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ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 9 / 10 (Excellent)
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The Start Student Loan is a new student loan for undergraduate and graduate students who qualify. Start Loans are provided by SunTrust Banks, a trusted financial institution founded in 1891.
How Do We Rate Start?
Breakdown
4.5/5
Loan Details
4.5/5
Eligibility Criteria
4.5/5
Customer Experience
4.5/5
Additional Benefits
Our Overall Rating: 4.5 / 5 (Excellent)
A Start Student Loan is a good choice for undergraduate and graduate students who want to take advantage of a 0% introductory APR for the first six months, meaning that the loan will not accrue interest for six months following the first disbursement date of the loan. The program offers a quick online application process with instant credit decisioning. Students qualifying for the Start Student Loan get deferred payments on the loan while in school. Start Loans can cover tuition and all college-related expenses. Start Loans can also be used to refinance existing private student loan debt. Student borrowers can refinance their existing private student loans into a new Start Student Loan and receive the 0% introductory APR on the entire refinanced balance and pay no interest for six months from the date of the first Start Student Loan disbursement.
Start Loan Specifics
Loan Details - 4.5 / 5
The Start Student Loan offers a streamlined online application process for those looking for undergraduate or graduate loans. Students can be freshman through senior, and even enrolled for a fifth year. The same goes for graduate studies, students can be in their first to fifth year. Payments are not due until after the student graduates or leaves school. In terms of APRs, the Start Student Loan offers fixed and variable loans with 0% APR for the first six months. Afterward APRs will range at 5.762% - 10.353% for fixed rate loans, and 4.182% - 8.884% for variable rate loans.
| Loan Types |
Undergraduate
Graduate
|
| Loan Term | 15 years |
| Interest Rates |
Fixed
Variable
|
| Repayment Options | Deferred |
Fixed APR Range
5.762% - 10.353% APR*
Variable APR Range
4.182% - 8.884% APR*
Disclaimer
* APRs assume a $10,000 loan with two disbursements, a 0% introductory APR for six months from the first disbursement date, no discount for auto pay and full deferment.
Start Qualifications
Eligibility Criteria - 4.5 / 5
Start provides a quick online process. Help is available by phone if needed, but the entire process can be completed fast and digitally. Students must be enrolled at least half time at an approved school and must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and cannot be permanent residents of Wisconsin or Iowa to qualify for a Start Student Loan. In order to begin the process, students must provide the school and state, their grade and major, estimated graduation date and requested loan amount. Students then have to enter their personal information along with their cosigner's, if any. This will include citizenship status, social security number, birthday, and contact information.
| Course Load |
Full-time
Half-time
|
| Citizenship Requirement |
U.S. Citizen
Permanent Legal Resident
|
| Study Abroad Program Eligible |
Start Customer Experience
Customer Experience - 4.5 / 5
As Start Student Loans are new to the private student loan marketplace, there is not much feedback as of yet in terms of customer experience or reviews. There is not an online calculator or quick quotes. Customers will have to go through the application process and provide all the relevant information in order to see the rate they qualify for. However, Start is funded by SunTrust, a trusted and longstanding financial institution with a solid reputation and strong financial strength ratings.
| Student Loan Calculator | |
| Online Quotes |
Discounts
.25% interest rate reduction for enrolling in autopay. A further .25% interest rate reduction if autopay is from a SunTrust or BB&T account. The auto pay discount is not available when payments are deferred or when the loan is in forbearance, even if payments are being made.
Start Company Reputation
Additional Benefits - 4.5 / 5
The Start Student Loan is a trademark of Cognition Financial Corporation and used by SunTrust under license. As there is not much customer feedback as of yet for Start Student Loans or Truist, we've included reputation information for SunTrust. SunTrust has an A+ with the BBB for answering the majority of complaints in a timely fashion. The company does have over 8,000 complaints lodged with the CFPB, but only 79 of them have to do with student loan products.
| Lender Type | Bank |
| Year Founded | 1891 |
| BBB Rating | A+ |
| Trust Pilot Rating | 7.2 out of 5 |
| Date Collected | 2019-07-22 |
Company Profile
| Full Name | Start Student Loan |
| Company Website | |
| Headquarters | 303 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA, 30308 |
- 0% introductory APR for the first six months
- Fully deferred student loan with choice of fixed or variable rate
- Interest rate and principal balance reductions available to qualified borrowers
- Cover your tuition, food, housing, books, lab fees and other school-related expenses