A 2019-20 survey found that only 25% of education expenses were covered by scholarships and grants for the average family, leaving them with a considerable sum left to be paid. Even with federal financial aid and other contributions, many come up short.
Keep reading to learn more about your options for private student loans and refinancing with SoFi.
Private student loans are financing options offered by state agencies, finance companies, banks, credit unions, online lenders: mainly any non-federal institution.
They’re used to help take the burden off of you when figuring out how to pay for college.
This includes costs like:
SoFi is a web-based personal finance company focusing on refinancing student loans for undergraduate and graduate students.
They are “nontraditional” because they operate a little differently than other private lenders, like banks. When you apply for student loans with SoFi, you’ll benefit from:
Private loans are typically taken out once you’ve used all the financial aid, grants, scholarships, and federal loan options you’re eligible for. You must be enrolled in an eligible school in a degree-seeking program for at least six credits.
To be eligible to borrow through SoFi, you must be:
Depending on the loan type and your location, you can have the help of a co-signer with proven financial history, income, and/or credit score to help you qualify.
Additionally, private student loans are for college and related expenses. While you can spend the money on other not-so-essential things, you could be violating the terms of your contract.
The two types of loans are variable and fixed-rate loans. Variable rates—as the name suggests—fluctuate as the market changes. Conversely, fixed-rate loans stay the same from day one.
SoFi offers some of the best student loans rates, many repayment options, and no fees.
If you’ve exhausted all your fund from state and federal financial aid, consider private student loans, so you don’t have to put your education on hold. Before you make your final decision on how you’ll finance your education, make sure to review all of the support available to you.
Check out the rest of our site for more information about applying for loans, types, and lender reviews.
If approved for a loan, the interest rate offered will depend on your creditworthiness, the repayment option you select, the term and amount of the loan and other factors, and will be within the ranges of rates listed above. 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. Information current as of 11/04/2020. Enrolling in autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi. SoFi Lending Corp., licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Financing Law License No. 6054612. NMLS #1121636 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org)
SoFi Rate update
Interest Rates: Eligibility and Important Details. Fixed rates range from 4.19% APR to 14.83% APR with 0.25% autopay discount. Variable rates range from 5.74% APR to 14.83% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates are capped at 17.95%. SoFi rate ranges are current as of May 2024 and are subject to change at any time. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term and type of repayment option you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer (if applicable) and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Check out our eligibility criteria at https://www.sofi.com/eligibility-criteria/. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30- day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases.
Please borrow responsibly. SoFi Private Student Loans are not a substitute for federal loans, grants, and work-study programs. We encourage you to evaluate all your federal student aid options before you consider any private loans, including ours. Read our FAQs.
† To check the rates and terms you qualify for, SoFi conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, 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 pull and may affect your credit.
1 0.25% Auto Pay Discount Disclosure (SOFI_128.0): 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. This benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your monthly payment. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi.
*Approval rate based on SoFi Undergraduate Student Loans applications between July 2022 — August 2022.
**Approval rate based on SoFi Graduate Student Loans applications between July 2022 — August 2022.