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Published April 7, 2018
Citizens Bank can be a great option for both students and parents looking for private education loans.
Parents can get a loan to help their student pay for school, or students can apply for a private loan themselves.
Students generally require a cosigner, but Citizens Bank does offer cosigner releases after a specific number of payments.
Find out more about Citizens Bank student loans below!
| Types of Loans Available | Student | Parent |
| Cosigner Release | Yes, after 36 consecutive on-time payment of principal and interest | No cosigner allowed |
| Prequal Without Credit | No, only full application available | No, only full application available |
| Borrowing Amount | Minimum: $1,000 Maximum: Depends on degree, undergraduate is $100,000 lifetime as long as total private and federal debt is $150,000 or less | Minimum: $1,000 Maximum: Depends on degree, undergraduate is $100,000 lifetime as long as total private and federal debt is $150,000 or less |
| Repayment Length | 5, 10, or 15 year options | 5 or 10 year options |
| Interest Rates | Variable: 1.03%-10.24% Fixed: 3.23% - 10.83% | Fixed: 4.55% - 7.58% |
| Fees | None for application, origination, disbursement, or prepayment | None for application, origination, disbursement, or prepayment |
| Benefits | Multi-year approval available for funds through graduation 0.25% interest rate reduction with existing Citizens Bank account 0.25% interest rate reduction with autopay | 0.25% interest rate reduction with existing Citizens Bank account 0.25% interest rate reduction with autopay |
| Repayment Terms | Option 1: Interest-only payments in school, then regular repayment Option 2: Deferred until six months after school is over, interest added to principal | Option 1: Interest-only payments in school, then regular repayment Option 2: Regular repayment right away |
| Hardship Options Available | Temporary forbearance available in certain situations. Death and disability discharge similar to federal loans. | Temporary forbearance available in certain situations. Death and disability discharge similar to federal loans. |
Citizens Bank offer loans for undergraduate, graduate, and specialty degrees. There are also loans available for parents or sponsors to help students pay for school.
The minimum loan amount is $1,000 and the maximum depends on your education level. Citizens Bank also has maximum limits that take into account other private loans and federal aid you’ve received.
For instance, undergraduates can take out up to $100,000 in loans, as long as total private and federal aid is not above $150,000. On the other end, some healthcare professionals can take out up to $295,000, with total limits of $350,000 for all loans.
Loan repayment lengths are available between 5 – 15 years for students, and 5 – 10 years for parent borrowers.
Students may also qualify for multi-year approval. This allows you to be preapproved for future borrowing through graduation. Each year, the bank will do a soft-credit pull, which does not show on your credit report. You don’t need to use all the money you’re approved for, and there’s no penalty if you choose not to.
To be eligible for the multi-year approval, you must:
To qualify for a Citizens Bank student loan, you’ll need to fill out an application. This can be done easily online. Student loans are available for those who:
You’ll need a variety of financial information to apply for the loan. You and your cosigner must provide:
With this information, you’ll be able to apply for your loan quickly and easily.
Parents are not able to have a cosigner, so the borrower needs to be creditworthy on their own. In order to qualify for a parent loan from Citizens Bank, you must:
From there, parents must provide the same financial information on the application as a student. Income information, housing cost, personal information, and more will be listed on the application form.
Once you’ve applied, you can check the status of your application by logging in on the Citizens Bank website.
Both variable and fixed interest rates are available for student loans from Citizens Bank. Parent loans only have fixed rates.
The range of interest rates on a student loan is 1.03% – 10.24% for variable and 3.23% – 10.83% for fixed. A creditworthy cosigner, 5-year term, and the interest rate reduction offers described below will help a student qualify for the lowest interest rates.
The range of interest rates for parents are 4.55% – 7.58%. The lowest rates are for the most creditworthy borrowers who take advantage of the interest rate reduction offers from Citizens Bank.
Payment terms of 5, 10, or 15 years are available to student borrowers, while parents can access 5 or 10-year repayment terms. Loans can be paid off early with no penalty.
Citizens offers two interest rate deductions. You can get 0.25% off your interest rate if you are a current Citizens account holder, and you can get an additional 0.25% reduction if you sign up for automatic payment. Taking advantage of both offers will get you a 0.5% interest rate reduction.
Students and parents have different repayment options. Students are able to either make interest-only payments while in school, or defer payments until six months after graduation. With a deferment, interest will accrue during school and will be added to the principal.
Parents can choose to make interest-only payments while the student is in school, or can begin regular repayment right away. There is no deferment available for a Citizens Parent Loan.
Most student loans require a cosigner, but cosigners can be released from the loan after 36 payments of principal and interest are made on time. At the time of cosigner release, the student must meet credit and eligibility guidelines.
Private loans rarely have the hardship flexibility of a federal loan, but Citizens Bank does offer a hardship-based forbearance. In the case of temporary financial difficulty, you can apply to temporarily postpone payments. You will need to explain the circumstances and affirm your willingness and ability to repay in the future. Whether you are approved and what options are available will vary based on your situation.
If the borrower dies or is permanently disabled, Citizens Bank offers similar discharge provisions as federal loans do.
Review other profiles of private loan lenders.
Knowing your loan options is only one piece of the puzzle. It’s also vital to choose a generous school and take other steps to keep college costs low. If you’re still looking at schools, find out which ones are best for your family with our toolkit today!
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