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When you join SoFi, you’re joining a community of over 275,000 members, and the company has collectively saved members who refinance an average of $288 a month. As a whole, SoFi offers a variety of loan products, community events and professional guidance, in addition to student loan refinancing.
| Product Name | SoFi Student Loan Refinancing Variable Rate (with Autopay) |
|---|---|
| Min Loan Amount | $5,000 |
| Max. Loan Amount | full balance of your qualified education loans |
| APR | 2.54%–7.38% |
| Interest Rate Type | Variable |
| Requirements | Must be an employed US citizen with a minimum loan balance of at least $5,000. |
Pros
- Quick rates.
- Member perks.
- No hidden fees.
Cons
- $5,000 minimum loan balance.
- You are at least the age of majority in your state and able to enter into a binding contract.
- You and your co-signer (if applicable) are US citizens or permanent residents.
- You must be employed, have sufficient income from other sources, or have an offer of employment to start within the next 90 days.
- You have graduated with an associates’ degree or higher from a Title IV school.
- You are looking to refinance educational debt. Bar loans and residency loans are not eligible for refinancing at this time.
How does student loan refinancing through SoFi work?
SoFi’s application is quick, online, and simple. Customer service is ready to help and accessible 7 day a week through email, chat and social media. Instead of considering just credit score, SoFi also looks at your financial behavior to determine eligibility.
SoFi splits their application into two parts: in order to show you the rates you qualify for, they will do a soft credit pull, which does not affect your credit score. If you choose a product and continue the application, then they perform a hard credit inquiry which may impact your credit score.
How much will I pay for SoFi student loan refinancing?
Refinancing involves paying off one or more of your student loans with a new one. The new loan can potentially lower your monthly payments, save on interest and pay off your debt even sooner. Make sure you weigh your options when it comes to a fixed or variable APR, and choose what will better fit your financial needs.
SoFi has no origination fees or prepayment penalties, which means you won’t be dinged for refinancing or for paying off your loan early.
Benefits of SoFi Student Loan Refinancing
- Member perks. As a member, you can enjoy an additional 0.125% rate discount, customer service 7 days a week, career strategy services, invites to SoFi events, and more.
- Unemployment protection. If you unexpectedly lose you job, SoFi can pause your loan payments for 3 month periods, and a total of 12 months.
- Career support. SoFi provides career coaches that can help you advance in your job, build a personal brand, negotiate a salary, and more.
- Entrepreneur program. If you’re starting a new business, you can defer your loans for up to six months while you get your business off the ground, plus take advantage of SoFi’s networking and mentorship opportunities.
- Wealth advisors. You can also take advantage of SoFi’s wealth advisors to help make sense of finances and investments.
- Perks for referral. If you refer a friend to SoFi, it’ll send you a check for $300 per person.
- No hidden fees. You don’t have to worry about application fees, origination fees, or prepayment penalties.
- Variable rate APR caps. SoFi has a limit for how high your variable rate loan can get, stopping it at 8.95% for five-, seven- and 10-year loans and 9.95% for 15- and 20-year terms.
What to watch out for
- Not great for low credit. While SoFi doesn’t have clear credit requirements for student loan refinancing, people with low credit scores might not qualify for a rate that’s makes refinancing worth it.
- You’ll lose federal benefits. While refinancing your federal loans could potentially make repayments easier or even lower your rates, you’ll lose key federal benefits like forgiveness program and more flexible repayment options.
- No cosigner release. If you want to apply with a cosigner now and take them off your loan later, you’ll have to refinance your student loan again, which can take a while and land you with a less favorable deal.
- Only considers individual income. SoFi doesn’t consider your household income when you apply, so you might have a difficult time qualifying if you’re a stay-at-home parent or otherwise rely on a partner for financial support unless you apply with a cosigner.
Compare more options for student loan refinancing
Is SoFi student loan refinancing legit?
It is. In fact, SoFi is has grown to become one of the most popular student loan refinancing options over the past few years. Online reviews are mixed, which you can expect from such a large company.
