MPOWER Private Student Loans: 2025 Review

MPOWER Snapshot

MPOWER is an online lender that offers non-cosigned undergraduate and graduate student loans to international, domestic, and DACA students. It is best for international students and DACA students who don’t have a credit history and can’t access a qualified cosigner.

Fixed APR Range: up to 13.74% (14.75% APR)*

Variable APR Range: N/A

Loan Amounts: $2,001 up to $50,000 per semester with an annual limit of $100,000

Minimum Credit Score: N/A

* Rates include an autopay discount.

Best Features	Drawbacks
• Offers non-cosigned undergraduate and graduate student loans to international, domestic, and DACA students • You can get up to 0.25% in rate discounts • Three unique scholarship opportunities for international students	• Only available to students within two years of graduation • Higher interest rates and fees than other online lenders • You have to make loan payments while you’re in school • Offers only one repayment term of 10 years

Best Features of MPOWER

Offers non-cosigned undergraduate and graduate student loans to international, domestic, and DACA students

International and DACA students studying in the U.S. often struggle to finance their education because they do not have access to federal student loans and are not eligible with most private lenders.

Luckily MPOWER has given international and DACA students an option. MPOWER offers non-cosigned undergraduate and graduate student loans to international, domestic, and DACA students.

MPOWER considers dozens of data points, such as future income potential, to determine creditworthiness and make a lending decision. The company reviews credit history, but credit scores are not a factor in its decision since most international students do not have U.S. credit scores.

The non-cosigned loan offer is available to borrowers from more than 190 countries and 400+ schools.

In order to be eligible for MPOWER’s student loan, you will need to meet the following criteria:

You must be admitted to or enrolled in an eligible school in the U.S. or Canada
You must be within two years of graduating from your program
Your program must start within 12 months
You must live in either the U.S. or Canada while you’re in school
Your program must be degree-granting

If you qualify for a student loan through MPOWER, you’ll get a fixed-rate loan with flexible loan amounts ($2,001 to $100,000 total) that can cover tuition, school supplies, and living expenses for future semesters or past due balances. Check out the table below for more information:

	MPOWER Student Loans
Fixed APR*	up to 13.74% (14.75% APR)*
Variable APR*	N/A

*Rates as of January 08, 2023.

You can get up to 0.25% rate discounts

MPOWER rewards you for borrowing responsibly by offering up to a 0.25% rate discount on student loans. You can qualify for these rate discounts by enrolling in autopay.

Autopay will automatically debit your loan payment each month. When you enroll, MPOWER gives you a 0.25% deduction on your interest rate for as long as you remain enrolled.

Your discount will remain if you make on-time payments via autopay. An invalid payment, hardship (i.e., forbearance) request, or entering into a modified payment plan may reset your discount, so you may need to enroll again to earn your interest rate discount.

If you take advantage of the autopay discounts, you could save yourself hundreds, and maybe even thousands, of dollars throughout the lifetime of your loan.

Three unique scholarship opportunities for international students

MPOWER offers three unique scholarship opportunities for international students.

Global Citizen Scholarship: One grand prize winner will get a $5,000 scholarship, while four regional winners will get $3,000 each. To be eligible, you must be an international student studying at an eligible school in the U.S. or Canada.
Women in STEM Scholarship: Female international and DACA students who are enrolled in or accepted to an eligible full-time STEM degree program can receive $5,000, $3,000, or $2,000.
MBA Scholarship Program: MBA students pursuing an MBA at one of MPOWER’s supported schools will be awarded up to $10,000.

In order to be eligible for MPOWER’s scholarships, you must meet the following criteria:

Accepted at, or enrolled in, a full-time degree program at a U.S. or Canadian school that MPOWER supports
An international student allowed to legally study in the U.S. or Canada.

Drawbacks of MPOWER

Only available to students within two years of graduation

If you want to take out a private student loan through MPOWER, you must be within 2 years of graduating from your program. For example: if your anticipated graduation date is May 2023, then your program must have started in May 2021 or later.

Higher interest rates and fees than other online lenders

MPOWER is unique in that it does not require a cosigner, collateral, or credit history. With that said, its rates are quite high compared to other lenders. Depending on your citizenship status and degree type, you will get the following rates:

International undergraduates: 14.75% APR

International graduate students: 13.72% APR

DACA undergraduates: 10.91% APR

DACA graduate student: 8.89% APR

MPOWER also charges a 5% origination fee that is added to your loan balance. You can spread the origination fee across the lifetime of the loan. So for example, if you borrow $10,000, you will have to pay a $500 fee as part of your monthly loan payments after graduation.

You have to make interest-only loan payments while you’re in school

While many lenders offer a variety of payment options that allow you to postpone repayment until after you’ve graduated, MPOWER requires all borrowers to make interest-only payments starting 45 days after loan funds have been disbursed.

