College Ave Student Loan Refinance Review

Our Rating: C ⓘ (Compare)

College Ave may be a good option for a student borrower who has a strong credit history and steady employment with an average to above-average income.

*Maximum limits vary by degree requirements.
**Lowest rates always include the 0.25% interest reduction for enrolling in auto-pay.

Skip to: Rates & Fees | Eligibility Requirements | Repayment Options | Consumer Reviews & Complaints | FAQ

College Ave Refinance Rates & Fees

College Ave offers fixed and variable rates. Note that the lowest rates always include the 0.25% interest reduction for enrolling in auto-pay.

Additional information about College Ave refinance rates:

• Checking your rate with College Ave will not affect your credit score. They will conduct a soft, not hard, credit inquiry (learn the difference).
• Variable rates are determined using a margin with the 30-day SOFR (5.33% as of this writing) as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on the 5th day of the month.
• Variable rates are capped at 25.00%.

College Ave refinance rates recent history:

Over a two-year period (2022-2024), College Ave increased its lowest and highest available refinance APRs by an average of 156%.

In 2023, College Ave raised its lowest fixed rate for new loans by 55.7% (from 4.49% APR) and its highest fixed rate by 32.5% (from 9.24% APR). Meanwhile, the lowest variable rate has increased 89.4% (from 3.69% APR) while the highest variable rate is up 32.5% (from 9.24% APR).

In 2022, College Ave raised its lowest and highest fixed rates 50.2% and 78.0%, respectively; the lowest and highest variable rates increased 25.5% and 81.5%.

Student Loan Refinancing Calculator

Based on advertised rates, use the calculator below to determine what your new monthly payment and potential savings may be if you refinance with College Ave.

Additional Fees

Beyond interest rates, there are a number of fees a refinance lender may charge up-front or during the loan servicing period. Below is a list of these fees that College Ave does or does not charge.

1. Application fee – fee to apply for rates & approval.
2. Loan origination fee – fee to create the new loan.
3. Disbursement fee – fee for distributing funds to lenders to pay off loans that have been refinanced.
4. Prepayment penalty – fee for making extra payments to reduce a refinance loan balance or pay it off early.
5. Late payment fee – fee for making a late payment.
6. Returned payment fee – fee for failed payments due to insufficient funds, also known as a “bounced check.”
7. Collection fee – fee for collection activity on a defaulted debt. College Ave discloses a collection fee but does not specify a dollar amount.

Current Promotions & Offers

College Ave promotes monthly sweepstakes for borrowers to earn a $1,000 scholarship. No purchase is necessary to participate, but only current secondary and postsecondary students of the age of majority are eligible. The monthly drawing occurs on the fifth day of each month. Potential winners will be notified via email or telephone, depending on the preference they indicated in their online entry. Periodically, College Ave also advertises contests, scholarships, discounts, and other prizes. These are typically limited-time offers.

College Ave Refinance Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for refinancing with College Ave, all borrowers must meet the criteria below.

• Citizenship Requirement: U.S. citizenship or permanent residence.
• Income Requirement: undisclosed.
• Credit Score Requirement: undisclosed.
• Graduation Requirement: associate’s degree or above.
• Location Requirement: within the United States.

Additional restrictions apply for specific individuals and loans.

• The refinance limit is $500,000 for graduates with degrees in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, or veterinary medicine.
• Those with undergraduate or other graduate degrees may refinance up to $300,000.
• Disclosures reference a debt-to-income ratio but do not specify limits.
• In order to refinance a loan, the loan must not have delinquent status.

College Ave Student Loan Repayment Options

Lenders vary significantly on the benefits and options provided to borrowers during the loan servicing period. Additionally, benefits may only be available on a case-by-case basis. College Ave offers some relief options.

Deferment & Forbearance

College Ave does not disclose any conditions that may make a refinance loan eligible for deferment or forbearance. See College Ave’s conditions for deferment and forbearance below.

