USA Advisor Student Loans Best Private Student Loans Advertiser Disclosure Best Private Student Loans Of December 2021 Brianna McGurran Editor Updated: Nov 30, 2021, 2:44pm Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Private student loans are best used to pay college costs after you’ve borrowed the maximum you qualify for in both subsidized and unsubsidized federal student loans. Private student loans come from banks, credit unions and online lenders, and unlike federal student loans for undergraduates, they require a credit check. That means most undergrads will need a co-signer in order to qualify. Private student loans also are more expensive than federal loans—especially now that federal loan rates are at historic lows—and typically don’t offer the flexible repayment options their federal counterparts do. Read more Show Summary FEATURED PARTNER OFFER College Ave 3.5 Compare Rates Via Credible.com's Website Variable APR 0.94% to 11.98%* Fixed APR 2.94% to 12.99% Why We Picked It Pros & Cons Best Private Student Loan Options Rhode Island Student Loan Authority 4.5 Compare Rates Via Credible.com's Website Variable APR N/A Fixed APR 2.99% to 4.74% Why We Picked It Pros & Cons Ascent 4.5 View Rates Via Ascent's Secure Website Undergraduate Variable APR 1.50% to 9.33%* Undergraduate Fixed APR 3.15% to 11.48%* Why We Picked It Pros & Cons SoFi 4.0 Learn More Read Our Full Review Variable APR 0.95% to 11.18% Fixed APR 2.99% to 10.66% Why We Picked It Pros & Cons A.M. Money 4.0 Compare Rates Via Credible.com's Website Variable APR N/A Fixed APR 7.53% to 8.85% Why We Picked It Pros & Cons College Ave 3.5 Compare Rates Via Credible.com's Website Variable APR 0.94% to 11.98%* Fixed APR 2.94% to 12.99% Why We Picked It Pros & Cons Funding U 3.5 Compare Rates Via Credible.com's Website Variable APR N/A Fixed APR 7.49% to 12.99% Why We Picked It Pros & Cons Discover 3.5 Compare Rates Via Credible.com's Website Variable APR 1.29% to 10.58% Fixed APR 3.99% to 11.59% Why We Picked It Pros & Cons PNC Bank 3.5 Compare Rates Via Credible.com's Website Variable APR 1.96% to 8.96% (including 0.50% discount for automatic payments) Fixed APR 3.69% to 10.69% (including 0.50% discount for automatic payments) Why We Picked It Pros & Cons Citizens Bank 3.0 Compare Rates Via Credible.com's Website Variable APR N/A Fixed APR 3.23% to 10.95% Why We Picked It Pros & Cons Tips for Comparing Private Student Loans As you prepare to get a private student loan, don’t wait for your school to decide how much of a loan you can handle; do the due diligence yourself. Experts recommend borrowing no more than what you’ll most likely earn in your first year out of college. This can protect you from having unmanageable monthly payments after you leave school. Some private student loan lenders don’t cap the amount of money you can borrow each year, but yours may. As you evaluate which loan suits you best, find out how the loan will be disbursed and what costs it will cover. When picking a private student loan, look at the overall cost of the loan—including its interest rate and fees—and what help the lender offers if you have trouble affording your payments. Just one of the lenders on this list charges origination fees, and all except for one wait until at least 120 days of nonpayment before putting loans into default status. When comparing rates, know the low end of the rate ranges will only be available to those with good or excellent credit scores. Also, all rates listed below include a standard 0.25% interest rate discount for using automatic payments. Methodology We scored 12 lenders that make the most loans by volume across 15 data points in the categories of interest rates, fees, loan terms, hardship options, application process and eligibility. We chose the nine best to display based on those earning three stars or higher. The following is the weighting assigned to each category: Hardship options: 30% Application process: 16% Loan terms: 14% Interest rates: 13% Eligibility: 14% Fees: 13% Specific characteristics taken into consideration within each category included number of months of forbearance available, economic hardship repayment options available beyond traditional forbearance, perks like cash-back rewards upon graduation, discounts, time to default, disclosure of credit score and income requirements and other factors. Lenders who offered interest rates below 10% scored the highest, as did those who offered more than the standard 12 months of forbearance, who made their loans available to non-U.S. citizens, who offered interest rate discounts beyond the standard 0.25% for automatic payments, who offered multiple loan terms maxing out at 15 years and who charged minimal fees. In some cases, lenders were awarded partial points, and a maximum of 3% of the final score was left to editorial discretion based on the quality of consumer-friendly features offered. Compare Personalized Student Loan Rates Takes Up To 3 Minutes Compare Rates Now Private Student Loan FAQs How are interest rates determined for private student loans? What is ‘co-signer release?’ Do private student loans allow deferment or forbearance? Which fees should I look out for when choosing a private student loan? Next Up in Student Loans How Much Should You Borrow For A College Degree? Student Loan Limits: How Much Can You Borrow? How To Get A Private Student Loan Student Loan Calculator : Estimate Your Payments SoFi Student Loan Review Our Guides To Student Loans Best Student Loan Refinance Lenders Forbes Guide To Subsidized And Unsubsidized Federal Student Loans A Guide To Federal Student Loan Repayment Plans Should You Refinance Student Loans? Pros And Cons Of Income-Driven Student Loan Repayment Plans Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners. Brianna McGurran Editor Brianna McGurran is the Loans Analyst for Forbes Advisor. Most recently, she was a staff writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet, where she wrote "Ask Brianna," a financial advice column syndicated by the Associated Press. As spokesperson, she also contributed her expertise to outlets including The New York Times, ABC World News Tonight and the Today Show. Was this article helpful? SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. AdChoices Privacy Statement Terms and Conditions About Us Send Us Feedback Jobs At Forbes Reprints & Permissions Forbes Press Room Forbes Quote of the Day Advertise Cookie Preferences