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Discover®️ Student Loan Refinance Review


ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 4.6 / 5 (Excellent)
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Discover Student Loans is the property of Discover Bank, a financial institution with half a century of experience in the industry. Discover Bank offers traditional banking services as well as a student loan consolidation option for both federal and private student loans insured by the FDIC. The company is headquartered in Riverwoods, IL.

How is Discover rated?

Breakdown

4.5/5
Loan Specifications
4.5/5
Eligibility Requirements
4.5/5
Customer Experience
5.0/5
Reputation

Overall Rating: 4.6 / 5 (Excellent)

Discover is an excellent choice for borrowers who want to consolidate their private or federal student loans. The company has a solid industry reputation, and its comprehensive website offers a wealth of information about consolidation loans and other financial products for student borrowers. Discover allows borrowers to consolidate while in school and offers generous deferment and forbearance options.

Discover Loan Specifics

Loan Specifications - 4.5 / 5

Discover offers private student loan consolidation for both federal and private student loans with variable or fixed interest rates, two loan terms, and no fees or prepayment penalties. Borrowers can consolidate while attending school as long as they are at least half-time students. The APRs listed include the 0.25% rate reduction discount for enrolling in automatic payments. The company offers generous deferment options, including those for active military servicemembers, public servants in certain eligible programs, and medical residents. The maximum loan amount is $150,000, but higher amounts may be available depending on the borrower's highest degree. Additionally, the company offers loan forgiveness in the event the borrower dies or becomes permanently disabled.
Loan Types
Federal
Private
Maximum Loan Amount
$150,000
Terms
10
20
Rates
Fixed
Variable
Fixed APR Range
5.24%–8.24%
Variable APR Range
4.74%–7.99%
Repayment Options
Full Repayment
Deferment or Forbearance

Discover Qualifications

Eligibility Requirements - 4.5 / 5

To qualify for private student loan consolidation through Discover, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident with a U.S. address with no more than $150,000 in private student loans. There doesn't appear to be a minimum credit score or earned degree requirement, yet the company does carry out an income verification and positive repayment check on all applicants. Consolidation loans are only available for primary borrowers, meaning cosigners cannot ask to have loans consolidated on their own. Ineligible loan types include K-12 loans, postgraduate loans, loans not used for qualified education expenses, loans taken out while enrolled in less than halftime status, and those originated or serviced outside of the United States.
Excluded Loan Types
Loans for K-12 education, Post-graduate, Loans for other than qualified education expenses, Loans taken when enrolled less than half-time, and Loans from outside of the United States
Citizenship Requirement
U.S. Citizen
Permanent Legal Resident
Income Verification
Positive Repayment History

Discover Customer Experience

Customer Experience - 4.5 / 5

Discover's comprehensive website offers easy-to-understand information on private student loan consolidation and related financial products. Borrowers can apply for consolidation loans at any time of day, whether online or over the phone. Discover also provides a refinance calculator, 24/7 live chat, and an auto-payment interest rate reduction discount of 0.25%.
Processing Time
15 minutes
Student Loan Refinance Calculator
Services
Live Chat
Discounts
Automatic Payments

Discover Company Reputation

Reputation - 5 / 5

Discover has a Better Business Bureau rating of A+ with 48 negative reviews that are unrelated to its student consolidation loan service. The company seems to be responsive to feedback, providing satisfactory resolutions in a timely manner. It also has a great Trustpilot score of 8.4 based on mostly positive customer feedback.
Lender Type
Bank
Year Founded
1985
BBB Rating
A+
Number of BBB Positive Reviews
0
Number of BBB Negative Reviews
43
Trustpilot Rating
8.4 out of 5
Date Collected
2018-04-04

Company Profile

Full Name
Discover®️ Student Loan Refinance
Company Website
Headquarters
2500 Lake Cook Road, Riverwoods, IL, 60015

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Customer Comments & Reviews

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J
julie L
7/27/2016
The interest rate on the student loan constantly increases. They make a lot of money of the poor. Its a profitable business model for them. Its not solvent for the consumer. I am very sorry I took out a loan from them as I become deeper and deeper in debt. It is more like a credit card then a student loan and the company doesn't support the consumer until they are reported to CFPB. They misapplied payments multiple times. It took an unbelievable amount of effort to get them to fix that. If they can't apply payments correctly, they can't be trusted to handle money. I should have gone to a local credit union.



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