The best graduate student loans in April 2024, starting with federal options

The US Department of Education offers federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans to graduate (and undergraduate) students. To qualify, you must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the year you need financing (although it’s a best practice to file the FAFSA every year you’re in school). Most graduate students are eligible for these loans without having to demonstrate financial need or pass a credit check.

Direct Unsubsidized Loans come with a relatively low interest rate that’s set annually by Congress but stays fixed for the life of the loan. The rate for graduate students for the 2023-2024 academic year was 8.05% — higher than for undergraduate students but generally lower than private graduate loan rates. The drawback is that as an unsubsidized loan, interest begins to accrue as soon as the funds are disbursed. You don’t have to pay the interest while enrolled at least half-time, but interest capitalizes (or gets added to the principal balance) upon leaving campus. These loans also come with a one-time fee of 1.057% of the loan amount.

Federal loans feature several government-exclusive protections and benefits, including eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and deferment and forbearance options, which allow you to temporarily suspend payments if you’re facing certain hardships. Graduate students can borrow up to $20,500 per academic year. The aggregate limit is $138,500, which includes loans for undergraduate studies.

Federal Graduate PLUS Loans are part of the Direct Loan program and are available to students enrolled in graduate or professional programs. PLUS Loans allow you to borrow up to the full cost of attendance (as determined by the school) minus any other financial aid received.

Unlike Direct Unsubsidized Loans, eligibility for a Grad PLUS Loan requires a credit check. However, you don’t need excellent credit; if you have an “adverse credit history,” you’ll need an endorser (like a private loan cosigner). Your credit could be “adverse” if…

• You’re 90 or more days late on $2,085 or more in debt
• In the last five years, you’ve experienced a foreclosure, repossession, tax lien, wage garnishment, loan default, federal financial aid write-off or bankruptcy debt discharge

PLUS Loans have a fixed interest rate, which was 7.05% for 2023-2024, but a higher loan fee (4.228%) than the Unsubsidized Loan surcharge. They also come with the same benefits and protections as other federal loans.

Graduate student loans from online bank SoFi are available in repayment terms of five, seven, 10 or 15 years. SoFi also offers competitive fixed and variable interest rates, including an autopay discount worth 0.25 percentage points. These loans stand out for their lack of fees, including for application, origination and late payments.

Additionally, SoFi members get exclusive benefits, including discounts, financial advice, and more at no additional cost. But as a private lender, SoFi’s graduate student loans don’t have the same protections as federal loans, though they do provide unemployment protection: If you lose your job through no fault of your own, you could pause your loan payments for up to 12 months (although interest continues to accrue). That’s partly why SoFi also ranks highly among the best student loans without a cosigner (though it accepts cosigners, too).

Ascent offers private graduate student loans up to $400,000 that are designed to meet the needs of a wide range of students pursuing advanced degrees. It stands out for its repayment flexibility: Repayment terms of five, seven, 10, 12, 15 and 20 years are available, depending on the particular loan.

Plus, you can start repayment up to nine months after graduation; if you need to make lower payments after graduation, you might enroll in the Progressive Repayment option. Like the Graduated Repayment Plan for federal loans, Ascent’s Progressive plan lowers your initial monthly dues but raises them over time, ideally as your postgraduate income also increases.

The application features flexibility, too. You can take out a credit-based loan in your own name, or with the help of a cosigner. Cosigner release is available after just 12 months of on-time payments — that’s the shortest timeline on our list (Sallie Mae also offers 12-month cosigner release).

Ascent offers competitive fixed and variable interest rates for graduate student loans, including a 0.25-percentage-point autopay discount, though rates vary by degree program. The lender doesn’t charge application or origination fees, and there’s no penalty for prepaying the loan. It also offers a 1% cash-back reward upon graduation.

College Ave provides graduate loans up to the full cost of attendance with four in-school repayment options, including:

• Interest only
• A fixed amount
• Principal and interest
• Full deferment

You can choose a repayment term of five, eight, 10 or 15 years, and have the option of fixed or variable interest rates (including the industry-standard autopay discount worth 0.25 percentage points). There are no origination fees or prepayment penalties associated with College Ave graduate loans.

On the downside, College Ave has one of the market’s slowest routes to cosigner release: You must have progressed through half of your repayment term (say, enter year six of a 10-year term) just to apply to remove your cosigner (if applicable) from your loan. You must also be a US citizen or green card holder to be eligible to borrow.

