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SoFi Student Loan Refinance Review


ConsumersAdvocate.org Rating: 5 / 5 (Excellent)
12 Customer Comments & Reviews - see all comments
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SoFi is an online lender that offers personal loans, mortgages, and student loan refinancing, among other products.

The company uses a selective loan approval process, which takes into consideration applicants' estimated cash flow, career and education history to offer low-interest rates to its customers.
 
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How is SoFi rated?

Breakdown

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

Overall Rating: 5 / 5 (Excellent)

SoFi is one of the leading online lenders currently offering student loan refinancing.

Borrowers with undergraduate, graduate, parent, and medical residency loans can refinance through SoFi and obtain excellent member-only benefits, such as payment deferment, career coaching, and access to wealth management advisors.

The company's list of qualification requirements may exclude a substantial segment of prospective borrowers, yet their competitive interest rates and solid reputation place them among our top choices for student loan refinancing.

SoFi Loan Specifics

Loan Specifications - 5 / 5

SoFi refinances loans for parents, undergraduate, graduate, and medical residency students.

Unlike many lenders, the company allows borrowers to enter deferment if they go back to school at least half-time, participate in disability rehab, or are active military service members. Student visa holders are also eligible.

The company does not charge origination or prepayment fees. SoFi student loans are serviced by MOHELA, a third-party loan servicer.

Borrowers who sign up for auto-pay may receive a 0.25% interest rate discount.

Minimum loan amounts for residents of the state of California is $10,000.
Maximum Loan Amount
The full balance of all qualified education loans
Terms
5
7
10
15
20
Rates
Fixed
Variable
Fixed APR Range
5.24% - 9.99% (with autopay)
Variable APR Range
6.24% - 9.99% APR (with autopay)
Repayment Options
Full Repayment
Deferment or Forbearance

*

Fixed rates range from 5.24% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount. Variable rates range from 6.24% APR to 9.99% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates on 5-, 7-, and 10-year terms are capped at 13.95% APR; 15- and 20-year terms are capped at 13.95% APR. SoFi rate ranges are current as of 02/06/24 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 you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. 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. 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. You may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term.

SoFi Qualifications

Eligibility Requirements - 5 / 5

To qualify for student loan refinancing with SoFi, borrowers must be at least 18 and U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

SoFi verifies employment and income history, as well as a "responsible financial history."

Another requirement is having an associate degree or a 4-year degree from an accredited higher education institution.

The company also says it considers other factors when deciding if a loan is eligible, such as "financial history, career experience, and monthly income vs. expenses."

Minimum Credit Score: Not all applicants who meet SoFi’s minimum credit score requirements are approved for student loan refinancing.

In addition to meeting SoFi’s minimum eligibility criteria, applicants must also meet other credit and underwriting requirements to qualify.
Excluded Loan Types
Bar loans and residency loans are not eligible for refinancing.
Citizenship Requirement
U.S. Citizen
Permanent Legal Resident
Minimum Credit Score
650 FICO
Income Verification

SoFi Customer Experience

Customer Experience - 5 / 5

SoFi customers get many benefits by being a member of the institution.

Career Coaches and Wealth Advisors are available to consumers.

Additionally, SoFi members can get a 0.125% discount on other loan products like mortgages or personal loans.
Online Quotes
Student Loan Refinance Calculator
Services
Career Support

SoFi Company Reputation

Reputation - 5 / 5

SoFi has earned an A rating with the BBB since its inception in 2011, partly due to its commitment to responding to negative customer reviews on the organization's website. Some common concerns among consumers are that the company allegedly turns borrowers down after initial approval and its loan application process can be somewhat complicated.

SoFi has a 3.7 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot.com.

Comments about financial services companies skew negative across the board, so SoFi's ratings with the BBB and Trust Pilot are not particularly surprising.
Lender Type
Online Lender
Year Founded
2011
BBB Rating
A
Number of BBB Positive Reviews
29
Number of BBB Negative Reviews
113
Trustpilot Rating
3.7 out of 5
Date Collected
2020-06-30

Disclaimer

To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in an eligible state and meet SoFi's underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. To qualify for the lowest rate, you must have a responsible financial history and meet other conditions. If approved, your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, a responsible financial history, years of experience, income and other factors. Rates and Terms are subject to change at anytime without notice and are subject to state restrictions. SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers such as Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment or PAYE. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Financing Law License No. 6054612. SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Lending Corp., NMLS # 1121636. (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) 

Company's Disclosure

NOTICE: The debt ceiling legislation passed on June 2, 2023, codifies into law that federal student loan borrowers will be reentering repayment. The US Department of Education or your student loan servicer, or lender if you have FFEL loans, will notify you directly when your payments will resume.

