Student loan comparison sites enable you to view and compare multiple student loan opportunities in order to find the package that’s best for you. But before you start comparing, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
The following student loan comparison sites and directories of education lenders may accept paid placement for their listings. The loans may initially be ranked according to criteria that maximize profit to the directory and not necessarily criteria that minimize cost to the borrower. Some of the least expensive loans may be excluded from such directories because the lenders may be unwilling to pay for placement. Also, some of the directories rank loans by the best advertised rates or average rates, as opposed to the actual rates.
Featured Student Loan Comparison Sites
Credible
Credible offers borrowers a “kayak-style” experience while shopping for student loans. Similar to the “Common App,” users (and co-signers) complete a single, brief form and receive personalized offers from multiple lenders. The process is free and does not impact a user’s credit score to compare offers.
Credible’s marketplace includes:
- Ascent
- Citizens Bank
- CollegeAve
- Discover Student Loans
- EDvestinU
- INvested
- Mefa
- Sallie Mae
- SunTrust
Loan
Choose between fixed and variable rate loans, as well as deferred and interest-only repayment options for your school loans.
Graduate and undergraduate loans for almost every degree type.
Repayment options range from immediate full repayment (principal and interest payments immediately after the loan is fully disbursed), interest only (interest-only payments while you are in school, and start making principal and interest payments after you leave school), full deferral while in school, flat payment while in-school, graduated repayment (payments increase over time).
Limits
COA-Aid (annual limit)
Borrow up to $170,000 through Credible’s marketplace.
Annual max (100% of school certified costs minus other financial aid received).
Lifetime aggregate loan amount 200K.
Rates
Fixed rates as low as 3.34% APR (with autopay)* and variable rates as low as 1.04% APR (with autopay)*. Access special discounts from some lenders.
*Read rates and terms at Credible.com.
Fees and Terms
No fees.
5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15 and 20 year terms available.
Student Loan Comparison Sites
Best Student Loan Comparison Sites
The most useful student loan comparison sites need to satisfy the following minimal standards:
- Present consumers with actual interest rates and fees, not just the best advertised rates or average interest rates. This will ensure that consumers are making comparisons based on relevant information.
- Include a critical mass of lenders sufficient to ensure that the borrower has a reasonable chance of obtaining a rate that is close to the best rate the borrower could find on his or her own.
- Minimize the impact on the prospective borrower’s credit score. Each credit inquiry for student loans results in up to a 5-point hit to the borrower’s credit score. More than three or four such inquiries are likely to shift the borrower from one credit tier to the next, increasing their costs.
- The presentation of information must be based solely on the prospective borrower’s best interests. In particular, the initial sorting of results must be based on the total cost of the loan, including interest rates and fees, not paid placement or other criteria.
- The lender listings must provide sufficient information about the loans to permit the prospective borrower to make an informed decision.
- The sites must provide clear disclosures regarding any potential or actual biases. In particular, the comparison tools should disclose whether the lenders provide any payment for inclusion in the loan comparison tool and whether the payments influence the ranking of the loan product comparisons.
- The comparison site should provide sufficient contact information for the lender, such as telephone numbers and web links, to permit the prospective borrower to apply for the loan.
- Prospective borrowers should not be charged any fees for using the comparison site.
- Loan comparison sites should recommend, in a clear and conspicuous fashion, that prospective borrowers should borrow federal first before relying on any private student loans.
To date, none of the loan comparison sites satisfy all of these standards, although all satisfy some of them.
