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4.092% to 8.609% with autopay
APR
$200,000
Max. Loan Amount
675
Min. Credit Score
Product Name | EDvestinU Private Student Loans |
---|---|
Minimum Loan Amount | $1,000 |
Max. Loan Amount | $200,000 |
APR | 4.092% to 8.609% with autopay |
Interest Rate Type | Fixed |
Fixed rate | 4.092% to 8.609% with autopay |
Minimum Loan Term | 7 years |
Maximum Loan Term | 20 years |
Requirements | 675 credit score, $30,000 annual income, US citizen or permanent resident, enrolled at least half time at a degree-granting school. |
Review by
Anna Serio is a trusted lending expert and certified Commercial Loan Officer who's published more than 1,000 articles on Finder to help Americans strengthen their financial literacy. A former editor of a newspaper in Beirut, Anna writes about personal, student, business and car loans. Today, digital publications like Business Insider, CNBC and the Simple Dollar feature her professional commentary, and she earned an Expert Contributor in Finance badge from review site Best Company in 2020.
EDvestinU offers one of the more user-friendly private student loan applications out there — especially for a nonprofit lender. In addition to a simple application process, you’ll have access to a payment calculator to estimate your monthly repayments based on your rate and loan term. And if you plan to sign up for autopay, you’ll receive a 0.5% rate discount.
However, it might not be affordable for students who don’t think they’ll land a high-paying job directly after graduating. Since you can’t pick your own loan term, you might be stuck with high monthly repayments.
Not sold on EDvestinU? Take a peek at our list of other student loan providers that might be a better fit.
To qualify for an EDvestinU student loan, you must:
Students can apply with a cosigner if they can’t meet the income or credit score requirements — most undergraduates won’t. International students can also get around the residency requirement if they apply with a cosigner who is.
EDvestinU’s student loans work like most other online student loans. Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at least half time at a degree-granting institution can apply for funds to cover the cost of attendance after federal loans fall short.
The application process is relatively quick: Students and cosigners can complete it online in a matter of minutes and find out if they prequalify in seconds. The only documents EDvestinU requires is proof of income for you or your cosigner, so there’s no scrambling around for financial aid award letters. Borrowers typically sign their promissory note in as little as 24 to 48 business hours.
EDvestinU doesn’t charge any fees associated with applying or repaying your loan early. In fact, the only fee you might have to pay is a late fee of 5% of the payment owed — and that’s after a 15-day grace period. That means that the main cost you need to worry about is the interest rate.
EDvestinU offers two different types of interest rates: fixed and variable. Fixed rates stay the same over the life of your loan, but start slightly higher than variable rates. EDvestinU’s variable rates range from 2.043% to 6.780% with the autopay discount. Variable rates may change while you’re repaying your loan.
Variable rates are actually made up of two smaller rates: a benchmark and a margin. The margin is a fixed rate that EDvestinU gives you based on you or your cosigner’s creditworthiness. This gets added to the benchmark rate, which a third party controls and changes regularly to reflect trends in the lending market. EDvestinU uses the one-month LIBOR rate as the benchmark rate.
EDvestinU offers a 0.5% rate discount for borrowers who sign up for automatic payments taken from a checking or savings account. It also offers a 1% rate discount to borrowers who start making repayments right away.
EDvestinU has three repayment options for its private student loans:
Here, the student or cosigner starts making repayments right after funds are disbursed. This option can help you save money in the long run because there’s less time for interest to add up. You could also be eligible for a 1% interest rate reduction if you choose this repayment option.
It can be unaffordable for students who applied alone and only meet the minimum income requirement, however.
Deferred repayments might make the most sense if you’re that student who can’t afford to pay off their loans right away. It lets you hold off on payments until after you graduate.
Deferment might seem tempting because it lets you put off worrying about your student debt until you’re no longer worried about finals. But it’s the most expensive option of the three, thanks to something called interest capitalization.
Interest capitalization is when a lender adds interest that accumulated while your loans were deferred to your loan balance. This raises your principal repayments because your balance suddenly increased as well as your interest payments, which are based on your loan balance. In the end, you’ll pay much more than you would with the immediate repayment plan.
Interest-only repayments are sort of a middle ground: Students only have to make repayments on interest until they’re out of school. With this option, you’ll pay less on interest than with a deferred plan, and it’s more affordable than immediate repayments. It also helps students avoid capitalized interest, saving some serious cash.
Most small lenders and private student loan providers don’t have much of a presence, and EDvestinU is no exception. It has no Better Business Bureau or Trustpilot page and almost no mentions on forums.
Only one Redditor talked about their experience with EDvestinU. They took out a student loan with a 6.25% fixed rate because it was the lowest option they qualified for, but they wanted to refinance because it was still too high for them to afford. To put this into perspective, it’s not uncommon for federal loans to have a 6% interest rate — but they also come with more flexible repayment options.
Applying for a private student loan through EDvestinU is relatively simple:
This whole process can take a few days to a week. Once you’ve signed your documents, EDvestinU will reach out to your school to confirm your loan amount and arrange to send the funds to your school. Your school’s financial aid office will reach out to you to pick up any remaining funds after tuition and fees.
Check out our student loans guide to compare more lenders and get tips on finding financing that works for you.