SoFi Loans Review
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SoFi is an up-and-coming star in the world of the best online loans, and rightfully so. SoFi is best known for its student loan refinancing options, which generally have lower interest rates and offers loans to people with lower credit scores. SoFi also offers actual student loans at lower interest rates, as well as mortgages and personal loans. Here’s our SoFi review, which gives a breakdown of what SoFi offers:
SoFi Loans Review
- Best For: Refinancing student loans. SoFi offers refinancing to those with lower credit scores (650 and above), which makes it easier for people to get financing.
- Interest rates: The interest rates depend on the kind of loan you are applying for, but student loan refinancing interest rates are generally 5.99% to 21.20% APR (with AutoPay).
- Loan types: SoFi is best known for student loan refinancing, but it also offers actual student loans for your (or your child’s) education. In addition, it also offers mortgages and personal loans.
- Unemployment protection: SoFi offers up to 12 months of protection from paying on your loan if you become unemployed. This is a great feature, although some lenders offer a longer period if you’re unable to pay due to unemployment.
- Customer Service: SoFi is best known for its customer service skills and making loans accessible to a wider range of people.
SoFi is a financial company offering members a wide range of personal finance and lending services. Member services include:
- Student loan refinancing
- Parent loans
- Parent PLUS loan refinancing
- Mortgage loans
- Mortgage refinancing
- Personal loans
- Wealth management
- Life insurance
SoFi is different from traditional banks. Instead of accessing your FICO credit score to determine whether you qualify for a loan program, SoFi looks at where you are today and where you’re headed. They take into account your career experience, education level, monthly income and expenses, and financial history to assess your membership holistically.
SoFi is a popular personal finance company that has disrupted the lending, finance and wealth management space. SoFi’s approach to lending is different: Whereas banks look at a person as a number — most times as a FICO credit score — SoFi has decided to approach this member partnership more holistically.
They see their members as people who want to accomplish goals, save money and achieve financial greatness, and they see themselves as partners in bringing those goals to fruition. Their name is derived from “social finance” for that very reason: people are at the center of SoFi’s mission. This value is core to SoFi and the daily activities of every employee — so much so that CEO, Chairman and co-founder Mike Cagney takes the time to respond personally to many member feedback inquiries; he also hosts regular dinners at his home with customers to better understand their financial goals.
SoFi offers many personal finance services, ranging from lending and refinancing to wealth management, much like other loan services like Upstart. Here is our full Upstart review to compare the services.
SoFi is committed to helping members achieve their financial goals, and this commitment has shown in their results. To date, the company has served more than 225,000 members, issued more than $15 billion in loans and saved members an estimated $1.45 billion.
SoFi’s success is due to the fact that they aren’t a firm, traditional bank. Whereas a bank assesses the risk and potential payout of accepting a loan application, SoFi can see the possibility of helping real people achieve their goals. They also provide holistic member benefits outside of lending, including:
- Career strategy: SoFi will help you prep and spruce up your resume as you look to launch your career or land that new job. They have a team of career strategists ready to help members for free at any time.
- Unemployment protection: If you find yourself out of a job, your SoFi membership helps you put payments on a temporary pause until you get back on your feet.
- Wealth advisors: When you borrow money with SoFi, you automatically gain free access to their team of wealth advisors.
- Entrepreneur program: Pause your repayment as you grow a company of your own. SoFi’s entrepreneur program gives you access to mentors, resources, investors and a peer network that can help you launch your own business.
- Community events: SoFi hosts happy hours, panel sessions and networking events to connect members to other members in their area.
- Referral program: Members can make money by referring friends, family and colleagues to try out SoFi’s membership services.
- Trusted security: SoFi uses 256-bit SSL encryption to keep all member information safe, and the company is backed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
SoFi offers parents the opportunity to borrow money to pay for their child’s college education. With lower interest rates than most other lenders, SoFi can help parents save a lot of money down the road. Parents have rapidly come to see SoFi as their lender of choice.
A SoFi parent loan is different from a federal parent PLUS loan in several important ways. Parents are charged a 4.292 percent origination fee for a PLUS loan, and parents get a 0 percent origination fee with SoFi. If you have a strong financial history, you might benefit from exploring SoFi’s interest rates. With a PLUS loan from the Department of Education, every borrower gets the same rate of 6.84 percent regardless of credit history. SoFi’s current rates start as low as 3.105 percent. SoFi also offers parent loans for parents of graduate students, an option not available with the Department of Education.
In addition to competitive rates, parents also receive other perks. Career strategy services come free for all members, meaning students who are seeking employment after college can leverage SoFi’s team of career strategists as they work to launch their career and land their first big job. That also means parents who helped fund their child’s education can relax knowing their money was well spent.
Creditble and LendKey are other loan services that offers student loans and student loan refinancing. Here is our full Credible review and our full LendKey review.
SoFi Student Loan Rates
SoFi is able to offer some of the most competitive student loan rates on the market. The best way to understand what your SoFi student loan interest rate might be is to visit their website or contact one of their representatives.
SoFi offers two types of student loan refinancing: student refinancing and parent PLUS refinancing. Members who refinance with SoFi save an average of $228 per month and $22,359 total.
SoFi’s student loan refinancing perks include:
- Bundle private and federal: SoFi was the first lender ever to allow members to consolidate federal loans and private loans. It’s still one of the few lenders that can offer students and parents this benefit.
- Fewer fees: SoFi doesn’t charge application or origination fees, unlike the Department of Education and some other lending companies.
- Easy application: A simple online application allows potential members to see, in two minutes or less, how much money they would save over time.
SoFi has been featured as a game-changing lending leader in major publications like The New York Times, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal and American Banker. These SoFi reviews talk about how the innovative approach of SoFi is changing the online loans — and specifically, the student loan refinancing — game.
In addition to the financial industry taking notice, members are quick to contribute member reviews like the ones below. Visit the website to read more SoFi reviews and see what members have to say about SoFi’s refinancing options.
“I know I’m making progress and [SoFi has] given me the freedom to invest that money in other assets. My debt is there, but it isn’t holding me back. I tell everyone about SoFi — it’s the easiest thing. Before, I had three different loans and it was frustrating. Now I pay one, and I’m saving 2 percent in interest every month — that is a huge savings for me every month.” — Dr. Jared Pool
“Making it happen was simple. I’ve been a customer for almost two years and it’s been great. Refinancing with SoFi helped me pay my bills and manage my money, which has enabled me manage my finances through the launch of my startup.” — Chris Martinez
“Not only does SoFi provide low interest rates, but they have a seamless process, a tech-savvy website and amazing customer service. They actually make me feel good about borrowing money from them.” — Taryn B.
“I’ll admit it. I’m obsessed with SoFi. I discovered SoFi and began the process of refinancing my loans, which led to over $5,000 in savings on interest. SoFi has shown time and time again that they are truly invested in my personal and professional success!” — Jennifer Beall
Kickstarting your path to financial greatness is easy with SoFi, but do your research before you commit. Will a student loan, student loan refinancing or parent PLUS loan refinancing plan set you up for a better financial future? Read other SoFi reviews and learn more about SoFi today with a simple Google search on the company.
You can also go online at SoFi to see if you qualify for one of their student loan or loan refinance programs, or contact a SoFi representative to get started. You can also look at OppLoans for an alternative loan option. Here is our full review of OppLoans.
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