Arizona Student Loans: Paying for College in Arizona

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If you’re planning to attend a college or university in Arizona, you might need the help of scholarships, grants, or Arizona student loans to help you pay for it.

While the cost of going to school in Arizona varies widely depending on the school you choose, you can expect to pay about $23,798 for in-state tuition and $27,174 for out-of-state tuition, according to Education Data.

Here are four ways to pay for school in Arizona:

1. Start with scholarships and grants for Arizona students
2. Apply for federal student loans
3. Consider a state student loan designed for future teachers
4. Use private student loans to fill in the gaps

1. Start with scholarships and grants for Arizona students

If you need to pay for school, it’s usually a good idea to start with college scholarships and grants — mainly because they don’t have to be repaid, unlike student loans. There are also several scholarships and grants available specifically to Arizona students.

Here are a few options to consider:

• Arizona Business and Professional Women’s Foundation Scholarships: These awards are available to Arizona women who are 21 or older and who are attending an Arizona community college.
• Arizona Community Foundation Scholarships: The Arizona Community Foundation lets students complete one general application to apply for over 100 online Arizona scholarships at once.
• Arizona Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (AzLEAP) Grants: These need-based grants are worth up to $2,500 and are available to low-income undergraduate students.
• Community Foundation for Southern Arizona Scholarships: These awards are geared toward a wide variety of students in southern Arizona.

If scholarships and grants don’t fully cover your costs, you could also consider using federal or private student loans to pay for your other expenses. Just be sure to think about how much a student loan will cost you in the future before you decide to borrow.

You can find out how much you’ll owe over the life of your federal or private student loans using our student loan calculator below.

Learn More: Is My College Housing Covered by Financial Aid?

2. Apply for federal student loans

If you need to borrow money for school, federal student loans are typically a good place to start — mainly because they come with federal benefits and protections, such as access to income-driven repayment and student loan forgiveness programs.

Here are the types of federal student loans you might be eligible for as an Arizona student:

• Direct Subsidized Loans are available to undergraduate students with financial need. The government will cover the interest that accrues on these loans while you’re in school, meaning you’ll have less to pay off later.
• Direct Unsubsidized Loans are available to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students — regardless of financial need. Unlike subsidized loans, you’re responsible for all interest that accrues on unsubsidized loans.
• Direct PLUS Loans come in two types: Grad PLUS Loans for students who want to pay for grad school and Parent PLUS Loans for parents who want to cover their child’s education costs. These loans typically come with higher interest rates than subsidized and unsubsidized loans. They also require a credit check.

Check Out: On-Campus vs. Off-Campus Costs

3. Consider a state student loan designed for future teachers

If you’re attending a teaching program at a public or private Arizona school, you might be able to take advantage of the Arizona Teacher Student Loan Program. Through this need-based program, you can borrow up to $7,000 per year for up to three academic years.

In return, you must agree to serve as a teacher at an Arizona public school for the number of years you accepted a loan plus one extra year. If you meet this obligation, you could have your teacher student loans fully forgiven.

Learn More: Low-Interest Student Loans

4. Use private student loans to fill in the gaps

If you’ve exhausted your scholarship, grant, and federal student loan options, private student loans could help fill any financial gaps left over.

Private student loans don’t offer the same protections as federal student loans, such as access to income-driven repayment or student loan forgiveness programs.

However, if you’re considering federal vs. private student loans, keep in mind that they do offer some benefits of their own, such as:

• Higher borrowing limits: You might be able to borrow up to your school’s cost of attendance.
• Potentially lower interest rates: You might qualify for a lower interest rate than you’d get on a federal loan, depending on your credit.
• Might be available for other types of schooling: Depending on the lender, you might be able to use a private loan to pay for non-traditional schooling options, such as coding bootcamps or trade schools.

If you decide to take out a private student loan, be sure to consider as many lenders as possible to find the right loan for you.

Credible makes this easy — you can compare your prequalified rates from our partner lenders in the table below in two minutes. Plus, all of these lenders are available in Arizona.

