Name: Custom Choice
Item: Custom Choice
Rating: 4.2
Author: Lauren Nowacki

At a glance

Find my best rate

with Credible

4.2

Bankrate Score

Repayment Options

3.9

Affordability

4.5

Customer Experience

4.1

Full methodology

Custom Choice offers affordable, customizable private student loans with an assortment of repayment options, minus the pesky fees and late payment penalties.

Lender Details

Loan amount

$1,000 to $180,000

APR from

4.24%-14.04% Fixed; 4.46%-14.10% Variable (with autopay)

Term lengths

7 to 15 years

Where Custom Choice stands out

No fees: Custom Choice does not charge any fees, including late fees or prepayment penalties.
Graduation reward: Graduates can earn a 2% principal reduction reward for earning their degree.
Scholarship opportunities: Custom Choice sponsors a $1,500 scholarship sweepstakes each month.

Where Custom Choice falls short

Short forbearance program: Custom Choice limits its forbearance period to no more than two months at a time and no more than 12 months total.
Limited loan amounts: While Custom Choice loans should be sufficient for most borrowers, it’s worth noting that they do have limits of $99,999 per year and $180,000 aggregate.
Shorter repayment terms: While some student loans have repayment terms of 20 years, Custom Choice loans have a maximum term of 15 years.

Custom Choice customer service

Borrowers can contact Custom Choice by mail and email or by calling 866-232-3889 and speaking to a loan specialist. The website also features a chat function. However, Custom Choice does not list their hours of operation.

How this lender compares

4.2

Bankrate Score

APR from

4.24%-14.04% Fixed; 4.46%-14.10% Variable (with autopay)

Loan Amount

$1,000 to $180,000

Min Credit Score

Not disclosed

Compare rates

on Bankrate

4.4

Bankrate Score

APR from

3.47% Fixed; 4.99% Variable (with autopay)

Loan Amount

$1,000 to total cost of attendance

Min Credit Score

650

Read our review

on Bankrate

4.6

Bankrate Score

APR from

4.54% Variable; 3.49% Fixed

Loan Amount

$1,000-total cost of attendance

Min Credit Score

Not disclosed

Read our review

on Bankrate

Custom Choice vs. Earnest

While Custom Choice has lower variable APRs than Earnest, the lender doesn't offer as many loan options as its competitor. Earnest has parent loans, MBA, law and graduate loans as well as refinancing options for both students and parents. Earnest's private student loans can also cover up to 100% of the cost of attendance.

Custom Choice vs. Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae offers additional loans, like bar exam loans, medical or dental residency loans and career training loans, but it is less flexible with its repayment terms. While Custom Choice's repayment terms start at just seven years, Sallie Mae's begin at 10 or 15 years, depending on the loan—and some loans only offer a 15-year term, which means less options for borrowers.

Do you qualify for a loan with Custom Choice?

Custom Choice does not share many requirements for loan approval, such as a minimum credit score. However, there are some requirements the lender does outline, including:

Have a positive income of one dollar or more
Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien or an eligible non-citizen (DACA) with a qualified cosigner

To help verify your information and qualify you, Custom Choice will ask for the following information when you apply:

Social security number
School information
Loan amount
Proof of income (if applicable)

If you apply with a cosigner, your cosigner will need to provide the following information:

Social security number
Proof of income
Government-issued ID

How to apply for a loan with Custom Choice

Once you’re ready to apply, you'll click “apply now” and do the entire process online, starting with prequalification.

Get prequalified: Provide basic information on you, your school and your cosigner (if applicable). View prospective loan offers in minutes without affecting your credit score and compare them to other lenders.
Submit a formal application: After you compare offers and choose Custom Choice as your lender, you’ll fill out the loan application online.
Review and sign loan documents: If your loan is approved, you’ll accept the terms and sign your loan documents virtually.
Receive the loan proceeds: Custom Choice will send your loan information to your school for verification, and then your loan funds will be sent directly to the institution you plan to attend.

How Bankrate rates Custom Choice

Overall Score	4.2
Availability	3.9	Custom choice offers loans for undergrads and graduate students, but doesn't have parent loans or refinance options.
Affordability	4.5	Borrowers can receive a 2% principal reduction upon graduation and those who enroll in autopay can receive a 0.25% discount.
Customer Experience	4.1	Borrowers can reach out by mail, email, phone and chat. However, the lender doesn't list its customer service hours on its site.

Methodology

Bankrate uses two methodologies to score lenders that have new student loans and refinance products.

Bankrate's trusted student loans industry expertise

Read our full methodology

48

years in business

25

lenders reviewed

16

loan features weighed

400

data points collected

The Bankrate team uses a 16-point system to evaluate student loan lenders. This scoring criteria measures how lenders perform across three main categories.

Minimum and maximum loan amounts, the lender’s eligibility requirements, cosigner option, degrees covered and state availability are included in this category. Lenders that offer the most flexibility, have the widest service footprint and provide many loan types receive higher scores.
This category measures fixed and variable interest rates, fees, penalties and discounts. Higher scores go to lenders with the lowest rates, fewer fees and multiple discounts.
An online application and account management tools, customer support hours and repayment options are all considered in this category. Lenders get bonus points for providing a well-rated app.

Bankrate's trusted student loans industry expertise

Read our full methodology

48

years in business

15

lenders reviewed

13

loan features weighed

195

data points collected

The Bankrate team uses a 13-point system to evaluate student loan refinance products. This scoring criteria measures how lenders perform across three main categories.

Minimum and maximum loan amounts, state availability and repayment options are included in this category. Lenders that offer the most flexibility and have the widest service footprint receive higher scores.
Fixed and variable interest rates, fees, penalties and discounts are measured in this category. Higher scores go to lenders with the lowest rates, fewer fees and multiple discounts.
An online application and account management tools, customer support hours and repayment options are all considered in this category. We also consider whether a well-rated app is available as a bonus.

Editorial disclosure: All reviews are prepared by Bankrate.com staff. Opinions expressed therein are solely those of the reviewer and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including rates and fees, presented in the review is accurate as of the date of the review. Check the data at the top of this page and the lender’s website for the most current information.

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Custom Choice Student Loans: 2025 review

The Bankrate promise

At a glance

Lender Details

Loan amount

APR from

Term lengths

Where Custom Choice stands out

Where Custom Choice falls short

Custom Choice customer service

How this lender compares

Custom Choice vs. Earnest

Custom Choice vs. Sallie Mae

Do you qualify for a loan with Custom Choice?

How to apply for a loan with Custom Choice

How Bankrate rates Custom Choice

Methodology

Bankrate's trusted student loans industry expertise

Availability

Affordability

Customer experience

Bankrate's trusted student loans industry expertise

Availability

Affordability

Customer experience

Community Custom Choice scores

We wanna know what you think about Custom choice

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