SoFi Parent Student Loan Review
Parent Student Loans
Rewards: Autopay Discount
Yearly Loan Limits: Up to 100% Cost of Attendance
Overall Loan Limits: $1,000 (minimum)
Cosigner Terms: Cosigner optional, offers cosigner release after 12 months
We rate SoFi®’s parent loan as one of the best. Their costs are below average and you can expect flexible repayment terms. They do not, however, provide a formal death or disability discharge program, which is unusual for the student loan industry.
Pros
- Offers cosigner release after 24 months
- Offers autopay
- Offers a partial forbearance option for financially-distressed borrowers
Cons
- Requires students to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress
- Does not guarantee a death or disability discharge if the student dies or becomes permanently disabled
How does this loan compare?
Full Review
SoFi is one of the best lenders when it comes to student loans for college and graduate students, and that’s no different for parent loans. They offer below-average interest rates and they offer discounts for autopay and to current SoFi customers. They don’t charge any fees, so you won’t have to worry about your costs going up for any reason.
Repayment-wise, there’s mostly good to talk about. They offer a cosigner release option after 24 months. If you wind up in dire financial straits, they have a partial forbearance option that allows you to make interest-only payments to keep the debt from growing larger.
The biggest downside with SoFi is their death and disability discharge policy for parent loans. They don’t offer that. Meaning if the student dies or the parent dies or becomes permanently disabled, you’ll still be on the hook for the loan.
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: Citizens or Residents
- Minimum Enrollment Restriction: Half-Time
- List of States where Loan is Not Available: None
- Approved Schools Include: All
- Immediate Principal and Interest Repayment: Yes
- Fixed Monthly Repayment: None
- Interest-Only Repayment: Yes
- Full Deferment: None
- Length of Grace Period: None
- 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: None
- Disability Discharge: None
- US-Based Call Center: Not specified by lender
- Hours of Operation (in addition to weekdays): No Evenings or Weekends
- Application Timeline: Not specified by lender
- Scholarship Search Tool: None
- Sponsors a Scholarship: Not specified by lender
- Job and Career Assistance: None
- Financial Literacy Training: Not specified by lender