In this video, I'm going to talk about student loans from College AV
If you already follow my channel, then you know that my team and I have shopped around for the best student loan options out there. Unless you have a fully funded college fund—which not many of us do—you'll need a student loan to get professionally qualified to earn a decent income these days, and then work quite a few years just to pay that off. This is why finding the right lender for your student loan is just about as important as which college you pick or sometimes even what degree you end up going for.
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Now, I've had my fair share of student loans over the years, so I definitely know what it's like. From someone just like you, I'm going to take you through everything I know from all the research my team and I did about getting a loan from College AV. So keep watching to find out:
- Who qualifies
- What it's like to apply
- What options and terms they offer
I'll also go over some of the pros and cons of getting a loan from College AV so you can figure out if it's a good match for you or if you might want to look elsewhere.
If you find this review interesting or helpful, you can show your appreciation by liking this video and subscribing to the channel to see more of my reviews. Just to be upfront, I am an affiliate of pretty much all the companies I talk about, including College AV, but my recommendations would not mean much if I didn't give you my honest opinion, as always. If at any point you decide to apply for a student loan from College AV, check out the affiliate link down in the description. It doesn't cost you anything, and you might even be eligible for a bit of a discount, which you wouldn't get if you went directly to their website.
So what kind of lender is College AV?
To start off with, College AV offers student loans and financial services through a number of other banks. As a relative newcomer to the business of education financing (founded in 2014), it was established as an online lender that caters exclusively to students with the aim of making the process of finding, applying for, and servicing student loans as quick, simple, and painless as possible. They offer student loans starting as low as $1,000 and up to the total cost of attending your school. Additionally, they offer options for refinancing to borrowers with existing student loan debt, which means your parents can also co-sign on your student loans.
What sets College AV apart is that it's not actually a bank. It doesn’t give loans or work in financial services directly. Instead, their student loans are handled through three FDIC insured banks, and their student card banking services are also managed by another FDIC insured bank. Essentially, College AV makes student loans easier and more flexible by shopping around for competitive rates for you, providing helpful information, and offering a fast online pre-qualification process that doesn’t affect your credit score.
Now, let's look at what loan options you get with College AV.
They offer private loans, which means the money comes from a bank and not from the government, unlike federal student loans. This means all you have to do is fill out a quick online application that assesses your creditworthiness before giving you a range of options and rates to choose from. You can select either a variable or fixed interest rate, which you don’t get with a federal loan that only has a fixed APR. Their loans are ideal for anyone wanting to pay off their student loan debt as fast as possible.
To qualify, you have to:
- Be at least 16 years old
- Be enrolled in or accepted into an eligible school in the United States
- Have a Social Security number
- Meet the academic progress guidelines of your school
International students can also apply, as long as they have a Social Security number and a qualified co-signer. Unfortunately, DACA recipients are not eligible. For undergraduate loans, you must have a co-signer, which can be a parent or any adult with a healthy credit score. There are other personal financial details considered during the application process, but you need to go through the pre-qualification process first. The pre-qualification is a soft credit check that doesn’t affect your credit score, unlike a hard credit check which can impact your score.
To get an idea of what kind of loan you can get, start by choosing the type of loan you want: undergrad, grad, career, parent, or refinancing. After entering some basic personal, financial, and student information, it only takes a few minutes to get more details on the deals available. Once you've reviewed your options and considered all the choices, you can make a formal application. For parent loans or refinancing, the process is a bit different, but for graduate and undergraduate loans, you'll likely get a decision quickly. If approved, College AV will send the loan to your school for certification. If your school verifies that you’re enrolled and that the loan amount doesn’t exceed their cost of attendance, College AV will send the money directly to them. This part of the process should take no more than 10 business days or a bit longer depending on your school.
In terms of repayment options, there's a range of terms to choose from: 5, 8, 10, or 15 years for undergrad or grad loans. Loans for medical, dental, and law students, as well as other health professionals, have a 20-year term option. For refinancing, you can choose any term between 5 and 20 years, while parent loans come with either 5 or 15-year repayment periods. The minimum loan amount is $1,000 or $5,000 for refinancing, and the maximum is your total cost of attendance or up to $500,000 for refinancing.
There are no origination or prepayment fees, but late fees can apply if you miss a payment—either 5% of the unpaid amount or $25, whichever is less. Repayment options include a grace period (6 months for undergrads, 9 months for grad students, 12 months for dental students, and 36 months for medical students), but this is the most expensive form of loan because you still pay interest during the grace period. To reduce the total amount, you can make payments while studying and for up to 6 months after graduation. You can choose a fixed payment of $25 a month or pay interest only. The most cost-effective option is to pay the full principal and interest during your time at school, if possible, which means you pay off the loan faster and end up paying much less in total.
So, what are the pros and cons of using College AV for a student loan?
To be honest, it’s actually a pretty good option for anyone who wants a variety of repayment and term options because you can quickly and easily pre-qualify online. Personally, I liked College AV’s easy application form, clean website, and useful glossary for loan terms. Their resource section is full of good advice, guides, and articles, and they even have a scholarship section with monthly sweepstakes where you could win a $1,000 scholarship.
Interest rates with College AV are a mixed bag. For undergrad loans, College AV’s lowest rate starts at 4.39%, compared to MEFA at 5.35% and ELF at 8.42%. However, College AV’s maximum rates are generally higher, reaching up to 16.49%, whereas MEFA peaks at 7.95% and ELF at 13.1%. While College AV’s maximum rates are higher than average, they offer lower-than-average starting interest rates, which can save you money if you want to pay off your loan faster.
My bottom line is that College AV offers competitive rates and terms for student loans with a process that’s simple and flexible. If you or your co-signer have a good or even decent credit score and you expect to earn a good salary after finishing your studies, it’s a great choice. College AV does a good job of reducing the stress of finding a flexible student loan, making it one of my go-to recommendations for those needing help with their student loans.
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