Some of the Best Places to Get a Private Student Loan

When looking at private student loans, the key to getting the best student loan for you is research! It is super important to make sure you have taken a look at all your options when choosing a lender that is right for you. One good place to start is speaking with your school's financial aid office in order to see if they have a list of lenders that they recommend. If not, then this list is the next best thing! This list includes: Discover, Citizens One Bank, PNC, Earnest, and Lend Key:

Discover:

This bank offers a huge variety of student loan options whether undergraduate, graduate, MBA, law, dental, and much more. These loan rate types are also either fixed or variable, so you have the option to choose between those. Unlike other banks however there are not as many loan repayment time options. Discover only offers loan repayment options of 15 years or a max of 20 years. Discover also realizes that this is a student loan and offer rewards to students who maintain a good GPA of 3.0 or higher. This loans also offers deferment and forbearance options to people who need them. Remember to be cautious of these options though and only utilize if necessary!

Citizens One Bank:

This bank also offers a variety of student loan options like undergraduate, MBA, graduate, health care, law, and more. The loan rate types are either fixed or variable, so you have that option here as well. This bank has loan repayment options that start at 5 years and go all the way to the max of 15 years. If you are already a Citizens One Bank account holder then you will be rewarded on your student loan due to their loyalty program. This bank also offers deferment and forbearance options in case you experience financial hardship.

PNC Bank:

This financial institution offers a variety of loan types similar to the other banks like undergraduate, graduate, MBA, law, dental, medical, and more. The loan rate types are either fixed or variable, so you have that power of choice. The loan terms available aren't as flexible as some other banks and only offer 10-year repayment options or max of 15-year repayment options. This bank does not have student rewards or loyalty rewards but has some minor discounts if you opt-in for autopay. There are deferment and forbearance options that are available to borrowers who need to utilize this resource.

Earnest:

Unlike traditional banks that offer services outside of student loans, Earnest is a company based only on providing loans to borrowers. They offer a variety of loan types like the other lenders such as undergraduate, graduate, law, MBA, medical, dental, international, and more. The loan rate types are either fixed or variable just like other lenders and you have the option to choose between those. Earnest offers loan repayment plans from 5 years to a max of 15 years, and they also have loan deferment and forbearance options just like other banks.

LendKey:

Lendkey is unique because it connects borrowers looking for a loan with their network of either local or regional banks and/or credit unions. It is essentially that middleman that manages parts of the loan like the application, servicing, and support. However, financially, the money comes from whatever financial institution that you are getting your loan from. That being said, they are also responsible for the loan agreement terms. They have a smaller variety of student loan options with only undergraduate, graduate, refinancing, and parent. They have the same loan rate types as the other companies with either fixed or variable rates. They have limited loan repayment options with 10 years being the only option. They also allow forbearance and deferment on loans if the borrower is in financial hardship.

There are numerous places to borrow loans from, however this is just a top 5 list based on the criteria of variety, reliance, support, and many more factors. Make sure you research and talk to financial advisers at whatever financial institution you are looking into in order to make sure that the loan you agree to is the best fit for your budget and lifestyle!