Terms for Refinance Loans
Variable APR	6.87%–10.62%
Fixed APR	5.99%–10.49%
Loan Amounts	$5,000 to $150,000 or more for select fields of study
Loan Terms	10 or 20 years

Loan Eligibility and Approval

Discover offers private student loans and refinance loans to borrowers in all 50 states. To qualify for a non-public student loan, you need to meet the next criteria:

• It’s essential to be enrolled a minimum of half-time in a bachelor’s or associate’s degree program (or one other eligible program for those who’re pursuing a graduate, MBA, law, or health professions degree) at an eligible school.
• It’s essential to intend to get a level. 
• It’s essential to make satisfactory academic progress as defined by your college. 
• It’s essential to be a U.S. citizen, everlasting resident, or eligible international student with a qualifying co-signer. 
• It’s essential to be a minimum of 16 years old on the time you apply. 
• It’s essential to pass a credit check.

For those who’re applying for a consolidation loan, you need to meet the next requirements:

• Be a U.S. citizen or everlasting resident with a U.S.-based address.
• Be 18 years or older on the time you apply.
• Pass a credit check.
• Haven’t any greater than $150,000 in aggregate student loan debt. Higher limits may apply for specific fields of study.
• Have verifiable income sufficient to support your debts and show a positive repayment history.
• Be the first borrower on the loans you wish to consolidate.

Are Co-Signers Required?

U.S. residents and everlasting residents should not required to have a co-signer in the event that they can meet Discover’s eligibility requirements on their very own. If they cannot, nonetheless, a creditworthy co-signer is required for approval. International students will need to have a creditworthy co-signer who’s a U.S. citizen or everlasting resident to qualify. Remember, though, that Discover doesn’t offer a co-signer release program.

Is Loan Pre-Qualification Available?

Discover doesn’t offer a general pre-qualification option for interested borrowers. Nonetheless, undergraduate students can get pre-qualified for future loan needs with the lender’s multi-year approval feature.

Length of Time for Loan Approval and Disbursement

Loan approval for personal student loans can vary, but once Discover submits your application to your school for certification, it typically takes three to 5 weeks before loans are disbursed to the college.

You possibly can check the status of your application by utilizing the access code Discover provides whenever you begin the appliance process.

For those who apply for a consolidation loan, it could possibly take 30 to 45 days to process your application. Once approved, Discover can pay off your existing loans directly.

Loan Fees and Repayment Options

Loan Fees

Discover doesn’t charge any loan fees on its private student loans or consolidation loans; that features no late fees.

Loan Discounts

Discover offers a 0.25% rate of interest discount for those who arrange automatic payments. For in-school loans, students may reap the benefits of a 0.35% rate of interest discount in the event that they select the interest-only payment plan while they’re in class.

Repayment Options

Discover offers several repayment options on its private student loans:

• Interest-only payments: You will pay only the quantity of interest that accrues every month when you remain in class and through the six-month grace period after you graduate or after your enrollment drops below half-time.
• Fixed payments: You will make a hard and fast $25 monthly payment when you’re in class and through your six-month grace period, after which you will make full principal-and-interest payments.
• Deferred payments: You will not be required to make any payments until six months after you graduate or your enrollment drops below half-time.

After your grace period ends, you will begin making full payments.

Parent loans and refinance loans only have the choice to make immediate principal-and-interest payments.

Rewards

Discover offers a money reward for good grades value 1% of your disbursed loan. For undergraduate loans, you may qualify for those who meet the next requirements:

• Your cumulative highschool GPA is a minimum of 3.0. 
• You might be a U.S. citizen or everlasting resident.
• You submitted an application for a Discover undergraduate loan on your freshman 12 months on or after May 1, 2020, and were approved and accepted the loan.
• The loan you accepted is your first loan with Discover. For those who previously refunded a loan, you is not going to be eligible for the highschool reward. Note: For those who apply for and are approved for multiple loans, you will probably be eligible to receive the reward on only the primary loan you accept.
• The primary disbursement in your eligible student loan has been sent to your school.
• You redeem your reward after accepting your loan and inside six months of the loan’s first disbursement.

