While federal student loans are a popular financing option because of their low interest rates and repayment benefits, private student loans can play a key role in paying for your education. Federal loans often have limits on how much you can borrow, so private loans can fill a gap and help you finish your degree.

Wells Fargo offers private student loans for undergraduate, graduate, and vocational students—and their parents—and it doesn’t charge any fees. But private student loans off🍸ered by this lender do have some significant drawbacks to consider. Here’s what you need to know. 

Pros Explained

• No fees: With Wells Fargo's private student loans, there are no application or origination fees. There is also no penalty for paying off your loan early. 
• Interest rate discounts: Wells Fargo has two discounts for borrowers. If you sign up for automatic payments, you’ll receive a 0.25% interest rate discount. But you can qualify for an additional discount—up to 0.50%—if you’re a current Wells Fargo customer. 
• Loan discharge: With most parent student loans, including federal Parent PLUS Loans, the loan can’t be discharged if the student is permanently and totally disabled. The loan is only discharged if the student dies, or if the parent borrower dies or is permanently disabled. Wells Fargo is one of the only lenders that offer a loan discharge for parent-student loans if the student becomes disabled. 

Cons Explained

• Interest rates: Wells Fargo’s interest rates may be higher than federal student loans. For example, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:fixed-rate loans for undergraduate students range from 4.53% (the lowest rate with discounts) to 10.72%, not including any customer discounts. To qualify for loans with an interest rate on the lower end of the range, you need excellent credit. By contrast, federal loans for all undergraduate students have a fixed rate of 6.53%, regardless of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit score. However, Wells Fargo is no longer accepting new applicants for student loans.
• Loan limits: Wells Fargo limits how much you take out in total education debt. The limit for undergraduate student loans, combined with all other education debt—including federal student loans—is $120,000. If you need to borrow more than that, you’ll have to find another lender. 
• No alternative repayment options: While other lenders offer multiple payment options—such as interest-only payments or fixed payments—Wells Fargo only offers one repayment method for most student loans. You get a six-month grace period, then start making full 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:principal and interest rate payments on your debt. The limited repayment options are a significant drawback compared to other lenders. 

Wells Fargo Student Loans Available

Wells Fargo provides loans fo♔r undergraduate, graduate students, and parent borrowers. It also has loans for students in their residency, completing the bar exam, pursuing career training, or studying at community colleges. 

Undergraduate Student Loans

Depending on your dependency status, the most you can borrow each year in federal direct loans as an undergraduate student is between $5,500 and $12,500. If your tuition and room and board cost more than that, a private student loan from Wells F🌃argo can✃ help cover the remaining amount. 

Wells Fargo’s undergraduate student loans have no 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:origination or application fees and no prepayment penalties. You can borrow up to the total cost of attendance, miꦐnus the other financial aid you received. The limit Wells 🐟Fargo allows for all education debt—including federal student loans—is $120,000.

Graduate School Loans

If you are planning on getting a master’s degree, MBA, law degree, or other professional credentials, a graduate school loan from Wells Fargo can be a cost-effective alternative to federal student loans. Depending on what federal loans you qualify for, your interest rate could be 8.08% to 9.08% (until July 2025). But if you have good credit, you could qualify for a loan with Wells Fargo with a fixed interest rate as low a🌠s 5.64%. 

Most graduate 🍸loans are subject to the same $120,000 cap as undergraduate loans. However, graduate loans used for law 🥂or business degrees have a lifetime limit of $180,000.

Medical School Loans

For graduate students in medical, nursing, dental, o🧔r other health-related programs, Wells Fargo offers MedCAP Medical School Loans. These loans giv🍰e you a six-month grace period. But allopathic and osteopathic medical students can qualify for a 36-month grace period, giving them time to start their careers before they have to start making payments.

The lifetime loan limit, combined with all other education debt, is༺ dependent on your course of study: 

• Allopathic or osteopathic medicine and dentistry: $250,000
• Graduate nursing, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, podiatry, and veterinary medicine: $180,000
• Other eligible disciplines: $120,000

Medical Residency and Relocation Loans

Medical residents who need help covering expenses related to their residency, medical boards, or relocation expenses may be eligible for Wells Fargo’s MedCAP-XTRA loans. There is a six-month grace period (36 months for allopathic and osteopathic students) and you can borrow u💯p to $15,000 for qualifying expenses. 

