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Education Loan Finance (ELFI) Reviews

9.2

bestfor-icon Affordable private student loans

angelawatson
Written by Angela Mae

About ELFI (Education Loan Finance) | Read More

9

LS Score

10

Credibility

10

Support

8

Accessibility

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Opening Hours Opening Hours drop-down-btn
Mon-Thu 8am-8pm EST
Fri 10am-5pm EST
Sat 10am-4pm EST
Sun Closed
Contact Information Contact Information drop-down-btn
  • answers@ELFI.com
  • 1-844-601-3534
  • Headquarters: 12700 Kingston Pike Farragut, TN 37934
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ELFI (Education Loan Finance) Student Loans Review

Education Loan Finance offers private student loans and student loan refinancing for student and parent borrowers. The lender has relatively high eligibility requirements, but its loans come with low starting interest rates – variable and fixed.

Loan terms are also flexible, making them more manageable for borrowers than those offered by many other private lenders. Plus, the loans come in nearly any amount – from $1,000 for private student loans and from $10,000 for refinanced loans.

ELFI (Education Loan Finance) Student Loans Highlight

680

Min Credit Score

4.48-12.29%

APR. Fixed Rate

4.98-12.29%

APR. Variable Rate

Min $1K

Loan Amount

5, 7, 10, 15, or 20 years

Repayment terms

Yes

Soft Credit Pull

Direct

Lender Type

None

Other Fees

None

Origination Fee

None

Prepayment Fee

21 days

Funding Time

Student Loan Refinance

Min 5.08%

APR. Fixed Rate

5.28-8.99%

APR. Variable Rate

Min $10K

Loan Amount

Pros & Cons

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  • con-icon Borrowers connect with an experienced student loan advisor who can help them understand the impact of student loans on their finances and credit
  • con-icon Private loans available in high amounts (up to the amount approved by the school for the academic semester or year)
  • con-icon Deferment and forbearance available to student borrowers enrolled in a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral program at least half-time
  • con-icon Option to refinance parent PLUS loans under the student’s name
  • con-icon No co-signer release option unless the primary borrower refinances their loan
  • con-icon Higher loan minimums than is standard
  • con-icon Good credit (680+) or co-signer, 36+ months of credit history, and a $35,000 minimum yearly income needed to qualify

Student Loan Type

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  • Private student loans
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ELFI (Education Loan Finance) Student Loans Terms & Requirements

Education Loan Finance has somewhat high eligibility requirements for student – and parent – loan borrowers. This includes good credit and credit history and a minimum income. The student must also be currently enrolled at least half-time in a qualifying Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degree program to qualify. Parent borrowers also have to meet certain requirements (ex. support the student financially for 6+ months of the year).

That said, ELFI’s student loans come at competitive rates and have flexible terms. Their refinancing option are also affordable and can save the borrower thousands of dollars over the life of their loan.

How to Apply

ELFI’s online application process is straightforward, easy to navigate, and free. It also comes with a prequalification option that lets the applicant check their rates without affecting their credit score.

To get started, click “Find my rate” and create an account using your first and last name, email address, and a password. From there, select “Refinancing Loan” or “In-School Loan,” depending on what you need.

When applying for a private student loan, be prepared to answer the following:

  • Full name
  • Social Security Number
  • Physical address
  • School’s name
  • Degree name
  • Current academic year – start and end dates
  • Expected graduation date
  • Enrollment status

Co-signers and parent borrowers must either fill out a separate application or link their information to the student’s account. ELFI requires roughly the same information from them as it does from the student borrower.

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Create an account

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Type of student loan

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Student/parent/co-signer

After finishing the initial application, ELFI will assign a student loan advisor to help you through the remainder of the process. Be prepared to provide additional information, such as:

  • Proof of income and employment (ex. W-2 forms, federal tax returns, recent pay stubs, etc.)
  • Government-issued ID

When you apply for a loan or refinancing, the lender will perform a hard credit check and go over your documentation. If approved, they’ll send you a loan offer with the full terms to review.

Required Information

To begin the prequalification process, the applicant must provide certain personal and financial information. This includes proof of income and employment, proof of identity, and information about their school and degree program. Any co-signers or parent borrowers must have similar information (as pertains to them).