Lender	Fixed rates from (APR)	Variable rates from (APR)	Loan terms (years)	Loan amounts
Credible Rating Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology. View details	2.91%+	1.48%+	5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 20 (depending on loan type)	$2,001 to $200,000
Fixed APR: 2.91%+ Variable APR: 1.48%+ Min. credit score: 540 Loan amount: $2,001 to $200,000 Loan terms (years): 5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 20 Repayment options: Full deferral, fixed/flat repayment, interest only, academic deferment, military deferment, forbearance, loans discharged upon death or disability Fees: None Discounts: 0.25% to 1.00% automatic payment discount, 1% cash back graduation reward Eligibility: Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or DACA student enrolled at least half-time in a degree-seeking program Customer service: Email, phone Soft credit check: Yes Cosigner release: After 24 months Loan servicer: Launch Servicing, LLC
Credible Rating Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology. View details	3.23%+1	1.03%+1	5, 10, 15	$1,000 to $350,000 (depending on degree)
Fixed APR: 3.23%+1 Variable APR: 1.03%+1 Min. credit score: 720 Loan amount: $1,000 to $350,000 Loan terms (years): 5, 10, 15 Loan types: Any private or federal student loan Repayment options: Full deferral, full monthly payment, interest only, immediate repayment, academic deferment, military deferment, forbearance, loans discharged upon death or disability Fees: Late fee Discounts: Autopay, loyalty Eligibility: Available in all 50 states (international students can apply with a creditworthy U.S. citizen or permanent resident cosigner) Customer service: Email, phone, chat Soft credit check: Yes Cosigner release: After 36 months Loan servicer: Firstmark Services
Credible Rating Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology. View details	2.94%+2,3	0.99%+2,3	5, 8, 10, 15	$1,000 up to 100% of the school-certified cost of attendance
Fixed APR: 2.94%+2,3 Variable APR: 0.99%+2,3 Min. credit score: Does not disclose Loan amount: $1,000 up to cost of attendance Loan terms (years): 5, 8, 10, 15 Repayment options: Full deferral, full monthly payment, fixed/flat repayment, interest only, immediate repayment, academic deferment, forbearance, loans discharged upon death or disability Fees: Late fee Discounts: Autopay Eligibility: Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and be making satisfactory academic progress. Customer service: Email, phone Soft credit check: Yes Cosigner release: After 24 months Loan servicer: College Ave Servicing LLC
Credible Rating Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology. View details	3.0%+7	2.17%+7	7, 10, 15	$1,000 to $200,000
Fixed APR: 3.0%+7 Variable APR: 2.17%+7 Min. credit score: 750 Loan amount: $1,000 to $200,000 Loan terms (years): 7, 10, 15 Repayment options: Full deferral, full monthly payment, interest only, immediate repayment, academic deferment, loans discharged upon death or disability Fees: Late fee Discounts: Autopay Eligibility: Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and have a minimum income of $30,000. Customer service: Email, phone Soft credit check: Yes Cosigner release: After 36 months Loan servicer: Granite State Management & Resources (GSM&R)
Credible Rating Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology. View details	3.75%+	N/A	10, 15	$1,500 or $2,000 up to school’s certified cost of attendance (depending on school type and minus other aid received)
Fixed APR: 3.75%+ Variable APR: N/A Min. credit score: 670 Loan amount: $1,500 up to cost of attendance less aid Loan terms (years): 10, 15 Repayment options: Full deferral, interest only, immediate repayment, academic deferral, forbearance Fees: None Discounts: None Eligibility: Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and be making satisfactory academic progress. Customer service: Email, phone Soft credit check: Yes Cosigner release: After 48 months Loan servicer: American Education Services (AES)
Credible Rating Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology. View details	3.5% - 12.6% APR9	1.13% - 11.23% APR9	10, 15	Up to 100% of the school-certified cost of attendance
Fixed APR: 3.5% - 12.6% APR9 Variable APR: 1.13% - 11.23% APR9 Min. credit score: Does not disclose Loan amount: $1,000 up to cost of attendance Loan terms (years): 10 to 15 Repayment options: Full deferral, fixed/flat repayment, interest only, academic deferment, forbearance, loans discharged upon death or disability Fees: Late fee Discounts: Autopay Eligibility: Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Also available to non-U.S. citizen students (including DACA students) attending a school located in the U.S. who apply with a qualifying cosigner. Customer service: Phone, chat Soft credit check: Yes Cosigner release: After 12 consecutive on-time payments Loan servicer: Sallie Mae
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Lowest APRs reflect autopay, loyalty, and interest-only repayment discounts where available | 1Citizens Disclosures | 2,3College Ave Disclosures | 7EDvestinU Disclosures | 8INvestEd Disclosures | 9Sallie Mae Disclosures

Students in Arizona have plenty of options to pay for college

Paying for college can be difficult, but thankfully, there are plenty of options that could help you cover the cost.

Remember to start with financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid like scholarships and grants before moving on to federal student loans and finally private student loans.

If a private student loan seems right for you, be sure to consider as many lenders as you can to find a loan that suits your needs. Credible makes this easy — you can compare your prequalified rates from multiple lenders in two minutes.

Keep Reading: How to Get a Student Loan for Online College

About the author

Lindsay VanSomeren

Lindsay VanSomeren specializes in credit and loans. Her work has appeared on Credit Karma, Forbes Advisor, LendingTree, and more.

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