SoFi Student Loan Refinance Review

Our Rating: B- ⓘ (Compare)

SoFi student loan refinancing may be a good option for health professionals and borrowers with excellent credit. SoFi offers debt relief and competitive low rates. Federal investigations of the company overall, however, report misleading advertisements, including offers of bonus cash and inflated savings.

*Lowest rates always include the 0.25% interest reduction for auto-pay.

Skip to: Rates & Fees | Eligibility Requirements | Repayment Options | Consumer Reviews & Complaints | FAQ

†Parents may refinance their own parent loans or transfer the debt to their child.

SoFi Refinance Rates & Fees

Social Finance, Inc. (SoFi) offers fixed and variable rates for student, parent, and medical/dental resident loan refinancing.

Note that the lowest rates always include 0.25% autopay discount.

Additional information about Sofi refinance rates:

• Residents can reduce their payments to as low as $100 for up to four (4) years while they are in residency.
• SoFi also offers specialized refinancing and rates under their Medical Professional Refinancing and Law & MBA Refinancing programs.
• Checking your rate with SoFi will not affect your credit score. They will conduct a soft, not hard, credit inquiry (learn the difference).
• Variable rates are based on the 30-day SOFR (5.14% as of this writing).
• Variable rates are capped at 10.95%.

SoFi refinance rates recent history:

Over a two-year period (2022-2024), SoFi increased its lowest and highest available student refinance APRs by an average of 115%.

In 2023, SoFi raised its lowest available fixed interest rate for new standard student refinance loans by 31.3% (from 3.99% APR). The highest available fixed rate for new loans increased 7.1% (from 9.19% APR). While the lowest available starting variable interest rate rose 36.5% (from 4.57% APR) and the highest available rate went up 9.8% (from 9.19% APR).

In 2022, SoFi raised its lowest and highest fixed rates 60.2% and 27.8%, respectively; its lowest and highest variable rates increased 162.6% and 34.4%.

Parent PLUS refinancing fixed rates range from 5.24% to 9.59% and variable rates start between 6.24% and 9.84%. For medical and dental resident refinancing, fixed rates are between 6.39% and 9.84% while variable rates start between 6.39% and 9.84%.

Additional Fees

Beyond interest rates, there are a number of fees a refinance lender may charge up-front or during the loan servicing period. Below is a list of these fees that Sofi does or does not charge.

1. Application fee – fee to apply for rates & approval.
2. Loan origination fee – fee to create the new loan.
3. Disbursement fee – fee for distributing funds to lenders to pay off loans that have been refinanced.
4. Prepayment penalty – fee for making extra payments to reduce a refinance loan balance or pay it off early.
5. Late payment fee – fee for making a late payment. SoFi does not charge a late payment fee for individual monthly payments received within two weeks of the due date.
6. Returned payment fee – fee for failed payments due to insufficient funds, also known as a “bounced check”.
7. Collection fee – fee for collecton activity on a defaulted debt.

Current Promotions & Offers

SoFi offers a 0.25% interest rate reduction when you enroll in automatic payments. A referral program is available with some loan products. Borrowers can earn up to $1,000 per referral for a lifetime total of $10,000; other restrictions apply.

Other bonus offers include a Guaranteed Rate Match Offer (qualifying borrowers may receive up to $100); additional terms and conditions apply.

SoFi Refinance Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for refinancing with SoFi, all borrowers must meet the criteria below.

• Citizenship Requirement: U.S. citizenship or permanent residence -OR- a creditworthy co-signer with U.S. citizenship or permanent residence.
• Income Requirement: a steady source of income -OR- will have a steady source of income within 90 days of application.
• Credit Score Requirement: there is no minimum, but applicants with credit scores below 700 are rarely accepted.
• Graduation Requirement: an associates degree or higher from a Title IV accredited school.
• Location Requirement: borrowers may be residents of any of the 50 states or the District of Columbia.

Additional restrictions apply for specific individuals and loans.

• To qualify for medical resident student loan refinancing (MRSLR), borrowers must have a minimum of $10,001 in debt.
• MRSLR is only available to medical and dental graduates.
• Medical and dental residents and fellows with up to four years left in their approved program are eligible for MRSLR.
• In Connecticut and Kentucky, the minimum debt for MRSLR is $15,001; in Pennsylvania, the minimum debt is $25,001.
• Residents of Mississippi and Montana are not eligible for MRSLR.

