Whether you're starting college or pursuing an advanced degree, figuring out how to pay tuition is often one of the biggest challenges.
If federal student loans aren't enough to cover your costs, private student loans may help fill the gap. And if your credit history is limited or less than ideal, applying with a co-signer can improve your chances of approval and help you qualify for better rates.
A co-signer with strong credit and stable finances reduces the lender's risk because they're equally responsible for repaying the loan if you can't.
Below, we highlight some of the best student loan lenders that allow borrowers to apply with a co-signer. See our methodology for more information on how we made our selections.
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Best student loans when you need a co-signer
Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent availability.
Undergraduate and graduate students, parents, students in MBA, law, health professional and dental programs
$5,000 (or state-mandated minimum) up to the cost of attendance
5, 7, 10, 15, years; up to 20 years for refinancing loans
Terms apply.
Undergraduate and graduate students, parents, international students with U.S. co-signer
$1,000 up to the cost of attendance ($180,000 lifelong maximum)
5, 8, 10, 15 years for undergraduate loans, up to 20 years for graduate loans
Terms apply
Best for a grace period: Earnest
Who's this for? Earnest offers a nine-month grace period on repayments, which is one of the longest grace periods offered by private lenders on this list. This gives borrowers a chance to prepare to make full payments after graduation without being penalized.
Standout benefits: Qualified borrowers get to skip one student loan payment after making on-time payments in full for at least six months.
- Nine-month grace period available
- No co-signer required but offers the option to apply with a co-signer
- 0.25% interest rate discount for autopay
- Qualified borrowers can skip one payment every 12 months
- Offers student loan refinancing
- Offers loans for half-time students while still providing benefits received by full-time students (like the skip payment, autopay discount and more)
- No co-signer release option available
- Variable rates not available in all states
Actual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your financial profile. Fixed annual percentage rates (APR) range from 3.04% to 16.74% (2.79% – 16.49% with Auto Pay discount). Variable annual percentage rates (APR) range from 5.24% to 17.10% (4.99% – 16.85% with Auto Pay discount). Earnest variable interest rate student loans are based on a publicly available index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The variable rate is based on the rate published on the 25th day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent plus a margin and will change on the 1st of each month. The rate will not increase more than once a month, but there is no limit on the amount that the rate could increase at one time. Our lowest rates are only available for our most credit qualified borrowers and requires selection of our shortest term offered, full principal and interest payment while in school, and enrollment in our 0.25% Auto Pay discount from a checking or savings account. Enrolling in Auto Pay is not required as a condition for approval. Interest rates are subject to change.
Best for co-signer release: Edly
Who's this for? Edly offers a co-signer release after making just six consecutive monthly payments — the shortest release terms we found. A co-signer release means that your co-signer will no longer be on the hook for your loan. Many other lenders require you to make at least 12 or more consecutive payments before your co-signer can be released. Other lenders don't offer a co-signer release at all.
Standout benefits: Edly offers deferment and forbearance options to help you pause payments if you lose your job or your income falls below a certain amount.
Edly Student Loans
Eligible borrowers
Qualifying juniors, seniors and graduate students
Loan amounts
$2,000 up to $15,000 per academic year and up to $10,000 for summer terms; ($20,000 lifetime limit)
Loan terms
84 months
Loan types
Variable
Borrower protections
Deferment and forbearance; all loans are based on income-based repayment
Co-signer required?
No
Terms apply.
Pros
- Considers borrowers' schooling and programs
- All loan payments are income-based
- Hardship protections available
- No co-signer required
- Student success team and career counselors available for support
Cons
- Only 7-year loan terms
- Only variable-rate loans
- Not available in every state
- Non-cosigned loans tend to charge higher interest rates
Best for longer repayment terms: College Ave
Who's this for? College Ave offers repayment terms that range from five to 15 years for most types of student loans, including undergraduate, graduate and Parent loans. However, if you're pursuing a degree in health professions, i.e., medical or dental school, or law school, repayment terms can be as long as 20 years.
Standout benefits: College Ave offers the standard 0.25% autopay discount, which can help borrowers save a bit on interest.
- High loan amount
- Flexible repayment terms
- Hardship protections like deferment and forbearance
- No co-signer required for U.S. students
- Offers repayment terms of up to 20 years for graduate student loans (otherwise, up to 15 years for undergraduate loans)
- Co-signers can't be released until half of the repayment term has passed
- Charges late fees
College Ave's student loan products are made available through Firstrust Bank, member FDIC, First Citizens Community Bank, member FDIC, or BTG Pactual Bank, N.A., member FDIC. All loans are subject to individual approval and adherence to underwriting guidelines. Program restrictions, other terms, and conditions apply.
