
Once you’ve exhausted all of your federal financial aid options, getting additional money for school may mean turning to private lenders.
While private student loans don’t offer all of the protections that federal student loans provide, they can be a needed source of school funding.
Not all private lenders are created equal. And it's important to research each lender's pros and cons to determine which one might be the best fit. In this article, we'll look at Iowa Student Loan and why you might want to consider them as a supplemental lender to your federal student loans.
See how they compare to our list of the best private student loans.

Quick Summary
- Nonprofit private student loan lender
- Will lend to eligible students nationwide
- No origination fees or prepayment penalties
- Can apply with up to two cosigners per loan
Iowa Student Loan Details | |
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Product Name | Iowa Student Loan (ISL) |
Loan Type | Private student loans Student loan refinancing |
Loan Terms | Private student loans: 10 or 15 years Student loan refinancing: 5,7,10,15, or 20 years |
Max Loan Amount | Private student loans: Up to the full cost of attendance Student loan refinancing: $200,000 |
Rate Type | Fixed and variable |
APR | 3.50% to 8.03% |
Promotions | None |
Who Is Iowa Student Loan?
Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation is a non-profit organization or Section 501(c)(3). The company was established in 1979 and is based in West Des Moines, Iowa. The Chair of the organization is Christine Hensley.
While its name would indicate otherwise, you don't have to be an Iowa resident or be attending an Iowa school to take out an ISL undergraduate, family, or refinance loan. However, it does currently restrict its graduate student loan program to students who are attending an eligible Iowa college or university.
What Do They Offer?
Iowa Student Loan (ISL) provides private student loans and refinancing to current students for postsecondary education. Loans are offered directly to students and families via a co-signer.
Because private student loans do not offer the same advantages as federal student loans, federal student loans should be considered first. ISL even mentions this on their website. They say that any ISL loans should only be used as a supplement after federal aid has been exhausted.
Loan Types
Iowa Student Loan offers loans for undergraduates, graduates, and medical school students. There are three loan types to choose from:
Note that graduate students generally have unlimited federal assistance available in the form of Grad PLUS loans. Unlike Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans (which have set yearly and aggregate limits), Grad PLUS loans allows students to borrow up to their school's full cost of attendance.
Loan Credit Requirements
From ISL’s website, the student or cosigner must meet the following:
Unfortunately, Iowa Student Loan doesn't have a prequalification tool for its Partnership Loan and No-Cosigner Graduate Loan. So if you want to get a rate quote for either of the loans, you'll need to submit a full loan application.
Cosigner Requirements
A cosigner is used when students can't meet the loan qualification requirements themselves. Iowa Student Loan has some stiff cosigner requirements, including a 670 minimum credit score. The credit score used by ISL is the TransUnion FICO Score 4.
One advantage for cosigners is that they are not required to meet the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) that students must meet. And the Partnership Loan does have a cosigner release provision. After 24 months of on-time payments, the borrower can apply to have the cosigner released from the loan.
Repayment Options
Partnership Loans and College Family Loans comes with three repayment options:
Header | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
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Rating | |||
Undergraduate Student Loans | |||
Graduate Student Loans | |||
Refinancing | |||
Prequalification | Yes, for some loans | Yes, for all loans | Yes, for all loans |
Cosigner Release | Yes, after 24 on-time monthly payments | Yes, after 24 on-time monthly payments | Yes, after 24 on-time monthly payments |
Cell | Cell |
Student Loan Refinancing
Iowa Student Loan does offer student loan refinancing. Keep in mind that if you're refinancing a federal student loan, it will become a private loan and you’ll lose all federal loan benefits.
Refinancing is available for the following loans:
- Undergraduate
- Graduate
- Parent loans
- Medical resident loans
ISL's refinance loans come with more repayments terms than their in-school loans. Borrowers can pay back their loans over 5,7,10,12, 15, or 20 years. These loans come with fixed interest rates ranging from 3.50% to 8.03% APR.
Customer Service
You can reach customer service by secure email or by phone at (855) 811-9849. Their hours of availability are 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (CT) Monday–Friday. For loan application assistance, call (800) 542-6005.
Are There Any Fees?
No — ISL doesn’t charge any application or origination fees. You simply pay the loan interest. There is an additional 0.25% rate reduction for automatic payments.
How Do I Apply?
You can visit https://www.iowastudentloan.org to apply for a loan with ISL.
Is It Worth It?
Yes — given that they charge no loan fees, their interest rates are competitive, and hardship options are available, Iowa Student Loan may be worth checking if you need private student loans. It could be an especially strong option if you or your cosigner have a high credit score.
However, ISL may not be a good choice if your credit score is less than stellar since its 670 minimum credit score is on the high side. Also, it should be noted that while ISL's refinance loan offers good payment flexibility, their in-school student loans only come in 10 or 15 year terms. You'll need to look elsewhere if you were hoping for more repayment term options.
In summary, Iowa Student Loan could be worth considering as a supplement to federal financial aid. But, remember, there are variety of private student loan lenders available today. Before choosing ISL, be sure to shop around to give yourself the best chance of finding the lowest rate.
Iowa Student Loan Features
Loan Type |
|
Loan Terms |
|
Max Loan Amount |
|
Auto-Pay Discount | 0.25% |
Rate Type | Fixed and Variable |
APR | Partnership Loan
College Family Loan
No-Cosigner Loan for Graduates
Reset Refinance Loan
|
Prequalification Tool | Partnership Loan: No College Family Loan: Yes No-Cosigner Graduate Loan: Yes Reset Refinance Loan: Yes |
Origination Fees | None |
Prepayment Penalty? | None |
In-School Payments |
|
Cosigners Allowed? | Yes |
Cosigners Release Option | Yes, after 24 on-time monthly payments |
Grace Period | 6 months |
Eligible Schools | For most loans, any school in the United States. However, for the no-cosigner graduate loan, students must attend an Iowa college or university. |
Loan Servicer | Aspire Servicing Center |
Customer Service Phone Number | 1-800-243-7552 |
Customer Service Hours | 8 AM–7 PM (CT), Mon–Thurs |
General Mailing Address | 6775 Vista Drive |
Address For Sending Payments | Aspire Servicing Center |
Promotions | None |
Iowa Student Loan Review
- Loan Options
- Customer Service
- Rewards and Perks
- Rates and Fees
- Ease of Use
Overall
Summary
Iowa Student Loan (ISL) is a nonprofit that offers private student loans and student loan refinancing. Learn all the details in our review!
Pros
- Solid in-school payment flexibility
- Graduate loans don’t require a cosigner
- Can apply for cosigner release after 24 months
- No application or origination fees
Cons
- Limited repayment terms for in-school loans
- Minimum credit score is on the high side
- Graduate loans only available for students at Iowa schools
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.