Bar Exam Loan

If you’re a law school student preparing to take the bar exam, y﷽ou can use a Wells Fargo bar exam loan to pay for registration fees, test preparation materials, and your living expenses. You can borrow up to $12,000, and no payments are required until six months after yo🦋u leave law school. 

Parent Student Loans

If you are a parent of an undergraduate student, one option is to take out a federal Parent PLUS Loan. Be aware though that PLUS Loans have the highest interest rate of𝓡 all federal loans—until July 2023, the interest rate is 9.08%. 

If you have good credit and are a Wells Fargo customer and can take advantage of its customer loyalty discounts, you could qualify for a lower interest rate with a Wells Fargo parent student loan. You can borrow up to $25,000 per year. Take note that deferring your payments until after graduation isn’t an option with Wells Fargo as repayment begins im🍒mediately.

Private Student Loan💎s for Career Training and Community Colleges

If you plan to attend a two-year school or a career training program rather than pursuing a bachelor’s degree, you may be eligib🍬le for a Wells Fargo loan for community colleges. With these loans, you can borrow up to $15,000 per year for a two-year public or private school, and $20,000 per year for a four-𝐆year proprietary school. These loans have a six-month grace period after you leave school. 

Loan Eligibility

To qualify for a private student loan fro♈m Wells Fargo, you must meet the following requirements: 

• You must be enrolled as a student at an eligible school seeking a degree, certificate, or license.
• Students can qualify for loans if they are enrolled less than half-time.
• You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or be a permanent 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:resident alien or a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) individual with a current U.S. address. DACA applicants must show evidence of deferred action status. 
• Applicants must meet income and credit score requirements. If you don’t meet those limits on your own, you may need a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:co-signer to qualify for a loan.

Is Loan Prequalification Available? 

Wells Fargo does not offer loan prequalification. To figure out if you’re eligible for a loan and what interest rate you’d receive, you must submit your application and go through a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:hard credit inquiry, which can impact your credit score.

Loan Fees

Wells Fa🎃r🌳go doesn’t charge origination or application fees but does charge a $28 late fee.

There is also no penalty if 🌄you chooseꦯ to pay off your loan early, which is a smart way to save money on interest charges. 

Loan Discounts 

You may be able to reduce your APR with one of the following discounts offered by W🀅ells Fargo: 

• Automatic payment discount: When you sign up for automatic payments, Wells Fargo will lower your interest rate by 0.25%. 
• Wells Fargo customer discount: If you are an existing Wells Fargo customer, you could qualify for an additional interest rate discount. 
• Prior Wells Fargo student loan customers: 0.25%
• Wells Fargo consumer checking account customers: 0.25%
• Portfolio by Wells Fargo customers: 0.50%

Repayment Options

With most Wells Fargo student 🌞loans, you have a six-month grace period, which means you don’t have to start making payments on your loans until six months after y🥃ou graduate or leave school. Interest will accrue on your loans while you’re in college, but you aren’t required to make payments during this time. 

🥂Wells Fargo loans for parents are the exception—the repayment period begins immediately for parent student loans. 💮

Rewards

When it comes to rewards and benefits, borrowers are likely to be disappointed; Wells Fargo doesn’t offer any extra perks. That’s in stark contrast to other lenders like SoFi, which offer robust benefits, such as referrಌal bonuses,ꦏ career counseling, and member events. 

Are Co-Signers Required? 

Wells Fargo doesn’t require applicants to have a co-signer. But if you don’t have excellent credit and a steady income, you can improve your chances of qualifying for a loan and a competitive interest rate by adding a co-🎃signer to your application. Plus, Wells Fargo allows borrowers to apply for co-signer releases after 24 months of on-time payments. 

