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Offering an array of financial assistance including credit card consolidation (through personal loans powered by Fiona), student refinancing, and private student loans, Earnest is a good place to turn if you need a little help with funding the various stages of life. Earnest has a great reputation, and that's a great way to kick off a lender-borrower relationship. A quick glance around the internet will yield positive results with glowing reviews from real users and an excellent 4.7-star rating from Trustpilot.
Earnest benefits students who have exhausted their federal loan options and are looking for more financial assistance, and offers a co-signer option as well.
In addition, Earnest offers international private student loans. These are available for graduate students at select schools and do not need a cosigner to get approved.
Earnest is favored for its flexible private student loans and student refinancing programs. You can get up to 100% of your cost of attendance covered by the loan and there’s an auto-pay discount. Here are some of the main features that Earnest boasts over the competition:
Earnest makes it simpler for students on a budget by cutting out some of the most common fees involved in student loans. You’ll pay zero fees for origination, disbursement, and even late payments. Plus, you won’t pay any prepayment penalties for repaying your debt off early.
Once a year, Earnest lets borrowers skip a monthly payment, assuming you’re in good standing with your regular payments. This is incredibly generous and not something you’ll find with other lenders.
This is Earnest’s customer service (which we’ll cover below), but how could you not love a brand that calls its customer support Client Happiness team?
Earnest offers a fast online application process and a pre-application checklist. Here’s how it works:
Earnest has pretty straightforward eligibility requirements. Here are the some of the eligibility criteria you’ll need to meet to get approved for a private student loan from this lender (for the full list please visit https://www.earnest.com/eligibility):
Earnest is available in all states except Nevada. Earnest also does not offer variable rates in the following states:
Arkansas, Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas.
Earnest interest rates are set based on your credit history, loan amount, and other factors. But Earnest is known for having low rates on all its financial aid products, so you can expect to get reasonable private student loan annual percentage rates (APRs) as well. Signing up with a co-signer may entitle you to a lower interest rate, so bear that in mind when applying. If you sign up for autopay, you also get an automatic 0.25% discount. If you opt to apply for autopay, you can expect rates as low as 5.62% - 16.85%.
Rates current as of Sunday, April 27th 2025. For current rates, please visit earnest.com. These are Earnest's lowest starting rates and contain their .25% Auto Pay discount from a checking or savings account. Some borrowers may see higher rates based on their credit.
Earnest offers students 4 different repayment plans for its private student loans product:
As mentioned previously, you can also skip one payment annually.
All data shared and stored on the Earnest website is secured. Some security measures in place include firewalls, multi-factor authentication, and private subnets. Plus, Earnest never sells any information.
Earnest has customer service that it calls the Client Happiness team. You can reach out to this friendly and helpful support staff via email or phone during normal business hours: Monday through Friday 8am to 5pm PT.
Earnest is a user-friendly, feature-rich option for private student loans. With a 9-month grace period, international private student loans, flexible repayment terms, and even a annual payment skip, you can get the most out of the student loans. Plus, Earnest has some of the friendliest customer service around, covers up to 100% of your cost of attendance, and allows for co-signers. Needless to say, Earnest private student loans come highly recommended.
Actual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your income. Fixed rates range from 4.42% APR to 16.74% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Variable rates range from 5.87% APR to 17.12% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount)
Earnest variable interest rate student loan origination loans are based on a publicly available index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The variable rate is based on the rate published on the 25th day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent. The rate will not increase more than once per month. Although the rate will vary after you are approved, it will never exceed 36% (the maximum allowable for this loan).
Please note, Earnest Private Student Loans are not available in Nevada. Our lowest rates are only available for our most credit qualified borrowers and contain our .25% auto pay discount from a checking or savings account. It is important to note that the 0.25% Auto Pay discount is not available while loan payments are deferred.
Earnest Private Student Loans are made by One American Bank, Member FDIC, or FinWise Bank, Member FDIC. One American Bank, 515 S. Minnesota Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57104. Finwise Bank, 756 East Winchester, Suite 100, Murray, UT 84107.