SoFi Student Loan Repayment Options

Lenders vary greatly on the benefits and options provided to borrowers during the loan servicing period. Additionally, benefits may only be available on a case-by-case basis. SoFi offers some relief options.

Deferment & Forbearance

If unexpected financial hardships make it difficult or impossible to continue making timely payments in full, borrowers may be able to postpone payments for a limited period. SoFi’s postponement options include deferment and forbearance. Deferments is preferable because interest does not continue to accrue for the length of the deferment. Loans in forbearance always continue to accrue interest. See SoFi’s conditions for deferment and forbearance below.

‡SoFi offers unemployment protection; in the event borrowers are unexpectedly unemployed, they may apply for job placement assistance in addition to 12 months of forbearance over the life of their loan.

Additional Options

Some lenders offer additional opportunities for debt assistance or to modify loan contracts.

• Co-signer release is not available from SoFi. Refinance borrowers must instead reapply for refinancing. There is no limit to how many times borrowers can refinance with SoFi.
• Death / disability discharge is available in the unfortunate circumstance that a borrower passes away or suffers total permanent disability.
• Some SoFi borrowers may apply to Skip-a-Pay in the case of an unexpected one-time expense or short-term hardship.
• Some loans may be eligible for reduced repayment options under circumstances of economic hardship.

SoFi Reviews, Complaints & Lawsuits

Beyond our own findings, our team also collected the most genuinely insightful customer experiences we could find, including any instances of legal action against the company in which the details became public.

SoFi Online Reviews

Below are 3 samples of SoFi customer reviews we found on public forums, included here for their value as unedited, uncensored, and unsolicited user experiences. Note that these reviews are unverified, may include inaccuracies, and may provide outdated information (about rates, bonus offers, etc.).

“Slashed my APR by almost 40% by switching from my previous loan provider to SoFi. Got $500 bonus through Zuno as well. So far good service. Will be able to pay it off atleast 5 years faster and save atleast 70k by minimizing interest payments. Highly recommend their refinancing product.” – winningismypasson on reddit, 12/3/2023

“Hey all, I know they are a WCI sponsor, but I think this is important for people to know.

I refinanced with SoFi in mid October with a decent fixed rate (2.49%) as a resident with a $600 refi incentive and $100 “signing bonus”. I spoke with their customer team multiple times to verify that I was meeting all T&C of the deal, and they walked me through signing their W9 and setting up ACH. I looked carefully and finally disclosure, everything looked good.

They told me to be patient with the bonus so I give them time, money never shows up. I reach out in early December asking about it. They tell me they’ll submit a “request” for it to be paid but it won’t be a problem. Cool.

Now December 27th, still no money so I call. They tell me the “request” was denied because I didn’t sign up for their SoFi “money” account, a term which was never in my final disclosure OR verbally communicated by their employees. When the request was rejected they “regret that they didn’t call” and now the offer is expired. Nothing they can do and they are very “sorry and we understand how you feel”.

Fair warning to all – these signing bonuses are not all they are cracked up to be, at least with SoFi and I would strongly consider taking my business elsewhere based on my experience.

TLDR; SoFi promised me $700 for sign on bonus, made me work for it, never paid, and told me it was my fault based on a hidden Term and Condition.” – BreakersRoar on White Coat Investor, 12/27/2021

“Keep checking periodically to see what Sofi will give you every few months. I refinanced with Sofi in December 2017 to a 5.35% rate (5.1% after the auto-pay interest discount) with a 10 year loan (~$125k balance). Then I refinanced with Sofi again in December 2019 to a 4.0% interest rate (3.75% after the auto-pay discount) with a 7 year loan (~$90k balance). I continue to check every couple months to see if I can get anything better.

Just something to keep in mind – keep checking back on rates because it doesn’t cost anything to keep refinancing with Sofi.” – SaguaroSpines on reddit, 8/22/2020

More unfiltered customer reviews of SoFi are available at TrustPilot.com (4.6 out of 5), and ConsumerAffairs.com (2.8 out of 5).

SoFi Consumer Complaints

As consumer finance companies, student loan refinancing lenders fall under the jurisdiction of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal agency. As part of their mission, the CFPB allows consumers to log official complaints. These complaints are publicly available on the CFPB official website.

Since December 30, 2012, consumers have submitted 1,296 complaints about SoFi for an average of one (1) complaint every three (3) days; that is nearly 15 times the average daily complaint rate among reviewed lenders. Among the 601 complaints with public narratives, at least 58 (9.65%) reference student loan refinancing.