State Availability

- Available in all states

angelawatson
Written by Angela Mae

Angela Mae is a personal finance writer specializing in loans, debt management, investing, retirement planning, and financial literacy. She comes from a journalistic background and pulls from hands-on experience and deep-dive research to breathe life into her stories. Her goal is to help others achieve financial stability and independence. When not writing, she can be found traveling, honing her yoga skills, hiking, or exploring new means of healthy, sustainable living.

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FAQ’s

How can an ELFI private student loan be used?

These private loans range from $1,000 up to the full yearly cost of the borrower’s education and can be used for nearly anything related to academic expenses. This includes things like tuition, room and board, books, and transportation.

Does ELFI offer forbearance or deferment on its student loans?

Student borrowers have up to 6 months after leaving school before they have to start repaying their loans. Depending on their repayment plan, they may also have automatic deferment. If a borrower experiences a financial hardship, they may also have up to 12 months of forbearance. Interest will still accrue during this time.

What does a student loan advisor do?

A student loan advisor can help student and parent borrowers with everything from applying for a loan to creating the best repayment plan. They can also help borrowers with things like delayed payments or past-due accounts.

Customer Support

Education Loan Finance has an excellent customer support team. This includes experienced student loan advisors who are committed to helping borrowers throughout the entire funding process. ELFI is also very responsive with regular business hours, which are:

  • Monday to Thursday: 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (EST)
  • Friday: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (EST)
  • Saturday: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM (EST)

Whether you have a question about the lending process, your loan’s terms, or something else, you can expect a response quickly. You can call them (1-844-601-3534) during business hours or email them at answers@ELFI.com with your query. Alternatively, you can use their online contact form.

Most online reviews are positive, particularly when it comes to customer support and how easy the application process is. On Trustpilot, for example, ELFI has 4.9 out of 5 stars with 1,926 reviews.

Privacy & Security

Like many other online student loan lenders, Education Loan Finance has a strict privacy and security policy. It collect certain personal data through its website, applications, and electronic communications. However, it draws the line at collecting financial information obtained through the online application.

The lender also discourages minors – anyone under the age of 13 – from using its website. If a child does use the website and ELFI finds out about it, it strives to remove any related data.

Education Loan Finance is not responsible for how third-party websites might collect, use, track, or share users’ data. In some cases, ELFI may share this information with partner websites, as well as subsidiaries and affiliates.

In Conclusion

Education Loan Finance offers private student loans to students (undergraduate and graduate) and parent borrowers. It also does student loan refinancing for those looking for better rates or to reduce monthly payments. These loans come in a wide range of amounts, so they’re good for covering any financial gaps in education.

ELFI also has excellent end-to-end customer support. The main downside is that it doesn’t have a co-signer release. In other words, the original borrower has to refinance their loan to remove their co-signer. Additionally, to qualify for the best rates, the borrower will need to meet higher eligibility requirements than is standard in the industry.

Brand Disclaimer

*Education Loan Finance is a nationwide student loan debt consolidation and refinance program offered by Tennessee based SouthEast Bank. ELFI is designed to assist borrowers through consolidating and refinancing loans into one single loan that effectively lowers your cost of education debt and/or makes repayment very simple. Subject to credit approval. See Terms & Conditions. Interest rates current as of 10-01-2022. The interest rate and monthly payment for a variable rate loan may increase after closing, but will never exceed 9.95% APR. Interest rates may be different from the rates shown above and will be based on the term of your loan, your financial history, and other factors, including your cosigner’s (if any) financial history. See Eligibility Requirements for more information. For example, a 10-year loan with a fixed rate of 6% would have 120 payments of $11.10 per $1,000 borrowed. Rates are subject to change.

†Notice for Federal Student Loan Borrowers: On 8/24, the White House announced up to $10,000 in forgiveness on federal student loans for qualified borrowers and up to $20,000 qualifying for Pell Grant recipients and suspended federal student loan payments with 0% interest until 12/31/22. Before refinancing federal student loans, keep in mind that doing so will cause you to lose access to future benefits applied to federally-held loans. Learn more.