Discover Student Loans and Firstmark Services: What Does This Mean
It’s not easy to find a good private student loan in this economy. Some banks require you to have a high credit rating, while others do not want to take risks and offer only limited services for all categories of citizens without a stable income.
In this Discover student loans review, we’re going to discuss one of the few decent deals you could find on the market. The sad news is that the offer is technically no longer accessible, there was a transfer of student loans from Discover to Firstmark. The latter company used to only track student credits, but will now handle the existing Discover loans. How will this change affect the existing loans? See the following sections for details.
Introduction to Discover Student Loans
Student loans with Discover were a one-of-a-kind opportunity to get access not only to a credit card with all the bonuses we’ve come to expect from banks but also a financing program. It allowed students to fund their educational needs at a significant discount compared to other options available at the time.
Below is a brief review of the program’s main features:
Types of Student Loans Discover Offered
Those who enrolled in the program while it was active could choose one of its four versions:
- Discover Undergraduate. Designed for undergraduate students, it covered educational and related expenses.
- Discover Health Professions. A program that covered the costs of training for future doctors and medical staff.
- Discover Residency. The offer for doctors studying for federal residency.
- Discover Law School. A program for students studying law.
As you can see, the program was designed to cover the cost of studying in any specialty, with some additional benefits for medical and law students.
Key Features of Student Loans
Most student loans have additional features that are worth noting. Here they are:
- Fixed and variable APR ranges. The fixed ones typically range from 5.49% to 13.99%, while the variable ones fluctuate between 2.99% and 13.99%.
- No exit or late fees. You pay only the principal of the loan, and only after it is fully repaid do you pay the rest of the debt and interest. You can also defer payments until the end of your studies.
- Various repayment plans. Student loans often have several options for repayment terms and conditions, so you can choose the one that fits your situation best.
- Grace period. As a rule, the grace period lasts until the end of your education and another six months beyond that.
- Reward program for good grades. Many student loans incorporate a reward system in the form of bonus points added to the account for a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Automatic payment discount. Automatic interest payments combined with points for academic achievement can slightly reduce the repayment cost.
With this in mind, let’s review Discover loans in more detail, namely their rating, types of protections, advantages, and drawbacks.
Advantages and Drawbacks
A Discover student loan is a fairly balanced option for applicants and their guardians. Here’s why:
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Discover Loans Transferred to Firstmark: What You Need to Know
You don’t have to take any additional actions to transfer your student loan from a Discover bank account to Firstmark, but you can’t opt out of it, either. Here’s what the official program page says: "Discover is no longer accepting new student loan applications. Applications received on or before January 31, 2024, 11:59 pm CT will be processed as usual." It’s important to note that this transfer does not affect the terms of your existing Discover undergraduate loan. All rights and obligations specified in your promissory note will stay the same. If you have more questions, visit https://www.discover.com/student-loans/.
However, as for the Discover student loans requirements with Firstmark services, the situation looks grim. The thing is, Firstmark just accepted existing loans, and it doesn’t offer new ones, so future students will have to find some other companies that provide such programs.
