SoFi Student Loan Refinance Review: One of the Top Three Most Popular Lenders

What you need to know:

• SoFi is a private lender that offers student loan refinancing, along with other loan products and investment products.
• SoFi offers flexible terms with fixed or variable interest rates.
• If you refinance with SoFi, you'll get a bonus of $500 for loan amounts $100,000 or more. Note that the bonus comes directly from Student Loan Planner® and you'll need to reach out to let us know when you apply with them.

SoFi is a private lender that has refinanced over $30 billion in student loans. Its refinanced loans are serviced by MOHELA. There are no application fees, origination fees or prepayment penalty associated with SoFi student loan refinance. SoFi also refinances medical and dental resident loans and Parent PLUS loans.

Borrowers can use SoFi’s user-friendly website to view student loan refinancing options, as well as private student loans, personal loans and home loans.

SoFi student loan refinance review

SoFi offers both variable and fixed rate loans, along with several repayment terms to fit your needs. A 0.25% interest rate reduction discount is also available when you sign up for automatic payments. This autopay discount can help lower costs.

SoFi student loan refinance
Interest rates	Fixed and variable
Terms	5 to 20 years
Loan amounts	$5,000+
Cashback bonus	Up to $1,000

Pros and cons of refinancing with SoFi

Here’s a rundown of the pros and cons of refinancing your student loans with SoFi:

Pros

• User-friendly website. Navigating SoFi’s website is relatively easy, so the loan application is straightforward.
• Parent PLUS loan refinancing. SoFi allows Parent PLUS loans to be refinanced under the child’s name.
• Other services outside of refinancing. SoFi isn’t just a refinancing lender. The company also offers a range of services and perks for SoFi members and financial products including SoFi Money (money management), SoFi Invest (investments), and SoFi Protect (insurance).
• Checking rates won’t affect your credit score. Getting a rate quote involves a soft credit check that won’t impact your credit score. When you apply for a loan through SoFi, the company will perform a hard credit pull that could slightly lower your credit score.
• Forbearance options. If you become involved in a Military Mobilization or experience a natural disaster, SoFi has forbearance options available. It also provides options for loan deferment for certain scenarios, such as returning to graduate school.
• Refinancing availability. SoFi student loan refinancing is available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Cons

• No cosigner release. A cosigner can only be removed if he or she passes away. You can, however, apply for a loan refinance on your own to see if you qualify without your cosigner.
• Strict eligibility rules. Along with standard eligibility rules, like credit history, minimum credit score and employment requirements, SoFi also requires that you graduated with a degree from a Title IV school. If you have student loans but didn’t earn a degree, you will need to look elsewhere for student loan refinancing.
• Loan servicing is outsourced. SoFi’s refinanced loans are serviced by MOHELA, one of the loan servicers used by the Department of Education for federal student loans. If you’ve had issues with MOHELA servicing your federal loans, you may experience similar issues with a SoFi student loan refinance.

Eligibility requirements

Several factors go into qualifying for student loan refinancing through online lender SoFi. When determining eligibility, SoFi looks at your credit history, credit score, career experience, debt-to-income ratio and more as part of their underwriting and prequalification process. In addition to you having to meet those requirements, SoFi also requires that you graduate with at least an associate degree from a Title IV school.

You must also be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or visa holder 18 years or older.

If you don’t meet SoFi’s credit requirements, you may be eligible through the use of a cosigner. Unlike many private lenders, though, there is no cosigner release on SoFi’s refinancing loans. That's a big deal considering your cosigner may be responsible for your loan payments if you don't do your part.

Application process

You'll have a hard time finding any better SoFi student loan refinance deal that's better than our bonus of up to $500. SoFi's online lending platform is easy to use and allows borrowers to shop around for rates from SoFi and other lenders quickly.

During the application process, you’ll be asked to provide basic personal information, like your name, address, birth date and citizenship status. At this time, you’ll also need to input details on your education, income and other pertinent information.

Keep in mind that this initial application process is to prequalify for refinancing and to check rates. None of your information will be shared with SoFi until you move forward in the application process. If approved, you can review repayment plans, variable rates and fixed rates, and any minimum loan amount requirements.

Should you refinance with SoFi?

Student Loan Planner® recently surveyed over 1,600 borrowers to gain better insight into SoFi refinance reviews.

Overall, the company earned an average score for a private lender. In our survey, SoFi student loan reviews were mostly positive, but there were a couple of notable complaints to consider:

1. The fact that the loans are actually serviced by MOHELA, not SoFi, was a cause for concern.
2. Interest rates through SoFi received mixed reviews. Some respondents qualified for great rates, while others thought rates were too high through SoFi.

One respondent said:

“I really do not like that Sofi's refinanced loans are serviced by another vendor (MOHELA). It's annoying to have to log in to a separate system in order to manage my loans, and it wasn't clear in the application process that another vendor was involved.”

Another survey respondent felt that advertised rates were deceiving, while another person felt the lower rates were reserved for specific service areas.

Several respondents were pleased with the process of refinancing loans through SoFi. One respondent found SoFi's application process the easiest to use, compared to LendKey, Citizens and a few other lenders.

Where does SoFi rank compared to other lenders?

SoFi ranked fifth on our site’s survey of major refinancing lenders.

Its rating increased slightly from our previous survey taken in January 2019. However, many other lenders have surpassed SoFi based on the responses we received from people who refinanced.

Thirty-eight percent of respondents who refinanced through SoFi had six-figure student loan debt. Only 6% of respondents going through SoFi had student loan debt below $50,000.

The majority of respondents who turned to SoFi for refinancing fell into a few specific career fields. In particular, SoFi refinancing was the most popular lender among physicians, physical therapists and business careers. SoFi was also toward the top for veterinarians.

Final thoughts

SoFi earns a 4.5 out of 5 rating from Student Loan Planner®. Although it used to be the most popular lender offering refinancing, other lenders have caught up. This is evident in our SoFi student loan refinance review survey results.

Although SoFi student loan refinance could offer you a lower interest rate, especially if you’re in certain career fields, you might have better luck with another lender. It’s important to shop around to find the best rates and terms for you. When refinancing, look at your new loan terms, monthly payments, repayment options, and look at the lowest rates.