Earnest offers competitive fixed- and variable-rate loans, as well as the standard autopay discount. But this lender is unique because it will match any competitor’s interest rate (for the same repayment term and within Earnest’s advertised rate range) and give you a $100 Amazon gift card once your rate match is finalized.

Earnest borrowers can choose repayment terms between five to 20 years. Once you leave school, you can enjoy a nine-month grace period before payments are due (three months more than lenders’ common deferment).

There are no origination fees, application fees or prepayment penalties. Plus, Earnest offers the flexibility to skip one payment every 12 months without penalty, provided the loan is in good standing.

Unfortunately, Earnest doesn’t offer cosigner release. So, if you can’t meet the lenders’ underwriting criteria (including minimum credit scores of 650 and annual income of $35,000) on your own — and your potential cosigner doesn’t want to stay on a loan agreement for the long haul — you’ll have to look elsewhere.

As the nation’s largest private student loan lender, Sallie Mae stands out for its repayment deferment option for graduate students with postgraduate training plans: up to 48 months of deferment (in 12-month increments) for your internship or fellowship. That may be attractive if you’re eyeing Sallie Mae’s graduate loans for advanced degrees in medicine, business administration or law.

Sallie Mae graduate loans can cover up to 100% of the school-certified cost of attendance, and offer competitive fixed and variable interest rates (including an autopay discount). You can also choose from several repayment plans, including deferred, fixed or interest-only payments while in school.

However, you only have one option for repayment term: 15 years (but there is no prepayment penalty). Also, Sallie Mae doesn’t offer pre-qualification, so you won’t be able to confirm eligibility and check rates without submitting to a hard credit check.

Education Loan Finance, commonly known as ELFI, is a division of SouthEast Bank. One of the key features of ELFI graduate loans is that each applicant is assigned a student loan advisor who provides a personalized service experience and assistance throughout the loan process. You can contact ELFI by phone, text message, email or online form. This lender also sports an A+ Better Business Bureau rating and generally positive online customer reviews.

ELFI offers the standard autopay discount and doesn’t charge origination or application fees or prepayment penalties. Repayment terms range from five to 15 years.

Among the fine print: ELFI allows you to apply with a cosigner — but not to release the cosigner from your loan until it’s completely repaid. And you might struggle to qualify independently given the minimum credit score (680) and annual income ($35,000) requirements.

The Rhode Island Student Loan Authority (RISLA) is a private, nonprofit organization that offers no-fee graduate loans nationwide. Unlike most private lenders, RISLA offers an income-based repayment (IBR) plan, which adjusts monthly dues based on your income and family size. You must “demonstrate financial hardship” to qualify (as estimated by the lender’s calculator). Like with federal loan forgiveness on income-driven repayment plans, RISLA’s IBR option cancels your remaining balance after 25 years of qualifying payments. (It’s no wonder RISLA ranked highly on our list of best private student loans, too.)

Additionally, you can earn $2,000 in RISLA student loan forgiveness with a qualifying internship. RISLA also provides forbearance to borrowers experiencing financial setbacks and loan forgiveness for the primary borrower’s permanent disability or death.

RISLA offers fixed interest rates only, plus the usual bonus for enrolling in automatic payments. There are no origination fees associated with RISLA loans. However, RISLA graduate loans max out at $50,000 per year (lower than competitors) and have stiff credit requirements, including minimum credit scores of 680.

Custom Choice offers highly competitive fixed- and variable-rate graduate loans, with an autopay rate discount. Most notably, Custom Choice provides a one-time 2% principal reduction with proof of graduation. For example, if you borrow $25,000 in loans from this lender and receive your diploma, you’ll receive $500 in relief.

These graduate loans can be paid over seven, 10 or 15 years. There are also no origination or other fees.

Unfortunately, it takes 36 months of consecutive payments (and meeting other criteria) to remove your cosigner from a Customer Choice loan. That’s two and, sometimes, three times longer than the path to cosigner release offered by other lenders.

Like Sallie Mae, Citizens Bank is a long-standing lender but ranks highly, in part, for pioneering the innovation of multi-year loan approval. It may be possible to borrow in future years with only a soft credit check, which may be valuable if you attend a multi-year degree program and foresee needing additional funding.

Both fixed and variable rates are available, as well as the typical autopay discount. There are no application or origination fees. Repayment terms range between five and 15 years.

However, aggregate lifetime borrowing is capped (for both federal and private debt) at $150,000 for graduate degrees, $225,000 for law and MBA degrees and $180,000 or $350,000 for healthcare degrees, depending on the program.