College Ave Student Loans Review – See if it’s a good fit for you.

College Ave Student Loan Servicing LLC is one of the top accredited private student loans servicer in the United States. College Ave is based in Wilmington, Delaware. They are in partnership with Firstrust Bank, member FDIC or M.Y. Safra Bank, and FSB. These partners are some of the private student loan lenders in College Ave’s network.

College Ave offers different types of uncomplicated private student loans for multiple education levels. These loans are; Undergraduate Student Loans, Graduate Student Loans, Parent Loans, Career Loans, and Student Loan Refinance. So, no matter your education loan needs, College Ave can give you a financial push to achieve your career goals.

Now, let’s explore each of these loans to help you know the tiny details before considering if College Ave is the right solution for you or not.

Undergraduate Student Loans

College Ave offers Undergraduate Student Loans that can cover up to 100% of your education expenses. These expenses include tuition, housing, books, and other college-related fees. The minimum amount you can borrow for an undergraduate student loan is $1000.

Unlike other private student loan programs, College Ave has a Multi-Year Peace of Mind plan that guarantees multiple loan approvals to complete your degree. So you have nothing to worry about when it comes to securing the funds you need for completing your degree program.

Now let’s see the interest rates and loan terms for College Ave Undergrads Loan.

What are the interest rates, Loan Terms of College Ave’s Undergraduate Student Loans?

College Ave Student loans for undergraduates have variable interest rates of 0.99% to 11.98% APR. There is also fixed interest rates of 2.99% to 12.99% APR. You can choose the option that best suits your financial situation. As the name describes, variable interest rates fluctuate over time while fixed interest rates are immutable.

The terms for undergraduate student loans are 5years, 8years, 10years, and 15years. So you have four options when it comes to repaying your undergrads loan in full. The lesser the repayment years, the lower the interest rate you get, but the higher the monthly payments you have to make. And vice-versa.

College Ave also has an option to make a flat monthly payment of $25 while you are still in school. This option will reduce your accrued interest rate, which means that the bulk of your monthly payments will go straight to your principal balance after the grace period. So you will be able to pay off your loan earlier. 

What are the requirements for undergraduate student loans from College Ave?

• You must either be a US citizen or a permanent resident. International students with a US Social Security Number and a qualified cosigner are also eligible.
• You must be enrolled half-time or more at an accredited institution.
• The minimum required credit score is 600. But you can include a cosigner if you have a bad credit score or do not have enough credit history.
• To continuously get funds to complete your degree, you must meet the satisfactory academic progress guidelines as defined by your school.
• You will need to get the following information ready; Contact Information, Date Of Birth, Social Security Number, Household Income, School Of Attendance, Cost Of Attendance, Expected Graduation Date, and Requested Loan Amount.

Graduate Student Loans

College Ave can offer you Graduate Student Loans if you are optimistic about pursuing an advanced degree like Masters, Doctorate, or any other professional degree. Your graduate student loans will also cover the total amount of your post-degree program.

Apart from the standard graduate student loans, College Ave also offers five other graduate student loans. These loans are MBA Student Loans, Medical School Student Loans, Dental School Student Loans, Law School Student Loans, and Grad Health Student Loans. So if you are in pursuit of any of these programs, College Ave can provide you the funds to need to help finance your career path.

What are the interest rates, Loan Terms of College Ave’s Graduate Student Loans?

The interest rates on Graduate Student Loans from College Ave are either fixed or variable. The fixed rate ranges from 4.49% to 11.98% APR while the variable-rate ranges from 1.99% to 10.97% APR. So you can decide which one is best for you depending on your situation. 

The terms are super flexible since you have four options to repay your loan in full. These terms are 5years, 8years, 10years, and 15years. College Ave can also assess your situation and help you decide on the proper loan term that will be less stressful. Of course, you can decide on your own if you know what’s best for you. 

Like the Undergraduate Student Loans, you have repayment options like; Full Principal and Interest Payments, Interest Only Payments, Flat Payments, and Deferred Payments. Let’s see what each of these repayment options means.

• Full Principal & Interest Payments: You start repaying the principal and the interest rate immediately after getting the loan.
• Interest-Only Payment: You pay the interest charges each month as you go during school.
• Flat Payments: Pay $25 every month while in school to reduce your accrued interest.
• Deferred Payments: You only start repaying the loan after the grace period (6 months after graduation or leaving school).

Requirements for College Ave’s Graduate student loans:

• You must be a US citizen or permanent resident in the US. International Grad Students must have a US Social Security Number including a good credit cosigner to be eligible.
• You must be enrolled in a Master’s Degree Program or higher. Your enrollment should be from an eligible Institution, usually Title-IV.
• Your credit score should be at least 600. If you have a poor credit score, you can include a cosigner with good credit.
• The following information is ready to submit upon demand; Contact Information, Date of Birth, Social Security Number, Household Income, School of Attendance, Expected Graduation Date, and the Requested Loan Amount.

Specific Graduate Student Loans Overview:

• Dental
• Law
• Medical
• MBA
• Health Professions

Parent Loans

If your child is not eligible to take out a private student loan on their own, you can step with the Parent Loans College Ave offers. As long as you have strong credit, your child’s education won’t come to a halt.

As a parent, College Ave also gives you the option to get up to $2500 of the loan sent straight to your account. This way, you can control the expenses of things like books, dormitory supplies, electronics, and other essentials.

Interest rates, Loan Terms of College Ave’s Parent Loans?

