College Ave Student Loan Refinancing Snapshot
College Ave offers both private student loans and student loan refinancing with competitive rates, flexible repayment terms, and strong customer service. College Ave’s student loan refinance offering is best if you are seeking a more flexible repayment term that allows you to find a loan that matches your budget.
Fixed APR Range: 6.99% to 11.99%*
Variable APR Range: 6.99% to 11.99%*
Loan Amounts: $5,000 to $300,000 (depending on degree type)*
Minimum Credit Score: Upper 600s
| Best Features | Drawbacks |
| • Strong customer experience • Competitive rates • Choose any loan term between five and 15 years including nonstandard terms such as 6 or 9 years | • Limited eligibility criteria • Unclear forbearance policy • Not available to borrowers without a degree, visa holders, or those with parent PLUS loans • Doesn’t allow spousal consolidation loans |
What’s Inside
- Interest Rates, Fees, and Terms
- Eligibility Requirements – Financial
- Eligibility Requirements – Personal
- Repayment Options
- Customer Service
- FAQ
Best Features of Refinancing with College Ave
Strong customer experience
From loan application to loan disbursement and beyond, College Ave’s borrowing experience is done entirely online. The lender also offers excellent customer service that is available through email, chat, and phone. If you’re comfortable with an entirely virtual experience, College Ave’s seamless online borrowing process is a huge benefit.
Competitive interest rates and zero fees for qualified borrowers
When looking to refinance existing student loans, finding a low interest rate is typically a top priority. If you qualify for a refinance loan through College Ave, you will have access to some of the best rates in the industry. College Ave’s variable and fixed interest rates are typically lower than competing student lenders. In addition, you won’t have to pay origination fees, application fees, prepayment penalties, late fees, or insufficient funds fees.
| College Ave’s Student Loan Refinance | |
| Fixed APR | 6.99% to 11.99%* |
| Variable APR | 6.99% to 11.99%* |
You can choose any loan term between 5 and 15 years*
College Ave prides itself on allowing you to choose from a wide range of loan terms (up to 11 options) to make repayment as easy as possible. If you are looking for a lender that offers flexibility to match your monthly payments to your budget, College Ave is an excellent option for you.
Drawbacks of Refinancing with College Ave
Limited eligibility criteria
In order to refinance with College Ave, you will need to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who has graduated from a participating school. You will also need to have a credit score around 680 and $50,000 of annual income.
Not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident? SoFi allows you to apply to refinance your student loan if you do not have a U.S. citizen as a cosigner.
Didn’t graduate? EDvestinU allows you to refinance your student loans without a degree.
Complete the Sparrow application to see if you qualify and at what rate with over 15 different lenders. It’s quick, easy, and does not impact your credit score.
Unclear forbearance policy
While College Ave does offer up to 18 months of forbearance (a pause on your repayment due to financial hardship, unemployment, or a disability), it is unclear who qualifies and under what circumstances. Although many borrowers don’t end up needing forbearance, it can be a helpful safety net if you were to fall into financial hardship.
Not available to borrowers without a degree, visa holders, or those with parent PLUS loans
While College Ave offers some of the best rates in the industry, its refinance loans are not available to everyone. Borrowers without a degree or those who are visa holders will have to look elsewhere to refinance their student debt.
If you are a student looking to take over your parent’s PLUS loans under your name, you will need to consider another private student lender.
With that said, if you are a parent with parent PLUS loans, you can refinance your loans under your name with College Ave.
No spousal consolidation loans
College Ave does not provide people who are married with the opportunity to combine student loan debt which many see as a simpler route to paying off their debt.
College Ave: The Nuts and Bolts
Interest Rates, Fees, and Terms
| Fixed APR Range | 6.99% to 11.99%* |
| Variable APR Range | 6.99% to 11.99%* |
| Loan Terms | Choose a term between 5 and 15 years.* |
| Loan Amounts | $5,000 – $150,000, or up to $300,000* for borrowers with medical, dental, pharmacy, or veterinary degrees. |
| Ability to transfer a parent loan to the student | No. |
| Application or Origination Fee | No. |
| Prepayment Penalty | No. |
| Late Fees | Yes (If payment isn’t made within 15 days of the due date, the fee is either 5% of the unpaid amount or $25, depending on whichever is less). |
Eligibility Requirements – Financial
| Minimum Credit Score | Upper 600s. |
| Minimum Income | $50,000 per year. |
| Typical Credit Score of Approved Borrowers or Cosigners | Mid 700s. |
| Typical Income of Approved Borrower | $100,000k+ per year. |
| Maximum Debt-to-Income Ratio | 50% (in other words, this means that the total monthly debt payments must not exceed 50% of income). |
| Ability to qualify if you’ve filed for bankruptcy | No. |
Eligibility Requirements – Personal
| Citizenship | Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. |
| Must have graduated | Yes, with an associate degree or higher. |
| Must have attended a school authorized to receive federal aid | Yes. |
Repayment Options
| Military Deferment | Yes. |
| Disability Deferment | Yes. |
| Forbearance | Up to 18 months available, in either 3 or 6-month increments. |
| Death or Disability Discharge | Yes, if the primary borrower dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled. |
| Loan discharge if cosigner dies or becomes disabled | No. |
| Autopay | Allows for surplus payments via autopay: Yes. Allows for biweekly payments via autopay: Yes. |
Customer Service
| Loan Servicer | College Ave. |
| In-house Customer Service Team | Yes (call center staffed by a third-party company). |
| Process for Escalating Concerns | Yes. |
| Borrowers get assigned a personal customer service representative | No. |
| Average time from approval to payoff | Two to three weeks. |
Before you take out a loan from College Ave…
Complete the Sparrow application to compare real rates from more than 15 different lenders to make sure you’re getting the best rate possible.
See real rates, not rate ranges or estimates: Sparrow’s rates mimic those of our lenders so you know what rate you’re getting from each lender.
No impact on your credit score: Checking your rates on Sparrow won’t impact your credit score.
Data Privacy: Sparrow doesn’t sell your information, so don’t worry about getting calls from that random number that won’t leave you alone.
FAQ
Is College Ave a legitimate lender?
Yes, College Ave is a legitimate lender that has been providing student loans since 2014. The company offers private student loans to undergraduates, graduate students, and parents, as well as student loan refinancing.
How long does it take to get a College Ave student loan?
Submitting an application through College Ave takes a few minutes. Once you’ve submitted your loan application, College Ave will instantaneously return a decision about your eligibility. If you qualify, you will receive the rate and terms of your loan.
It may take some time to actually receive your loan. You can speed up the process by requesting debt payoff letters from your existing lenders and loan servicers.
What happens if I don’t qualify for a College Ave student loan?
If you don’t qualify for a College Ave student loan, the company will inform you why. Depending on the reason, you may consider reapplying later on or applying with a different lender altogether. To check your rates across multiple lenders at once, try using Sparrow’s free search engine. In just two minutes, you can receive real, personalized offers from over 15 different lenders ready to help you get the best rates. And best of all, it won’t impact your credit score.
Are College Ave student loans federal or private?
College Ave loans are private loans. Before you take out a private student loan, we recommend that you exhaust your federal funding options, including grants and scholarships.
Does applying for a loan through College Ave hurt my credit score?
In order to estimate what rate you qualify for, College Ave conducts a “soft credit check” — this does not affect your credit score. If you choose to accept the College Ave loan, the company will conduct a hard credit check to verify your information. A hard credit check may temporarily impact your credit score.
*See College Ave’s Disclosures here.