The Best Private Student Loans for Students in Fall 2025
The fall 2025 semester is on the horizon, and with it, the need for financial aid for millions of college students. Whether you’re an incoming freshman who is getting ready to start their journey toward a higher education, a returning student who is getting back into the classroom for the first time in decades, or a senior who is about to wrap up your life in academia, you need to know about the options available to you.
Over the last few months, much has been made about the possibility of the student loan program being taken over by private lenders. What many people don’t know is that there are already plenty of private lenders in the industry.
Find out more about some of the best private student loans that you can apply for. Knowing more about these student loans for fall 2025 ensures that you’re making an informed decision about how you fund the next step on your educational journey.
College Ave: Best for Flexible Repayment Options
One of the most stressful aspects of student loans is the repayment requirements. That’s why it’s a good idea to find a lender that offers some flexible repayment options, and when it comes to that feature, College Ave is almost impossible to beat. From the moment that you apply for a loan with College Ave, you’ll be given a range of repayment options that fit your budget and long-term goals.
First, College Ave lets you choose from a variety of repayment lengths, ranging from five to 15 years. Once you’ve decided how long you’re going to take to repay your loan, you can choose between four repayment plans. Those four options include full principal and interest payments, flat payments, interest-only payments, and full deferment while in school.
Another benefit of choosing College Ave is the user-friendly application process, which includes tools that allow you to preview monthly options before you commit to anything. When combined with the absence of application prepayment fees, College Ave’s transparency allows borrowers to feel more confident about what they’re signing up for.
Many student loans come with rigid repayment plans that offer no flexibility, and that’s where College Ave really shines. By allowing borrowers to customize their repayment plan in a way that works for them, College Ave is trying to minimize stress in a high-stress industry.
MPOWER Financing: Best Loans for International Students
International students often run into a variety of issues when applying for student loans, especially from private lenders. This leaves them at the mercy of a federal student loan system that’s not exactly tailored to their unique needs. That’s where MPOWER Financing comes in, providing international students who need access to student loans without the need for a cosigner, collateral, or even a credit score.
While MPOWER Financing’s student loans focus primarily on members of the DACA program, which was put into place under the Obama administration, the company offers loan options to all international students. Since international students don’t have credit scores like American students, MPOWER Financing focuses its eligibility requirements on a student’s future earning potential. This is great news, as those international students also don’t have collateral that would interest an American-based company.
In addition to the earning potential of an applicant, MPOWER Financing also considers the school that the student is going to, their major, and other pieces of information. However, MPOWER Financing doesn’t stop its lifeline to international students there. The company also offers fixed interest rates, flexible repayment options, and a six-month grace period after graduation. This gives international students time to find a career and start earning money, which is great news for those who are going into fields that historically pay more. By giving students time to build their finances, MPOWER Financing helps students avoid living paycheck to paycheck when they’re getting on their feet financially.
Ascent: Best for Loans Without a Cosigner
When it comes to student loans for fall 2025, not every student has a qualified cosigner who can help them gain access to the money that they need. For years, credit score requirements and other pieces of red tape made it virtually impossible for some students to obtain loans. While some companies started lending to students who had a qualified cosigner in their corner, there were still plenty of students left standing on the sidelines. Ascent has helped make it possible for those students to get loans by eliminating the need for a cosigner in most situations.
Most private student loan companies require a cosigner, especially for undergrad students who don’t have credit scores. In a time when people are more unsure about the economy, it’s harder for students to find that kind of support. Instead of looking only at credit scores, Ascent takes a more holistic approach to determining who gets a loan. Their evaluation process includes a deep dive into the applicant’s academic performance, chosen school, major, and expected date of graduation. This makes it easier for students who are building their financial profile to get loans.
Ascent also offers different repayment options, which provide students with more control over their loans. However, the most impressive aspect of Ascent’s student loan program is the financial wellness resources that they offer. This not only makes sure that applicants are informed at the beginning of the loan process, but also helps them continue to make wise decisions. Ascent is all about creating a generation of financially independent graduates, and their no-cosigner loans, combined with the abundance of education that they offer, underscore that commitment.
Sofi: Best for Member Benefits
Sofi’s entry into the world of private student loans is a huge deal for borrowers, largely because the company is more than just a lender. SoFi is a financial platform that offers borrower support beyond their student loans. If you choose SoFi for your fall 2025 student loans, you not only receive the money that you need to pursue a higher education, but you also get access to a suite of member benefits that includes career coaching, invitations to exclusive networking events, financial planning, and even mental health support. For students (or parents who are cosigning) who want more value from their lender, SoFi is hard to beat.
Since SoFi is such a major player in the financial realm, they don’t have to try to make money from borrowers through additional fees. Not only do they not charge origination fees, but SoFi has also eliminated late fees and prepayment penalties, allowing students to learn how to manage loans without the added pressure of costly fees.
Finally, SoFi is a great option for your fall 2025 student loans because they offer some unemployment protection. For many graduates, the job market can be bleak, depending on your major or where you want to live when you finish college. Thanks to SoFi’s unemployment protection, your repayment plan can be paused temporarily while you look for gainful employment. If you’re looking for professional guidance that goes beyond the life of your loan, SoFi is a great option that sets you up for success in the future.
Sallie Mae: Best for Specialized Loans
All student loans are not the same, and if you’re a first-time college student, you may not realize just how unique they can be. For example, the major that you choose can impact how easy it is to get the funds that you need. Some private student loans aren’t available to students who are going into niche fields, as lenders evaluate the job market and determine how likely you’ll be to earn enough to repay them. Sallie Mae, one of the longest-tenured private student loan lenders in the industry, is hard to beat when it comes to these specialized loans.
Many private loan companies focus most of their services on a very narrow list of majors, but Sallie Mae doesn’t. Instead, Sallie Mae offers expansive coverage that includes career training, certificate programs, dental school, medical school, K-12 education, and more.
This is great news for students who are enrolling in the 2025 fall semester to pursue something they’re truly passionate about. Obviously, there are still repayment requirements, but you won’t be forced to change your major based on those requirements if you go with Sallie Mae.
Sallie Mae is also popular since you can start repaying your loans while you’re in school if you choose to do so. You can choose deferred repayment options, but if you have a job while you’re taking classes, you can start repaying your loan’s interest payments, or you can make fixed monthly payments. Sallie Mae offers the perfect amount of customization while also allowing you to pursue the major of your dreams.
Earnest: Best for Students Who Want Total Control
One of the most stressful aspects of borrowing money to pay for education is the loss of control that comes with it. For many students, the stress that comes from repayment options begins before graduation, as they know that they’ve accumulated a lot of debt that has to be paid back according to the terms set forth by the lender. Earnest makes life a little less stressful by putting some of that control back in the hands of the borrower.
Earnest makes it easier for borrowers to plan for their financial future by offering a wide array of customization options. For instance, you can skip one payment each year. Even though you have to make up those skipped payments at the end of the loan, it’s a great way to let borrowers add some money to their annual budgets. You can also set up biweekly autopayments, which reduces the amount of interest that you’ll pay over the life of the loan. The user-friendly interface lets you see exactly how the choices that you make will impact the life of the loan.
Earnest is perhaps the best choice for borrowers who want to take total control of their student loans. If you’re interested in optimizing your repayment schedule without forfeiting the flexibility that you need, Earnests is an excellent choice.
What It All Means
If you’ve been looking at private student loans for fall 2025, these options are among the best available. Whether you want to have more control of your loans or you’re an international student who wants to enroll for the 2025 fall semester, these lenders can put you on the path toward academic and financial success.