College Ave Student Loan Refinance Review

College Ave requires loan amounts of at least $5,000, and you can refinance student loan balances up to $150,000 for undergraduate student loans or $300,000 for medical, dental, pharmacy or veterinary loans. You must be a college graduate with at least a Bachelor’s degree to qualify for refinancing with College Ave. 

Choose from 5, 8, 10 and 15-year loan repayment terms. College Ave allows borrowers to make interest-only loan payments for the first two years of their loan rather than fixed payments on both the principal and interest. This is especially helpful to borrowers unable to make high payments initially who want to take advantage of good refinance rates now.

College Ave offers refinance rates in just one minute with a soft credit pull and get your credit decision — whether or not you pre-qualify — in three minutes. Eligibility requirements include a minimum credit score of 650. 

If you don’t qualify for refinancing, you can get a cosigner and release them. Unfortunately, however, College Ave requires that you wait until more than half of your scheduled repayment period is up before you can apply for cosigner release, and then you need to make 24 consecutive on-time payments on top of that. This is much more time than the private lenders typically require borrowers to be stuck with a cosigner. However, the majority of College Ave refinance borrowers do need to apply with a cosigner.

Forbearance of up to 12 months is available to those experiencing temporary financial hardship. If you are experiencing difficulty making payments due to unemployment or something else, call College Ave — their call center is available from 8 AM to 6 PM ET Monday through Friday and through 7 PM on Tuesday. You may also or instead qualify for a grace period extension of up to six months. Death or disability discharge are available through this lender as well.