In-School Refinance

Loans with high rates will accrue more interest, and thus, cost you more money over the life of loan compared to a loan with the same repayment term and a lower interest rate. Refinancing your current student loans now may be beneficial, especially if those loans have higher interest rates.

To be eligible for the Reset Refinance Loan for In-School Borrowers, you and any cosigners cannot have defaulted on any private or government student loan. In addition, you and any cosigners must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents residing in the United States. (Applicants who are Maine residents are not eligible currently.) Military addresses are considered U.S. addresses if designated as an APO or FPO.

Applicants must:

• Be of majority age pursuant to applicable law at the time of application or be an emancipated minor. An applicant not of majority age may apply with an eligible cosigner.
• Be enrolled on at least a half-time basis as either an undergraduate student or as a graduate student at any nonprofit, Title IV eligible, degree-granting, accredited college or university or nonprofit school of nursing or be an applicant with a student who is currently enrolled on at least a half-time basis as either an undergraduate student or as a graduate student at any nonprofit, Title IV eligible, degree-granting, accredited college or university or nonprofit school of nursing.
  • Nonprofit schools of nursing located in Iowa must be approved by the Iowa Board of Nursing.

To qualify for the Reset Refinance Loan for In-School Borrowers, you or your cosigners must have:

• Monthly payments for approved credit (mortgages, rent, car loans, credit cards and other forms of credit) that do not exceed 40% of gross monthly income (if a mortgage or rent is not included, debt-to-income ratio cannot exceed 25%). All student loan debt will be treated as though it is in repayment.
• Continuous employment over the last two years. (This requirement may be waived for retirees, disabled persons or those receiving a verified income.)
• A FICO score of at least 660. (The FICO score used is the TransUnion FICO Score 8, which is based on data from TransUnion and may be different from other credit scores. FICO is a registered trademark of the Fair Isaac Corporation.)
• No more than two accounts reporting 30-day delinquencies and no delinquencies of 60 days or more during the previous two years.
• No charge-offs, repossessions, collection accounts, judgments, foreclosures, garnishments by credit providers or tax liens.
• No previous bankruptcies.
• Not defaulted on any private or government student loan.

Note: For joint cosigned Reset Loans, at least one cosigner must meet all credit underwriting criteria with the exception of the debt-to-income ratio, which the cosigners may combine debt and income to calculate the debt-to-income ratio. For loans with only one cosigner, either the applicant or cosigner must meet all credit underwriting criteria with the exception of the debt-to-income ratio, which the applicant and cosigner may combine debt and income to calculate the debt-to-income ratio. If the applicant is a student enrolled in college who applies with one cosigner, only the cosigner's monthly payments for approved credit and gross monthly income are used to calculate the debt-to-income ratio.

The list of criteria above may not be exhaustive. ISL Education Lending may require you or your cosigners to meet additional criteria in order to qualify for a loan. ISL Education Lending reserves the right to change the list of criteria in any way from time to time.

Yes; you can apply to release any cosigners from payment obligations:

1. After the first 24 consecutive monthly payments are received on time.
2. If you meet the underwriting and credit criteria at the time the cosigner release is requested.

You may refinance up to $200,000 in eligible education loans.

The following loan types are eligible for refinancing:

• Private education loans
• Federal loans (Review this important note about federal loans first (PDF).)
  • PLUS Loans taken out by parents or graduate/professional students
  • Undergraduate and graduate subsidized and unsubsidized student loans
• Previously refinanced or consolidated education loans

Consumer loans, such as those used to attend coding bootcamps or other specialized training, are not eligible to be refinanced in a Reset Loan.

If you refinance loans taken out for the current academic year and the loans have not been fully disbursed to the school, any amounts that haven't been sent to your college yet will not be covered by this new refinance loan.

Interest that is not paid during the in-school deferment or any other qualifying deferment period may be capitalized (or added to the principal balance of the loan) at the end of the deferment period.

During the repayment period, you can earn a 0.25% interest rate reduction by signing up to have principal and interest payments automatically withdrawn. The 0.25% interest rate reduction will apply once payments begin to be automatically deducted. The reduction will remain in effect as long as automatic payments continue without interruption during the repayment period. The 0.25% interest rate reduction will not lower the monthly payment amount but will instead reduce the interest amount that accrues. The interest rate reduction will be suspended during approved assistance or if automatic payments are rejected due to insufficient funds.

There are no origination, prepayment, late or other fees associated with this loan.

You may be eligible to repay using a graduated repayment plan where you begin with lower payments that increase gradually during the life of the loan. By using a graduated repayment plan, you will pay more in interest over the life of the loan because the principal balance will decrease at a slower rate.

You may qualify for assistance based on your situation. Please contact our servicer, Aspire Servicing Center, as soon as possible if you experience issues, so we can help you avoid delinquency.

We offer reduced interest rates on current Reset Loan for qualifying active duty service members. If you are called to active duty, be sure to reach out to us as soon as possible so we can provide you with the information you need.

In the unfortunate event of a borrower's death or qualifying total and permanent disability, Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation will forgive the loan and not require cosigners or the borrower's estate to satisfy the loan obligation. A tax professional or the IRS can provide additional information about possible tax consequences of loan forgiveness.

No; in the event of a cosigner's death or qualifying total and permanent disability, you will not be required to find a new cosigner for an existing loan. In addition, if a cosigner suffers a qualifying total and permanent disability, Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation will release the cosigner from his or her obligation.

Customer service for all loans offered by ISL Education Lending will be provided by our affiliate, Aspire Servicing Center.