The fact is, the most people need help footing the bill when they go on for college degrees after high school graduation.
Consider this: In 2019, 70% of college students took out student loans, and they graduated with an average debt of $30,000, including both private and federal debt. Meanwhile, 15% of their parents took out an average of $35,900 in federal parent loans.
It’s a good idea to look into federal loans at the same time as you research a private loan from a bank or other financial institution. However, you may not qualify, or the government loan may not cover all your student expenses.
Most people apply for federal loans and many seek private loans like those offered by SoFi.
You do not need to be a full-time student, but you must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program at an eligible school and be attending classes at least half-time. The minimum you can borrow for a SoFi student loan is $5,000.
SoFi Private Student Loans can cover up to 100% of the school-certified cost of attendance, which typically includes:
There are no fees for SoFi Private Student Loans. Zero.
That means no origination fees, no application fees, no insufficient funds fees, no prepayment penalties and no late fees.
When you complete your short online application, you will need to provide:
SoFi doesn’t require, but does suggest you have a co-signer on your application.
Interest rates for undergrads are usually higher without a cosigner. Most undergraduate students have limited credit history and income. Therefore, having a cosigner with a solid financial history and well-established credit may improve your chances of getting your student loan approved.
You can choose a fixed or variable rate that will change over time.
Fixed: 4.13% APR to 11.52% APR (with autopay).
Variable: 1.12% APR - 11.89% APR (with autopay), and will never exceed 13.95%.
By comparison, the interest rate on federal fixed APR loans is 4.53% for undergraduates, 6.08% for graduate student and they do not require auto-payments while you are in school.
When you go through SoFi’s short online application process, you and your cosigner can see what rates and terms you pre-qualify for before submitting your full loan application. This will not affect yours or your co-signer’s credit score.
Here are the different payment options offered by SoFi:
For this payment plan, you start paying principal and interest payments six months after you leave school.
You would be required to pay only interest payments while you’re in school.
Pay a $25 fixed monthly payment while you’re in school.
Start paying principal and interest payments right away.
For all of these payment plans, the faster you pay, the more you can save.
If you make payments while in school and choose shorter loan terms, this will help you pay the loan off as quickly as possible. That can help you save on your overall interest charges, which in turn helps decrease your total payments on your loan.
SoFi is a digital personal finance company with a large array of financial products.
SoFi offers financial services, including borrowing, investing and saving. Members can take advantage of personal loans, home loans, private student loans and student loan refinancing. They can also create portfolios and automate investments with SoFi Invest.
