LendKey Student Loan Reviews

LendKey is a platform where potential borrowers of student loans get connected with credit unions, community banks, and private lenders. It matches a qualified borrower for a loan with its partner lenders. This applies to all loans which are available from LendKey. If you take a loan you need to make sure that you understand your lenders' specific terms.

Apart from loans, LendKey student loans also provide a program to refinance student loans. Their mission is to help borrowers save money on their loans. This is done by connecting them with the partnered credit unions and community banks, who have been providing student loans at a lower interest rate with great customer service to its student loan borrowers.

In this article, we will discuss in detail, the loans available under LendKey along with details of their loan refinancing program, its features, and terms. It must be noted that rates and terms of loans may be subjected to changes at frequent intervals.

List of contents

LendKey Reviews
Overview of LendKey student loans
LendKey Private Student Loan
Overview of LendKey Private Student Loan
Things to keep in mind about LendKey
LendKey Student Loan Refinancing
Features of LendKey Student Loan Refinancing
Top 5 reasons why LendKey Refinancing are different
Student loan options offered by LendKey
Features of LendKey Student Loans
What to expect during the application process
Top 5 reasons why LendKey Private Loan are different

LendKey Reviews

If you are an undergraduate student looking for a longer forbearance to manage unexpected finances crisis, you can choose LendKey as they provide longer forbearance compared to other lenders. To decide to borrow your loans with LendKey you must be aware of the benefits and possible disadvantages before you make a choice. Below is the list of Pros and Cons you may want to have a look at.

Pros	Cons
No application fees, origination or penalty fees	No much details on credit score limits
They provide the longest forbearance	While you are studying in school you cannot avail deferment
Low-interest rates compared to other lenders	Refinancing for borrowers without a degree is not possible.
Borrowing loans with LendKey includes simple procedures and quicker

Based on the above study you can weigh the advantages and disadvantages while deciding to loan with LendKey.

Overview of LendKey student loans

Let's see the services that are offered by LendKey with information such as their loan term, loan amount, grace period, and co-signer release which are offered by them.

Description	Rates and Percentage
Reviewed loan	A private student loan for undergraduates
Loan terms	10 years
Loan amounts	$2,000 to $160,000
Grace period	6 months
Co-signer release available	Yes, after 24 months

Every important detail you must be aware of is mentioned in the table above that helps you make a favorable decision.

LendKey private student loans

LendKey is one of the most interesting companies in the student loan industry as they are connected with all small, local banks and credit unions around the state providing access to all the great deals which might not be on your radar.

These lenders offer loans through LendKey who also acts as a servicer to these loans. You can apply online on their site and select the repayment option which suits you through the site and also make payments on it.

It allows the borrower to make use of the modern level customer service and provide the platform where you take advantage of getting loans through a smaller lender.

Benefits

LendKey generally offers exceptional and remarkably attractive benefits to save your money. One such benefit is the reduction of your interest rate by 1% point after you have paid off 10% of your loan.

Additionally, as they work with financial institutions such as credit unions, they can offer loans at much lower interest rates compared to other financial institutions. Also to keep in mind that credit unions are nonprofit lenders, their purpose is to serve members than stockholders.

If you are a small business owner then LendKey could serve you well. They offer great deals to their customers, to help the smaller financial institutions by showcasing them in front of potential customers through their online platform. They allow banks to operate at low costs, while they offer more competitive rates to the customers.

Overview of LendKey student loan refinancing

The following is the overview of the Student Loan Refinancing option offered by LendKey including their interest rates, terms, amounts, and other benefits.

Refinancing Factors	Rates and Percentage
Reviewed loan	Student loan refinancing
Interest rates	Fixed: 3.49% - 8.93% Variable: 2.7% - 8.96%
Loan terms	5, 7, 10, 15, and 20 years
Loan amounts	$7,500 to $125,000 for undergraduate $250,000 for graduate degrees $300,000 for medical, dental, or veterinary degrees
Co-signer release available	Yes
Can transfer a parent loan to the child	No

Al details mentioned above is with respect to refinancing with LendKey.

Things to keep in mind about LendKey

LendKey has a vast resource for student loan borrowers but it also has potential drawbacks. Considers the following points before deciding to refinance your student loans under any of the offers provided by LendKey.

Limited access

LendKey has partnered with 13,000+ community financial institutions to get you the student loan refinancing offers. This number goes down considerably depending on the lender's eligibility. You won't see offers from other banks or online lenders that can have better terms.

