Many or all companies we feature compensate us. Compensation and editorial research influence how products appear on a page. Student Loans College Ave vs. Discover: Student Loan Comparison Updated Feb 15, 2024 11-min read Written by Lindsay VanSomeren Written by Lindsay VanSomeren Expertise: Mortgages, personal loans, student loans, auto loans, banking, budgeting, debt, insurance, credit cards, credit Lindsay VanSomeren is a personal finance writer living in Suquamish, Washington. She's passionate about helping people learn how to manage their money better so that they can live the life they want. In her spare time, she enjoys outdoor adventures, reading, and learning new languages and hobbies. Learn more about Lindsay VanSomeren After January 31, 2024, Discover is no longer accepting new student loan applications. College Ave and Discover are two popular lenders offering student loans and refinancing. Both lenders offer low rates and allow you to apply with a cosigner, but there are subtle differences between the two that can make one a better fit for your needs. Most people will generally find College Ave a better option since it offers more term lengths and a clear path to get your cosigner off your loan without having to refinance. Discover also requires you to qualify independently for a refinance, excluding people with poor credit and income. Those aren’t the only factors to consider, however. We’ll do a deep dive into comparing College Ave vs. Discover student loans to help you make the best financial decision. Table of Contents Skip to Section College Ave vs. Discover private student loans: Everything you need to knowCollege Ave vs. Discover student loan refinancing: Everything you need to know College Ave vs. Discover private student loans: Everything you need to know 4.8 View Rates 4.3 View Rates Rates (APR) 4.43% – 16.99% 5.24% – 15.99% Rates (APR) Rates (APR) 4.43% – 16.99% 5.24% – 15.99% Loan amounts $1,000 – 100% of certified costs $1,000 – 100% of certified costs Loan amounts Loan amounts $1,000 – 100% of certified costs $1,000 – 100% of certified costs Repayment terms 5, 8, 10, or 15 years 15 years Repayment terms Repayment terms 5, 8, 10, or 15 years 15 years See the best student loans. You’ll be able to borrow the same amount towards your education expenses regardless of whether you choose College Ave or Discover. Like most private student loan lenders, you’ll be able to borrow up to the total cost of your education (as calculated by your school). Discover, however, is more expensive overall for people with excellent credit (or whose cosigners have excellent credit, that is). The best rates that Discover offers tend to be higher, and since you can only select a long-term loan, you’ll be paying those higher rates for longer. The opposite is true if you or your cosigner have poorer credit. College Ave may charge lower rates for those with marginal credit, given that its interest rate cap is slightly less than Discover. You can also save money by choosing a shorter-term loan. As with any product, it’s best to check your rates first to be sure. Is a private student loan from College Ave or Discover more accessible? Every student loan company has unique eligibility criteria, which often include income, credit score, citizenship status, and attendance requirements. Most students need a cosigner to qualify for a private student loan because they don’t often meet the credit score and income requirements. A good cosigner is an adult who meets the income, credit score, and citizenship requirements and agrees to take responsibility for your student loan payments if you default. Read below to see the various eligibility criteria for each lender: Eligibility criteriaCollege AveDiscoverCredit scoreMid-600s for cosignerNot disclosedIncomeNot disclosedNot disclosedCosignerMust be U.S. citizen or permanent residentMust be U.S. citizen or permanent residentCitizenshipMust be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or have a cosigner who is either of the twoMust be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or have a cosigner who is either of the twoAttendanceFull-time or part-time as long as you’re making satisfactory academic progressFull-time or part-time Discover vs. College Ave: When one might be better than the other for private student loans There’s no one right answer when deciding between student loan providers. The key is to figure out what you need in a lender and then find one that fits your criteria. Read below to see situations where one lender might be better than the other: College AveDiscoverStudents with cosignersXInternational studentsXBetter repayment optionsXLowest ratesX If you’re applying with a cosigner: College Ave Discover doesn’t offer cosigner release for its student loans, meaning once your cosigner signs on the dotted line, they’re potentially on the hook to repay the loan until it’s gone. If that worries your cosigner, College Ave may be a better option since it offers cosigner release after you’ve paid off half the loan and met other requirements. If you’re an international student: Discover College Ave requires that international students have Social Security numbers to be eligible for a student loan. Discover only requires that international students have a cosigner who is a citizen or permanent resident. This makes Discover a much better option for international students who often aren’t U.S. citizens or permanent residents. If you want more options for repayment terms: College Ave College Ave offers several different repayment lengths for students, ranging from five to 15 years. Discover only offers 15-year terms. Shorter terms tend to have lower interest rates, which may be preferable for some borrowers. If you want a shorter-term loan, go with College Ave. If you want the lowest interest rate: College Ave College AveDiscoverLoan amount$40,000$40,000Term length15 years15 yearsFixed APR4.43%5.24%Monthly payment$305$321Total interest paid$14,822$17,841 College Ave offers lower interest rates than Discover, and that difference can be significant over the life of the loan. For example, if you borrow $40,000 from Discover with a 5.24% fixed interest rate and a 15-year term, the total interest over the life of the loan will be $17,841. But if you borrow $40,000 from College Ave with a 4.43% fixed interest rate and a 15-year term, the total interest over the life of the loan will be $14,822. That’s a savings difference of more than $3,000 if you go with College Ave. College Ave vs. Discover: Our choice for private student loans College Ave is our choice between these two companies because of the opportunity to get a lower rate, the ability to choose your repayment term, and your choice of four different repayment options. It’s also friendlier to cosigners, which can make it easier to ask someone for help in qualifying for a loan. College Ave vs. Discover student loan refinancing: Everything you need to know As of January 31, 2024, Discover does not accept new student loan refinancing applications. 