Discover Student Loans Review: Get Cash Back for Good Grades
 Lender rating: 4.3 out of 5  | Offers a unique Rewards for Good Grades program Available to some international students |
Discover student loans not only feature competitive interest rates and no fees, but they also offer a unique one-time cash reward if you maintain a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) or the equivalent.*
Discover student loans are best for high-performing students pursuing a variety of degrees — including international students without a Social Security number — who value repayment protections like deferment and forbearance.
Discover is also a top option for consolidating and refinancing student debt, whether you’ve already earned your degree or you’re still pursuing it. Refinancing student loans allows you to streamline your repayment, and potentially save money or lower your monthly payment.
*Disclaimer: Get a cash reward on each new Discover undergraduate and graduate student loan when you earn at least a 3.0 GPA (or equivalent) in any academic period covered by the loan. Limitations Apply. Visit DiscoverStudentLoans.com/Reward for terms and conditions.
Discover student loans review
Discover offers fixed and variable interest rates on the following student loans to current and prospective students, parents and existing student loan borrowers:
- Undergraduate loans
- Graduate loans
- MBA loans
- Health professions loans
- Law loans
- Residency loans
- Bar exam loans
- Consolidation loans
Each of these loans allow borrowers to apply with a cosigner to qualify or access lower interest rates.
Borrowing limits
If you’re an undergraduate looking for just a little help, Discover student loans could be ideal, as it allows customers to apply for as little as $1,000 in education funding. With most Discover student loans, you can also borrow up to 100% of the school-certified cost of attendance**. Here are the exceptions:
- You can borrow from $1,000 up to either $5,000 or $18,000 with a residency loan, depending on your area of focus.
- You can borrow up to $16,000 for bar exam preparation, with a minimum of $1,000 per loan.
- You can refinance up to the aggregate amount of your student loan debt, with a minimum balance of $5,000. Maximum loan limits may apply.
**Aggregate loan limits apply
Repayment options
For undergraduate and graduate loans, you have three repayment options. Here’s how Discover describes these choices:
- In-School Interest-Only Repayment: Students can elect, during the application process, to make interest-only monthly payments while in school and during the grace period to lower overall loan cost and receive a 0.35% interest rate discount.***
- In-School Fixed Repayment: Students can elect, during the application process, to make $25 fixed, monthly payments while in school and during the grace period to lower overall loan cost.
- Deferred Repayment: Students can choose to have payments deferred, which means no payments are due until six months after graduation for undergraduate loans (nine months for graduate loans) or enrollment drops below half-time.
Do note that these options vary for residency and bar exam loans as well as parent and consolidation loans.
With a consolidation loan, your first payment is due within 30 to 45 days after the loan is disbursed.
***Visit Discover.com/student-loans/help/interestonly for terms and conditions.
What to like about Discover student loans
1. Competitive APRs and no fees
Before you choose a student loan, it’s best to compare interest rates and fees to make sure you’re getting the best deal.
Here’s the good news: Discover doesn’t charge any fees whatsoever — not even late fees.
The bank’s average APRs, which can be fixed or variable, are also reasonable. You’ll even get an interest rate reduction of 0.25 percentage points if you choose autopay for your monthly payments.
Here’s how APRs for each loan type break down:
| Loan Type | Variable APRs | Fixed APRs |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate loans | 1.29% - 10.59% | 3.99% - 11.59% |
| Graduate loans | 1.99% - 11.99% | 3.99% - 12.99% |
| MBA loans | 2.24% - 8.34% | 3.99% - 9.34% |
| Health professions loans | 1.99% - 6.24% | 3.99% - 6.99% |
| Law loans | 1.99% - 10.59% | 3.99% - 11.59% |
| Parent loans | 11.37% - 16.62% | 9.99% - 14.99% |
| Residency loans | 7.62% - 10.62% | 6.24% - 8.49% |
| Bar exam loans | 8.12% - 16.37% | 6.99% - 14.49% |
| Consolidation loans | 7.37% - 11.37% | 5.99% - 9.99% |
Please note that these APRs may also include discounts for auto-pay and the interest-only payment discount (when applicable). .
2. Cash reward for grade point average (GPA)
Although it’s easy to focus on the interest rates and fees, there are other features to consider that Discover student loans offer.
Discover is a good choice if you’re a stellar student. As long as you maintain at least a 3.0 GPA (or equivalent) while you’re in school, you’ll get a one-time cash reward based on the loan balance.*
So, if you have $30,000 in student loans, you’ll get a $300 cash reward to use for whatever you want.
This perk is available for the following loans:
- Undergraduate loans
- Graduate loans
- MBA loans
- Health professions loans
- Law loans
You can apply to redeem the reward within six months after the academic term covered by the loan has ended or six months after the final disbursement is made on the loan, whichever is later.
*Disclaimer: Get a cash reward on each new Discover undergraduate and graduate student loan when you earn at least a 3.0 GPA (or equivalent) in any academic period covered by the loan. Limitations Apply. Visit DiscoverStudentLoans.com/Reward for terms and conditions.