Additional Options

College Ave may offer other opportunities for relief or contract modification.

• Co-signer release is not available with College Ave.
• Death / disability discharge may be available in the unfortunate circumstance that a borrower passes away or suffers total permanent disability.

College Ave Reviews, Complaints & Lawsuits

Beyond our own findings, our team also collected the most genuinely insightful customer experiences we could find, including any instances of legal action against the company in which the details became public.

College Ave Online Reviews

Below are 3 samples of College Ave customer reviews we found on public forums, included here for their value as unedited, uncensored, and unsolicited user experiences. Note that these reviews are unverified, may include inaccuracies, and may provide outdated information (about rates, bonus offers, etc.).

“So about a month ago I started the search for better rates on about 33,000 on my own loan and about 15,000 on my wife’s. Mine was for a mix of my bachelor/masters degrees. We ran our application through Credible and College Ave Loans (a leg of Nationwide) quoted us the best rates at just a bit over 4%. We also checked out a few other companies that weren’t included in Credible, but none beat the lowest rate.

First I refinanced my wife’s loans and I used her Credible referral link to sign myself up. Through the referral link we scored an additional $1,200 cash referral bonus that was transferred to us within days. 1k to the referrer (wife) and 200 to the new referral (me). I was worried about that part, but it was a smooth transaction.

Our loans which varied in providers (Firstmark, Navient, Nelnet, Etc.) all were paid off within 3 weeks of our application and I just set up my first payment through Nationwide/College Ave at a much better rate than we were at before.

We both have excellent credit, stable employment history, and our jobs are fairly middle of the road salaries.

Highly recommend Credible and College Ave based on my initial experience.” – Inception05 on reddit, 8/5/2018

“I’ve been struggling to make my [private lender] student loan payments which were almost $700 for a few months now and had run out of deferrals. Refinancing is really overwhelming with so many options. My dad sent me a link to [a marketplace lender website] and they gave me tons of quotes. I ended up going with college ave student loans and they got my payments down to $200 for the first two years of the loan, and $400 after that. Very glad to be rid of Sallie Mae and have a loan with a reasonable rate and payment :)” – samanas6608 on reddit, 2/5/2018

“I ended up going with College Avenue – one of the first lenders that got back to me. I was offered a five year repayment at 2.75% for $187,770. This lowered my interest from 6.8% for a savings of about $8,000 since I plan to pay this off in the next 1.5-2 years.

I’m not sure if it’s typical for College Avenue Refinancing, but I got a “Head of Refinancing” actually calling me, giving me cell phone and e-mail access for questions as they arose. (It could have been the loan amount that earned me this special service)…

Once approved through College Avenue Refinancing the longest part was getting the payoff amounts from my individual loans.

The most challenging thing throughout the whole process was keeping track of which company I was actually working with- Credible found me the lenders, College Ave Refinancing was my lender, and the day after my loan disbursement I was contacted by Navient who will be collecting the payment. Maybe I’m naïve about how this all works, but my head was spinning with all the names and log-ins that I had to keep track of. Now that it’s done it will be nice to make 1 payment though. It’s hard not to feel cheated and ripped off (and averse to debt) when the company you’re working with keeps changing.” – Dr. Abigail Plzin on White Coat Investor, 5/13/2016

More (unfiltered) customer reviews of College Ave are available at TrustPilot.com (4.4 out of 5).

College Ave Consumer Complaints

As consumer finance companies, student loan refinancing lenders fall under the jurisdiction of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal agency. As part of its mission, the CFPB allows consumers to log official complaints. These complaints are publicly available on the CFPB official website. Since April 11, 2017, consumers have submitted 88 complaints about College Ave Student Loan Servicing, LLC (College Ave) student loan product to the CFPB. College Ave averages one (1) complaint every 29 days, which is more than twice the average daily complaint rate among reviewed lenders.

