EdvestinU Review: Private Student Loans and Refinancing

EdvestinU is a private student loan product offered by Granite Edvance, a 60-year-old non-profit organization headquartered in New Hampshire. The lender stands out for its generous forbearance policies and exclusive benefits for New Hampshire students. Credit requirements are stricter than many other lenders, which may make it harder for some borrowers to qualify. Here's what you need to know about EdvestinU before borrowing or refinancing.

EdvestinU private student loans review

Best for: Students from New Hampshire

While EdvestinU loans are not restricted to New Hampshire residents, the lender's special Granite Edvance Student Loan for New Hampshire students offers the best financing options to those who study locally. In fact, starting interest rates are 1.5% lower for New Hampshire students than for the lender's general undergraduate student loans.

To qualify for EdvestinU's Granite Edvance Student Loan, you either need to be a New Hampshire resident or be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien who is attending a school in the state.

Pros and cons

Eligibility requirements

Here's what you need to be eligible for EdvestinU private student loan:

• A minimum individual income of $30,000
• A credit score of at least 750
• U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status, or a U.S. cosigner if you are an international student
• Enrollment at least half time in an eligible U.S. based degree-granting college or university

If you're unable to meet EdvestinU's credit and income requirements, consider applying with a cosigner who does. Students can release a cosigner from their loan after making 24 consecutive, on-time payments.

Repayment terms

EDvestinU offers several repayment plan options to its private student loan borrowers:

• Deferred: You don't have to make any payments until six months after leaving school.
• Interest-only: You make interest-only payments while in school, and then make full payments once you leave school.
• Immediate: You begin to repay the loan immediately after it's disbursed, including interest and principal payments.

EdvestinU offers multiple repayment terms for its undergraduate and graduate student loans, allowing you to choose between seven, 10, and 15-year terms.

Borrowing limits

You can borrow between $2,001 and your school's certified cost of attendance, but there's an aggregate maximum borrowing limit of $225,000.

Notable benefits

• Interest rates are 1.5 percentage points lower for New Hampshire residents.
• Local, in-person support from student loan experts is available for New Hampshire students.
• Up to 24 months of economic hardship forbearance is available if you struggle to make payments.
• All borrowers can get a 0.25 interest rate reduction for setting up automatic payments.
• There are no upfront application fees, origination fees, or prepayment penalties.

What to consider before applying

EdvestinU's competitive rates and flexible repayment terms make it a good choice, especially for New Hampshire students. However, strict credit requirements may limit access for many borrowers who don't have a credit score above 749. Applying for a cosigner may be necessary for most dependent undergraduate students.

How to apply

Here's what to do to apply for an EdvestinU student loan:

1. Click "Get Started" on Edvestinu's website: Get started by prequalifying for your loan rate in less than three minutes. This involves a soft credit check that won't impact your score.
2. Move forward with your application: The application will require you to provide your financial information and details about the type of loan you're applying for. A hard credit check is usually performed at this time, which may temporarily lower your score.
3. Upload required documentation: You'll need to provide the school name, your estimated loan amount, contact details for a personal reference, a government issued ID, and a Social Security card
4. Choose your loan terms and sign your loan documentation: You'll be able to check rates and repayment terms to pick the loan that's right for you. Then, you'll sign your loan documents electronically.
5. Finalize and certify: EdvestinU will send your loan information to your school to be certified. Funds will be released directly to your school.

EdvestinU student loan refinance review

Best for: Borrowers with high loan balances

EdvestinU has a minimum borrowing limit of $7,500 for refinance loans, and a maximum limit of $200,000. This is lower than some competitors but higher than others. You'll also be subject to a $225,000 aggregate borrowing limit for all loans from EdvestinU.

Eligibility requirements

You or your cosigner need to meet a few requirements to access EdvestinU's student loan refinancing:

• Have a minimum credit score of 700.
• Have at least $7,500 in student loans to refinance, with a maximum of $200,000.
• Earn at least $30,000 if refinancing amounts under $100,000, and at least $50,000 for amounts above that threshold.
• Have student loans used for attending a Title IV, degree-granting school (graduation is not a requirement).
• Be at least 18 years of age.
• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident that lives in an eligible state.
• Be an international student with a cosigner who's a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and who has strong credit.

You can go through the prequalification process to see if you'd be likely to qualify. If you can't qualify on your own, EdvestinU allows you to apply with a cosigner who meets its eligibility requirements.

Check out: Best student loan refinance lenders of 2024

Notable benefits

• Graduation is not a requirement to refinance.
• You can apply to refinance at any point after receiving a private loan and can even refinance only a portion of a loan if it hasn't been fully disbursed.
• There's no application fees, upfront fees, or prepayment penalties.
• You can get 0.25 percentage points off your rate by signing up for automatic payments.
• New Hamphsire students and residents get 1.5 percentage points off their interest rate.
• Borrowers have several repayment terms to choose from including 5, 10, 15, and 20- year terms.
• If you have trouble making payments, you can qualify for up to 24 months of hardship forbearance or an interest-only repayment plan for up to 12 months.

What to consider before applying

EdvestinU offers cosigner release, but you must meet strict eligibility criteria including meet the program's income and credit score requirements. To release a cosigner, you must have a minimum income of $30,000 for loans with a combined balance of $100,000 or less, or $50,000 if you refinanced more than that amount. This might make it challenging for some borrowers to qualify.

How to apply

If you're ready to apply, here are the steps you'll need to take:

1. Gather the required information: This includes your employer and income information, the lender and loan servicer name for all loans you're refinancing, the account number for each loan, the total balance outstanding on each debt, a 30-day payoff amount, a personal reference, and a government issued ID as well as a Social Security card.
2. Choose which loans to include: You can decide which loans should be part of your student loan refinance loan.
3. Start the loan process: You can click on "Get Started" to get prequalified without a hard credit check and find out your estimated rate.
4. Complete your application: This will include reviewing loan details, choosing a loan offer, providing personal information, and undergoing a hard credit check.
5. Upload requested documentation: You'll need to scan and upload required forms and documents to your computer and submit them to EdvestinU.
6. Customize and sign your loan agreement: Once you've chosen your loan and configured your rates and terms, you'll sign all the required documents. EdvestinU processes the information and issues a payoff to your existing loan servicers. This can usually take up to 30 days.

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FAQ

Is EdvestinU a trusted lending provider?

EdvestinU student loans are offered by Granite Edvance Corporation, which is a New Hampshire based non-profit that has been offering educational financing for more than 60 years. Borrowers can feel confident knowing the loans come from a trusted non-profit organization.

Is it hard to get approved for a student loan with EdvestinU?

EdvestinU indicates borrowers and cosigners must meet "certain credit standards" to be approved for a private student loan or for a student loan refinance loan. You also must have a minimum of $30,000 in income, or $50,000 if you are refinancing a student loan with a balance of $100,000 or more.

What credit score do you need for an EdvestinU student loan?

To qualify for an EdvestinU's private student loan, you must have a FICO score of at least 750. To refinance, you or your cosigner must have a minimum credit score of 700.

How long does it take to get approved for an EdvestinU student loan?

It typically takes between seven and 10 days from the time you submit your application to EdvestinU until you get loan approval. However, the timeline can vary depending how quickly you provide the required documents and how quickly Edvestinu can verify your information.