All rates include the auto-pay discount. The 0.25% auto-pay interest rate reduction applies as long as a valid bank account is designated for required monthly payments. If a payment is returned, you will lose this benefit. Variable rates may increase after consummation. Approved interest rate will depend on the creditworthiness of the applicant(s), lowest advertised rates only available to the most creditworthy applicants and require selection of the Flat Repayment Option with the shortest available loan term
Best for career resources: SoFi
Who's this for? SoFi is known for offering a wealth of financial resources for its members. Members who take out a student loan get access to career coaches who can help with resume building and interview prep, all at no cost.
Standout benefits: SoFi offers a co-signer release after at least 12 on-time scheduled monthly payments.
- $25/month partial interest payment option available while you are enrolled at least half-time
- 0.25% interest rate discount for autopay
- Co-signers eligible for release after 12 consecutive payments
- Offers a $250 bonus to eligible borrowers with a 3.0 GPA or better
- Existing SoFi members may qualify for an additional rate discount
- Good to excellent credit is typically required for approval
- $5,000 minimum loan amount is higher than other lenders' minimums.
- Interest Rates: Eligibility and Important Details. Fixed rates range from 2.45% APR to 15.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount. Variable rates range from 4.39% APR to 15.99% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates are capped at 17.95%. SoFi rate ranges are current as of 7/6/2026 and are subject to change at any time. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term and type of repayment option you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer (if applicable) and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Check out our eligibility criteria at https://www.sofi.com/eligibility-criteria/. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases.
Best for low rates: Sallie Mae
Who's this for? Sallie Mae offers competitive rates for its fixed and variable rate student loans — the lowest among lenders on this list. You can't avoid paying interest on student loans altogether, but you can set yourself up to save as much money as possible with competitive rates and APR discounts.
Standout benefits: Sallie Mae doesn't charge origination fees or early payoff fees.
- Loans available to part-time and continuing ed students
- Co-signer release after just 12 payments
- No origination fee
- Offers loans for a wide variety of educational needs including: bar study, medical school, residency and relocation costs, dental school, residency and relocation costs, nursing school/health professions, commercial flight school, coding boot camp and professional certifications
- No student loan refinancing
- Doesn't offer parent loans
- Hard credit check to prequalify
- Late payment fee
FAQs
What's a co-signer?
A co-signer is someone who agrees to assume responsibility for a borrower's debt, like a loan payment, if the borrower defaults and is unable to make payments. Co-signers can help subprime borrowers get approved for a loan or other form of debt and get better repayment terms.
What's a co-signer release?
A co-signer release allows a co-signer to be removed from the responsibility of repaying a loan if the borrower defaults. Essentially, it lets the co-signer off the hook legally and financially. For student loans, co-signer releases can happen after making a certain number of consecutive, on-time payments, assuming the lender offers co-signer releases.
Does co-signing a student loan hurt your credit?
Co-signing can hurt your credit if the borrower is unable to make payments on time or if they default on the loan. It can also hurt your credit if you yourself are unable to make the loan payments when the responsibility falls on you to start making payments.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every student loan list is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of student loan products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
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Our methodology
To determine the best student loans when you need a co-signer, CNBC Select compared over a dozen banks, credit unions and online lenders that allow co-signers.
We ranked them by best for a grace period, best for co-signer release, best for longer repayment terms, best for career resources and best for low rates. We considered the following factors:
- Whether the lender allowed or required co-signers
- Minimum credit score and income requirements
- Interest rates on student loans
- Fees, including application and origination fees or a prepayment penalty
- Loan terms available
- Repayment options
- Whether borrowers can access hardship relief, including deferment and forbearance
While the lenders on this list don't require a co-signer, applying with one can make it easier to qualify and may help you secure a lower interest rate. Terms and conditions are subject to change.
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*Interest Rates: Eligibility and Important Details. Fixed rates range from 2.98% APR to 15.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount. Variable rates range from 4.39% APR to 15.99% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates are capped at 17.95%. SoFi rate ranges are current as of 5/21/2026 and are subject to change at any time. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term and type of repayment option you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer (if applicable) and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Check out our eligibility criteria at https://www.sofi.com/eligibility criteria/. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. Autopay Discount: The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly payments as outlined in your loan agreement by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. This benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. When the autopay interest rate deduction is added or removed, the next time the loan is re-amortized (quarterly for fixed rate loans; monthly for variable rate loans),the principal balance of your loan will be spread over the remaining loan term, and your monthly payment amount will change. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment, grace period, or forbearance. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi.
