US Private Student Loans for Canadian Students Without a US Cosigner

Why Canadian students need a cosigner-free lender

Most US private student loans require a US-based cosigner with US credit history, a requirement a Canadian family living entirely in Canada usually does not meet. MPOWER Financing and Prodigy Finance built their lending models around international students who lack both a US cosigner and a US credit file, underwriting the loan against your school, program, and expected career outcome instead.

MPOWER Financing

MPOWER lends between US$2,001 and US$100,000 to international students, including Canadians, with no cosigner and no collateral required. Interest rates start near 9.99 percent, with a small rate discount available for automatic recurring payments. MPOWER has periodically paused new loan originations once it hits its funding capacity, as it has for 2026, directing new applicants to a waitlist instead, so confirm current application availability before counting on this lender. MPOWER funds study at a set list of partner schools in the US and Canada, so confirm your specific school appears on MPOWER's eligible school list before applying. The loan carries no prepayment penalty, and on-time payments build US credit history, useful if you plan to work in the US after graduating.

Prodigy Finance

Prodigy Finance focuses mainly on master's degree students and funds up to US$220,000 with no collateral required, covering up to 100 percent of your total cost of attendance. Interest rates start near 10.74 percent variable, and Prodigy Finance adds a 4.2 percent administration fee to the loan balance at disbursement plus a separate US$500 processing fee paid before the loan advances. Like MPOWER, Prodigy Finance underwrites based on your program and expected earnings rather than a cosigner, listing eligible schools through its own school search tool. Confirm whether Prodigy Finance funds your specific program, since its focus stays mostly on graduate degrees rather than undergraduate study.

What a Prodigy Finance repayment looks like

Prodigy Finance structures repayment in two phases: a lower fixed payment early in your career, then a higher fixed payment for the rest of the term. As an example the company itself publishes, a US$40,000 loan carries an initial payment near US$100 a month for 30 months, then near US$620 a month for the remaining 180 months. Run your own numbers through Prodigy Finance's calculator with your actual loan amount, since the example scales with how much you borrow.

Comparing the two side by side

Visa status and eligibility

Both lenders require you to hold or get approved for the visa status tied to your program, F-1 for full-time study at a US school. Neither lender asks for a US cosigner, but both run their own credit and eligibility check based on your admission, program, and citizenship. Apply once you hold an admission offer, since both lenders ask for your specific program and school as part of underwriting.

What you need to apply

Both lenders ask for your passport, your admission letter or I-20 from a US school , and proof of your program length and start date. Neither lender needs a Canadian cosigner, but you still supply standard identity and enrollment documents the same way a domestic applicant does. Apply once you hold your admission letter, since both lenders tie your loan amount to your actual program cost rather than a general request.

Building credit while you study

MPOWER reports your payment history to US credit bureaus, so on-time payments build a US credit record while you study, useful if you plan to work in the US after graduating on Optional Practical Training or a later US work visa. Ask Prodigy Finance directly whether it reports payments to a US credit bureau, since that detail matters more for a graduate who plans to stay and work in the US than for one who returns to Canada right after graduating.

What happens if your plans change

Ask each lender directly how a transfer to a different school, a leave of absence, or dropping below full-time status affects your loan, since a change in enrollment status often changes repayment terms with any student lender, US-based or Canadian. Confirm whether either lender allows a partial draw if your program costs less than your approved loan amount, so you avoid holding debt beyond what your program bill needs.

Before you borrow from either lender

Run the numbers using the loan's own repayment calculator, since a variable rate loan or a loan with an admin fee added to the balance often ends up more expensive than the headline interest rate suggests. Compare the total repayment amount, not the interest rate alone, against a Canadian bank student line of credit if you have a Canadian cosigner or your own established credit, since a Canadian-dollar loan avoids the currency risk built into a US-dollar loan repaid partly with Canadian income.

Ask your target school's financial aid office whether it keeps a preferred lender list or its own partnership with either company, since some schools negotiate better terms for international students than the lender's public rate. Read the full loan agreement for grace period length, deferment options, and what happens to your rate after a missed payment, before signing.