Introduction
| APR | 5.7% – 16.5% |
| Loan Amount | $0 |
| Loan Duration | 3 years |
About
Sofi is an online personal finance company that offers consumers personal loans, student loan refinancing, and mortgages. Founded in 2011 by four grad students at the Standford School of Business with the hopes of making education more affordable for those using student loans to go to college. SoFi uses an underwriting model that examines free cash flow, professional history and education in addition to a history of responsible bill payment to evaluate its borrowers. They also offer member services like networking events and access to financial advisors.
Ideal Borrower
Eligible SoFi borrowers must meet a few basic criteria common to most financial products to apply. You must be 18 years old and a US Citizen, permanent resident or visa holder. SoFi loans also have some geographical restrictions about which US state or territory you live in. You must also have a good financial history factoring in things like credit score, previous bankruptcies, and your income versus your expenses. SoFi takes into consideration your professional experience, so if you have a good job and lots of student debt at a high-interest rate, SoFi might be a good option for you. They have refinancing options aimed at medical and dental practitioners.
Best For
Since SoFi offers a variety of types of loans, there’s a wide variety of types of situations and borrowers who could be well served by SoFi. If you had to take out a lot of student loans to get into your chosen field, including your undergraduate, graduate and doctorate level education, refinancing with SoFi could be worth looking into. Since SoFi takes your current income into consideration, you might be able to get a lower interest rate on all your loans, and for busy professionals, it might be easier to manage one payment instead of multiple payments.
How to Qualify
Since there are so many factors taken into account by SoFi, the best way to find out if you qualify is to head to their website and start the application process. However, finding out your credit score in advance of applying and reviewing your credit history to make sure everything is accurate will help make the application process easier.
Additional Fees
While SoFi doesn’t charge fees for application, disbursement or early repayment, it does charge fees on payments that are more than 16 days late. The penalty is $5 or 4% of the payment, whichever is lower.