Consumers file the annual equivalent of one (1) complaint for every $5.326 million in estimated corporate revenue or one (1) complaint for every 16 employees.

The allegations made in these complaints are unverified, are not necessarily representative of all consumers’ experiences with SoFi, and may contain outdated information (about rates, bonus offers, etc.). Note that a lender with a large customer base is likely to also have a higher number of complaints when compared with smaller lenders. Below we’ve included three (3) of the most recent and relevant complaints (as of this writing) in which the consumer consented to sharing their details.

Complaint 5773527
7/14/2022
Rhode Island

“On XXXX I received a text message from phone number XXXX that my SOFI loan was in process, but that additional information was required to secure the loan. The message included a link to complete the application. I had not started a loan application or any inquiry into a loan application and I assumed this was a fraudulent text. I replied STOP to opt out of any future correspondence. Aprox. XXXX minutes later I received another text notifying me that the loan had funded. On XX/XX/22 I received multiple calls from XXXX phone number XXXX requesting information to complete another loan application. This prompted me to check my credit report. Upon which time I noticed that SOFI had pulled my credit on XX/XX/22. I called SOFI and learned that a personal loan in the amount of {$12000.00} had been dispersed to XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. SOFI had all of my personal information on file ( XXXX, XXXX, Home Address, Phone, etc. ) I notified SOFI that this was a case of identity fraud and as of XX/XX/22 my case was being reviewed by their Fraud Dept. I called XXXX XXXX XXXX Bank and spoke to XXXX XXXX ( phone XXXX ) who works in their Fraud Dept. He confirmed that the funds had been received at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX and that bank account XXXX was under the name XXXX XXXX. SOFI keeps forwarding me to their Fraud Investigative Team phone number ( XXXX ) that goes straight to voice mail. I can not get a valid case number or confirmation number and they will not give me a phone number or email address to call them directly. The funds have already been dispersed and I want this transaction wiped from my credit and all of my personal information removed from XXXX XXXX.”

Complaint 5756541
7/11/2022
Maryland

“I took advantage of a XX/XX/XXXX promotion with SoFi where I would get a {$600.00} bonus if I signed and funded a personal loan. The terms of the promotion can be found at https : XXXX ( XXXX XXXX XXXX : XXXX ). I applied on XX/XX/XXXX ( the cutoff for applying was XX/XX/XXXX ). After waiting for some time, I got a response on XX/XX/XXXX asking me to submit a copy of my SSN card which I supplied the same day. On XX/XX/XXXX I got a response asking me to unfreeze my XXXX credit report which I completed the same day. Then on XX/XX/XXXX I was approved and provided some forms to sign off on which I did the same day and then the funding process began. Now the problem is I didn’t meet the cutoff date to sign and fund the loan by XX/XX/XXXX because I wasn’t provided the forms to sign off to in the first place by that date in order to feasibly meet the terms of the promotion. I called and asked if I would be receiving the {$600.00} bonus and I was told ” no ” because I didn’t sign off on the loan by the deadline. This is absolutely ridiculous and predatory because I took a hard inquiry and signed off on a loan I didn’t actually need, but applied for anyways to get a bonus that I was supposed to get.”

Complaint 5751905
7/8/2022
Georgia

“On XX/XX/XXXX, I sent a letter to XXXX to dispute an account no longer owned by the company who is reporting the account incorrectly. The company XXXX XXXX no longer has the account and I have proof that the account has been sold to another company and I am in contact with that company to verify the debt. Both XXXX and XXXX have deleted this collection since it wasn’t verifiable but XXXX has continued to show the date as ” UPDATED ” and ” VERIFIED. I have disputed, requested their method of verification and XXXX continues to report this account as verified.”

For a full list of complaints made against SoFi in the CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database, click here.

SoFi Lawsuits

This section includes recent, relevant, and ongoing legal actions involving SoFi and its parent company, SoFi Technologies, Inc.

SoFi dropped its civil suit against the U.S. Department of Education in June 2023 citing in its motion for dismissal the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.^[1][2]

In 2024, SoFi paid a $1.1 million fine for what an industry regulator called a “vulnerable” and “largely automated process” that enabled consumer identification fraud and theft using SoFi Money’s brokerage service. As a result of these thefts, which took place between December 2018 and April 2019, SoFi reportedly increased staff training and enhanced its fraud identification and verification processes.^[3]

Note that while this information is updated regularly, ongoing legal action is subject to change.

