Private student loans are best used to pay college costs after you’ve borrowed the maximum you qualify for in both subsidized and unsubsidized federal student loans.
Private student loans come from banks, credit unions and online lenders, and unlike federal student loans for undergraduates, they require a credit check. That means most undergrads will need a co-signer in order to qualify. Private student loans also are more expensive than federal loans—especially now that federal loan rates are at historic lows—and typically don’t offer the flexible repayment options their federal counterparts do.
That’s why there is no five-star lender on our list of private student loans: In the vast majority of cases, the best college financing option is a federal student loan.
But if you need a private loan to afford college, we’ve identified the best undergraduate private student loans to consider. Many companies also offer loans for graduate students and parents, but we did not rate those products for this list.
As you consider your options, look at the overall cost of the loan—including its interest rate and fees—and what help the lender offers if you have trouble affording your payments. Just one of the lenders on this list charges origination fees, and all except for one wait until at least 120 days of nonpayment before putting loans into default status.
When comparing rates, know the low end of the rate ranges will only be available to those with good or excellent credit scores. Also, all rates listed below include a standard 0.25% interest rate discount for using automatic payments.
In This Post
What to Look for in a Student Checking Account
Our evaluation of student checking accounts focused on fees, features, ATM networks and bonuses.
Fees: Banks are notorious for charging fees. According to one report, banks charged $34.3 billion in overdraft fees alone in 2017. In our search for the best student checking we focused on monthly maintenance, overdraft and ATM fees.
Features: Apart from standard functions available with all checking accounts, we looked for added youth-friendly features such as robust mobile apps and money transfer options.
ATM Network: Easy access to cash is key, so we considered the size and location of each bank’s network of ATMs.
Bonuses: While less important, we also considered new account bonuses.
Chase College Checking Account
Best for: Opening perks
For ages: 17 to 24 year olds
Minimum deposit to open: $25
Fees:
- Monthly service fee: $6 month service fee or $0 for up to 5 years while in college or $0 when you have either 1) a direct deposit made into the account each month or 2) An average balance of $5,000 or more each month
- ATM fee: $2.50 for using a non-Chase ATM in the U.S., $5 for withdrawals outside of the U.S. Free with a Chase ATM
- Overdraft: $34 per insufficient funds or returned item transaction. However, this fee is not charged for any item that is $5 or less and does not apply to withdrawals made at an ATM. The insufficient funds fee will also not be charged if your account balance at the end of the business day is overdrawn by $5 or less.
Other Benefits or Drawbacks: This account is one of the few that offers a reward for signing up. New customers get $100 upon opening their accounts.
Chase, as well as many other banks, offers a Venmo-like service to its account holders called Chase QuickPay with Zelle within the Chase mobile app. It allows you to send and receive money from anyone, regardless of their bank.
While Chase does charge a fee for withdrawals at non-Chase ATMs, it has an extensive network of free Chase ATMs – 16,000 plus 5,000 branches.
TD Student Checking
Best for: No minimum deposit
For ages: Under 24 and enrolled as a full-time student
Minimum deposit to open: $0
Fees:
- Monthly service fee: $0 if you are under 24 and enrolled as a full-time student
- ATM fee: $3 for using a non-TD ATM. Free with a TD ATM in the U.S. and Canada
- Overdraft: $35 per insufficient funds or paid item. However, this fee is not charged if your account is overdrawn by $5 or less.
Other Benefits or Drawbacks: If you decide to open a TD Savings account, you can enroll in free overdraft protection. That way, if you overdraw your checking account, money will be automatically transferred from your linked savings account to cover for it.
One negative is that this account doesn’t earn any interest. But, like Chase, this TD account allows you to send and receive money for free with Zelle.
Bank of America Student Checking
Best for: Those starting to save
For ages: Under 24 and enrolled as a full-time student
Minimum deposit to open: $25 for the Advantage SafeBalance account and $100 for the Advantage Plus account
Fees:
- Monthly service fee: $0 if you are under 24 and enrolled as a full-time student. $4.95 for those over 24 on the Advantage SafeBalance account. $12 a month those over 24 on the Advantage Plus account. However, with Advantage Plus, you can avoid this fee by doing one of three things each month: 1) Depositing $250 or more, 2) Keeping a balance of at least $1,500, or 3) Enrolling in the Preferred Rewards program.
- ATM fee: $2.50 for using a non-Bank of America ATM in the U.S., $5 for withdrawals outside of the U.S. Free with a Bank of America ATM.
- Overdraft: $35 for overdraft or returned items over $1 for the Advantage Plus account. The Advantage SafeBalance account does not have any overdraft fees.
Other Benefits or Drawbacks: While there is no designated student checking account, Bank of America waives the monthly maintenance fee for students on two of its accounts: the Advantage SafeBalance account and the Advantage Plus account.
With the SafeBalance account, you won’t be able to write paper checks. However, you also won’t be charged any overdraft fees, as it’s set up not to overdraft. Neither accounts earn interest.
One of the best, student-centric features with a Bank of America checking account is the well-known Keep the Change savings program. If you choose to get a debit card, the bank will round up the amount of your purchases to the nearest whole dollar and transfer the extra amount to your checking or savings account.
Like the other accounts listed above, this account includes the Zelle payment feature.
U.S. Bank Student Checking Account
Best for: No ATM fees
For ages: Full-time students
Minimum deposit to open: $25
Fees:
- Monthly service fee: $0
- ATM fee: $0 for the first four withdrawals a month at non-U.S. Bank ATMs, and $2.50 for every withdrawal after that. Free always with a U.S. Bank ATM.
- Overdraft: $36 for each item over $5, free for each item of $5 or less.
Other Benefits or Drawbacks: When you set up your account with U.S. Bank, you’ll have the option to opt into overdraft coverage or not. If you do, the bank will pay your transactions if you overdraft, but it will charge the $36 fee listed above. If you don’t opt in, the bank will decline the transaction without a fee.
Though this checking account does not accumulate interest, it does come with a U.S Bank Visa debit card and a free first box of checks.
