College Ave Student Loans

• Great Deal
• Convenient Application Process
• Useful Information
• Cosigner Release
• Flexible Loan Terms
• International Students Eligible
• No Application or Origination Fees
• Interest-Only Repayment Option

Great Deal

College Ave offers graduates a variable APR of as low as 2.63% variable and 4.15% fixed. On top of that, it provides a minimum loan amount of $2,000 and refinance threshold of $5,000, which is fairly low compared to similar lending companies.

Convenient Application Process

College Ave boasts a three-minute initial application with instant feedback. The company makes applying for loan or refinancing program easy and fee free, and makes provision for applicants to take out loans by themselves, with a cosigner (if the applicant doesn't meet credit and income requirements), or via a parent, with parent loans. This setup allows families to figure out the best plan for them and to apply for student loans accordingly.

You can check to see if you qualify with no hard credit pull. A soft credit pull won't negatively affect your credit score.

Useful Information

College Ave provides detailed information regarding each of its services, including the potential benefits of refinancing. This is especially helpful for families without strong financial backgrounds and for students who are applying for loans for the first time. In addition to this helpful information, College Ave has an online loan calculator that allows customers to estimate what their payment plan will look like. With these tools in hand, potential borrowers can finally feel in control of their own financial situation.

Cosigner Release

College Ave offers cosigner release for a borrower who has completed more than half of repayment. College Ave presents multiple conditions for release, including 24 months of consecutive, on-time payments, but these are common terms for private lenders.

Flexible Loan Terms

Students can choose their repayment terms from a range of 5 to 20 years. For consumers who want to pay of their debt in a time frame that makes sense for their circumstances, this flexibility can help. Many other private lenders only offer 5-, 10-, and 20-year increments.

International Students Eligible

If an international student has a cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, they may be eligible for College Ave. International students typically have trouble finding a U.S. loan servicer, so College Ave could be an ideal lender for them.

No Application or Origination Fees

We like that College Ave isn't charging fees to apply for or establish a loan. Not all private lenders will keep their application process free of charge.

Interest-Only Repayment Option

A borrower can choose to make up to two years of monthly payments interest-only. Of course, this means loan repayment will take longer overall because borrowers won't be chipping away at their principals, but this could be an option for a graduate hoping to delay full payments. Not many student loan lenders allow interest-only repayment once a student has graduated.

• New Company 
• Exclusive
• No Specific Preparation
• No Guaranteed Forbearance
• Limited Deferment Options

New Company

College Ave's relatively recent founding can be seen as both an asset and a drawback. Most of College Ave's founders are people with previous experience at large loan companies, such as Sallie Mae, who desired to streamline the business to benefit clients; however, College Ave has only been around since August 2014, which is rather new for a private loan servicer of its size. As always in such situations, patrons should be advised to take responsibility for their own financial situation and to make informed decisions concerning their student debt.

Exclusive

Not every school is eligible for loans through College Ave. This may be in part to the relative youth of the company, but many schools in the United States have not yet partnered with this organization. Because of this, students should make sure that their school is shown as eligible on the College Ave website. For those who do not attend such a school, however, College Ave is obviously not the answer to their loan refinancing needs, and they will need to look elsewhere.

No Specific Preparation

While College Ave has prepared numerous resources for students looking to take out loans or create a repayment plan, very few specifics about how to prepare for the application itself are found on the site. Information about required documents is eventually provided, but if the website included more details about specific preparations, then the application process could be even more streamlined.

No Guaranteed Forbearance

Students have the option to defer payments while in school, pay a fixed rate, or pay interest only. Deferment could be beneficial for student borrowers who don't want to worry about undergraduate loans in graduate school. However, outside of school, forbearance options may be limited.

While College Ave does offer a six-month grace period after graduation and in-school deferment for students, they do not have a general forbearance policy. Instead, forbearance is evaluated for each individual's circumstances. For those seeking repayment flexibility, this may be a drawback.