Among complaints about College Ave, 55 of them (62.5%) include accompanying narrative explanations. Seven (7) or 14.6% of these narratives explicitly reference student loan refinancing.

In 2023, College Ave received 26 complaints, which is equivalent to:

• twice its the number of complaints it receives in an average year.
• one (1) complaint for every $480,769 of corporate revenue.
• one (1) complaint for every 4 employees.

The allegations made in these complaints are unverified, are not necessarily representative of all consumers’ experiences with College Ave, and may contain outdated information (about rates, bonus offers, etc.). Note that a lender with a large customer base is likely to also have a higher number of complaints when compared with smaller lenders. Below we’ve included three (3) of the most recent complaints (as of this writing) in which the consumer consented to share their details.

Complaint 8384350
2/20/2024
Missouri

“The first half of my loan was dispersed XX/XX/XXXX and I received a bill stating my first payment was due XX/XX/XXXX. I set up auto payment on my account for the amount due to be paid on the XXXX of every month. The XX/XX/XXXX payment when through with no problems. I received my second bill electronically on XX/XX/XXXX stating my next payment was due XX/XX/XXXX and it would be paid through autopay. There were no last fees or past due amount listed on the bill. On XX/XX/XXXX, auto pay was attempted 3 times, 2 of those were reversed-I am unsure why-and the 3rd auto pay attempt has gone through. On my account transactions tab on my online account, the 3rd attempt at payment shows that it went through. I also have confirmation from my bank ( XXXX ) that my account was debited on XX/XX/XXXX. The multiple attempts at autopay appear to have electronically triggered another bill in error. On XX/XX/XXXX I received another electronic bill for the same billing period ( XXXX ) for the same amount, listing the due date of XX/XX/XXXX even though it had already been paid. The XX/XX/XXXX bill stated it would be paid through autopay on XX/XX/XXXX ; my past due amount on this bill also stated XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, my monthly electronic bill was generated stating I now had a past due amount for the due on XX/XX/XXXX even though my account had already been paid. This bill stated that my total due amount was double my previous monthly amount. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a past due notice-well after my payment had been received on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, my bank account was also debited double the monthly amount due through autopay, thus representing a ” extra ” payment since I was not past due to begin with. I called customer service 4 times on XX/XX/XXXX to try and fix the error. I was given multiple different reasons for why I received a past due notice, with none of them making sense. These are the reasons I was given : XXXX ) the past due notice was sent prior to my payment being received. This is false. My payment was received on XX/XX/XXXX while the notice was generated on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX ) My account was past due from XX/XX/XXXX and payed up on XX/XX/XXXX. This also false, my XXXX bill, generated on XX/XX/XXXX does not list a past due amount. Additionally, no payments are listed on my account nor was bank debited on XX/XX/XXXX. XXXX ) My monthly total is actually {$66.00} so I was underpaying, thus, the past due notice. This also incorrect. I have referred back to my bills, and the total amount due has never said {$66.00} and my previous bills did not list a past due amount until the XX/XX/XXXX bill following the multiple attempts at autopay and reversals. When I asked the customer service member where she ” found ” that monthly payment, she could not tell me. She simply told me ” well that’s what your monthly payment is. ” My assumption is she was looking at something on my loan documents that included BOTH of my dispersement however only XXXX dispersement ( half of the total loan amount ) has only been dispersed at this time. Multiple times, the customer service agents assured me that I had not incurred any late fees, nor had the ” late payment ” been reported to the credit bureaus. I find this to be unacceptable. If the company made an error, it should be corrected regardless of whether it was reported or fees were incurred. I attempted another call on XX/XX/XXXX and asked for a supervisor. I was told a supervisor was not available but one could call me back in XXXX business days. At this point, I have little confidence that College Ave will actually follow through.”

Complaint 8354856
2/15/2024
New York

“I paid my bill yet it is saying overdue and dropped my credit score XXXX points. Now i am unable to get a credit card I need to purchase my books for school. My cosigner, XXXX XXXX, also had a huge drop in his score. But we paid the bill already. I am also in the grace period of the loan so I dont understand how i could be late if there is nothing due at this time.”

