No-Cosigner International Student Loans: MPOWER, Prodigy Finance and Others

How no-cosigner lenders decide who qualifies

Most US private student loans require a creditworthy US cosigner because international students have no US credit file. A small group of lenders built underwriting models around your future instead: your school, your program, your admission status, and your expected earnings after graduation. MPOWER Financing and Prodigy Finance are the two largest names in this space, and neither runs a US credit check.

MPOWER Financing

MPOWER Financing lends to international and DACA students at partner schools in the US and Canada without a cosigner or collateral, and it covers both undergraduate and graduate study. It offers fixed rates starting at 9.99% (10.89% APR with the autopay discount); MPOWER does not publish a maximum rate, so get your individual quote before comparing lenders. There is no prepayment penalty, and the loan includes visa support letters and career guidance for borrowers. As of August 2026, MPOWER reported reaching its funding capacity and temporarily paused new loans, directing applicants to a waitlist, so confirm current availability directly on its site before counting on this option for an upcoming semester.

Prodigy Finance

Prodigy Finance focuses on graduate programs, over 1,700 schools worldwide. It sets no minimum credit score and instead scores applicants on their school's standing and the typical employment outcomes of their program, an approach built around future earning potential rather than a US financial history. Rates are variable: Prodigy's Fall 2026 representative example currently shows an APR of 13.26%, built from an 8.50% fixed spread plus SOFR near 3.62%: this moves with SOFR, so confirm the live number before applying. Prodigy updates its representative rate example periodically as SOFR and its fixed spread change, so check the current live page for your intake rather than a fixed historical number. On top of the rate, Prodigy charges a 4.2% admin fee added to the loan balance. Because the rate floats with SOFR, your payment rises or falls over the life of the loan, unlike MPOWER's fixed rate.

Other cosigner-free options

Loan marketplaces such as Nomad Credit compare several no-cosigner lenders in one search rather than lending directly, surfacing smaller or region-specific options you might not find on your own. Coverage, rates, and eligibility change often at these platforms, so treat any marketplace listing as a starting point and verify terms directly with the named lender before applying.

What each lender checks before quoting you a rate

Both MPOWER and Prodigy build their quote around your admission itself rather than your financial history in the US. Expect to submit your admission letter or I-20, passport, and your school's total cost of attendance before either lender generates a firm offer. The exact document checklist varies by school and changes over time, so confirm the current list on the lender's own application page rather than assuming it matches a friend's experience from a previous year.

When repayment starts

Both lenders let repayment begin after your program ends rather than while you study, similar to how domestic federal loans work. The exact length of that grace period and whether interest accrues during it varies by lender and sometimes by the specific loan offer you receive, so check these terms on your offer letter before signing rather than assuming a standard timeline.

Eligibility by country and school

Neither lender is open to every nationality or every program. MPOWER and Prodigy each publish an eligibility list covering which passport countries and which partner schools qualify, and a program that qualifies at one lender sometimes does not qualify at the other. Check the eligibility list for your specific country and school combination on each lender's site before applying, rather than assuming coverage from a friend's experience at a different university.

Loan amounts available

Loan amounts under both lenders are generally capped at your school's certified cost of attendance rather than a flat dollar ceiling across all applicants, so the loan offered depends on your program's tuition and living cost budget as certified by your school. A student at an expensive graduate program is typically offered a larger loan than one at a lower-cost program, all else equal.

Comparing total cost, not the headline rate alone

A lower headline rate is not automatically the cheaper loan once Prodigy's admin fee enters the math, or once a variable rate moves before repayment finishes. Request a full amortization schedule from each lender for your exact loan amount and compare total repayment, not the rate on the homepage.

Which one fits your situation

MPOWER's fixed rate and undergraduate eligibility suit students who want a predictable monthly payment and are not enrolled at one of Prodigy's partner graduate schools, though its funding pause means checking availability first. Prodigy's wider school network and lack of a minimum credit score suit graduate students at a covered university who are comfortable with a rate that moves with SOFR over the loan term. Either way, get a written quote before you commit, so you compare exact numbers for your own program rather than the ranges published on each site.