4.2 View Rates 3.7 View Rates Rates (APR) 6.99% – 13.99% 5.99% – 9.99% Rates (APR) Rates (APR) 6.99% – 13.99% 5.99% – 9.99% Loan amounts $5,000 – $150,000 $5,000 – $150,000 Loan amounts Loan amounts $5,000 – $150,000 $5,000 – $150,000 Cosigner releast Yes, after you’ve paid off half the loan and met other requirements Not offered Cosigner releast Cosigner releast Yes, after you’ve paid off half the loan and met other requirements Not offered Repayment terms 5 to 20 years 10 or 20 years Repayment terms Repayment terms 5 to 20 years 10 or 20 years See the best student loan refinance companies. Discover is cheaper when it comes to interest, but not necessarily in every case. That’s because you’ll only get two choices of term lengths for its refinance loans, which it confusingly calls “loan consolidation” (a term normally reserved just for the federal student loan world). The shortest term length you can refinance your student loans for with Discover is 10 years, twice as long as College Ave’s shortest term length. So while you may get a lower rate, you may pay more in the long run anyway since you’ll be paying interest on it for longer. In addition, Discover has some weird cosigner policies. “You’ll need to qualify for the consolidation loan on your own,” says the company, but you can add a cosigner to get lower rates. However, once you add that cosigner, there’s no way to remove them. College Ave does allow this, however. Is a refinance student loan from College Ave or Discover more accessible? College Ave has looser requirements when it comes to qualifying for a student loan refinance. If you’re not able to qualify to refinance your student loans on your own, you can apply with a cosigner if you choose. In contrast, Discover only offers student loan refinances to people who are able to qualify on their own, without any help from a cosigner. That means you’ll need to have better credit and income. You can still add a cosigner if you like, but at that point, they’d only help you qualify for better rates—not approval. Eligibility criteriaCollege AveDiscoverIncomeNot disclosedNot disclosedCosignerU.S. citizen or permanent residentYou must qualify yourself before a cosigner can be added. The cosigner must be a U.S. citizen or permanent residentCitizenshipU.S. citizen or permanent residentU.S. citizen or permanent residentAttendanceMust have graduated from a selection of Title IV accredited universities or graduate programsOnly loans used for degrees that required you to be enrolled at least half-time are eligible Discover vs. College Ave: When one might be better than the other for student loan refinancing Sometimes, just comparing terms doesn’t lead to an easy decision. So we’ve included several scenarios to help you understand when each company might be a better option. College AveDiscoverMore ways to qualifyXBetter variable-rate loansXBorrowers without degreesXBetter repayment optionsX If you won’t qualify for refinancing by yourself: College Ave Discover requires borrowers to qualify for refinancing by themselves; College Ave lets borrowers add a cosigner to qualify for refinancing. This can make refinancing much more accessible for borrowers. If you want a variable-rate loan: College Ave College Ave offers lower starting interest rates for variable-rate loans, at 6.99% APR compared to 7.49% APR for Discover. While that may seem small, the difference can add up over time. Let’s say you have a $50,000 loan with a 6.99% interest rate and a 10-year term. You would pay $19,634 in total interest over the life of the loan. But if you had a 7.49% interest rate, you would pay $21,190 in total interest over the life of the loan. That’s a difference of more than $1,500. Keep in mind this is how much you’d pay if rates stayed the same. But since these are variable-rate loans, your payment will change on a regular basis and you could end up paying a lot more or a lot less over time. College AveDiscoverLoan amount$50,000$50,000Term length10 years10 yearsFixed APR6.99%7.49%Monthly payment$580$593Total interest paid$19,634$21,190 If you didn’t graduate from college: Discover College Ave requires that you have graduated from college to qualify for student loan refinancing. If you didn’t get a degree, your best option is Discover. Discover lets you refinance as long as you took out the loans while at least a part-time student. If you want more choices of repayment terms: College Ave The minimum term length you can refinance your student loans for with Discover is 10 years. That essentially restarts the clock on repayment if you’ve already been making progress on your current loans under the default 10-year repayment plan that most student loans start out with. College Ave, however, offers term lengths as short as five years, which can help ensure you pay less in interest over time and pay off your loans without having to be in debt for longer than necessary. College Ave vs. Discover: Our choice for student loan refinancing Between College Ave and Discover, we recommend College Ave. College Ave may not outshine Discover when it comes to fixed interest rates, but it is more accessible for borrowers because it lets them qualify with a cosigner. Furthermore, College Ave offers more flexible term length options for people who’ve already been making steady progress on their loans but don’t want to start over from scratch when it comes to their debt-free date. Does College Ave or Discover have better customer reviews and ratings? Before deciding on a lender, make sure to read reviews from actual customers to see how the company treats its borrowers. It’s best to check out several sources, since sometimes there may not be much information listed on certain review websites. Here is the reputation that College Ave vs Discover student loans have around the internet: SourceCollege Ave customer ratingDiscover Customer ratingTrustpilot4.4 out of 5 (797 reviews)1.8 out of 5 (240 reviews)Google3.1 out of 5 (116 reviews)1.0 out of 5 (1 review)Better Business Bureau3.15 out of 5 (46 reviews)1.18 out of 5 (348 reviews) Data collected on January 22, 2024. In general, College Ave has better ratings from actual customers. Discover gets rather poor ratings, but this could also be because Discover doesn’t just offer student loans. It’s a well-known bank and credit card provider, too, so these ratings measure customer satisfaction across all of its products. In fact, over 1,100 customers filed a complaint against Discover with the Better Business Bureau in 2023, but these tend to be mostly about its banking services, not its student loans. In contrast, College Ave has only seven complaints during the same time period. There isn’t a clear trend in these complaints; customers cite various issues with cosigners, identity theft, and interest rate discounts.