U-fi Student Loans: What Type of Loan Do They Give?

U-fi Student Loans: They offer both graduate and undergraduate students private loans and refinancing options. We are affiliated with Nelnet, a student loan service provider that works to support federal loans with the Department of Education. The lender is specialized in providing flexible options for repayment.

U-fi Student Loans

Their goal, according to their page, is to provide easy and affordable loans and refinancing to ease the burden on millions of Americans of student loan debt. We offer some interesting features in the light of this project, such as co-signer release options, good-grade discounts, and even cash-back bonuses.

What Types of Loans Does U-fi offer?

U-fi offers both private student loans and student loan refinancing. We’ll break down your options below.

  • In-School Loans for Undergraduates and Graduates
  • Student Loan Refinancing
Undergraduate student loans Graduate student loans Student loan refinancing
Loan amount $1,000 – $125,000 $1,000 – $300,000 $5,000 – $225,000
Term lengths 5 – 15 years  from 5 – 15 years 5 – 25 years
Fixed rates 4.70% – 11.73% 4.70% – 11.73% 3.55% – 6.23%
Variable rates 2.75% – 11.89% 2.75% – 11.89% 2.45% – 6.46%
Min. annual income $36,000  $ 36,000 $36,000
Grace period 6 months 6 months N/A
Rating 4.69 / 5.00 4.59 / 5.00 4.97 / 5.00

Undergraduate Loans and Graduate Loans

U-fi offers undergraduate, graduate and professional students student loans. They offer competitive rates and loan amounts, as you can see in the table above, which should meet the needs of most students. U-fi, in addition, made our list of 2019’s best student loan companies.

You have a choice of fixed or variable rate loans with a U-fi private student loan, but you have to meet the eligibility criteria below.

Eligibility criteria

  • You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and you must have a valid Social Security number.
  • Must live in any U.S. state except Vermont.
  • You must be enrolled in school at least half-time.
  • You (or a cosigner) must have at least $36,000 in annual income.
  • Neither the primary borrower nor cosigner can have a record of past defaults on a student loan or a bankruptcy filing within the past seven years.

Student Loan Refinancing

U-fi also provides refinancing loans. Borrowers may decide to withdraw a refinancing loan in order to repay and lower interest rates on current student debt.

Nevertheless, refinancing federal student loans means giving up federal borrower incentives including the ability for student loans to be forgiven and income-driven repayment plans.

The following criteria must be met in order to be eligible for a U-fi refinancing loan.

Eligibility Requirements

  • You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident with a valid Social Security number.
  • Must live in a U.S. state other than Vermont.
  • You need to have reached the legal age of majority in the area where you live.
  • You must no longer be attending school half-time or more.
  • Have a minimum of $5,000 in student loans eligible for refinancing.
  • You must be in repayment or in the grace period for any loans you’re refinancing.
  • You (or a cosigner) needs $36,000 or more in annual income.

Pros & Cons of U-fi Student Loans

Pros & Cons of U-fi Student Loans

Pros

  • Co-signer release after 24 consecutive on-time payments.
  • Flexible repayment options, including loan repayment terms as long as 15 years for in-school loans and 25 years for refinance loans.
  • The ability to get pre-approved and find out your rates without a hard credit check.
  • Loan forbearance in case of disability and private loan forgiveness in case of death.
  • U-fi doesn’t charge any fees.

Cons

  • High income requirements: Many undergraduates and new grads cannot meet the requirement to have 36,000 dollars or more in income, so cosigners are often necessary.
  • Loss of federal borrower protections: If you refinance any federal student loans, you will have more limited options for deferment and forbearance. You’ll lose the flexibility to select your repayment plan or to qualify for any type of federal loan forgiveness, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

  • Borrowers can get up to 25 years to pay off the loan.
  • The lender offers an interest rate discount for automatic payments.
  • Borrowers can make full payments or pay interest only while in school, or defer payments.

U-fi provides student loans at fixed and variable rates. Undergraduate loans vary from $1,000 to $125,000, and graduate loans vary from $1,000 to $225,000, depending on the type of borrower.

Refinancing loans start at $5,000 and can go up to $225,000 depending on the type of degree of the borrower.

The company provides multiple terms of interest for all types of loans, including five, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years.

U-fi pays no origination or prepayment fees and gives lenders who set up automatic payments a 0.25 percent interest rate discount.

For in-school loans, U-fi allows students to choose from three repayment options:

  • Full principal and interest while in school
  • Interest-only payments while in school and during a six-month grace period after graduation or falling below half-time status
  • Deferred repayment for up to 78 months while in school at least half-time plus a six-month grace period

If a debtor dies and the creditor may verify the death, it will cancel the entire amount of the loan. And, if a co-signer dies, they will be disqualified from the mortgage and the primary creditor will still have to pay off the debt. In case of permanent disability of a debtor, the loan may also be cancelled.

U-fi also offers a functionality for the co-signer release. Borrowers must make 24 consecutive, on-time payments and satisfy the credit requirements of the lender in order to qualify.

U-fi Student Loans

U-fi is not rated by the Better Business Bureau. But its parent company, Nelnet, has an A+ rating with the agency. U-fi did not have any complaints registered with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2018.

  • People who want flexible repayment options
  • Borrowers who want to avoid origination fees
  • People who are looking for a short co-signer release period

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