Forbearance and Loan Discharge Options

Wells Fargo does have support programs in place for borrowers experiencing financial hardships. If you can’t find a job, get laid off, or have an unplanned medical expense, you could qualify for short-term payment relief for up to two mo🍸nths if you’re up-to-date with your payments. Or, you may be eligible for Wells Fargo’s loan modif🧜ication program, where your monthly payment is temporarily or even permanently reduced to make it more affordable for you. To discuss your options, call 1-800-658-3567.

Loan discharge terms vary widely from lender to lender. ♑With Wells Fargo, your loans will be discharged if the student borrower dies or becomes totally and permanently disabled. That’s the case eve𓄧n for parent student loans, which is a major advantage over Parent PLUS Loans.

With PLUS Loans, the loans are only forgiven if the parent dies or becomes disabled, or if the student passes away. If the student is disabled, the parents still owe the full balance of the loan.

Length o♏f Time for Loan Appro🍸val and Disbursement

Once you complete the online application and upload the necessary documentation, Wells Fargo will reach𒁃 out to your selected school and ask it to certify the loan. Once certified, the bank will ask you (and your co-signer, if applicable) to sign a loan agreement. Once that’s complete, Wells Fargo will send the funds to your school’s financial aid office. According to the lender, borrowers should allow two to three weeks for the procesꦜs to be completed. 

Is Student Loan Refinancing Available? 

Wells Fargo offers student loan refinancing for both federal and private student loans. You can choose between fixed and variable-rate loans, and repayment terms range from five to 2🦋0 years in length.

Customer Service

Unfortunately, some borrowers have reported issues with Wells Fargo. In the 2019 Annual Report of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Private Education Loan Ombudsman, the CFPB listed the number of complaints it received about private student loan companies. From Sept. 1, 2018, to Aug. 31, 2019, it handled 2,900 complaints about private student loan companies. Of those, 116—or about 5%—were about Wells Fargo. Most focused on issues dealing with the lender, while others were about problems affording monthly payments.

You can reach customer supp𒆙ort by calling 1-800-658-3567. Loan consultants are available Monday through Friday: 7:00 a𝓀.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST. Or, you can through Firstmark's website. 

Apply for a Wells Fargo Student Loan

If you’re a Wells Fargo customer, you could qualify for a private student loan with a lower interest rate than you could get with a federal loan. However, it’s still a good idea to complete the Free Application f🅘or Federal Student Aid so you get all available financ𝔍ial aid options, including grants and federal student loans. If you decide that a private student loan from Wells Fargo is the right move, y🅺ou can apply for a loan online. 

You’ll need to enter your school information, your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Social Security number, permanent address, employment and income information, and the cost of attenda𓄧nce of your program and expected financial aid. 

Final Verdict

Because Wells Fargo has so few repayment options and charges relatively hiꦍgh interest rates, we recommend exploring other privat𝓡e student loan lenders. You can likely find another lender that offers more favorable repayment terms and lower rates than Wells Fargo, without its restrictions and borrowing limits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Wells Fargo Still Offer Student Loans?

No, Wells Fargo exi🌟ted the student loan business in 2021.

Will Pܫrevious Wells Fargo Student Loans Beꦑ Forgiven?

No, previous Wells Fargo student loans are bein🔜g transferred and r🐟epayments will now be managed by Firstmark Services.

What Company Has Taken Over Wells Fargo’s 🎶Student Loans?🉐

All new and old Wells Fargo student loans will be managed by a division of Neln🉐et called Firstmark Services.

What Banks Offer Student Loans?

Several different banks offer private student loans, including Citizens Bank, JP Morgan Chase, and many others. However, when thinking about private student loans it's important to consider whether federal loans are a better option. Private student loans often have higher interest rates, require a cosigner, and offer fewer options for pausing or reducing payments if a borrower runs into problems repaying the loan.

Methodology

Investopedia is dedicated to providing consumers with unbiased, comprehensive reviews of student loan lenders. We collected over 45 data points across more than 15 lenders—incl♋uding interest rates, fees, loan amounts, and repayment terms—to ensure that our content helps users make the right borrowing decision for their education needs.