Direct lender · United States

College Ave vs Laurel Road: the interest at the ceiling, not the advertised rate

At the top of each published range, a $30,000 loan over 10 years costs $17,077 in interest with Laurel Road and $25,874 with the other — a difference of $8,797 over the life of the loan.

The advertised floors are 6.99% and 4.74%, the same order as the ceilings.

Side by side

Both columns use the fixed-rate product where the lender publishes a full range for it, on the basis the lender advertises.

The product each lender publishes a full range for, United States rates, on a $30,000 balance. Sources: College Ave checked 2026-08-25 and Laurel Road checked 2026-08-25.
	College Ave	Laurel Road
Product compared	Fixed	Fixed
Published APR range	6.99% to 13.99% with autopay	4.74% to 9.75% with autopay
Terms listed	not stated	5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Minimum loan	not stated	$5,000
Origination fee	not stated	none
Interest at the ceiling, 5 years	$11,874	$8,024
Interest at the ceiling, 7 years	$17,211	$11,510
Interest at the ceiling, 10 years	$25,874	$17,077
Interest at the ceiling, 15 years	$41,878	$27,206
Interest at the ceiling, 20 years	$59,481	$38,293
Interest at the floor, 10 years	$11,781	$7,728
Gap between floor and ceiling	$14,094	$9,350
Monthly payment at the ceiling, 10 years	$466	$392
Loan made by	not confirmed	KeyBank

Lenders do not publish on the same basis. Most print the range with a 0.25 point autopay discount already taken off; some print it before the discount; some do not say. We print the figure as published and label the basis where the lender states it. We do not add or remove the discount, because a figure we adjusted could not be checked against the lender's page.

How that is worked out

monthly rate = APR / 1200 payments = years x 12 monthly payment = balance x monthly rate / (1 - (1 + monthly rate) ^ -payments) interest over life = monthly payment x payments - balance + origination fee at the ceiling = the same, with the top of the published range at the floor = the same, with the bottom of the published range the gap = interest at the ceiling - interest at the floor

Nothing else is added. The rate you are offered, any lender-specific discount you do or do not qualify for, and variable-rate movements are not in any figure on this site, because they depend on you and on the future. Where a lender states an origination fee it is added once. The published range is used exactly as printed: where the lender says the range already includes its autopay discount, we say so and do not add it back. The full method is at Method.

Where does the answer change?

The order above holds only under the conditions listed here.

The order holds at both ends of the range. Laurel Road costs less at the floor and at the ceiling, so the question is not which end you are offered.
Do not decide yet if $8,797 over the life of the loan is smaller than the $14,094 gap between one lender's own floor and ceiling, which it is here; the rate you are actually offered moves the answer more than the choice of lender.

Who this is not for

This compares published rate ranges and nothing else. It is not a judgment about service, hardship options or underwriting, and we have not borrowed from either lender. If the two ceilings are close, this page will not decide it for you and should not.

Sources

College Ave rates page. checked 2026-08-25
Laurel Road rates page. checked 2026-08-25

Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from the sources' published pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.