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High college education costs are soaring, clocking in at between $27,100 and $58,600 per year, depending on whether your school is public or private. This often means that students can’t foot the bill all on their own — even with scholarships, grants, and federal financial aid.
When that happens, parents can pitch in to help. That might require pulling from savings or retirement accounts or, in many cases, loans could be necessary.
There are two ways to do this: First, parents can cosign a loan in the student’s name, ensuring both parties are on the hook for repayment. There are also parent loans, which are loans only for parents of students.
If you’re considering a private student loan for your child’s educational costs, it’s critical to do your research to determine the best lenders to utilize. Below, we’ll detail a few to consider, broken down into six categories.
Start by comparing the best parent student loan rates available here now.
Best parent student loans:
Here are some of the best parent student loans to consider for the upcoming semester:
Best overall: SoFi
Online bank SoFi is a smart choice if you’re looking for a parent loan. There are several repayment options, four term lengths, and no fees. The loans also come with competitive interest rates and a 0.25% discount if you set up autopay.
SoFi members also get access to exclusive benefits, and you can earn reward points to help pay down your balance.
Learn more about SoFi here now.
Best for low rates: College Ave
If you want the lowest interest rates, College Ave is your best bet. Its parent loans start at just a 3.89% rate on fixed-rate loans and 5.59% on variable-rate loans, including an autopay discount.
The application takes just three minutes to complete, and you can choose from two terms and several repayment options. College Ave charges no origination fees.
See what rate you can secure with College Ave online today.
Best for parents with good credit: Sallie Mae
Sallie Mae doesn’t have parent loans, but it does have loans you can cosign for your child. In fact, the lender says 88% of its loans are cosigned. Rates range from 3.99% to 16.46% and cover undergrad, graduate, and career training students. There are also zero origination fees.
Learn more about cosigning a loan with Sallie Mae here.
Best for no fees: Earnest
If no fees is your goal, Earnest is a good lender to go with. It doesn’t offer parent loans, but its cosigned loans have no fees, including no late payment fees. There are also a number of repayment plans (including a flat $25-per-month option that’s popular with borrowers), and you can check your eligibility in just two minutes. The lender also offers a lengthy nine-month post-graduation payment grace period.
Get started with Earnest online now.
Best for low origination fees: Ascent
Ascent charges no fees at all — no application fees, no origination fees, and no disbursement fees, and there is no early payoff penalty either.
Its parent loans come in five term lengths, and there’s a 0.25% discount for autopay. Rates start at just 4.70% for fixed-rate loans.
Best for parents with bad credit: LendKey
If you have bad credit, it may be challenging to qualify for a student loan for your child — and cosigning one might not help much either. In this case, using an option like LendKey, which gives you to access to loan options from several lenders at once, can be a smart move. This allows you to shop around and get the best deal.
Compare your options
Private student loans can be more expensive than federal ones, so it’s important you shop around when choosing a lender. Look at a few options and compare repayment terms, rates, fees and other details to be sure you get the best deal.