Best Graduate Student Loans

Earnest tops our list of the best graduate student loans thanks to its flexible repayment terms, customized loan options, and transparency around lending requirements. When you borrow from Earnest, you can choose repayment terms from five to 15 years, making it easy to find a term that works for your budget.

Plus, you have four different repayment options after you borrow, whether you want to start making partial or full payments right away or defer payments until after you graduate. Earnest offers a nine-month grace period on student loans, too, which is three months longer than the grace period you’ll find from most other lenders.?

While Earnest offers a general graduate school loan option, it also customizes loans for specific degree types. Specifically, Earnest offers graduate student loans for medical school, law school, and MBA programs, as well as loan options for half-time students.?

Finally, Earnest is upfront about its eligibility criteria, sharing the residency, financial, and other requirements that you or your co-signer need to meet to borrow a loan. As long as you or your co-signer have a minimum FICO score of 650 and make at least $35,000 per year, a graduate student loan from Earnest could be a good fit.?

For more information, see the full Earnest Student Loans Review. 

Credible is an online lending marketplace that enables you to check your rates with multiple lenders at once. With no impact on your credit, you can pre-qualify for a graduate student loan from Credible’s partners, which include:?

• Ascent?
• Citizens Bank
• College Ave
• Custom Choice?
  
• EDvestinU
• INvestED
• MEFA
• Sallie Mae?

Since every lender sets its own borrowing requirements, you may not qualify with each one. After submitting your information, you can compare offers and see if any are the right fit.?

If you decide to move forward, you can select an offer and submit a full application. Most of Credible’s partner lenders offer student loans starting at $1,000 and going up to your school-certified cost of attendance.?

You may need to head to an individual lender’s website or call its customer support team if you need additional details about its loan amounts, repayment options, or other loan features.?

For more information, see the full Credible Student Loans Review.

SoFi provides graduate student loans to qualifying borrowers across the country. Along with its general graduate school loan, SoFi also designs loans specifically for law school, medical school, and MBA programs.?

If you borrow from SoFi, you can choose between fixed and variable rates and loan terms of five to 15 years. You’ll also get access to a range of SoFi member benefits, which include career coaching and estate planning.?

SoFi doesn’t charge any fees on its student loans, so you don’t have to worry about an origination fee or prepayment penalty. Plus, the lender gives you the option to defer payments if you go back to school, undergo disability rehabilitation, or serve in the military.?

If you apply with a co-signer, SoFi allows you to apply for co-signer release after 24 months of on-time payments. However, the lender isn’t particularly transparent about its underwriting criteria and does not disclose its minimum credit score or income requirements on its website.?

For more information, see the full SoFi Student Loans Review. 

Ascent is a solid student loan lender, with a fairly rare perk for eligible borrowers: If you meet certain requirements, including graduating with the degree you took the loan out for, you can get 1% of your loan proceeds back. This could be a nice (and fairly sizable) treat for all your hard work.

Ascent gives you the option to pre-qualify with no impact to your credit, so you can enlist a co-signer if you’re having trouble qualifying on your own. Its graduate school loans come with flexible repayment options and loan terms of five to 20 years.

Unlike most other private lenders, Ascent offers the option of graduated repayment, meaning you can choose to start with lower payments that increase over time. You also don’t have to worry about origination fees or prepayment penalties.?

If you apply with a co-signer, you can pursue co-signer release after 12 months of on-time payments, as long as you’re a U.S. resident or permanent citizen. Ascent also offers various deferment and forbearance options in the event of financial hardship.?

For more information, see the full Ascent Student Loans Review. 

Discover offers graduate school loans starting at $1,000 with repayment terms of 20 years. If you borrow from Discover, you don’t have to worry about application, origination, or late fees.

Along with general graduate school loans, Discover offers MBA loans, health professions loans, and law loans. It also offers two post-graduate loan options: residency loans and bar exam loans.?

You might qualify for a one-time 1% cash bonus if you earn a 3.0 GPA or higher in graduate school through Discover’s Rewards for Good Grades program. Discover also offers a lengthy grace period of nine months and options for deferment and forbearance.?

However, Discover does not provide the option of co-signer release. If you apply with a co-signer, that individual will share your debt for the life of your loan (unless you refinance in your own name).?

For more information, see the full Discover Student Loans Review. 

MPOWER Financing offers student loans without requiring a co-signer or collateral; along with the traditional borrower qualifications, MPOWER also considers your future earning potential, which can help you get approved if you’re applying on your own. While domestic students are eligible to borrow from MPOWER, this lender is largely geared toward helping international students attend school in the U.S. and Canada.?

Along with student loans, MPOWER provides visa support and career development guidance. Its graduate loans come with a relatively high fixed interest rate of 13.98%, though you can qualify for a 0.25% interest rate discount by setting up autopay.?

Unlike some other lenders, MPOWER doesn’t let you postpone payments completely while you’re in school. Instead, you’ll have to pay the interest while you’re in school and during your six-month grace period.?

After that, you’ll be set up on a repayment term of 10 years.

For more information, see the full MPOWER Student Loans Review. 

Splash is a student loan network that can connect you with student loan refinance offers from several lenders that are exclusive to Splash; you won’t be able to apply with them through other means. If you’ve already borrowed graduate student loans and are looking to lower your rates, Splash is worth exploring.?

You can pre-qualify for student loan refinancing with no impact on your credit score and access extra-low rates.

Splash can also connect you with graduate school loans, specifically from its partner Earnest. As mentioned, Earnest provides loans for graduate school, as well as specific programs, including medical, law, and MBAs.?

For more information, see the full Splash Financial Student Loan Refinancing Review.

Applying for more funding for every year you want to go to school can be a hassle, and if you fail to secure the funds your education may suffer. Citizens offers multi-year approval to help erase this concern. If you apply for a loan, are approved, and are given multi-year approval, you won’t have to submit a full, formal application for later school years. Instead, you can simply request more funds without the need for further hard inquiries or documentation.

If you’re already a Citizens banking customer, you could qualify for a 0.25% interest rate discount, in addition to the 0.25% automatic payment discount. Unfortunately, Citizens doesn't give you the option to check your rates through pre-qualification, so you’ll need to submit a full application to see your options.?

Citizens does not charge origination, application, disbursement, or prepayment fees. Along with its graduate school loan option, Citizens also offers MBA, law, medical, dental, and medical residency refinance loans.?

For more information, see the full Citizens Student Loans Review.