Offering an array of financial assistance including credit card consolidation, home improvement loans, medical bill loans, student refinancing, and now 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 5-star rating from Trustpilot.
Here’s a peek at Earnest’s CEO featured on CNBC’s Mad Money explaining a bit more about Earnest:
Earnest benefits students who have exhausted their federal loan options and are looking for more financial assistance. The program particularly favors borrowers signing up with a co-signer as well.
Earnest is favored for its flexible personal loans and student refinancing programs, and from what we’ve seen, its private student loans are no different. You can get up to 100% of your cost of attendance covered by the loan, there’s an auto-pay discount, and Earnest even has a 5-second pre-approval process. 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 encourages students to sign up with a co-signer. In fact, Earnest even makes things easier for the ones co-signing the loan by offering a separate account for co-signers to track loan progress and fast service.
Earnest has pretty straightforward eligibility requirements. Here are the criteria you’ll need to meet to get approved for a private student loan from this lender:
Earnest is available in all states except the following:
| Arkansas | New Hampshire |
| Connecticut | Nevada |
| Delaware | Ohio |
| Illinois | Texas |
| Hawaii | Virginia |
| Kentucky |
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 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 a meaningful discount, with rates as low as 5.32% - 16.20%.
Earnest offers students 4 different repayment plans to choose from:
As mentioned previously, you can also skip one payment annually.
All data shared and stored on the Earnest website is secured using industry-standard SSL technology. 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 | Laurel Road | |
|---|---|---|
| APR | 5.32% - 16.20% | 4.11% |
| Credit score | 650 | 650 |
| Loan amount | Up to 100% COA | $5,000-total COA |
| Accepts co-signers | Yes | Yes |
| Suitable for | Students with a cosigner | Students in eligible schools and degrees |
Earnest is a user-friendly, feature-rich option for private student loans. With a 9-month grace period, flexible repayment terms, and even an 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 encourages 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 4.70% APR to 15.25% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Variable rates range from 5.57% APR to 16.67% 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.
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