Earnest loans are serviced by Earnest Operations LLC, 300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 340, Oakland 94612. NMLS #1204917, with support from Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA) (NMLS# 1442770) One American Bank, FinWise Bank, and Earnest LLC and its subsidiaries, including Earnest Operations LLC, are not sponsored by agencies of the United States of America.
© 2025 Earnest LLC. All rights reserved.
Before applying for private student loans, it’s best to maximize your other sources of financial aid first. It’s recommended to use a 3-step approach to assembling the funds you need: 1) Look for funds you don’t have to pay back, like scholarships, grant, and work-study opportunities. 2) Next, fill out a FAFSA(R) form to apply for federal student loans. Federal Direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans, excluding PLUS Loan for Parents and PLUS Loan for Graduate and Professional Students which require a credit check and a credit worthy endorser if the parent or graduate or professional student has adverse credit, do not require a credit check or cosigner, and offer various protections if your struggling with your payments. 3) Finally, consider a private student loan to cover any difference between your total cost of attendance and the amount not covered in steps 1 and 2. For more information, visit the Department of Education website at https://studentaid.ed.gov.
Please note that you may lose benefits associated with your underlying federal loans, such as federal Income-driven Repayment Plans (an example of which is the SAVE plan), Economic Hardship Deferment, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or other deferment and forbearance options, if you refinance into a private loan. If you file for bankruptcy, you may still be required to pay back this loan.
Nine-month grace period is not available for borrowers who choose our Principal and Interest Repayment plan while in school.
Earnest clients may skip a payment through a one, one-month forbearance during a 12 month period. Your first request to skip a pay can be made once you’ve made at least 6 months of consecutive on-time full principal and interest payments, and your loan is in good standing. The interest accrued during the skipped month will result in an increase in your remaining minimum payment. The final payoff date on your loan will be extended by the length of the skipped payment periods. Any unpaid accrued interest may capitalize (added to the principal balance) at the end of the forbearance period by adding unpaid accrued interest to the outstanding principal as permitted by law and the terms of the loan agreement.
You can take advantage of the Auto Pay interest rate reduction by setting up and maintaining active and automatic ACH withdrawal of your loan payment from a checking or savings account. The interest rate reduction for Auto Pay will be available only while your loan is enrolled in Auto Pay. Interest rate incentives for utilizing Auto Pay may not be combined with certain private student loan repayment programs that also offer an interest rate reduction. For multi-party loans, only one party may enroll in Auto Pay. FOR SLO ONLY - It is important to note that the 0.25% Auto Pay discount is not available while loan payments are deferred.
SLO:
Earnest’s Loan Cost Examples: These examples provide estimates based on principal and Interest payments beginning immediately upon loan disbursement. Variable interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $150.02) and a 16.45% interest rate would result in a total estimated payment amount of $27,003.60. For a variable loan, after your starting rate is set, your rate will then vary with the market. Fixed interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $147.92) and a 16.15% interest rate would result in a total estimated payment amount of 26,625.60.
These examples provide estimates based on interest only payments while in school. Variable interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $150.02) and a 16.45% interest rate would result in a total estimated payment amount of $34,817.16. For a variable loan, after your starting rate is set, your rate will then vary with the market. Fixed interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $147.92) and a 16.15% interest rate would result in a total estimated payment amount of $34,296.66. Your actual repayment terms may vary. Other repayment options are available.
These examples provide estimates based on fixed $25 payments while in school. Variable interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $245.86) and a 16.45% interest rate would result in a total estimated payment amount of $45,679.80. For a variable loan, after your starting rate is set, your rate will then vary with the market. Fixed interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $240.31) and a 16.15% interest rate would result in a total estimated payment amount of $44,680.80. Your actual repayment terms may vary. Other repayment options are available.
These examples provide estimates based on deferred payments. Variable interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $267.24) and a 16.45% interest rate would result in a total estimated payment amount of $48,103.20. For a variable loan, after your starting rate is set, your rate will then vary with the market. Fixed interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $261.39) and a 16.15% interest rate would result in a total estimated payment amount of $47,050.20. Your actual repayment terms may vary. Other repayment options are available. It is important to note that the 0.25% Auto Pay discount is not available while loan payments are deferred.
