SoFi Graduate Student Loan Review
Graduate Student Loans
Rewards: Autopay Discount
Flexibility: Customizable payment due date
Yearly Loan Limits: Covers up to 100% of your Cost of Attendance
Overall Loan Limits: $1,000 (minimum)
Cosigner Terms: Cosigner optional, allows for Cosigner Release after 24 on-time monthly payments
SoFi® stands out as one of the few lenders that actually means it when they say ‘no fees’ (they won’t even charge you for a late payment). We rate them as one of the best lenders for graduate students, particularly because of their repayment policies and flexibility.
Pros
- Offers partial forbearance option
- Allows you to customize your payment due date
- Does not charge any fees or penalties (not even ones for late payments)
Cons
- Requires borrowers to be enrolled at least half-time
- Requires borrowers to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress
How does this loan compare?
Full Review
SoFi is a remarkably versatile lender. When it comes to repayment, they allow you to customize your payment due date, they do not charge any fees or penalties (not even ones for late payments), they offer a 5-year repayment term (among others) for borrowers wanting to become debt-free quickly, and financially distressed borrowers have the option of seeking a partial forbearance.
They are also particularly attentive to customer needs. If you want to call them in the evening or on a weekend, their U.S.-based call center is available to serve you. For borrowers needing to borrow up to the full cost of attendance at their school, SoFi is ready and willing to help. And if you’re a current SoFi customer, you’ll receive a discount (in addition to the autopay discount).
That being said, if you are enrolled less than half-time, or don’t meet your school’s standard for Satisfactory Academic Progress, SoFi won’t lend to you.
SoFi - Private Student Loan Details
- Credit Check: Soft to check rates, hard to process application
- Repayment Terms: 5 years, 7 years, 10 years, 15 years
- Minimum Borrowing Limit: $1,000
- Yearly Borrowing Limit: 100% of Cost of Attendance
- Aggregate Borrowing Limit: Not specified by lender
- Application Fee: None
- Origination Fee: None
- Prepayment Penalty: None
- Late Fee: None
- Minimum Credit Score: Not specified by lender
- Minimum Annual Income: Not specified by lender
- Citizenship Restriction: Available to Citizens, Permanent Residents, and International Students with a credit-worthy Citizen or Permanent Resident cosigner
- Minimum Enrollment Restriction: Half-Time
- List of States where Loan is Not Available: None
- Approved Schools Include: Not specified by lender
- Immediate Principal and Interest Repayment: Yes
- Fixed Monthly Repayment: Yes, $25
- Interest-Only Repayment: Yes
- Full Deferment: Yes
- Length of Grace Period: 6 months
- Maximum Deferment Period: Not specified by lender
- Maximum Forbearance Period: 12 months
- Cosigner Release Option: Yes, after 24 months on-time principal and interest payments
- Death Discharge: Yes
- Disability Discharge: Yes
- US-Based Call Center: Yes
- Hours of Operation (in addition to weekdays): No Evenings or Weekends
- Application Timeline: Minutes for credit decision, 4-6 weeks for disbursement
- Scholarship Search Tool: None
- Sponsors a Scholarship: Yes
- Financial Literacy Training: Yes