Yes. College Ave is a private lender, so every loan it offers — undergraduate, graduate, career school, parent, and refinancing — is a private student loan funded through private capital rather than the U.S. Department of Education.1College Ave. College Ave Education Loans and College Planning Resources That single fact shapes everything else about borrowing from the company: your interest rate is based on your credit, your repayment protections come from the lender rather than federal law, and you cannot use federal programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness or income-driven repayment on the debt.2Federal Student Aid. Should I Refinance My Federal Student Loans Into a Private Loan
Who Actually Funds a College Ave Loan
College Ave was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Delaware. Its loans are originated through three partner banks: Firstrust Bank, First Citizens Community Bank, and M.Y. Safra Bank.1College Ave. College Ave Education Loans and College Planning Resources None of those are federal entities, and none of the loans sit inside the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. That is the structural reason federal borrower benefits do not attach to them.
As a private education lender, College Ave is still bound by federal consumer-protection rules on disclosure. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1638(e), the company must tell you the potential range of interest rates, whether the rate is fixed or variable, all applicable fees, the total cost of the loan over its full term, and whether interest accrues while you are in school.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1638 – Transactions Other Than Under an Open End Credit Plan You receive these disclosures three times: at application, after approval, and before the loan is finalized. Read them. They are the clearest picture of what you are actually signing.
What You Give Up by Choosing a Private Loan
The biggest consequence of borrowing privately is losing access to federal programs that only apply to federal loans. If you take a College Ave loan — or refinance an existing federal loan into one — you no longer have:2Federal Student Aid. Should I Refinance My Federal Student Loans Into a Private Loan
- Income-driven repayment plans that cap monthly payments at a share of your income and forgive the remaining balance after 20 or 25 years.
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness for borrowers working in government or nonprofit jobs.
- Federal deferment and forbearance tied to financial hardship, returning to school, or military service.
- Subsidized interest, where the government pays interest during certain deferment periods.
Private lenders are not required to offer equivalent protections, and whatever hardship relief they do extend is at their discretion. That is the trade-off at the heart of the private-versus-federal choice.
How Rates Are Set
Federal student loan rates are set once a year based on the 10-year Treasury note auction plus a statutory add-on, and every borrower in a given loan type pays the same rate.4Federal Student Aid. Interest Rates for Direct Loans First Disbursed Between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026 College Ave does not work that way. It uses its own credit models, and your credit score, income, debt-to-income ratio, and whether you have a co-signer all affect the rate you are offered.
As of early 2026, College Ave’s advertised rates (with the autopay discount) are:
- Fixed rates: 2.74% to 17.99% APR
- Variable rates: 3.89% to 17.99% APR
These apply across undergraduate, parent, and graduate loans, though the graduate ceiling may be slightly lower depending on the program.5College Ave. Student Loans with Low Rates and Flexible Repayment Options Variable rates can change over the life of the loan; fixed rates stay the same from origination to payoff. You can see your estimated rate using the credit pre-qualification tool, which runs a soft credit inquiry; a hard inquiry only occurs when you submit a full application.6College Ave. Student Loan Credit Pre-Qualification
Co-signers Are Often the Point
Because rates and approval depend on credit, most student borrowers apply with a co-signer. A co-signer with good credit can lower your rate and improve your odds of approval, and College Ave reports that roughly 90% of undergraduate borrowers who apply with a co-signer are approved for additional loans in later years.7College Ave Student Loans. Do You Have Multi-Year Approval for Your Undergraduate Loans A new application is still required each academic year.
College Ave does allow co-signer release later on, but only if the borrower has made at least half the scheduled payments, earns at least twice the remaining loan balance in annual income, passes a credit review with no 30-day delinquencies in the past year, and has no bankruptcy, foreclosure, or repossession in the past 24 months.8College Ave Student Loans. Can a Cosigner Be Released From a Loan Anyone co-signing should assume they will be on the loan for its full term.
What a Private Structure Offers in Return
There are reasons borrowers choose private loans despite the lost federal benefits. College Ave loans start at $1,000 and go up to $200,000, capped at your school’s certified cost of attendance minus other aid.9College Ave. How Much in Student Loans Can I Get Federal undergraduate loans, by comparison, cap annual borrowing at $5,500 to $7,500 depending on your year in school. Students at expensive schools often turn to private loans because the federal cap does not stretch far enough.
Repayment terms are more varied than the federal standard. Undergraduate and career loans run 5, 8, 10, or 15 years. Graduate loans run the same, with up to 20 years available for health professions, medical, dental, and law school borrowers. Parent loans can be set at any length between 5 and 15 years.10College Ave Student Loans. What Repayment Terms Are Available for a Student or Parent Loan
Grace periods vary by loan type as well:11College Ave Student Loans. How Long Is Your Grace Period
- Undergraduate and career loans: 6 months after graduation or dropping below half-time enrollment
- Graduate, MBA, law, and health professions loans: 9 months
- Dental loans: 12 months
- Medical loans: 36 months, reflecting residency training
- Parent loans: none; repayment begins when the student is no longer enrolled at least half-time
While you are still in school, you can choose from four payment setups: full principal and interest, interest-only, a flat $25 per month, or deferred payments until after the grace period.12College Ave Student Loans. Does College Ave Require Payments on the Loan While the Student Is in School Full payment costs the most each month but the least overall. Deferred payment is the opposite: easiest in school, most expensive by payoff, because accrued interest capitalizes onto the principal. Enrolling in autopay earns a 0.25% rate reduction as long as the account stays current.13College Ave. Auto-Pay Interest Rate Discount
Refinancing Federal Loans Into College Ave Is One-Way
College Ave’s refinancing product lets you roll existing federal and private loans into a single private loan. Combining debts can simplify payments and, for borrowers with strong credit, lower the rate. But refinancing a federal loan into a College Ave loan permanently converts it to private debt. There is no mechanism to convert it back.2Federal Student Aid. Should I Refinance My Federal Student Loans Into a Private Loan Refinancing typically makes sense only for borrowers with high incomes, strong credit, and no plans to rely on income-driven repayment or forgiveness. One eligibility note worth flagging: you must have already graduated from an eligible school and program to refinance; you cannot refinance while still enrolled.14College Ave Student Loans. What Are the Eligibility Requirements for a College Ave Refi Loan
If You Struggle to Pay After Leaving School
College Ave may offer forbearance in three- or six-month increments if you run into financial trouble.15College Ave. What Is Student Loan Forbearance Payments pause, but interest keeps accruing and eventually capitalizes, so forbearance is a short-term safety net rather than a solution. The company does not publish detailed eligibility rules, and because it is a private lender it is not required to match the federal hardship framework. If you are falling behind, call the servicer directly and ask what is available on your specific loan. That discretion, more than any single rate or term, is what it means for a loan to be private.