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ISL Education Lending Student Loan Refinancing Review

ISL Education Lending allows borrowers to refinance while still in school and also offers a graduated repayment plan

Author
By Daria Uhlig

Written by

Daria Uhlig

Contributor

Daria Uhlig has over 16 years of experience in mortgage and real estate. Her work has been featured by GoBankingRates, USA TODAY, MSN Money, Fox Business, and Yahoo Finance.

Edited by Ashley Harrison

Written by

Ashley Harrison

Freelance writer, Credible

Ashley Harrison has over six years of finance experience and is an expert on credit and loans. Her work has been featured by USA TODAY Blueprint, Forbes Advisor, Fox Business, and Yahoo Money.

Updated September 27, 2024

Editorial disclosure: Our goal is to give you the tools and confidence you need to improve your finances. Although we receive compensation from our partner lenders, whom we will always identify, all opinions are our own. Credible Operations, Inc. NMLS # 1681276, is referred to here as “Credible.”

Featured

Best for current students

Iowa State Loans

ISL Education Lending

4.2

Credible Rating

Check Rates

on Credible’s website

Min. Credit Score

670

Fixed APR

6.94 -

Variable APR

-

Loan Amount

Up to $300,000

Term

5, 7, 10, 15, 20

Pros and cons

More details

Best if:

  • You’re still attending school
  • You have good credit
  • You expect your income to rise in the future

ISL Education Lending is a nonprofit lender that offers student loan refinancing for both student and parent borrowers. Unlike many other lenders, ISL Education Lending also allows borrowers to refinance while they’re still in school.

In this ISL Education Lending review:

ISL Education Lending interest rates and loan details

With ISL Education Lending, you can refinance $5,000 to $300,000 of eligible federal or private student loans — though keep in mind that students who are still in school can refinance only up to $200,000.

Be careful when refinancing: While you can refinance federal student loans with ISL Education Lending, doing so will cost you your federal protections, such as access to income-driven repayment plans and student loan forgiveness programs.

You’ll also no longer qualify for the suspension of federal payments and interest accrual under the CARES Act due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are several important points about ISL Education Lending to consider:

Iowa Student Loans
Credible rating
4.2
Fixed rates from (APR)
6.94%+ [5]
Loan amounts
$5,000 to $300,000 ($5,000 to $200,000 for students still in school; $10,000 minimum for CA residents)
Loan terms (years)
5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 20
Loan types
  • Federal student loans
  • Private student loans
  • Previously refinanced or consolidated education loans
Min. credit score
670
Min. Income
None
Residency
U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Transfer parent loan to child?
No
Cosigner info
Applications accepted after 24 consecutive, on-time monthly payments
Fees
No origination or late fees
Prepayment penalty
None
Key benefits
  • 0.25% autopay discount
  • Fixed rates
  • Students can refinance while still in school
  • Graduated repayment plans available
Education
Degree not required
Loan servicer
Aspire Servicing Center
Best for
  • Saving money on expensive origination and late fees
  • Interest rate discount with auto payments
  • Joint co-signers allowed
  • Variety of repayment options

ISL Education Lending Student Loan refinancing review

With a variety of loan options, ISL Education Lending could be a good choice for student loan refinancing — especially if you’re looking to refinance while you’re still in school.

ISL Education Lending offers fixed rates on all of its refinanced loans. This means your interest rate and monthly payment will stay the same over the life of the loan.

Additionally, if you refinance with ISL Education Lending, you won’t have to worry about origination or late fees.

Tip: Depending on your credit, you might qualify for a lower interest rate through refinancing. This could potentially help you save money and pay off your loans faster. For example, getting a better rate might help you pay off your student loans in 10 years or even pay off your student loans in just five years.

You can use our student loan refinancing calculator to see how much you can save by refinancing your student loans.

How to qualify

To qualify for refinancing with ISL Education Lending, you must:

  • Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
  • Have a credit score of 670 or higher
  • Not spend more than 40% (or 45% if you have an income of $100,000 or more) of your gross monthly income on monthly credit payments, including mortgages, rent, car loans, credit cards, and other types of credit
  • Have no more than two accounts with 30-day delinquencies and no accounts with 60-day delinquencies in the past two years
  • Have no charge-offs, repossessions, collection accounts, judgments, foreclosures, bankruptcies, or garnishments by credit providers or tax liens

Keep in mind that you might also need to meet other credit or employment requirements to be eligible for refinancing. Additionally, if you don’t qualify on your own, you could consider applying with a creditworthy cosigner to improve your chances of getting approved.

Check Out: When to Refinance Student Loans

Repayment

ISL Education Lending provides six different repayment terms to choose from: five, seven, 10, 12, 15, or 20 years. This can help you get a monthly payment that suits your budget. Plus, if you sign up for automatic payments, you could qualify for a 0.25% rate discount.

In addition to a standard repayment plan, ISL Education Lending also offers a graduated repayment plan to borrowers who choose a 10-, 15-, or 20-year term (seven-year terms might also be eligible in some cases). This type of plan starts out with low payments that gradually increase over the life of the loan, which could be helpful if you know your income will rise in the future.

Tip: It’s usually a good idea to choose the shortest repayment term you can afford to save as much as you can on interest. However, if you need a lower monthly payment, you might choose to extend your repayment term instead — just keep in mind that you’ll pay more in interest this way.

If you’re wondering how long it’ll take to pay off your student loans, you can use our student loan repayment calculator to find out. Use the slider to see how increasing your payments can change the payoff date.

How ISL Education Lending compares to other lenders

Here’s how ISL Education Lending stacks up against two other lenders:

Iowa State Loans

Credible rating

Min. Credit Score670
Fixed APR6.94 -
Loan AmountUp to $300,000
Term5, 7, 10, 15, 20
Citizens

Credible rating

Min. Credit ScoreDoes not disclose
Fixed APR5.89 -
Loan Amount$10,000 - $750,000
Term5, 7, 10, 15, 20
Read Our Review
Brazos

Credible rating

Min. Credit Score720
Fixed APR3.85 -
Loan Amount$10,000 - $400,000
Term5, 7, 10, 15, 20
Read Our Review

How to refinance student loans with ISL Education Lending

Completing an application with ISL Education Lending takes about 15 minutes — be sure to have your Social Security number as well as information about your current loans handy when you’re ready to fill it out.

If you’re approved for refinancing and accept the loan offer, ISL Education Lending will repay your existing loans, and you’ll be left with just your new loan to manage.

Refinancing with ISL Education Lending could be a good option for a wide variety of borrowers — such as students who are still in school or parents who paid for their child’s education, or medical professionals.

However, it’s still a good idea to shop around and compare as many student loan refinance companies as you can to find the right loan for you.

Check Out: How to Refinance Student Loans

How ISL Education Lending can improve

While ISL Education Lending might be a good choice for student loan refinancing in some cases, there are still a few ways it could improve, such as:

  • Offering lower rates: ISL Education Lending’s rates are sometimes higher than competing lenders, especially since it doesn’t offer variable rates.
  • Providing a shorter cosigner release period: While 24 months isn’t particularly long for a cosigner release period, there are other lenders that accept cosigner release applications after just 12 months.
  • Offering a higher loan maximum: Although $300,000 is generous for undergraduate loans, it might not be enough to cover loans from professional programs, such as medical or dental school.

Keep Reading: Private Student Loan Consolidation

Meet the expert:
Daria Uhlig

Daria Uhlig has over 16 years of experience in mortgage and real estate. Her work has been featured by GoBankingRates, USA TODAY, MSN Money, Fox Business, and Yahoo Finance.