If you are a federal student loan borrower you should take time now to prepare for your payments to restart, including the opportunity to refinance your student loan debt at a lower APR or to extend your term to achieve a lower monthly payment. Please note that once you refinance federal student loans you will no longer be eligible for current or future flexible payment options available to federal loan borrowers, including but not limited to income based repayment plans or extended repayment plans.

Company Profile

Full Name
SoFi Student Loan Refinance
Company Website
https://www.sofi.com/
Headquarters
234 First Street, San Francisco, CA, 94105

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12 Customer Comments & Reviews

Loading Reviews ...
nichole.manning
11/17/2021
Originally approved saying no other info was necessary, then an email asking for paystubs, then another email and a call to ask for 5 other documents, and THEN, after the hard inquiry hit on my credit, I was denied. My credit score is 767. Frustrated.

Dave B
9/7/2018
I was denied for refinancing at the last second, even though my income/financial proof makes me more than eligible. Terrible experience. Do yourself a favor and go elsewhere.

Z
Zachary B
9/24/2017
I was declined refinancing of my student loans literally within minutes of myself and my co-signor submitting our applications. I called SoFi to find out the reasons for my denial. Their reasoning was that my income was lower than my credit obligations. I found this interesting as my yearly income actually supersedes my credit obligation by over $10,000. The SoFi representative further explained to me that based on their statistical programming, which includes ESTIMATING my cost of living, I would not be able to afford my monthly payments. They of course could not tell me the statistics of my estimated living costs because it is all done automatically through a program, no one actually... Read More

A
Anonymous
6/9/2017
I applied and was approved in a timely manner. My interest rate was awesome compared to what I'm at with the Feds. I just now have to decide whether or not I want to give up my rights that the Feds offer with repayment options over the life of the loan.

J
Jennifer
4/12/2017
Awful awful experience. Please do not go through the trouble of refinancing with this company because should you ever need a forebearance of any sort (like if you lose your job) they will ask you to jump through a million hoops of documentation and paperwork and then deny you.

N
Nicole
3/30/2017
Complete Joke! After a whooping 3 min application review, I am told I can't proceed without a consigner. I haven't been asked to provide a consigner since college years. I have a house , car and all bills and credit cards ALL in just my name . You're a complete joke SoFI!

J
jim
3/10/2017
I tried this out per a friend's suggestion. I have been paying my son's loans off on time every time for 12 years. I am currently financed with Sallie Mae, purchased and now with Navient. Each year I pay 4000+ in interest and 2.5 G in principal. So I go to Sofi and they ask for bank statements, deposit records, loan records, loan payment records, copies of paychecks and 1099s for 3 years. My credit score is high 7s. Back and forth - more info, more info etc etc etc, then they said no. This took over 2 months. I make 200G+ per year. Something here tells me that there is more going on than just refinancing loans. I left 2 reviews a month ago and they never showed up, which make me suspicious... Read More

Jeremy O
3/7/2017
Please ignore my last review. I was remarking about another student loan refinance company. SoFi promptly responded to my concern and answered my questions. They (Mitsy) were very prompt and courteous.

J
jim
2/27/2017
i have paid 740.0 per month for my son's student loan for the past 10 year, without a glitch. My income is consistently over 180G per year. my credit score is 740. they asked me to give them bank statements, copies of pay checks for the last year, 1099s for 3 years. I provided everything they asked for, they reviewed for 2 months and denied me. this place is a fkg joke. I should have checked to see if they were accredited by the BBB BEFORE I invested all my time and effort in them. Now they have all my info - all of it. Beware.

Keyrah T
2/10/2017
This company is a complete scam. Do not waste your time. They are going to try to charge you a processing fee that is astronomical and not change your interest rate at all regardless of what they offer on their website because according to their operators, the rates are set by the government.

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Best for Competitive Rates and Flexible Terms

  • No fees at all -- no charges for origination, late, or insufficient funds.
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  • Up to 20-year loan terms
  • Get a 0.125% discount on other SoFi loan products
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