get hired again.
#3. Earnest
The same as the other two banks that offer student loans, Earnest will require an undergraduate or graduate diploma. Their variable rates start at 2.13% APR while the fixed ones commence at 3.50% APR.
The best thing about this bank, however, is the fact that, unlike other financial institutions, they do not look at credit scores or your income, for that matter. They have other criteria which they use to assess just how responsible a person you are when it comes to money. It’s best you talk to a consultant from Earnest to learn what those criteria are so that you can get ready.
One important note – you have to be an American citizen to apply or a permanent resident of the United States.
#4. CommonBond
Let’s start detailing this entry on the list of best banks that offer student loans with the numbers.
- Variable rates for refinancing – 2.14% – 5.94%
- Fixed rates for refinancing – 3.50% – 7.74% APR
- Hybrid rates for refinancing – 3.79% – 6.23% APR
- Year repayment terms – 5, 7, 10, 15, and 20 years.
They too offer unemployment protection and, on the plus side, they give one access to the CommonBond Community. Their student borrowers get to participate in local events, have great opportunities to network, and commonly receive lifestyle perks.
Apart from all this, CommonBond has a program called Pencils of Promise through which they fund a student abroad and his or her education for a year, for every degree that for every degree that has been financed entirely via their loans.
#5. Citizens Bank
One of the most famous financial institutions in our guide to banks that offer student loans, Citizens Bank has the following figures as per its loans.
- Fixed interest rates – 4.74% APR to 9.39% APR.
- Variable interest rates – 2.19% APR to 7.94% APR, with autopay.
- The repayment term options are between 5, 10, 15 or 20 years.
You can also apply with a cosigner and receive the loan, should you not meet all the criteria. He or she will be released, if they so desire from the loan obligation if they make 36 consecutive payments, with interest and on time.
One important note here – Citizens Banks has a minimum loan of $10 000 when it comes to refinancing.
College loans are sometimes looked upon as one of the most dreadful things that can happen to a college student. However, it doesn’t have to be like that. With this list of the best banks that offer student loans and the research that you’ll be doing before applying for a loan, you are bound to make the best decision of your life!
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