If your goal is to find the lowest interest rate, it is good to look around for options among the variety of lenders.

Extra research is needed on lenders

LendKey matches lenders but they do not necessarily provide all the information of every lender. Before getting an offer, take your time to find out about the best lender, their requirements, terms, and conditions.
Also, look for customer reviews. For example, you may find lenders offering more benefits like the release of co-signer, unemployment, or skipping of payments under financial hardships which are not immediately disclosed by LendKey.
These facilitate your application with the lender as the loans ultimately come from the banks or credit unions themselves. It is better to make sure that you have answers to all your questions before finishing out any paperwork.

LendKey student loan refinancing

When you apply for student loan refinancing, they will match you with credit unions or other lenders depending on certain criteria such as location or affiliation with certain groups. They ask for your credit score, income, loan limits, and many other things that will be used for evaluation to find you matching lenders.

Even after deciding to refinance your student loans, you still need to know who to choose as a lender. LendKey can help you find the right lender by getting in touch with their partner community banks and credit unions.

Local banks and credit unions do not have the recognition as compared with other bigger financial institutions. Hence, this service shows you offer that you might never be aware of or heard about it otherwise.

These lenders generally have certain requirements in selecting borrowers such as credit score, location, and more. So reviews take your information and show you the offers from the bank and credit union based on your eligible.

For example, if you are in the military then LendKey might show and provide you the Navy federal credit union to refinance your loan. If you see an offer such as Navy FCU, you can use LendKey Student Loan Refinancing to get an offer and proceed with the full application

Learn about the reviews on LendKey private student loans and refinancing

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Partners of refinancing generally offer you a variable rate starting from 2.44% and fixed rates from 3.64%. These rates may vary based on states and your choice of repayment terms of 5, 7, 10, 15, even 20 years.

If you opt for a longer repayment term, you can always pay off the loan before the schedule without getting any penalties for the early closure.

Features of LendKey student loan refinancing

The following includes the interest rates, eligibility criteria, repayment options, and other important details of the LendKey Student Loan Refinancing.

Interest rate and fees

The interest rates of the LendKey Student Loan Refinancing are 2.44% for variable ARP and 3.64% for fixed ARP with AutoPay set up.

The actual rate will differ from lender to lender and will also be based upon, but not limited to, you and your cosigner's credit history.

No application or origination fee.
No prepayment penalty.
There are late fees for the repayment based on the lender from $5 to $15.
You need to qualify the soft credit check to see what your rate.

Eligibility

The credit score required for borrowers minimum is 660
The minimum income for the year is $24,000
The credit score for the approved borrowers or co-signer is 757 for approval
The maximum debt to income ration should be 43%
After 7 years you can qualify for filing a bankruptcy
Must be a citizen of the U.S. or permanent resident
Loans are not provided to Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, or West Virginia.
Attend IV-accredited school with a degree-granting institution
90%+ of the borrowers have a co-signer
Must have at least an associate degree

Repayment options

There is no academic deferment
There is no military deferment
Forbearance is on for 5,7 and 10-year term loans, postpone of payments can be done 4 times up to 12 months in total
For 15 or 20 years loans postpone payments for a period of 6 months up to 18 months in total
Interest-only payment for 15 to 20 years loan terms where it can be made only for the first 4 years
Discharge of loans in the event of death or disability of borrowers its guarantee it but it's common among lenders to discharge according to LendKey
It allows greater than minimum payments through the autopay option
It does not allow biweekly payments through autopay

Other features

Refinancing using LendKey makes the process easy and efficient. Here are some features that make LendKey very useful for the student loan borrowers who are looking to refinance.

Offers Lower interest rate

They offer variable rate from 2.81% to 8.79% and fixed rate from 3.49% to 8.92%

The interest rate is usually competing with big banks and online lenders who have to offer through the course with a strong credit score and income to qualify for lower rates it goes with the cosigner too. If you are qualified then the refinance loan could have considerably lower interest rates and save money throughout your student loan.

Multiple comparisons of offers

LendKey makes the shopping process for Student Loan Refinancing very easy and effortless. It is a smooth platform, easy to use, and allows you to look for rates across multiple lenders at a single place.

You have to provide them with your basic information like your income, loan amount the school that you are going to. This information is reviewed to instantly let you know whether you pre-qualify or not for the refinancing.

The rate checks only when it involves a soft credit pull where it would not affect your credit score. Ensure that you are eligible for every offer that you consider.

