College Finance Student Loan Review
College Finance offers an enhanced version of College Ave's private student loan. Check out how these added benefits can help you.
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- A private student loan powered by College Ave
- Free access to Candidly, a student loan management and paydown provider
- $100 statement credit when you open a Candidly account and link your new loan1
College Finance is a company dedicated to helping students and parents make informed decisions when it comes to financing their college education. In 2022, College Finance was acquired by Candidly, formerly FutureFuel.io.
The acquisition allows College Finance to offer a new private student loan powered by College Ave that comes with free benefits from Candidly. In this review, we’ll take a look at the terms of this loan, what the new benefits are, and whether it makes sense for you.
In this review:
- How is the College Finance student loan powered by College Ave?
- What benefits does College Finance add?
- What are the College Finance student loan terms?
- Who’s eligible for a College Finance student loan?
How is the College Finance student loan powered by College Ave?
It’s not uncommon for student loan lenders to partner with other companies to offer their loans under a new name with some new, unique benefits. In this case, College Ave has partnered with College Finance to offer all the same terms of a College Ave student loan, with the added repayment benefits available through Candidly (the company that acquired College Finance).
Powered by College Ave simply means that the primary loan and terms offered are made available through College Ave. So, while College Finance branding is included, it’s just to differentiate the product so that borrowers understand that this specific loan gives them the option to access benefits not available through College Ave itself.
The application itself is co-branded and includes information from both College Ave and College Finance.
What benefits does College Finance add?
As an enhanced version of the College Ave student loan, the College Finance student loan comes with the following added benefits:
- Free access to Candidly, a student loan management and paydown provider
- $100 statement credit when you open a free Candidly account and link your College Finance student loan1
How does Candidly help me?
Candidly uses AI-driven technology to help borrowers pay down student loan debt and build wealth. Some of the available features that come with a Candidly membership include:
- Round Up: With a linked debit card, you can round up your purchases to the nearest dollar, and the rounded-up amount will be applied to your student loans.
- Merchant Rewards: Earn cashback from hundreds of merchants that is applied to your student loans.
- Friends & Family: Invite friends and family to contribute to the repayment of your student loans.
- Automatic Payment: You can set up an extra monthly payment of any amount that can be applied to the principal of your student loan.
The repayment benefits can help borrowers save thousands of dollars and cut off years of repayment.
What are the College Finance student loan terms?
Since College Ave’s student loan is powering this product, you’ll receive the same terms available through College Ave. Here’s what those terms are:
| College Finance Student Loan Details | |
| Fixed rates (APR) | 3.22% – 13.95% |
| Variable rates (APR) | 1.29% – 12.99% |
| Rate discounts | 0.25% for automatic payments |
| Loan amounts | $1,000 – 100% of the school-certified cost of attendance |
| Repayment terms | 5, 8, 10, or 15 years |
| In-school repayment | Full, interest-only, flat $25, or deferred |
| Grace period | 6 months |
| Fees | Late payment fee |
Who’s eligible for a College Finance student loan?
To be eligible, you need to be enrolled at an approved U.S. college or university. You’ll need to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or have a cosigner that is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Some other eligibility requirements include:
- Minimum credit score: Mid-600s (estimate)
- Minimum annual income: $35,000
>> Read More: List of student loan companies
1 To receive the $100 statement credit, borrower must take out a loan via the Apply Now link provided here, sign-up for Candidly education loan management, and link this loan to their Candidly account within 180 days of the first loan disbursement. Once the loan is linked, Candidly will remit payment to the loan servicer, and it will be applied as a payment.