Graduate students can get the reward in the event that they meet certain criteria, including:

• Your GPA for any academic term covered by the loan is a minimum of a 3.0 (or equivalent).
• You submitted an application for a Discover undergraduate, health professions, law, MBA, or graduate loan on or after May 1, 2014, and received the loan.
• There are not any pending disbursements in your eligible student loan.
• You redeem your reward inside six months after the tutorial term covered by the loan has ended or six months after the loan’s final disbursement, whichever is later. Note: If the loan covers multiple academic terms, it’s possible you’ll only redeem your reward after the top of the ultimate academic term covered by the loan.

Loan Forbearance and Discharge Options

For those who’re facing financial hardship, equivalent to losing your job, it’s possible you’ll qualify for forbearance options with Discover. Depending in your situation, you would postpone making payments for as much as 12 months, or Discover could lower your rate of interest to make your monthly payment cheaper.

Moreover, it’s possible you’ll give you the chance to defer your monthly payments for those who’re performing active-duty military service, performing public service for an eligible organization, or entering a health professions residency program.

The lender will forgive your debt if the first borrower dies or becomes permanently disabled.

Is Student Loan Refinancing Available?

Discover offers refinance loans with rates of interest ranging based on creditworthiness. Loan terms are 10 or 20 years based in your creditworthiness. A level just isn’t required to get approved.

Private parent loans, post-graduate loans equivalent to bar exam and residency loans, international loans, and loans taken out while the coed attended school lower than half-time should not eligible for consolidation. Moreover, parents cannot transfer student debt to their child with a Discover consolidation loan.

Customer Service

In 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received 78 student loan-related complaints about Discover. Generally, though, Discover has earned awards for its customer support efforts from analysts like J.D. Power.

Discover’s student loan specialists can be found 24 hours a day, 7 days every week. You possibly can reach them by calling (800) 788-3368, or by secure message through your account. 

Applying for a Discover Student Loan 

Before applying for a non-public student loan through Discover, ensure to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and exhaust all your federal financial aid options. For those who still need assistance paying for college, you then can move forward together with your private loan application.

You possibly can apply for a Discover student loan over the phone or online from a pc, smartphone, or other device. In accordance with Discover, the method takes minutes to finish. 

If you have got a co-signer, you each must fill out a separate application; you’ll provide your co-signer with a key to start their application.

To finish the appliance, you’ll need your: 

• Social Security number
• Chosen school information, including field of study
• Loan amount requested
• Expected financial aid
• Financial information, including rent or mortgage payments and income
• Everlasting address and in-school address (if applicable)

When you submit the knowledge, Discover will review your application. In some cases, a representative may reach out to you to ask for extra documentation, which you’ll be able to upload securely via the web site, before they will make a choice. 

Alternative Selections

	Discover	PNC	Sallie Mae
Loan Types Offered	Undergraduate; graduate; parent; skilled	Undergraduate; graduate; skilled	Undergraduate; graduate; skilled; profession training
Undergraduate Fixed APR	5.49%–14.99%	As little as 4.49%	4.50%–14.83%
Undergraduate Variable APR	6.12%–15.37%	As little as 5.64%	5.87%–16.20%
Origination/Administrative Fee	None	None	None
Repayment Options	Deferment; fixed; interest-only	Deferment; interest-only; full payment	Deferment; fixed; interest-only
Refinancing Available	Yes	Yes	No

Final Verdict

Discover offers a wide range of private student loan options and provides borrowers with the prospect to get two rate of interest discounts, and even a money reward for good grades. And when you’re in repayment, the lender offers fairly generous forbearance and deferment options. Nonetheless, repayment terms don’t provide lots of flexibility, and a number of the lender’s rates of interest might be high, so ensure to make use of up all federal loan options first and compare Discover student loans with other private lenders before you progress forward.

Compare Discover’s student loans with the highest lenders within the industry with our picks for the perfect student loans.

Methodology

Investopedia is devoted to providing consumers with unbiased, comprehensive reviews of student loan lenders. We collected hundreds of knowledge points across 30 lenders—including loan types, rates of interest, fees, loan amounts, and repayment terms—to make sure that we help readers make the best borrowing decision for his or her education needs.