About ScholarRoads

Paying for college is confusing enough without wading through fine print and jargon. ScholarRoads exists to fix that. We break down private student loans in plain English so students and families can compare their options and choose with confidence.

What we do

We're a comparison guide, not a lender and not a financial advisor. We research private student loan lenders, focus on the two we think are worth most students' time — College Ave and Sallie Mae — and lay out honestly what each is good at, where it falls short, and who it suits best.

How we think about it

We believe in a simple order of operations: file your FAFSA and use federal aid and scholarships first, because federal loans carry protections private loans don't. When you've maxed those out, a private loan can responsibly cover the gap — and that's where we help.

How we make money

ScholarRoads is free to use. We earn a commission from lenders when you apply through our links, at no extra cost to you. We're upfront that this can influence which lenders we feature — see our Advertiser Disclosure and ranking methodology for exactly how that works.

Who's behind it

ScholarRoads is a brand of HME Technology Corp, a digital media company that builds honest, helpful review and comparison content.