Although in-school payments can be difficult for some borrowers, it is the best way to reduce the amount of interest you pay over time.

Repayment Option	Terms	Pros	Cons
Interest-Only Repayment	Pay only interest starting 30-45 days after loan funds have been disbursed.	Your monthly payments will be more manageable, and your loan balance won’t grow while you’re in school.	You won’t make any progress paying down your loan balance while you’re a student. But at least you won’t owe more than you borrowed when it’s time to start making full payments.

MPOWER: The Nuts and Bolts

Interest Rates, Fees, and Terms

Fixed APR Range	up to 13.74% (14.75% APR)*
Variable APR Range	N/A.
Loan Terms	10 years.
Loan Amounts	$2,001 up to $55,000 per semester with an annual limit of $100,000.
Application or Origination Fee	Yes, 5% origination fee added to the loan balance.
Prepayment Penalty	No.
Late Fees	Yes.

Eligibility Requirements – Financial

Minimum Credit Score	N/A.
Minimum Income	Did not disclose.
Typical Credit Score of Approved Borrowers	N/A.
Typical Income of Approved Borrower	Did not disclose.
Maximum Debt-to-Income Ratio	Did not disclose.
Ability to qualify if you’ve filed for bankruptcy	Did not disclose.

Eligibility Requirements – Personal

Citizenship	International students must be from one of the 180 countries MPOWER works with. DACA students do not need a Social Security number to qualify.
Location	Available to international borrowers attending eligible schools in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Must be enrolled half-time or more	Yes.
Types of schools served	Borrowers must be attending an eligible Title IV that MPOWER works with.
Percentage of borrowers who have a cosigner	N/A.

Repayment Options

In-school Repayment Options	Interest-only repayment: Pay only interest starting 30-45 days after loan funds have been disbursed.
Grace period	6 months. Interest-only payments are still required.
In-school Deferment	Students enrolled at least half-time are eligible for up to 24 months of deferment while continuing to make interest-only payments.
Military Deferment	Active-duty service members can defer payments for 24 months, in 12-month increments. Interest still accrues, but during the period of active service, interest on loans will be reduced to 6%.
Disability Deferment	Did not disclose.
Forbearance	Available if you have a late payment or are about to miss a payment. Borrowers have a 24-month limit on forbearance, available in six-month increments. During forbearance, interest will continue to accrue on the loan.
Cosigner Release	N/A. No cosigner is required.
Death or Disability Discharge	Yes.
Autopay	Allows for surplus payments via autopay: Yes. Allows for biweekly payments via autopay: No.

Customer Service

Loan Servicer	Launch.
In-house Customer Service Team	Yes.
Process for Escalating Concerns	Yes.
Borrowers get assigned a personal customer service representative	Yes.
Average time from application to approval	10 days.

Before you take out a loan from MPOWER…

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 MPOWER a legitimate lender?

Yes, MPOWER is a legitimate lender that offers private student loans to international and DACA students.

Is MPOWER available in all 50 states?

Yes, MPOWER is available in all 50 states.

How long does it take to get an MPOWER student loan?

Submitting an application through MPOWER takes a few minutes. Once you’ve submitted your loan application, MPOWER 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. Your school must approve the loan which may take between four to six weeks.

What happens if I don’t qualify for an MPOWER student loan?

If you don’t qualify for an MPOWER student student loan, the company will inform you why. Depending on the reason, you may consider applying with a different lender. 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. And best of all, it won’t impact your credit score.

Are MPOWER student loans federal or private?

MPOWER’s 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 MPOWER hurt my credit score?

It is unclear whether it will hurt your credit score. MPOWER conducts a soft credit check to determine your eligibility. While soft credit checks typically don’t hurt your credit score, MPOWER has stated that “Any potential lender pulling your credit may slightly lower your overall credit score temporarily.” Therefore, it isn’t totally clear whether or not applying for a loan with MPOWER will hurt your credit score or not.

Although MPOWER doesn’t use your FICO score to make loan decisions, the lender does review your credit history. If you have documented credit issues (missed payments, collection items, charge offs, etc.), these will negatively impact your chances to be pre-approved for a loan.

*MPOWER Financing Disclosure

Subject to credit approval, loans are made by Bank of Lake Mills or MPOWER Financing, PBC. Bank of Lake Mills does not have an ownership interest in MPOWER Financing. Neither MPOWER Financing nor Bank of Lake Mills is affiliated with the school you attended or are attending. Bank of Lake Mills is Member FDIC. None of the information contained in this website constitutes a recommendation, solicitation or offer by MPOWER Financing or its affiliates to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments or other assets or provide any investment advice or service.

2021 © MPOWER Financing, Public Benefit Corporation NMLS ID #1233542. 1101 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036

See MPOWER’s disclosures here.