3. Variety of repayment protections
No matter your loan type, Discover packages each with an extensive list of repayment protections. These safety nets could come in handy should you struggle to make your monthly payment, whether because of a lost job or another financial hardship.
Deferment options are available and Discover recommends that consumers visit its website to learn more about options.
4. Multiyear approval for undergraduate loans
If you plan on attending school for multiple years, Discover could ease your future borrowing. The bank’s multiyear option allows you to prequalify for future loans, whether you’re a wide-eyed freshman or coming up on your last couple years of college.
This simplifies the application process should you desire to borrow Discover student loans on multiple occasions, though you would need to pass a credit check each time.
Note that Discover isn’t the lone lender with this benefit: Citizens Bank also offers multiyear approval, which could be an appealing option.
5. In-school refinancing available
Discover student loan consolidation isn’t just accessible to former students. Discover is one of few lenders — a group that includes EdvestinU — that allows current students to group and refinance their loans.
This could be a helpful option if you’ve borrowed multiple student loans already, are prioritizing in-school payments and want to streamline your debt repayment.
Just be aware that refinancing student loans with Discover while you’re enrolled would erase your previous loan protections, such as access to federal loan programs like income-driven repayment and student loan forgiveness.
With that said, you could defer repayment on your newly consolidated Discover loan if you…
- Return to school
- Serve in the military
- Work in public service
- Take up a health professions residency
6. Easy-to-use Discover student loans online platform
To apply for Discover student loans, you’ll start by entering your school and the type of loan you want.
From there, you’ll share information about yourself, including your:
- Full name
- Email address
- Phone number
- Date of birth
- Citizenship status
Discover says the full student loan application process takes just 15 minutes. Keep in mind, though, that you might need to share some documents to support your income and residence information.
If approved, you can manage your account online directly through Discover.
What to keep in mind about Discover student loans
Like other private student loans, Discover student loans don’t include access to federal loan features like income-driven repayment plans and student loan forgiveness.
Unlike some other private loans, however, Discover is unique in the following ways:
1. Eligibility requirements accessible for some (not all) borrowers
For Discover undergraduate student loans, here are the lender-provided eligibility requirements:
To qualify, the borrower must:
-
- Be at least 16 years old at the time of loan application. Cosigner required if under 18.
- Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or international student (international students require a creditworthy cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident).
- Pass a credit check.
- Be enrolled at least half-time and making satisfactory academic progress in a bachelor’s or associate’s degree program at an eligible school.
Students may have the option to apply for a Discover student loan with a creditworthy cosigner. Applying with a creditworthy cosigner may improve the likelihood for loan approval and may provide a lower interest rate.
To qualify, the cosigner must:
- Be at least 18 years old at the time of loan application.
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
- Pass a credit check.
Discover stands out because it doesn’t require borrowers to have a Social Security number.
International students are welcome to apply for Discover student loans, but they need a cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to get approved.
Eligibility criteria varies for other types of Discover student loans.
2. No ability to get rates with soft credit pull
Some student loan companies, including SoFi, allow you to see interest rate offers with a soft credit pull before you officially apply — this gives you an idea of which lender might offer the best deal.
However, you have to apply with a hard credit check to see what Discover can offer you. Hard credit checks can ding your credit score, so it’s wise to keep them to a minimum.
3. Limited repayment term options
Most Discover student loans have a 20-year repayment period. The only exceptions are undergraduate loans with a 15-year period and consolidation loans with 10-year and 20-year periods.
With that said, Discover doesn’t levy prepayment penalties if you pay your student loan before it’s due or make over the minimum payments.
Use our student loan payoff calculator to see how much you could save by making payments ahead of schedule.
If you’d like to customize your loan length, however, you might be better off with a lender that allows for more flexibility. College Ave, for instance, awards 5, 8, 10 and 15-year terms on undergraduate student loans.
And if you’re in the market for student loan refinancing, Earnest is the king of flexibility: You can switch from a fixed to a variable interest rate, even in the middle of your loan term (which could span from five to 20 years).
4. Option to apply with a cosigner — but no cosigner release available
Applying for Discover student loans with a cosigner can help you qualify and, perhaps, score a lower interest rate. Unfortunately, however, the cosigner would be on your loan agreement permanently.
This is one major feature the Discover student loan program is missing. A cosigner release allows cosigners to be removed from the loan after a period of on-time payments and a re-evaluation of the primary borrower’s creditworthiness.
Without that feature, cosigners are stuck with the loan on their credit report until it’s paid off or the borrower refinances with another lender.
Discover student loan review: Is it right for you?
Although the Discover student loans cash reward perk is nice, don’t let it drive your decision. If you can score a lower interest rate somewhere else, you’d likely save more on interest over the life of the loan than you’d get from the one-time cash bonus.
Even considering its expansive menu of repayment protections, Discover’s lack of a cosigner release policy and prequalification process also makes it more restrictive than some other lenders. Your best bet is to shop around and compare several student loan lenders for private student loans or, if you’re inclined, student loan refinancing.
The more time you spend doing the research, the more likely it is that you’ll find the best deal for you.