Is it hard to get a personal loan for $15,000?
While the $15,000 personal loan is a common loan size, it's not always the easiest to qualify for. You will, at a minimum, need a healthy credit score and proof of income.
A credit score of at least 660 is typically required for a $15,000 personal loan. Some lenders that cater to people with poor credit will charge higher interest rates and fees to cover their elevated risk.
The monthly payment on a $15,000 loan ranges from $205 to $1,504, depending on the APR and how long the loan lasts. For example, if you take out a $15,000 loan for one year with an APR of 36%, your monthly payment will be $1,504.
Payment history is weighed the most heavily in determining your credit score, along with your total outstanding debt. Generally, borrowers need a credit score of at least 610 to 640 to even qualify for a personal loan. To qualify for a lender's lowest interest rate, borrowers typically need a score of at least 800.
Prospective borrowers who have poor, damaged or no credit typically find it difficult to qualify for a personal loan. However, even if you have good credit that doesn't mean you'll qualify for a personal loan.
With a $15,000 loan, you will pay $270 monthly and a total of $17,433 in interest over the life of your loan. You will pay a total of $32,433 over the life of the loan.
| Lender | Loan Amounts | APRs |
|---|---|---|
| Upstart | $1,000 - $50,000 | 6.4% - 35.99% |
| Oportun | $300 - $18,500 | 10.07% - 35.95% |
| OneMain Financial | $1,500 - $20,000 | 18% - 35.99% |
| RISE | $500 - $5,000 | 60% - 299% |
| Loan amount £15,000 | Monthly repayments £289.54 | Length of agreement 60 months |
| Total amount repayable £17,372.40 | Representative 6.1% APR | Fixed Annual Rate of Interest (nominal) 5.9358% |
- SoFi – Best for High Loan Amounts.
- LightStream – Best for Low Interest Rates.
- LendingPoint – Best for Fast Funding & Below-Average Credit.
- Upgrade – Best for Bad Credit.
- Universal Credit – Best for Comparing Multiple Offers.
- Discover – Best for No Interest If Repaid Within 30 Days.
| This week's rates | Last week's rates | |
|---|---|---|
| Average overall rate | 20.90% | 20.90% |
| Average low rate | 11.18% | 11.19% |
| Average high rate | 30.62% | 30.62% |
| Highest rate | 99.99% | 99.99% |
Does getting a personal loan hurt my credit score?
A loan application typically results in a hard inquiry. This happens when a lender looks at your credit report as part of a review of your application. A hard inquiry can stay on your credit report for up to two years, but it may only have a negative effect on your credit scores for a year.
In general, personal loans only require a few financial documents for approval. However, you may need to provide extra paperwork to get approved for a personal loan with bad credit. This may include prior years' W-2s, tax returns, and bank statements showing where your paychecks are deposited.
A personal loan can affect your credit score in a number of ways—both good and bad. Taking out a personal loan isn't bad for your credit score in and of itself. However, it may affect your overall score for the short term and make it more difficult for you to obtain additional credit before that new loan is paid back.
Some of the easiest loans to get approved for if you have bad credit include payday loans, no-credit-check loans, and pawnshop loans. Personal loans with essentially no approval requirements typically charge the highest interest rates and loan fees.
Citibank is the best bank for quick personal loans because it offers approval and funding in as little as as soon as the same day you are approved. You can also borrow $2,000 - $30,000 with no origination fee.
Getting approved for a personal loan generally takes anywhere from one day to one week. As we mentioned above, how long it takes for a personal loan to go through depends on several factors, like your credit score.
The bottom line. $15,000 can be an intimidating total when you see it on credit card statements, but you don't have to be in debt forever. If you're struggling to make your minimum payments every month and you don't see light at the end of the tunnel, sign up for a debt management program to get out of debt fast.
A $20,000 loan at 5% for 60 months (5 years) will cost you a total of $22,645.48, whereas the same loan at 3% will cost you $21,562.43. That's a savings of $1,083.05. That same wise shopper will look not only at the interest rate but also the length of the loan.
Generally, you'll need a good to excellent credit score — 670 or higher — to qualify for a $20,000 loan. The higher your credit score, the better your chances of qualifying for a loan and securing a lower interest rate.
You will need a credit score of 580 or higher for a $3,000 personal loan. Most lenders that offer personal loans of $3,000 or more require a 580+ credit score for approval, along with enough income to afford the monthly payments.
How big of a loan can I get with a 720 credit score?
You can borrow $50,000 - $100,000+ with a 720 credit score. The exact amount of money you will get depends on other factors besides your credit score, such as your income, your employment status, the type of loan you get, and even the lender.
LendingTree customer reviews are generally positive. As of the time of writing, the company has a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars based on nearly 12,000 reviews on Trustpilot. Among these reviews, over 9,700 customers give it a five-star rating and another 12,260 give it four stars.
A minimum payment of 3% a month on $15,000 worth of debt means 227 months (almost 19 years) of payments, starting at $450 a month. By the time you've paid off the $15,000, you'll also have paid almost as much in interest ($12,978 if you're paying the average interest rate of 14.96%) as you did in principal.
To pay off $15,000 in credit card debt within 36 months, you will need to pay $543 per month, assuming an APR of 18%. You would incur $4,558 in interest charges during that time, but you could avoid much of this extra cost and pay off your debt faster by using a 0% APR balance transfer credit card.
Representative 6.1% APR, based on a loan amount of £10,000, over 5 years, at a Fixed Annual Interest Rate of 5.9358%, (nominal). This would give you a monthly repayment of £193.02 and a total amount repayable of £11,581.20.