Parent Loans have variable interest rates of 1.04% to 11.98% APR and a fixed interest rate of 3.34% to 12.99% APR. Depending on the option you choose, the amount will also be determined by your credit score and your repayment option.

The loan term for College Ave’s Parent Loan is between 5years to 15years. So you can choose which one is suitable for you. You have three possibilities for repayment options. These possibilities are; Interest-Only Payments, Interest Plus Payments, and Full Principal & Interest Payments.

Let’s see more details about these repayment options:

• Interest-Only Payment: With this option, you only pay the interest charges every month while your child is still in school. This option will cost you more although it has the lowest in-school payments.
• Interest Plus Payment: You can set your monthly payment amount as long as you cover at least the monthly interest rate while your child is still in school. This option has a moderate overall cost and moderate in-school payments.
• Full Principal & Interest Payment:  You start repaying both the principal and the interest one month after the loan disbursement. This option has the highest monthly payment but the lowest overall cost.

Requirements for College Ave’s Parent loans:

• Apart from being a US citizen or a permanent resident, it would be best to have a good credit score before getting parent loans.
• You need to be employed or have a steady monthly income.
• If you are a parent, aunt, uncle, or guardian, you are eligible for parent loans.

College Ave’s lending partners might determine other requirements. But if you meet the above requirements, you are good to go.

Undergraduate and Graduate Career Loans

This loan is suitable for those who want to improve their career level and quickly climb the corporate ladder. Career loans are also ideal for high school graduates who know the career path they wish to pursue. 

Although this loan is similar to Undergraduate and Graduate Student Loans, it comes with a $150 cash back when you complete the program.

Interest rates, Loan Terms of College Ave’s Career Loans? 

The interest rates are 0.99% to 12.99% APR for variable student loans and 2.99% to 13.95% APR for fixed rates. The loan term is 5years, 8years, 10years, and 15years. Like undergraduate and graduate loans, you also have four repayment options; Full Principal & Interest Payments, Interest Only Payment, Flat Payment, and Deferred Payment.

The requirements are the same as that of Undergraduate Student Loans and Graduate Student Loans, respectively.

College Ave Student Loan Refinance

You can also get a loan from College Ave to refinance your existing student debt. You can refinance both federal and private student loans. Note: If you refinance a federal student loan with a private lender like College Ave, you will lose some benefits you previously had on your federal student loans.

Nevertheless, you can save thousands of dollars by refinancing your existing student debts. You can combine both Federal and Private student debts for refinancing. With student loan refinance, you only get a single loan, lower interest rate, and are easy to manage.

Interest rates, Loan Terms of College Ave’s Student Loans Refinance? 

The interest rate is between 2.95% to 6.74% APR for variable rates and 2.99% to 6.84% APR for fixed rates. This loan term is between 5 to 20 years which gives you more flexibility and choice for repayment. 

The Minimum amount you can borrow for refinancing is $5000, and the maximum is $150000 for undergraduate degrees. There is also a maximum of $300000 for medical, dental, pharmacy, or veterinary doctorate degrees.

How is the Loan Application Process for College Ave Student Loans?

The application process for all College Ave Student Loans is easy to complete. You only need to complete a prequalify online form which takes less than 3 minutes, after which you will receive tailored loan offers. The offers you will receive depends on your credit score and financial situation.

Once you receive these loan offers, you can choose the one with a suitable loan term, interest rate, and repayment terms. You will also need to get your required documents ready for submission. 

Your details will be verified, and a hard credit check will be conducted to make sure you meet the specific lender’s requirements. Once you these requirements, your loan will be ready for disbursement.

This process can take as little as 30 days before your program starts.

Pros Of College Ave Student Loans:

• A quick and easy application process
• International students can qualify for a loan if they include a cosigner who is a US citizen or a permanent resident.
• You have the flexibility to choose your preferred repayment plan.
• Longer loan term.
• Lower interest rates compared to most private lenders.
• If you opt for parent loans, you can receive up to $2500 to control other expenses books, dormitory items, etc.
• The grace period is between 6 to 36 months, depending on the student loan. For example, Dental school loans have a 12 months grace period while medical school loans are 36 months. You can also get extensions on the standard grace period. But this varies from the particular lender on College Ave’s network.
• College Ave has excellent customer service that is available to you when you need it most.

Cons of College Ave

• Not suitable for those with bad credit or without any credit history. You need a cosigner with a good credit score if yours isn’t good yet.

Other Important Information on College Ave Student Loans

Does College Ave affect credit score?

College Ave conducts a soft credit check during the prequalification process, which does not affect your credit score. If you qualify for a loan and accept an offer, they will conduct a hard credit check.

Is College Ave the same as Sallie Mae?

No! College Ave and Sallie Mae are two different companies, although they both issue private student loans. College Ave offers private student loans and student loan refinance, while Sallie Mae only provides private student loans.

What credit score do you need for college ave?

To get a College Ave loan, you require a credit score of at least 600. You also need to have a yearly income of $35,000 if you want to cosign a student loan.

Which is better, Private or Federal Student Loans?

By far, Federal student loans have a lot of benefits than private student loans. Before going for a private student loan, you should make sure you have exhausted all your options in Federal student loans. To better understand the differences between federal and private student loans, you can check out this free federal vs. private student loans resource. 

Bottom-line

College Ave Student Loans are best if you already have a good credit score. You should explore other options if you have bad credit. Nevertheless, this loan servicer has one of the best interest rates for their student loans if you meet their requirements.