When paying for college, exhaust all your other options — scholarships, grants, work-study and federal student loans by filling out the FAFSA — before turning to private student loans.
Federal student loans offer borrower protections that private loans may not, such as income-based repayment plans and forgiveness programs. And federal student loans have flat interest rates set by Congress, while private student loan interest rates depend on your credit. If you or your co-signer don’t have good credit, you’ll likely pay a higher interest rate for a private loan than you would for a federal loan.
Still, you might need to take out private student loans if you can’t cover your college costs with savings, income, grants, scholarships and federal student loans. Learn more about whether private loans are right for you below.
If you do need to take out private student loans, check out the options we’ve listed to find the best lender for you.
Private student loan options
| Lender | APR ranges* | Types of loans | Borrower protections | Nerd review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Fixed: 4.75%-11.50%3 Variable: 3.00%-10.05%4 | Undergraduate Graduate | Payment deferral or interest payments while in school.5 Financial hardship forbearance.6 Option to temporarily reduce monthly payments.7 | SunTrust review |
 | Fixed 4.87% to 14.36% Variable 3.49% to 12.74% *includes Ascent Independent non-cosigned rates | Undergraduate Graduate Independent (non-cosigned loan) | Payment deferral or interest-only payments while in school. Financial hardship forbearance. | Ascent review |
 | Fixed 4.25% APR to 8.00% Variable 3.69% to 7.12% | Parent | No payment deferral available (repayment begins immediately) | SoFi review |
 | Fixed: 5.48% to 9.67% Variable: 3.04% to 8.95% | Undergraduate Graduate | Payment deferral while in school. Financial hardship forbearance. | CommonBond review |
 | Fixed: 6.24% to 12.99% Variable: 3.87% to 11.12% | Undergraduate Graduate Parent | Payment deferral while in school. Financial hardship forbearance. Option to temporarily reduce monthly payments. | Discover review |
 | Fixed: 5.75% to 12.87 Variable: 3.25% to 12.62% | Undergraduate Graduate | Payment deferral or interest-only payments while in school. Option to make interest-only payments for the first 12 months after your grace period. Financial hardship forbearance. | Sallie Mae review |
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