Education Loan Finance (ELFI) Review 2020: Refinance and Private Loans

Introduction

If you’ve been hunting for a new student loan or options to refinance your current one, you might want to consider Education Loan Finance. This review will clue you in on whether it’d be the best choice for your situation, and if not, which lenders might be better.

Why get a student loan from Education Loan Finance?

There are some incentives to using this service, such as the fact that there are no application fees, origination fees, or prepayment penalties when refinancing student loans. It can be used by undergraduates, grad students, and parents of students.

What student loans does Education Loan Finance offer?

You can use ELFI to take out a private student loan or to refinance a current loan that you might have. These options are available nationwide.

Student loan refinancing information

You can refinance your loan as long as you have a minimum credit rating of 680, which isn’t too high, but still might make many people ineligible. There’s no option to release your cosigner, though.

Fixed rates from:	3.19% - 5.99%
Variable rates from:	2.39% - 6.01%
Loan repayment terms:	5, 7, 10, 15 or 20 (years)
Loan amount:	$15,000 to the total of your outstanding loan balance
Late fees:	5% of the past-due amount (max $50)
Returned payment fee:	None
Prepayment penalty:	None

Private student loans

There are some reasonable private loans available with Education Loan Finance. You can finance the entire cost of your education, no matter what, which is great for those who are attending expensive colleges. However, there’s a minimum loan amount of $10,000, which is quite high, and again there’s no option to release your cosigner, except for your death.

More about rates and fees of Education Loan Finance’s loan options

Below are all the stated rates and fees:

Fixed rates from:	3.19%
Variable rates from:	2.39%
Application fee:	None
Origination fee:	None
Disbursement fee:	None
Late fee:	5% of the past-due amount (max $50)
Returned payment fee:	Not Stated
Prepayment penalty:	None

Conclusion

There are some competitive rates at Education Loan Finance: its loans are available to most people, including parents, and the threshold is limitless. You’ll also have access to a financial advisor. However, the fact that your cosigner is locked in and there’s no deferment period makes it a little less appealing.

For a more well-rounded option, try either Ascent or SoFi. These lenders also offer financial advice and service the whole nation but have significant forbearance options, which can be a lifesaver if you’re struggling financially.