Studying in the U.S. as an international student is a big expense. Even though students need to prove that they have ample finances before they begin school, there are times when they may need extra funds. Some private lenders offer student loans for international students to help them complete their education. Learn what you should keep in mind if you’re an international student considering student loans.
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Find the Best Student Loans for You
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SoFi is an online lender founded by Stanford business school students in 2011. SoFi offered student loan refinancing as of May 2012, and the San Francisco-based company added private student loans in 2019. Choose from undergraduate, graduate, law, MBA, health profession or parent loans with no fees.
Ascent Funding is an online lender offering undergraduate and graduate student loans for those with or without a co-signer at more than 2,200 eligible schools nationwide. Students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents or those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status – aka “Dreamers” – may apply for an Ascent loan. Ascent Funding was founded in 2015 and is based in San Diego.
Citizens Bank was founded in the late 1800s in Rhode Island. Today, it’s one of the largest commercial banks in the U.S. Branches are concentrated in the New England, mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions.
Sparrow, founded in 2020, is an online marketplace where students and parents can fill out a single application to see whether they qualify for loan offers from a variety of lenders. Although Sparrow is not a lender, the free service allows you to compare rates across lending partners. Sparrow is also available to international students.
MPower Financing offers private student loans to undergraduate and graduate students within two years of earning a degree or starting a one- or two-year program at an eligible U.S. or Canadian school. The lender specializes in working with international students and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.
Best for fixed APR
The Rhode Island Student Loan Authority is a nonprofit quasi-state authority that provides college financing to students and parents. The lender specializes in providing loans to Rhode Island residents and students, though not all loans have residency requirements.
Nelnet Bank, founded in 2020 by Nelnet – one of the largest servicers of federal student loans – offers private student loans and refinance options. Private student loans feature co-signer release, plus a choice of several repayment plans and interest rate savings if you set up automatic payments. Nelnet Bank can refinance a Parent Direct PLUS Loan into a student’s own name.
Best for no fees
Discover Bank has been operating for more than 100 years, and since 2010, it has offered private student loans to students attending more than 2,400 colleges and universities. Loans of up to 100% of education costs with fixed or variable rates are available.
Best for small loan amounts
EDvestinU is the nonprofit student loan lending and refinancing organization of the New Hampshire Higher Education Loan Corp. Undergraduate and graduate loans and student loan consolidation are available to borrowers with both fixed and variable rates available in select states and Puerto Rico.
Best for international students seeking master’s degrees
Headquartered in London and launched in 2007, Prodigy Finance is an online lender that provides funding for certain international graduate degrees based on borrowers’ future potential, without collateral or a co-signer. The company says it has provided $1.5 billion in loans to over 20,000 students, and says it supports international students from more countries than any other current lender.
Unlike U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizen students, international students do not have access to federal student loans, and scholarship opportunities are scarce. If you’re an international student who needs to borrow money to fund your studies and living expenses, you may need to turn to private lenders that specialize in student loans for international students.
You must use international student loans for education-related expenses including the cost of attendance, room and board, books and insurance.
Unfortunately, there aren’t a vast array of options for these loans. Because international students must complete the College Board’s Certification of Finances form, they attest that they have the funding available to pay the tuition, fees and other living expenses associated with their program. “That process in and of itself makes it so that the demand for loans for international students isn’t as high as for domestic students,” says Kenneth Ferreira, associate vice president for student financial services at Franklin Pierce University.
That said, circumstances sometimes change, which may cause international students to be short on cash. Student loans for international students can help people in those situations complete their studies.
Find the Student Loan That’s Right for You
- You are not a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen, which includes permanent residents, U.S. nationals and those who have T-1 status or a Form I-94.
- You are enrolled at least part time in an educational program at an eligible college or university. “Typically, the university or college will have a role in certifying the loan for the lender,” says Ferreira.
- You have an established credit history or a creditworthy co-signer. Lenders mostly base private student loan approval on creditworthiness. The challenge then becomes that international students do not have a credit history in the U.S. or parents in this country who can borrow on their behalf. So, most lenders require a co-signer for the loan who is a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen.
“The co-signer would need to have acceptable credit scores and credit history,” says Kevin Towns, director of financial aid at North Central College. That way, if the student does not repay the loan, the co-signer pays the debt.
International students do not have the same number of lenders from which to choose as U.S.-based students do, but it still pays to check the few available options. Because students may not be familiar with lender terminology and the loan process, Ferreira recommends that they work with their college’s financial aid office for help deciphering the terms and conditions.
- Interest rate: It’s important to check the rate and whether it’s variable or fixed. Variable rates may sometimes start out lower, but they will change from year to year and not necessarily in your favor.
- Repayment requirements: Some lenders may require repayment of interest or a complete payment each month beginning right away while the student is still in school. Others allow borrowers to defer all payments until after graduation.
- Term: Lenders may allow borrowers to choose among term lengths. You should compare the monthly costs of each option to see which one is affordable, as well as consider the total cost over the life of the loan.
- Hardship options: Find out if the lender offers any programs such as forbearance, which allows you to pause payments if you have a temporary financial setback or become unemployed.
- Discounts: Some lenders may offer an interest rate discount for borrowers who enroll in automatic payments or who make a certain number of consecutive payments on time.
- Co-signer release: Though this is unusual for international student loans, certain lenders may offer an opportunity to release the co-signer from his or her obligation once certain conditions are met.
Besides private student loans, international students studying abroad in U.S. colleges may be eligible for scholarships, grants and fellowships. Here are a few alternative ways:
- Foreign student aid from the college itself. Many prominent universities have grant funds set aside to help international students cover the cost of tuition.
- Study abroad scholarships from your home country. If you can’t get financial aid from an American college, some foreign countries offer grants and scholarships to help their citizens pay for college abroad
- International financial aid from third-party organizations. Several international organizations, such as the Fulbright Foreign Student Program and the Open Society Foundations, offer student aid for noncitizens studying abroad in the United States.
To recap, here are the picks:
Best International Student Loans of January 2023
U.S. News selects the Best Loan Companies by evaluating affordability, borrower eligibility criteria and customer service. Those with the highest overall scores are considered the best lenders.
To calculate each score, we use data about the lender and its loan offerings, giving greater weight to factors that matter most to borrowers. The scoring factors for private student loan providers are customer service ratings, fixed APR, variable APR, loan product availability, minimum and maximum loan terms, minimum and maximum loan amounts, minimum FICO score, and online features.
The weight each scoring factor receives is based on a nationwide survey on what borrowers look for in a lender.
To receive a rating, lenders must offer qualifying loans nationwide and have a good reputation within the industry. Read more about our methodology.
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who are advertising clients of U.S. News. Advertising considerations may impact
where offers appear on the site but do not affect any editorial decisions,
such as which loan products we write about and how we evaluate them. This site
does not include all loan companies or all loan offers available in the marketplace.