ELFI Student Loans Review: Pros, Cons, And Alternatives

ELFI is a leading student loan lender offered through Southeast Bank known for having among the lowest rates in the industry coupled with the highest level of customer service through its award-winning Student Loan Advisor program.  ELFI has not-for-profit roots through SouthEast Bank’s holding company, Education Loan Finance, Inc. which has been around for over 25 years. 

While there are other options for student loan refinancing through multiple lender, ELFI provides numerous benefits that set ELFI apart from its competitors, such as loan consolidation, bonus payments, and Parent PLUS loans refinancing. 

If you have graduated from school and have a stable job, ELFI can probably help you reduce your payments and interest rate. ELFI offers competitive interest rates for student loan financing, with some of the lowest we've seen on the market.

With ELFI, you can repay your student loans efficiently on your own terms, as long as you meet the requirements outlined below. ELFI is available in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. 

ELFI Student Loan Refinancing

ELFI student loan refinancing offers several benefits and only a few, minor drawbacks. Let's take a closer look at what it has to offer for student loan borrowers.

Refinancing Rates

ELFI offers competitive refinancing rates for those who have over $10,000 in student loan debt and who qualify.

The rates are as follows:

• Variable Rate: 5.28% - 8.99% APR
• Fixed Rate: 4.84% - 8.69%% APR

You can choose from fixed or variable interest rates. A fixed interest rate will lock in the rate despite changes in the market, whereas a variable interest rate will depend on the rise and fall of the market.

Consequently, borrowers who opt for variable interest rates may end up paying a bit more over a longer period of time. Borrowers who want stable interest rates should opt for a fixed rate repayment plan.

If you go with a variable interest rate, don’t worry. ELFI’s variable rates won’t increase more than once every three months, and will never exceed 9.95%.

Repayment Terms

Refinancing is designed to result in better loan terms. ELFI’s terms are very flexible, with terms including 5, 7, 10, 15, and 20-year options. The loan terms for Federal consolidation loans can be anywhere up to 30 years.

A shorter term means a larger monthly payment but a lower interest rate, resulting in less paid over the life of the loan. A longer term may allow for a lower monthly payment, but you will pay much more overall as the interest rate will be much higher.

Parent PLUS Loan Refinancing Options
ELFI is one of the few refinancing companies that offers refinancing services for parents that have taken out student loans for their child’s college education. ELFI’s Parent PLUS loans offer a lower interest rate and better terms.

Parents are able to refinance their parent loans into the student’s name so long as there is consent from both sides and the student is willing to accept responsibility for the debt (and they qualify for it).

In addition, parents can also combine other private loans into this consolidation and refinancing plan to simplify the payment process.

Bonus Offer

ELFI has offered a generous bonus offer to readers of The College Investor who take action. Right now, they are offering up to $1,100 if you refinance your student loans with them. It breaks down like this:

• $1,100 bonus when you refinance at least $100,000 in student loans!
• $550 bonus when you refinance less than $100,000 but at least $50,000 in student loans!

Get your bonus and start the process here!

Make sure you check out our full list of Student Loan Refinancing Bonus Offers.

No Cosigner Release Option

While ELFI does allow borrowers with limited credit history to apply with a cosigner, it unfortunately does not offer any sort of release program. If you'd like to release your cosigner down the road, you'd need to apply for a new refinance loan on your own.

What Borrower Protections Are Available?

A big disadvantage is that you will lose benefits associated with your federal student loans when you refinance. For example, you won't be able to apply for income-driven repayment plans. ELFI does, however offer up 12 months of hardships forbearance.

On ELFI's private student loans, it offers a 6-month grace period and up to three years of academic deferment should you decide to go back to school. However, it's unclear whether it extends these same benefits to its refinance loan borrowers.

Qualifications

To qualify with Education Loan Finance, you must meet the following requirements.

Since you are required to have a bachelor’s degree or higher, it follows that you must graduate from college to use ELFI to refinance your student loans.

That can be tough for those that have student loans and didn't graduate. These students sometimes need the most help with their loans, and having a graduation requirement blocks them from refinancing.

Refinancing Comparison

ELFI is typically one of the best student loan refinancing lenders. They offer great rates with awesome bonus offers as well. Check out this quick comparison here:

Private Student Loans

ELFI also has great private student loans. Since they are a bank, they have access to some of the "cheapest" money available to lend. As a result, they can pass those lower rates onto you.

