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Who is Citizens Bank Best For?
Citizens Bank is best for borrowers who want a brick-and-mortar lender (although you have the option to apply online). Many student loan companies are online-only, so you won't have the advantage of being able to talk to a loan officer face-to-face like you do with Citizens. Additionally, borrowers who want to square away their financing for several years will like Citizens Bank multi-year approval option.
Types of Student Loans Offered by Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank has student loans for several degree types, including:
- Undergraduate
- Graduate
- Bar study
- Medical residency
- Parent loans
Citizens Bank Student Loans Details
Citizens Bank offers fixed-rate undergraduate and graduate loans, as well as bar study, medical residency, and parent loans. You won't be able to get a variable-rate loan with the bank, unless you refinance.
Citizens Bank also has options to refinance federal, private, and parent loans. You might get a lower rate when you refinance, though you'll lose key protections if you refinance a federal loan.
Undergraduate and graduate loans have five, 10, and 15-year repayment term lengths, while other other types of loans and refinancing options have either five or 10-year term lengths.
US citizens or permanent residents are eligible for a student loan, and international students can apply with a creditworthy citizen or permanent resident cosigner. You'll also need to be enrolled at least half-time in your program and have no previous student loan defaults.
You're able to apply with a cosigner, which may reduce your interest rate and the overall cost of your loan. You'll need a "reasonably strong credit history" to qualify for a Citizens Bank student loan, according to the company's website.
Citizens Bank won't charge origination fees, application fees, or prepayment penalties, but you may have to pay a late fee. You're eligible for up to a 0.50% rate discount if you or your cosigner have a qualifying Citizens Bank account at the time you submit a complete application and you sign up for automatic payments.
You're able to contact Citizens Bank's customer support by phone or by visiting a branch.
Citizens Bank doesn't allow you to prequalify for a student loan, meaning the lender will perform a hard credit inquiry before giving you your rates. A hard inquiry gives a lender a comprehensive view of your credit history, but it may hurt your credit score in the process.
Citizens Bank Undergraduate Student Loans
Citizens Bank sets itself apart from other competitors by including a multi-year approval feature for its undergraduate student loans.
Multi-year approval allows borrowers to secure funding for multiple years of school without having to undergo a hard credit inquiry in future years. Borrowers will be presented with the overall amount they qualify to borrow for all of their school years combined. International students can't take advantage of this perk.
Citizens Bank Graduate Student Loans
Citizens Bank's graduate student loans are similar to the undergraduate ones, though the graduate loans come with slightly higher interest rates.
Citizens Bank Student Loan Refinancing
Citizens Bank has a very high maximum refinance amount of up to $750,000. If you have a substantial amount of student loan debt, it may be easier to refinance here than with other lenders. However, it has a minimum refinance amount of $10,000, which is higher than with some other student loan companies.
Pros and Cons of Citizens Bank Student Loans
How to Apply for a Citizens Bank Student Loan
1. Put in an application on Citizens Bank's website. You'll enter your email address, name, phone number education level, Social Security number, and income history. You can't apply for prequalification to see rates and terms before sending in an official application.
2. Sign loan agreement and get your new loan. After you sign your loan agreement, you may get your new loan soon after with Citizens Bank. Remember, refinancing a loan means you replace your old loan with a new one.
3. Work loan payments into your budget. Figure out how to adjust your budget to fit in your new loan payments. Make sure you have enough money to cover all of your financial responsibilities.
Citizens Bank Student Loans Competitors
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Citizens Bank Undergraduate Student Loans
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Sallie Mae Undergraduate Student Loans
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Ascent Undergraduate Student Loans
Citizens Bank vs. Sallie Mae
Citizens Bank and Sallie Mae both have five, 10, and 15-year repayment term lengths to choose from.
With Sallie Mae, you get four months of the study service Chegg for free. Chegg offers expert Q&A, and students can submit up to 20 questions per month.Citizens Bank allows multi-year approval, which is detailed above.
Citizens Bank vs. Ascent Undergraduate Cosigned Credit-Based Loan
Ascent offers seven, 12, and 20-year repayment lengths You may qualify for a 1% cash-back reward from Ascent that will be paid to you after graduation.
Of both lenders, only Citizens Bank offers student loan refinancing.
Citizens Bank Frequently Asked Questions
Citizens Bank says you need a "reasonably strong credit history" to get a loan. This isn't a defined minimum, but you should expect to have your credit in good shape with a credit score of at least 660 if you want to borrow from Citizens Bank.
Citizens Bank may take between three to five days to approve a student loan. The total process may take between two to four weeks.
Citizens Bank's student loans are private. Federal student loans are issued by the government.
Citizens Bank Trustworthiness
Citizens Bank is a Better Business Bureau-accredited business and has an A+ rating from the BBB. The BBB, a non-profit organization focused on consumer protection and trust, measures its score by evaluating a company's response to consumer complaints, truthfulness in advertising, and openness about business practices.
The bank has been involved in a recent controversy. In 2020, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against Citizens Bank, alleging the bank violated the Truth In Lending Act by improperly managing credit card disputes. If this controversy makes you uncomfortable, you may consider taking out your student loan from a different financial institution.
What Options Do I Have to Repay My Citizens Bank Student Loans?
Citizens Bank offers three repayment options on your student loans: immediate, interest-only, and deferred. You may prefer one option over the other depending on your financial situation.
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Deferred payments will be more expensive than interest-only or immediate payments because interest will accrue while you're in school and during your grace period.
This interest will then capitalize, which means it will be added onto your loan balance after periods of nonpayment, including forbearance, deferment, and after your grace period. This will up your overall loan principal, and you'll then pay interest on that higher amount, increasing the total cost of your loan.
How We Rated Citizens Bank Student Loans
We rate all student loan products in our reviews and guides on a 1-5 scale. The overall rating is a weighted average that takes into account seven different categories, some of which are judged more heavily than others. They are:
- Interest rate (20% of rating)
- Fees (20% of rating)
- Term lengths (15% of rating)
- Repayment options while in school (15% of rating)
- Borrower accessibility (15% of rating)
- Customer support (7.5% of rating)
- Ethics (7.5% of rating)
Each category's weighting is determined based on its importance to your borrowing experience. Rates and fees have the most significant impact on the total cost of your loan, so we weigh those the most heavily. Customer support and ethics are still crucial parts of the borrowing experience, but do not directly tie to a student loan's terms, so they have less of an impact on the overall rating.
Read more about how we rate student loans »
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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