Exclusive offers

Community banks and credit unions usually do not have a similar reach or the budget for marketing when compared to large banks and national online lenders. You might never hear about the local or small scale institutions that can give you lower rates and personalized customer services.

You will be getting a chance to get connect with these community leaders. Checking the rates does not require any commitment. Instead, you will get to see offers and decide for yourself.

Customer service

LendKey loans are serviced by LendKey themselves
It has an in-house customer service team
They won't process the escalating concerns
Borrowers don't get assistance from a dedicated banker, advisor, or representative

Worried about college fees? Learn about student loans to know about financing options

Top 5 reasons why LendKey refinancing is different

There are several criteria used to score lenders. The following is the score given to LendKey on the 5 criteria. Scores are given as - Average, Below Average, and Above Average.

1 - Faster repayment: Average

Lenders need to score high by providing a variety of terms for repayment and to make extra payments easy. It is not easy to score high in this criteria.

2 - Discloses requirement and the limited cost: Above Average

The lender is required to score highly to limit their fees and the interest rates making it transparent. They must also allow the borrowers to get a personalized rate and an estimation before applying it.

3 - Serves a range of borrowers: Below Average

To serve their customers across different locations and under different situations, they need to provide services to a wide demographic.

4- Offers payment flexibility: Above Average

Lenders are required to provide and offer longer than 12 months of forbearance periods, for the military deferment or any other flexible repayment options which can help the borrowers in their hardships.

5 - Supports customers: Below Average

The lender needs to assign the borrowers an advisor and provides him multiple ways to get in touch with the customer service and the website needs to provide a full range of APR range fees and forbearance policies.

Expected improvement from LendKey

LendKey can be improved by providing refinancing to borrowers who do not hold a degree or a visa.

Student loan options offered by LendKey

The different student loan option offered by LendKey is

1- Private student loan

The loan term is from 5 to 15 years and offers loans not only to bachelor’s or graduate degrees but also for associate’s degrees or a certificate at a degree-granting school as well as parent loans without charging any application fees. The loan amount can be from a minimum of 1000$ to a maximum to the total cost of attendance. The In-school payment option is also offered by LendKey as a student can defer their repayment while they are enrolled at least half time in school or a student can choose to pay a $25 per month fixed payment or interest-only payments.

One of the benefits offer by the LendKey is to release the cosigner from student loans after the student graduate, make 12 on-time principal and interest payments, and meet certain credit requirements.

2- Parent Loan

For the Parent loan, the term is for 10 years and the loan amount can be from a minimum of 1000$ to maximum to the total cost of attendance. The In-school payment option is also offered by LendKey as the borrower can choose to pay interest-only payments or full principal and interest payments.

3- Graduate School Loan

For the Graduate School loan, the term is for 15 years and the loan amount can be from a minimum of 1000$ to maximum to the total cost of attendance. The In-school payment option is also offered by LendKey for the graduate students such as deferred repayment, $25 fixed payments, or interest-only payments.

Other loan options offered by LendKey are

1- MBA Loan

2- Medical School Loan

3- Dental School Loan

4- Law School Loan

5- Student loan refinancing

Features of LendKey student loans

This detail of LendKey is consist of all the information of the loans from the interest rate and fees, Requirement, Repayment options, and Customer Service.

Interest rate and fees

Well, looking into the range of interest rates with other private loan providers. The actual rate will be based on these factors which include you and your co-signer credit history and your financial circumstances.

No application or origination fee.
No prepayment penalty.
There are late fees for the repayment based on the lender from $5 to $15.
There is no option for a personalized rate before applying.

Requirements

The credit score required for borrowers minimum is 660
The minimum income for the year is $24,000
The credit score for the approved borrowers or co-signer is 725 for approval
maximum debt to income ration should be 33%
After 5 years you can qualify for filing a bankruptcy
Must be a citizen of the U.S. or permanent resident
Loans are not provided to Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, or West Virginia.
Attend an IV-accredited school with a degree-granting institution.
90%+ of the borrowers have a co-signer
Must be enrolled half-time or more

What to expect during the application process

LendKey has tried their best that their customer has the best of experience thus they have tried to make the application process easy and convenient to the customers. The loan application process begins when you click the “check your rate” button, which leads you to choose whether you’re applying for a new loan or want to refinance but if you are on the refinance page you won’t see these options.