They offer extremely competitive rates, with standard loan terms and conditions. You can borrow from 5 to 15 years, and they can lend across the entire United States, including Puerto Rico.

The only major drawback is you must be enrolled in a bachelor's degree or more advanced education program.

ELFI also makes it on our list of best private student loan lenders.

Private Loan Rates

ELFI has very competitive loan rates. However, to get the best rates, you'll likely need to have a cosigner that is creditworthy.

Currently, the rates are:

• Fixed: 3.69% - 14.22% APR
• Variable: 6.00% - 14.22% APR

Get a private loan quote here >>

Repayment Terms

All ELFI private student loans have repayment terms from 5 to 15 years,

Undergraduate and graduate loans have four different repayment plan options: immediate, interest-only, fixed, and deferred. 

The immediate plan allows you to start repayment right away. The interest-only plan allows you to pay just the interest payments while in school. The fixed plan allows a $25 fixed monthly payment while in school, and the deferred plan allows you to defer payments while you're in school, and for a 6-month grace period after you leave school.

Private Parent Loans

ELFI also offers student loans to parents who want to pay for their children's education. While we typically don't recommend parents borrow to pay for their children's education, for some families, this could be a mathematically better option.

Parent loans are available starting at $1,000, and have repayment terms from 5 to 10 years.

Parent loans have the same repayment plan options as other private loans from ELFI.

Get a parent loan quote here >>

In-School Loan Comparison

ELFI is not the only private student loan lender that offers in-school loans. Here are some of the main ELFI alternatives for in-school private loans, including College Ave and Sallie Mae:

Are There Any Fees?

ELFI borrowers will never have to pay an origination or application fee. In addition, there is never a fee to pay off student loans early.

However, there is a fee for late payments that is the lesser of 5% of the past due amount or $50. There's also a $30 insufficient funds fee.

How Do I Contact ELFI?

ELFI will replace your existing loan servicer with MOHELA or AES - both are also federal student loan servicers. However, ELFI borrowers do have access to a team of student loan experts consistently receives high customer service scores on third-party review sites like Trustpilot. 

Here are the various ways you can get in contact with their support team:

Phone:
1-844-601-ELFI (3534)

Email:
answers@ELFI.com

Live chat or support ticket:

https://www.elfi.com/contact-elfi/

Business hours:

Monday – Thursday:
8:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Friday:
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Saturday:
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Sunday:
12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Is It Safe And Secure?

While ELFI does not handle user deposits like a bank, it does receive a lot of personal information including Social Security numbers. On its privacy page, it does say that it has taken security measures to protect its customer data. Unfortunately, it does not provide any specifics. If you'd like more details about ELFI's data collection and protection policies, you can reach out to one the company's representatives.

Why Should You Trust Us

I am America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™ and have been actively writing about and covering student loans since 2009. Myself and the team here at The College Investor have been actively tracking student loan providers since 2015 and have reviewed, tested, and followed almost every provider and lender in the space.

Furthermore, our compliance team reviews the rates and terms on these listing every weekday to ensure they are accurate. That way you can be sure you're looking at an accurate and up-to-date rate when you're comparison shopping. 

Who Is It For And Is It Worth It?

Student loan refinancing is a great option for borrowers with a stable job and high student loan debts. You can benefit from reduced monthly payments and lower interest rates that also save thousands of dollars on the original value of the loan.

Ultimately, your goal is to pay off your student loans quickly without hurting your wallet. ELFI can help you reach your goals. They have great rates and terms, and can be a good option. 

When shopping for a student loan, make sure you shop around. ELFI could be the best option, but there are other options as well. We also recommend Credible as a comparison tool to help you shop for your loans in one place.

ELFI FAQ

Here are some of the most common questions we get about ELFI:

Is ELFI legit?

Yes. ELFI is a lender that has been around since 2015 and offers competitive rates on private student loans and student loan refinancing.

Who owns ELFI?

Education Loan Finance (ELFI) is a division of Southeast Bank which is based in Knoxville, Tennessee.

What company services ELFI Loans?

ELFI uses MOHELA and AES to service its student loan accounts.

Is ELFI good for my student loans?

It could be! If you have private student loans, refinancing with ELFI could save a lot of money in interest charges. If you have federal loans, though, you should only consider refinancing if you have a stable income as you'll become ineligible for a variety of federal benefits such as income-driven repayment.

Does ELFI offer any bonuses or incentives?

Yes, ELFI is currently offering readers a bonus of to $1,100 if they refinance through our site.

ELFI Features