College Ave Student Loans Review 2024

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College Ave is a great lender for borrowers who want multiple options for repayment term lengths and are after a low APR. College Ave also offers many options for contacting customer support. It’s one of our picks for the best student loan refinance companies.

College Ave Student Loans Overview

College Ave is best for borrowers who want a competitive APR and want to avoid origination fees. The company also has a variety of degrees it will finance. 

To get a loan, you must meet the following qualifications:

• Be a US citizen or permanent resident or an international student with a Social Security number and eligible cosigner
• Be enrolled in a degree-granting school half-time or more
• Be making satisfactory academic progress as defined by your school
• Pass a credit check

You should think about your federal student loan options before applying for any private student loan, including one with College Ave, as you can usually get more favorable terms and protections through the government.

There are several options you can choose to contact College Ave’s customer support. You can call the company from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET. You have the option to text the lender as well. College Ave also has a live chat feature on its website where you can message a representative. Additionally, you can email the company. 

College Ave Student Loan Pros and Cons

Pros

• Low APRs. College Ave’s APRs are some of the best in the business.
• Multiple repayment term lengths. Five, eight, 10, or 15 year repayment terms are available on College Ave’s undergraduate loans.
• No origination fee. Origination fees are deducted from your overall loan proceeds and increase the cost of your borrowing. You’ll save money with a College Ave student loan because you won’t pay an origination fee.

Cons

• Late payment penalty. College Ave will charge you a late payment of 5% of the amount due, capped at $25. 
• No signup perks like competitors. Other lenders will entice you to take out a loan with them by offering perks like balance reductions or cashback rewards. College Ave doesn’t offer any perks. 

College Ave Student Loan Repayment Options

You have four options to repay your student loan after you’ve taken it out: deferred, flat, interest-only, and full payment. Each option has its advantages for different types of borrowers. 

Deferred Payment

• No payments while in school and during six-month grace period
• Unpaid interest accrues
• Highest overall cost

Fixed Payment

• Pay $25 per month while in school and during six-month grace period
• Unpaid interest accrues
• Low in-school payments

Interest-only Payment

• Pay loan’s interest monthly while in school and during six-month grace period
• Moderate in-school payments

Full Payment

• Repay principal plus interest while in school and during six-month grace period
• Lowest overall cost
• Highest in-school payments

How to Apply for College Ave Student Loans

1. Get your information together. This includes your Social Security number, your school of enrollment, your enrollment status, the loan amount you need, your address, and other financial documents.

2. Fill  out your online application. You’re apply to complete the application in about 15 minutes, and after doing so you’ll get your rates. 

3. Send the required supplementary documents. College Ave may require certain financial documents including proof of income and residency. 

4. Accept your loan offer. After you get all your documents in order, College Ave will send you a formal loan agreement. It will fund your loan after you sign on the dotted line. 

Types of Student Loans Offered by College Ave

College offers student loans for many types of degrees, including:

• Undergraduate
• Graduate
• Law school
• Career training
• Dental school
• MBAs
• Health professions
• Parent loans
• Loan refinancing

College Ave Undergraduate Student Loans

College Ave offers competitive fixed and variable APRs on its undergraduate student loans and doesn’t charge any origination or prepayment fees. Additionally, you have a variety of term lengths you can pick, including five, eight, 10, and 15-year periods. 

You will pay a late payment fee with College Ave, and a credit check is required to take out a loan.

College Ave Graduate Student Loans

College Ave’s graduate student loans aren’t quite as good of an offering as its undergraduate students loans, as the lender has middle-of-the-pack APRs compared to competitors and comes with no extra perks. On the plus side, the company offers many term lengths and doesn’t come with any origination or prepayment fees.

College Ave Student Loan Refinancing

College Ave offers 11 repayment term lengths on its refinanced student loans. You’re able to take out a loan for five to 15 years with the lender. Many other lenders limit your selection to four or five options — though some others do offer 20-year term lengths (which College Ave does not).

College Ave Student Loan Alternatives

Learn more about how College Ave stacks up against top student loan providers.

College Ave vs. Sallie Mae Student Loans

If you have good credit, you’ll likely get a better APR with College Ave than with Sallie Mae Undergraduate Student Loans, as College Ave has a lower minimum rate. 

Neither company will charge origination fees or prepayment penalties, but you will pay a 5% late payment fee, up to $25, with both lenders.

College Ave will give you your rate and tell you if you’ve been approved for a loan via a soft credit check, which will have no impact on your credit score. With Sallie Mae, the lender will perform a hard credit inquiry to determine your eligibility, which might negatively affect your credit score. 

Sallie Mae Student Loans Review

Why You Should Trust Us: How we rated College Ave Student Loans

We rate all student loan products in our reviews and guides on a 1-5 scale. The overall rating is a weighted average that takes into account seven different categories, some of which are judged more heavily than others. They are:

• Interest rate (20% of rating)
• Fees (20% of rating)
• Term lengths (15% of rating)
• Repayment options while in school (15% of rating)
• Borrower accessibility (15% of rating)
• Customer support (7.5% of rating)
• Ethics (7.5% of rating)

Each category’s weighting is determined based on its importance to your borrowing experience. Rates and fees have the most significant impact on the total cost of your loan, so we weigh those the most heavily. Customer support and ethics are still crucial parts of the borrowing experience, but do not directly tie to a student loan’s terms, so they have less of an impact on the overall rating.

Read more about how we rate student loans >>

College Ave Frequently Asked Questions