Juarez v. Social Finance, Case No. 3:20-cv-03386-LB

SoFi is currently subject to a nationwide class action lawsuit regarding its student loan products and services.^[4]

Juarez v. SoFi alleges lending descrimination against recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Outten & Golden LLP and Lawyers for Civil Rights filed the suit on behalf of Ruben Juarez on May 19, 2020.

The 17-page complaint alleges that SoFi “systematically denied and limited DACA recipients equal access to student loans and other financial products.”^[5]

Specifically, the suit alleges SoFi initially denied DACA recipients’ eligibility for student loan applications and later, following a policy update in late 2019, continued to require DACA recipients to provide a creditworthy co-signer who is also a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

The case is currently awaiting assignment to a district court judge.

Federal Trade Commission Charges

SoFi has been subject to FTC investigation and formal charges related to their student loan refinancing products specifically.^[6]

Most recently, SoFi settled a suit with the FTC early in 2019. This suit, filed in 2018, alleged that since April 2016, “SoFi made prominent false statements about loan refinancing savings in television, print, and internet advertisements. The complaint also alleged that the average savings SoFi touted in its ads inflated the actual average savings – sometimes even doubling it – by excluding large categories of consumers.”^[7]

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is SoFi good for refinancing student loans?
  SoFi may be a good student loan refinance option for cautious borrowers with good credit ratings. Federal complaints, as well as many consumer complaints, report misleading advertisements; these ads include offers of bonus cash and inflated savings.

• Does SoFi have a minimum credit score requirement to refinance student loans?
  SoFi does disclose a credit score requirement but does not specify a minimum. This may indicate a “soft” minimum, where borrowers with a lower score may still qualify based on their overall financial health.

• Can I refinance my SoFi loan?
  You can refinance a SoFi student loan or a student loan from another private lender. SoFi advertises that there is no limit to the number of times a borrower may refinance. Note, however, that every application requires a hard credit check that may affect your credit score.

• Are SoFi loans federal?
  SoFi loans are not federal. SoFi is a private student loan lender and has no affiliation with the federal government or the US Department of Education.

• How long does it take to refinance with SoFi?
  SoFi does not disclose a definitive timeline. Borrowers receive instructions on how to begin repayment 7-10 days after having signed the final loan agreement. Disbursement generally takes 7 to 15 business days; 30 to 45 days after disbursement, the first payment comes due.

• Who services SoFi student refinance loans?
  The Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri a.k.a. MOHELA services student refinance loans through SoFi.

• Does SoFi have a prepayment penalty?
  SoFi does not charge a prepayment penalty for early payment on student loans to reduce a loan’s principal.

• Does SoFi hurt your credit score?
  During their prequalification process of checking rates for student loans, SoFi will perform a soft credit check, which will not hurt your credit score. However, if you proceed with an application, SoFi will perform a hard credit check which may affect your credit score.

• Does SoFi charge an origination fee?
  SoFi does not charge an origination fee or an application processing fee for a student refinance loan.

• Is SoFi a bank?
  SoFi is not a bank nor is it affiliated with any bank.

• Does SoFi partner with any major student refinance lender marketplaces?
  SoFi partners with Credible as part of its multilender marketplace. Sparrow and SuperMoney all advertise SoFi as a featured student loan refinance lender.

Compare Student Loan Refinance Reviews

Sources

1. National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, SoFi Drops Lawsuit Challenging Student Loan Repayment Pause
2. Court Listener, SoFi Bank v. U.S. Department of Education Case 1:23-cv-00599-TSC
3. Fintech Futures, FINRA Fines SoFi $1.1m After Consumer Identification Flaws Led to Multi-Million Dollar Heist
4. PacerMonitor, Juarez v. Social Finance, Inc. et al
5. Outten & Golden LLP, SoFi Lending Discrimination
6. Federal Trade Commission, In the Matter of SOCIAL FINANCE, INC., a corporation, also d/b/a SOFI, and SOFI LENDING CORP., a corporation, d/b/a SOFI. DOCKET NO. C -4673
7. Federal Trade Commission, FTC Approves Final Order with SoFi
8. SoFi, Refinance Student Loans
9. SoFi, Student Loan Refinancing Eligibility
10. SoFi, Student Loan Refinancing Rates & Terms
11. SoFi, Disclosures & Disclaimers