While federal student loans dont require a cosigner, these types of loans may not provide enough funds to cover an entire year of college tuition. Private loans can fill the gap but many of these student loans require a cosigner if the student does not have any established credit.
There are ways around this. If you dont have a cosigner or would simply prefer to borrow money without one, there are different lenders that may be willing to work with you. Below are some of our recommendations for the best student loan without a cosigner.
Ascent
Ascent Lending offers both cosigned and un-cosigned student loan options for borrowers. Their maximum loan limit is $200,000 and you can choose a repayment term ranging from 5 years to 15 years. Most private student loans require you to either meet certain income or credit score requirements in order to get a loan.
The major problem with this is younger students may not have established credit yet and since theyre in school, they probably arent meeting the income requirements either. Ascent offers student loans to borrowers with no credit score and focuses on other factors like their school, program, graduation date, and GPA.
- Be a college senior or junior enrolled full-time (or have an expected graduation date within 9 months from the date you submitted your loan application)
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Have a GPA of 2.9 or higher
- Be at least 18 years old
Choose from a fixed or variable loan and get 100% of your college tuition cost covered since you can borrow up to $200,000. Borrowers can also receive 1% cash back on their cost of attendance by setting up automatic payments. Non-cosigned student loans range from 5.88% to % APR.
Credible
Credible is an online loan origination marketplace that offers everything from personal loans and mortgages to refinance options and student loans. That said, Credible doesnt just offer one student loan option. You can shop around and compare different loans to see which is the best for you.
Credible makes it easier for you by providing personalized rates from different lenders when you answer a few questions about your loan needs. This service is free to use and each Credible partner doesnt offer any origination fees or prepayment penalty fees. That way, youre not doing all the hard work to find a quality lender that will let you take out student loans without a cosigner.
Earnest
Earnest offers undergraduate and graduate student loans with or without a cosigner. Variable loans start with an APR of 1.74% while fixed-rate loans have an APR of 2.44% (includes 0.25% autopay discount). You can get a lower APR when you sign up for auto-pay.
The great thing about getting a student loan through Earnest is you can skip a payment once a year and youll get a grace period of nine months instead of six months post-college. You may even be able to get a student loan without a cosigner if you meet their basic eligibility requirements. To get a student loan without a cosigner you must:
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have a minimum credit score of 650
- Have a minimum income of $35,000 per year
- Have some savings to cover future expenses if your situation suddenly changed (think baby emergency fund)
Earnest also offers private personal loans through their partnership with Fiona, payday loans online Kentucky a loan comparison marketplace. If youre short on some of these eligibility requirements for a private student loan, you may want to look into their personal loan options as well.