Student Loan Refinancing: FAQs

To qualify for refinancing or student loan consolidation through ELFI:

• Must refinance at least $10,000 in student loan debt.
• Must have graduated with at least a bachelor’s degree from a Title IV non-profit college or university.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
• Must be at the age of majority or older at the time of the refinance.
• Must have a debt to income ratio and credit score that fall within our proprietary qualifications.
• Check out our eligibility requirements to see if you could qualify for refinancing.

All loans are subject to credit approval. Additional terms and conditions apply.

You must have a minimum amount of $10,000 in qualified student loan debt to refinance with us. Maximum loan amounts will vary based on eligibility.

To speed up your Student Loan Refinance application, you will need to have the following documents:

If applying without a cosigner:

• Paystubs documenting the last 30 days of payment (if you are employed)
• Government-issued Identification
• Current Loan Statement

If applying with a cosigner:

• Paystubs documenting the last 30 days of payment (if you are employed)
• Government-issued Identification

Potentially, some additional documents may be required depending on the source of your income or your cosigner’s income. Your ELFI Student Loan Advisor will contact you with details should this be the case.

During prequalification, to provide you with preliminary rates and terms that you may qualify for, ELFI will perform a “soft credit inquiry.” A soft credit inquiry will not affect your credit score. However, once you choose your loan product and submit an application, ELFI will request to view your full credit report, which will show up as a hard credit inquiry. These inquiries are common among lenders and necessary for ELFI to make final rate and product offers.

You don’t have to have a cosigner when applying to refinance your student loan with ELFI as long as you qualify on your own. If you have limited credit history and income, a cosigner with a good credit history can improve your chances of obtaining a student loan refinance.

We recommend you check out our blog post about what actions you should take before applying. To process your application, we will need copies of your most recent billing statements or payoff letters from each of your student loan servicers showing the following information:

• Name
• Account Number
• Current balance or payoff amounts
• Payment mailing address

Please note that each statement should not be older than 30 days. If you plan to exclude some loans from a single servicer, you will need to provide one of the following:

• Sequence numbers
• Loan IDs
• Or any identifying number

Click here to view sample statements.

ELFI does not consider household income on loan applications. Loan applications are underwritten based solely on the income of the applicant or the cosigner.

• No reference is required or needed, but you are welcome to add one.
• Your reference can be anyone over the age of 18 that does not live at the same address as you or your cosigner (if you apply with one).
• Your reference cannot be the same person as your cosigner.
• You and your cosigner cannot use the same reference.

No, the borrower, cosigner, and references cannot have the same email address.

The application process is quick and easy. After filling out some personal, financial, and student loan information, you’ll upload documents and submit the application. At this time, you’ll be assigned  a personal student loan advisor, and he/she will assist you from beginning to end with personalized customer service. 

When going through the application process, there is an option to add a cosigner. The application will then prompt you to add the cosigner’s name and email address. Your cosigner will receive an email with instructions to upload the necessary information.

No, we still have to go through the underwriting process to determine if a borrower is eligible for a loan. Prequalification does not automatically qualify you for a final offer.