INvestEd Review: Private Student Loans & Refinancing

INvestEd has offered private student loans to Indiana residents and students for more than 40 years. Borrowing options from INvestEd include student loans, parent loans, and student refinance loans.

These loans come with affordable fixed or variable rates that are below what many competitors offer. However, because eligibility is limited to residents of Indiana or those attending school there, many people can't take advantage of INvestEd's loan benefits.

If you're eligible to borrow, this INvestEd student loan review can help you decide if the lender is right for you.

INvestEd private student loans review

Here's what you need to know about INvestEd's private student loans.

Best for: Indiana students

INvestEd offers private loans for Indiana residents or students attending school in Indiana. The interest rates on these loans are competitive, which makes them an attractive choice for those who live or study in the state.

Eligibility requirements

INvestEd openly discloses the eligibility criteria for its student loans online. You can borrow between $1,001 and the school-certified cost of attendance minus any other financial aid if you qualify. Here are the requirements:

• You must be an Indiana resident or attending school in Indiana.
• Your monthly debt payments (including your INvestEd student loan) can't exceed 30% of your gross monthly income, or you must have at least $3,333 in gross monthly income.
• Your FICO score must be 670 or higher.
• You must have been continually employed for the past 2 years unless you're retired, disabled, or have another source of verifiable income.
• You can't have been 60 or more days delinquent on bills during the previous 2 years.
• Your credit history can't include repossessions, tax liens, judgments, foreclosures, or wage garnishment orders.
• You can't have a history of collections or charge-offs that exceed $100.
• You must not have filed for bankruptcy in the past 5 years.
• You can't have a history of defaulting on private or government student debt.

If you can't meet these criteria independently, you can apply with a cosigner — they might help you get qualified for your desired loan. Cosigner release is available after 12 full, consecutive, and on-time payments, provided you meet the underwriting criteria.

Repayment

INvestEd gives you a choice between a five-, 10-, or 15-year repayment term when you apply to borrow. In addition to your repayment term, the lender provides multiple payment options while you're in school. You can choose:

• Immediate payments of the full interest and principal due
• Interest-only payments so you can keep monthly payments lower, but avoid having unpaid interest increase your loan balance
• Deferred payments so you don't have to make payments while in school and for up to 6 months after graduation

Notable benefits

Here are some of the biggest benefits of borrowing with INvestEd:

• Interest rates are competitive for both fixed- and variable-rate loan options.
• Cosigner release is possible after just 12 on-time payments if you meet the underwriting requirements, which are less than those of some other lenders.
• You can take advantage of an autopay rate discount of 0.25 percentage points.

What to consider before borrowing with INvestEd

If you're considering borrowing with INvestEd, there are a few key things you should be aware of before moving forward:

• You must be an Indiana resident or attending school in Indiana to be eligible to borrow.
• INvestEd offers only 5-, 10-, or 15-year repayment terms, while some lenders offer more options.
• You have to go through a full online application process to get your personalized rate — many other lenders offer prequalification to find out your potential rate without affecting your credit.

How to apply

To apply for an INvestEd Loan, visit the website and click the “Apply Now” button. You'll need to provide basic details, including your first and last name, telephone number, state of residency, the school you're attending, whether you'll be enrolling at least half-time, and whether you'll be applying with a cosigner.

INvestEd student loan refinance review

INvestEd offers student refinance loans with amounts starting at $5,000. You can borrow up to the lesser of $250,000 or the total amount you owe on other qualified loans, as verified by your other lenders. Here's what you need to know about the lender's refinance loan options.

Best for: Forbearance options

INvestEd stands apart from other private lenders because of its generous policies for deferment and forbearance for temporary hardship.

You become eligible for an in-school deferment if you re-enroll at least half-time in an eligible degree-granting institution to earn a graduate degree, and can defer payments for up to 36 months in this situation. Activity-duty military members are also eligible for deferment.

Forbearance is another option during times of temporary hardship. If you're facing financial difficulties, you may be eligible for up to two forbearances in each 12-month period. A forbearance can last between one and three months at most, but you are allowed to request additional forbearance periods up to a maximum of 24 total months over the life of the loan.

Many private lenders are much less generous with their forbearance policies, which makes INvestEd an ideal option for those concerned that future issues may impact their ability to pay.

Eligibility requirements

With INvestEd, you can refinance between $5,000 and $250,000 in educational debt, although you're limited to refinancing only student loans that INvestEd deems eligible.

To refinance your student debt with INvestEd, you'll need to meet strict eligibility requirements, though you can add a cosigner to your application. Here's what you need to be eligible:

• You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.
• You must be an Indiana resident or have attended school there.
• You must have a FICO score of at least 670.
• You must have a minimum annual income of $36,000.
• You can't have monthly debt payments (including your new refinance loan) that exceed between 40% and 50% of your gross monthly income.
• You must have a history of continuous employment for the last year, unless you are retired, disabled, receiving verified income, or a recent graduate.
• You can't have had any delinquencies of 60 days or more during the last 2 years.
• You can't have repossessions, foreclosures, or wage garnishments in your credit history.
• You must not have had any bankruptcies in the past 5 years.
• You must not have a history of defaults on private or federal student loans.
• The loans you want to refinance must be current and in active repayment.

Repayment

INvestEd offers the following repayment terms for its refinance loans:

• 5 years
• 10 years
• 15 years
• 20 years

With an INvestEd refinance loan, you can only make immediate full payments for the principal and interest; there aren't other repayment plan options. However, borrowers can benefit from flexible policies for deferment and forbearance. You may be able to pause payments for as long as 24 months during the life of your loan if you're facing financial struggles, and up to 36 months if you re-enroll in graduate school.

Notable benefits

Here are some of the biggest benefits of INvestEd refinance loans:

• Cosigner release is available after as little as 12 months.
• You can qualify for an interest rate reduction of 0.25 percentage points for setting up automatic payments.
• Multiple deferment and forbearance options are available, including up to 24 months of total forbearance time during the life of the loan.

What to consider before refinancing with INvestEd

Before you move forward, there are a few things to consider before applying with INvestEd:

• You can't prequalify to find out your potential rate; you'll need to fill out a full application.
• INvestEd charges a late fee of 5% of your past-due amount or $10 (whichever is less) if you're late on payments.
• You must live in or have studied in Indiana to be eligible.

How to apply

To apply for an INvestEd refinance loan, click “Apply Now” on the refinance loan page. You'll need to fill out some basic information like your contact details and your state of residency, as well as specific information about your current loans.

Current private student loan rates

Methodology

Credible evaluates student loan lenders based on interest rates and origination fees, loan amounts, loan terms, discounts, whether cosigners are accepted, and more. Our team of experts gathered information from each lender's website, customer service department, directly from our partner,s and via email support. We verified each data point to make sure it was accurate at the time of publication.