Rhode Island Student Loan Authority (RISLA) is a non-profit quasi-state authority that has been providing lower-cost higher education financing solutions since 1981 and free college planning services since 1998. Also provided by RISLA is RIScholarships.org, a free online scholarship search tool to help match students with local scholarships. Additionally, RISLA also offers the Knowledge for College Scholarship, which awards 50 students $2,000 each to help pay for college expenses. For students trying to reduce their interest rates on existing student loans, RISLA also offers low-cost student loan refinancing options. RISLA is with you every step of your college journey, walking you through the college planning process, educating families on obtaining financial aid, and providing tools and resources that help families make informed and responsible borrowing choices to help pay for education.
Written by the business, not verified by us.RISLA (www.risla.com) has a 4.9 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 200 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Public & Local Services and its reputation is excellent. Praise is nearly unanimous, with 98% rating it 4 stars or higher; The business has replied to 50% of negative reviews; Reviews mostly discuss User experience, Customer service. Last updated 2026-09-06.
Reviewers overwhelmingly had a great experience with this company. Consumers often praise the friendly and attentive staff, noting how wonderfully knowledgeable and professional team members are when guiding them through financial aid applications. People consistently note the remarkably fast loan processing times, clear updates, and overall smooth experience from beginning to end. Many customers emphasize that speaking directly with helpful representatives makes complex financial processes surprisingly manageable and stress-free. However, some people mentioned that managing paperwork can sometimes involve frustrating back-and-forth messaging or cumbersome file uploads. A few reviewers also noted that follow-up responses could occasionally feel a bit slow or require extra email exchanges.
Auto-generated from all reviews of this business. For reference only.He was really respectful and straight forward with the questions. Insanely helpful and understanding and overall a really friendly person. I’ve been recommending RISLA to my friends and family after the meeting because of how good the experience was.
Excellent.
RISLA has been a great resource for us and for both of our college students. From advice, to college admission help, to loans, they are fantastic!! Can't say enough good things about everyone we have worked with there!
The person I spoke with was very knowledgeable and kind.
Great, easy and took a very short time to do!! Thanks
I appreciate the communicating throughout the process.
So far, RISLA has been great in helping refinance my student loan! I have never done this before, but the process with them seemed to be mostly smooth and easy, with clear communication. It was a little difficult to get some of the required documents, but it was clearly communicated to us what was needed and how much time we had to send it in. As long as everything continues to go well, I am very happy with RISLA so far!
RISLA made it easy, quick and efficient. They also had the best rate around. So happy we went with RISLA for my son's loan.
Very easy process and Courtney was kind, friendly, easy to talk with and extremely helpful.
it took weeks of frustrating back and forth messages, with us repeatedly resending papers that were already submitted but filed wrong or whatever the excuse was. The end effect left us feeling like RISLA did not want to do a loan with us and were trying their best to make us quit trying.
John, we are sorry to hear that you experienced frustration while trying to refinance your student loans. Please be assured that we work to assist borrowers until they have exhausted all options for loan approval and disbursement. Refinancing can take longer than expected due to the documentation required from third parties and may necessitate additional documentation that is not known upfront. However, we appreciate your patience throughout the process and look forward to providing you with exceptional service, if needed, in the future.
They took our appointment over the phone to complete the FASFA. This was our 2nd year using them for help and they make it so easy. They go question by question with you so you know it’s done right. Highly recommend using College planning center
The process to refinance was simple, efficient, and we successfully avoided the previous lender's sneaky tactics to try drag another payment out of me, correspondence via email and phone was pleasant each time, and the rate is absolutely fantastic relative to many other places I have looked.
The College Planning Center is such an incredible resource! I've been going for help with FAFSA since my daughter started college in 2012. They always make the process so easy! I'm very grateful for their help and expertise.
Great service and guidance. On time, answered questions and completed form efficiently.
This was my first experience with RISLA and the process was easy to follow.
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