Complaint 8042947
12/21/2023
Illinois

“I am a co-signer with College Avenue for my daughter ‘s student loans. She called in XXXX and again in XX/XX/2023 to make arrangements due to payment error. She resolved issue and was guaranteed this error would not go on her credit report. On XX/XX/2023 this showed up on hers and mine. She has called 4 times within XXXX hours to be told it is escalated but she is passed off to another person. Also, as a co-signer I was never notified at XXXX of any issue regarding account.”

For a full list of complaints made against College Ave in the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database, click here.

College Ave Lawsuits

College Ave has not been subject to any major legal action since its 2014 launch. Note that while this information is updated regularly, ongoing legal action is subject to change.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the most common questions consumers have about student loan refinancing with College Ave.

• Is College Ave good for refinancing student loans? College Ave may be a good option for a student borrower with a strong credit history and steady employment with an average to above-average income.

• Does College Ave have a minimum credit score requirement to refinance student loans?
  College Ave does not disclose a minimum allowable credit score to qualify for student loan refinancing.

• Are College Ave loans federal? College Ave loans are not federal. College Ave has no affiliation with the federal government or the U.S. Department of Education.

• Does College Ave charge a prepayment penalty? There are no penalties for early payments or repaying a loan in full before its term is over.

• Does checking your rates with College Ave hurt your credit score? College Ave performs a soft credit check for their prequalification process, which will not hurt your credit score. If you proceed with an application, however, College Ave will perform a hard credit check that may affect your credit score.

• Is College Ave a bank? College Ave is not a bank, nor is it affiliated with any bank.

• Can I refinance a College Ave loan? You can refinance a College Ave student loan or a student loan from another private lender. There is no limit to the number of times a borrower may refinance with College Ave. Note, however, that every new line of credit requires a hard credit check that may affect your FICO score.

• Can I refinance just some of my loans with College Ave? Yes, you can refinance some, all, or just one of your qualifying student loans with College Ave. You may choose to refinance your private loans only or refinance private and federal loans together.

• Can I refinance loans that have already been refinanced? Yes, you can refinance loans as many times as you want with College Ave. Note that each time you refinance, you will have to submit a new application; every application requires a hard credit check that may affect your credit score.

• Can my spouse and I refinance our loans together with College Ave? College Ave does not allow spouses to combine their debts into a single refinance loan.

• How long does it take to refinance with College Ave? After receiving a final loan disclosure, College Ave typically pays off all student loans within 3 to 4 weeks. The first repayment is due 25 to 55 days after loan disbursement.

• Who services College Ave refinance loans? University Accounting Service (UAS) services all College Ave refinance loans.

• Does College Ave offer a grace period? College Ave does not offer a grace period with its refinance loans.

• How often do variable rates change? College Ave uses the 1-month LIBOR to determine variable rates. Rates update monthly.

• Can I get any special rates or discounts with College Ave? Yes, College Ave regularly offers one-time deals and prizes in addition to monthly scholarship sweepstakes. This lender also partners with other organizations to offer their employees and/or members special deals.

• What happens if I file for bankruptcy? Filing for bankruptcy will not necessarily discharge a College Ave Refinance Loan.

• Does College Ave partner with any refinance lender marketplaces? Yes, College Ave partners with Credible as part of its multilender marketplace. Purefy‘s marketplace also features College Ave.

Compare Student Loan Refinance Reviews

Sources

1. College Ave, Student Loan Refinance
2. College Ave Refi Education Loan Variable Rate Application and Solicitation Disclosure
3. CFPB, Annual Report of the CFPB Private Education Loan Ombudsman
4. CFPB, Consumer Complaint Database
5. Dun & Bradstreet, Business Directory: College Avenue Student Loans, LLC
6. Better Business Bureau, Search Businesses and Charities