While it’s not accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), it gets an A+ rating, which the BBB bases on factors like how it handles customer complaints and advertising practices. It also gets a 3.99 stars out of 5, based on over 100 customer reviews — 76% of which are negative. It does better on Trustpilot, scoring a 9.3 out of 10 based on nearly 900 reviewers, 89% of which call it “excellent.”
Customers repeatedly praise the customer service, low interest rates and fast turnover time. Many said the application process was fast an easy, though some had difficulty completing the application or qualifying at all because they had unconventional financial situations.
Am I eligible?
Applying for student loan refinancing is easy, and requires applicants to meet the following eligibility requirements:
- You must be a US citizen, a permanent resident or in the US on a valid long-term visa
- You must be at least 18 years old
- You must have a valid bank account
- $5,000 minimum loan balance
- Graduated from a selection of Title IV accredited universities or graduate programs
How can I apply for SoFi student loan refinancing?
Info required
You can apply for SoFi student loan refinancing by visiting its website once you’ve checked to make sure you meet the eligibility requirements. To speed things up, have the following documents and information on hand:
- Your name, contact information and date of birth
- How much you want to borrow and the purpose of the loan
- Your credit score range
- Your annual individual income
- Your school and university information
Steps to apply
Once you’ve gathered everything you need, you’re ready to apply. Here’s what you need to do in three steps:
I refinanced my student loans with SoFi. Now what?
Now it’s time to start making repayments through SoFi’s servicer MOHELA. Once your funds are disbursed, MOHELA will contact you to set up your account. SoFi’s only offers standard repayments, which stay the same over time if you have a fixed-rate APR or fluctuate if you went with the variable option.
Consider setting up autopay: You’ll get a 0.25% discount on your interest rate and won’t have to worry about remembering to make your monthly repayments. If you go back to school or start a business, you can apply to defer — or pause — your student loans for a period of time. To do so, reach out to SoFi’s customer support team.
I didn’t qualify. What can I do?
First, reach out to SoFi to see why you were rejected, if you didn’t already get a reason. If you were rejected over an inaccuracy in your application — which is more common than you’d think — then feel free to apply to SoFi or another student loan refinancing provider again.
If it’s more serious, consider taking steps to improve your creditworthiness. This can include paying off your credit card debt, reviewing your credit report for mistakes or even taking on a side job to improve your debt-to-income ratio.
Bottom line
If you just graduated and are looking for help paying off your student loan, SoFi’s student loan refinancing program can help. Be sure to compare other student loan refinancing options to ensure you’re making an informed decision.
Frequently asked questions
Disclaimer
Terms and Conditions Apply. SOFI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in an eligible state and meet SoFi’s underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. To qualify for the lowest rate, you must have a responsible financial history and meet other conditions. If approved, your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, a responsible financial history, years of experience, income and other factors. Rates and Terms are subject to change at anytime without notice and are subject to state restrictions. SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers such as Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment or PAYE. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Financing Law License No. 6054612. SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Lending Corp., NMLS # 1121636. (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org)
Student Loan Refinance
Fixed rates from 3.25%–7.125% APR (with AutoPay). Variable rates from 2.54%–7.38% APR (with AutoPay). Interest rates on variable rate loans are capped at either 8.95% or 9.95% depending on term of loan. See APR examples and terms. Lowest variable rate of 2.540% APR assumes current 1 month LIBOR rate of 1.88% plus 0.91% margin minus 0.25% ACH discount. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. If approved for a loan, the fixed or variable interest rate offered will depend on your creditworthiness, and the term of the loan and other factors, and will be within the ranges of rates listed above. For the SoFi variable rate loan, the 1-month LIBOR index will adjust monthly and the loan payment will be re-amortized and may change monthly. APRs for variable rate loans may increase after origination if the LIBOR index increases. The SoFi 0.25% AutoPay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. *To check the rates and terms you qualify for, SoFi conducts a soft credit inquiry. Unlike hard credit inquiries, soft credit inquiries (or soft credit pulls) do not impact your credit score. Soft credit inquiries allow SoFi to show you what rates and terms SoFi can offer you up front. After seeing your rates, if you choose a product and continue your application, we will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit inquiry. Hard credit inquiries (or hard credit pulls) are required for SoFi to be able to issue you a loan. In addition to requiring your explicit permission, these credit pulls may impact your credit score.