Private Student Loans: FAQs

ELFI’s Private Student Loans have no application, origination, or prepayment fees.

If ELFI does not receive any part of a payment within ten days after the due date, there is a late fee of 5% of the past due amount or $50, whichever is less. The borrower may be charged $30 for any payment (including electronic payments) that is returned unpaid for any reason.

ELFI does not require you to do anything extra to get the best rate we can offer. All borrowers are required to make payments with an electronic or digital transfer. Therefore the auto pay discount is already reflected in your approved interest rate.

If you choose the deferred repayment option, full principal and interest payments can be deferred as long as the student remains enrolled at a post-secondary institution at least half-time. For undergraduate and graduate loans, full principal and interest payments would begin six months after the student graduates or drops below half-time enrollment. To learn how different repayment options can affect your monthly payment amount and what you might pay overall for the loan, check out our repayment options and examples page.

Factors that determine monthly payments include the amount of the loan, the type of loan product, the term of the loan, and the type of interest rate (fixed or variable).

ELFI has two loan servicing partners, MOHELA (Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority) and AES (American Education Services). Once you finish refinancing your student loans, your assigned loan servicer will reach out to you directly. At this point, you will set up an account with them to make your monthly payments.

Repayment depends on the loan option you select. ELFI offers Immediate, Fixed, Interest-Only, and Deferred repayment options.

For Immediate, Fixed, and Interest Only, repayment options begin after the loan has been funded (typically 30-45 days from the date your loan was approved). For deferred, repayment will begin six months after you graduate or are not at least a half-time student.

If you are unable to repay the loan because of financial hardship or medical difficulty, ELFI may grant forbearance for up to 12 months. Forbearance is at the discretion of ELFI.