For the application process, you have to fill out certain requirements such as-

1-Name, Address, Email Address, and Phone Number

2- Citizenship status

3- Total annual income

4- Name of the school of graduation

5- Degree you earned

6- Estimated total loan amount you want to refinance

If you are finding it difficult to qualify the process, a co-signer with good credit school can help. For better understanding the process, LendKey provides videos and articles to get help in it.

Length of time for Loan approval and disbursement

The borrower should apply for a loan at least one month before the funds are needed to allow time for the loan to be approved, processed, certified, and disbursed as the whole process will take time so giving a month to it will be the best option to avoid last-minute chaos. Generally, the initial application can be approved quickly but later on additional documents are required and that can be time-consuming. Once the process is complete the lender will approach your school to certify the loan, which can take several weeks thus it is strongly recommended to give at least a month for the whole process.

Repayment options

In-school - Flat fee repayment

Where borrowers need to pay a fee of $25 for a month while they are in school. You need to pay the full amount of principal plus interest after your 6 months of post-graduation grace period gets over.

Post-school - Standard Repayment

Borrowers have to make a monthly regular payment based on the interest rate and the loan terms agreed upon during loan application.

Other Features

1. In-school deferment - You cannot request a deferred payment when you returning to the school.

2. Military deferment - There are no such options available here that you can make use of.

3. Forbearance - The borrower is eligible for 18 months of forbearance within the 6 months of increment and the life of the loan.

4. Discharge on death and disability - The loan agreement doesn't guarantee on it, but the automatic discharge can be seen among lenders from LendKey

5. Repayment preferences

It allows you greater than minimum payments through the autopay option and it does not allow for a fortnight payment through their autopay.

About that fine print

A borrower should always review the fine print before signing a contract is always important, but it may be especially important when you’re refinancing a student loan with LendKey to avoid any type of confusion in the future. As borrower generally see the common basic feature such as interest-rate type, APR, and term but neglect other features and benefits depend on the lender.

Other information where you can have a look is loan’s fees, interest rate cap for variable-rate loans and interest rate reduction terms, near the top of the loan disclosure form, which is available near the bottom of the application submission page and if you find any difficulty with loan disclosure you can reach out the LendKey for specifics. It becomes very important to be aware when you are borrowing from private lenders.

Customer service

It has an in-house customer service team
The average time for the application to funding is around 27 days
All features are similar to customer service similar to refinancing with LendKey

Looking for more? Check out Private Student Loans

Top 5 reasons why LendKey private loans are different

There are several options used in consideration overall the 5 categories available from various companies and have been rated on the base of three criteria Average, Below Average, and Above Average.

1 - Faster repayment - Below Average

Lenders need to score high by providing a variety of terms for repayment and to make extra payments easy. It is not easy to score high in this criteria.

2 - Discloses requirement and the limited cost- Above Average

3 - Serves a range of borrowers - Below Average

To serve their customers across different locations and under different situations, they need to provide services to a wide demographic.

4- Offers payment flexibility - Above Average

5 - Supports customers - Below Average

Ways to improve

LendKey can be a great option if they provide some additional features such as personalized rate estimates without affecting credit, postponement of payments for those who have returned to school to serve in the military, and more.
The maximum rate of interest on the loan terms can be displayed on their website where community banks and credit unions join with LendKey and work out all the different characteristics of the loan. Their website can improve to provide customers with more information.
LendKey teams up with these private lenders to offer Private Student Loans. This may be a good option if your credit score does not qualify for other private loans since the loans offered via LendKey does not usually require high credit scores.
LendKey also offers you alternatives to get banks by bringing credit unions and local banks into the student loan refinancing market. As there is no commitment, there is no reason not to check with the LendKey to know the offers you get.
No offers are final until they run a hard credit check on your accounts. Assuming your credit score is good enough, you might not have any trouble getting a refinanced loan. As LendKey is not the real lender go through the agreement before signing.

Also, note that refinanced student loans have some downsides if the refinanced loan is a federal loan then you will be losing their perks and benefits such as protection and programs to make you pay effortlessly like an income-driven repayment plan or forgiveness program.

Before converting the federal loan into a private refinanced loan make sure that you understand the perks and benefits that you are loosing and look for new lenders to see if the offer does provide any protection under cases of financial hardship.

If you feel that refinancing is right for you then LendKey can help you get offers with competitive terms. You can consolidate multiple loans into a single loan with a single monthly payment, possibly at a lower interest rate. This can help you save some money on the student loan repayment in the long run.