Straightforward student loans for undergraduate and graduate students with APRs from 4.51% to 9.26%
Plus, socially-minded students will be happy to know that all proceeds from the loan go to fund New Hampshire public schools. You’ll get less flexibility when it comes to your monthly repayments, however, so this might not be for you if you’re expecting to graduate into a job with a low starting salary. Read on to learn if EDvestinU is the right fit for you.
| Product Name | EDvestinU Private Student Loans |
|---|---|
| Minimum Loan Amount | $1,000 |
| Maximum Loan Amount | $200,000 |
| APR | 4.51% to 9.26% |
| Interest Rate Type | Fixed |
| 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. |
- Have a credit score of 675 or higher.
- Make at least $30,000 a year.
- Attend a Title IV school at least half time.
- Be a US citizen or permanent resident.
First, am I eligible?
To qualify for an EDvestinU student loan, you must:
- Have a credit score of 675 or higher.
- Make at least $30,000 a year.
- Attend a Title IV school at least half time.
- Be a US citizen or permanent resident.
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.
How do EDvestinU private student loans work?
EDvestinU’s student loans work like most other online student loans. Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in degree-granting programs 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.
How much do EDvestinU student loans cost?
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 4.51% to 9.26% . 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.
Does EDvestinU offer any discounts?
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 apply with a qualified cosigner and start making repayments right away.
What are my repayment options?
EDvestinU has three repayment options for its private student loans:
Immediate repayments
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 apply with a qualified cosigner, which is nothing to sneeze at.
It can be unaffordable for students who applied alone and only meet the minimum income requirement, however.
Deferred repayments
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
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.
Top reasons to consider EDvestinU
- Nonprofit lender. Not only does this mean that it can afford to offer competitive rates, but all proceeds from your loan also go to a good cause: Funding and programming services at New Hampshire public high schools.
- Funds for international students. You don’t need to be a US citizen or permanent resident to qualify as long as you apply with a cosigner.
- Cosigner release. You can apply to take your cosigner off your loan if you’ve made two years of consecutive on-time repayments, have a credit score of 750 or higher and make at least $30,000 a year. You also can’t have any bankruptcies in the past 10 years, foreclosures in the past 7 years or similar financial problems.
- Payment calculator. EDvestinU’s student loan payment calculator considers factors like where you’re going to school, how much you want to borrow and your or your cosigner’s credit score to give you an estimate of your interest rate, loan term, monthly payments and total cost.
Why you might want to look elsewhere
- No choice in loan term. How much you borrow determines your loan term, meaning that you can’t adjust your monthly repayments or total loan cost by choosing a longer or shorter loan term.
- It’s a nonprofit. Borrowing from a nonprofit has its downside: Nonprofit lenders typically have smaller staff and less resources than other lenders, so snags in your application and repayments can take longer to fix.
- High variable rate cap. EDvestinU’s 21% variable rate cap is more than twice as high as what some other private student loan providers offer.
Compare more private student loan options
What do customers say about EDvestinU?
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.
What to expect when signing up
Applying for a private student loan through EDvestinU is relatively simple:
- Go to the EDvestinU website, scroll down until you see Undergraduate & Graduate student loans and click Apply Now.
- Hit Apply Now again under either Undergraduate & Graduate student loans or International Students — whichever applies to you.
- Enter basic information about your school and whether you want to apply with a qualified cosigner before hitting Am I Eligible?
- Follow the directions to create an account before starting the application. If you’ve already applied for financing through EDvestinU, log in with your username and password.
- If you’re applying with a cosigner, you have two options: Either have them complete their part of the application after you’re finished or enter their email address so they can receive an invitation to apply.
- Review your answers before submitting your application to EDvestinU. You should get a credit decision in 60 to 90 seconds.
- Got the green light? Review and accept your offer with your cosigner — both of you need to accept.
- Provide any additional information and proof of income to EDvestnU’s underwriters — typically a pay stub or tax returns.
- Review and sign your loan documents.
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.
Bottom line
EDvestinU offers one of the more user-friendly private student loan applications out there — especially for a nonprofit lender. It might not be affordable for students who don’t think they’re going to jump straight into the work force, however, since you can’t pick your own loan term.
Interested in comparing more lenders? You might want to check out our private student loans guide, where we break down how it all works and give tips on finding financing that works for you.
