Education Loan Finance Student Loans: 2024 Review

Education Loan Finance features

Education Loan Finance offers undergraduate loans, graduate loans, health care loans, law school loans, MBA loans, parent loans and student loan refinancing. Low fees, competitive annual percentage rates (APRs), a wide selection of student loan products and reliable customer service make ELFI worth considering.

One of ELFI’s more unique features is its application process. Each applicant is assigned a student loan advisor. This advisor will guide you through the process and answer questions along the way. Unlike some student loan lenders, co-signers aren’t mandatory. However, you can use a co-signer to help qualify if needed.

Education Loan Finance: In the details

Education Loan Finance student loan requirements

In order to quality for an ELFI student loan, you and/or your co-signer must:

To qualify for ELFI student loan refinancing, you must:

Who is this loan good for?

An ELFI student loan is a solid choice for students attending one of its approved schools who have a trusted co-signer or an established financial history. It’s also a good option for students who need higher loan amounts and who value one-on-one customer service. However, if your credit history is weaker and you don’t have a well-qualified co-signer, consider another lender without a co-signer requirement.

Interest rates

ELFI offers both variable and fixed interest rates on all of its student loan products. ELFI doesn’t offer any specific discounts, claiming that autopay discounts are already rolled into its pricing. Its variable-rate loans are subject to an 18 percent rate cap.

Here are the ranges for all of the loan products that it offers:

Fees and penalties

ELFI charges no application or origination fees on its refinance and private student loans. However, you can be hit with a late fee of 5 percent of the unpaid amount or $50 (whichever is less) if you fail to make your monthly payment within 10 days of the payment due date. You could also be subject to a $30 returned payment fee.

Repayment terms and grace period

ELFI offers five- to 15-year repayment terms on its private student loans and five- to 20-year terms on student loan refinancing. In both cases, parents have a 10-year cap.

Here are the repayment options for a private student loan:

• Immediate: The loan term begins when funds are disbursed to the school. You make full principal and interest payments while in school.
• Interest-only: Make interest-only payments while in school and throughout the grace period. Full payment of principal and interest begins after the grace period ends.
• Fixed: Make $25 payments while in school and during the grace period. You begin paying principal and interest after grace period ends.
• Deferred: No payments will be made while in school or during the grace period. Full payments of principal and interest will begin after the grace period ends.

Refinancing borrowers have fewer options. Unless ELFI grants you a deferment, your monthly payments on your principal and interest begin the month after disbursement.

How to apply for a loan with Education Loan Finance

The application process for every ELFI student loan product is completed online and can be done in a matter of minutes, according to the website. After completing the application, you’ll be assigned your own student loan advisor to assist you with any questions you may have about the process.

In order to speed up the application process, you and your co-signer will need to have these documents on hand:

• Pay stubs documenting the last 30 days of payment (if currently employed).
• The previous year’s W-2 form.
• A form of government-issued identification.

There may be additional documentation needed depending on your current income or the income of your co-signer. If this is the case, your student loan advisor will be available to walk you through the process.

Customer service

ELFI gets an “A+” from the Better Business Bureau, though it isn’t accredited by the BBB. This score takes into account customer complaints and how the company responds to those complaints. You can reach out to ELFI through phone, email or an online contact form.

You can call or text seven days a week at 844-601-3534. The available hours are:

• Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.
• Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
• Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET.

You can also reach out to customer support at any time with questions at answers@ELFI.com or on the website’s contact form.

Education Loan Finance frequently asked questions

Methodology

The Bankrate team evaluated over 20 lenders to select our top picks for the best student loans. To do this, Bankrate considers 14 factors, including loan amounts, fees, repayment terms and options, as well as fixed and variable APR ranges. Then, lenders are rated using our vetting system known as the Bankrate Score, which focuses on three main categories.

• Availability: We looked at minimum and maximum loan amounts, as well as the lender’s eligibility requirements, co-signer option, degrees covered and state availability. Lenders that offered the most flexibility as well as nationwide servicing and that offered financing for a variety of programs ranked higher in this section.
• Affordability: Fixed and variable interest rates, fees, penalties and discounts were measured in this category. Lenders with the lowest rates, fewer fees and multiple discounts got the higher scores.
• Customer experience: Our team looked at the ease of the application process, as well as online account management tools, customer support hours, app availability, repayment options and grace periods offered by the lenders. This allowed us to determine the lenders’ ability to satisfactorily serve customers.

Editorial disclosure: All reviews are prepared by Bankrate.com staff. Opinions expressed therein are solely those of the reviewer and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including rates and fees, presented in the review is accurate as of the date of the review. Check the data at the top of this page and the lender’s website for the most current information.

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