INvestED Snapshot
INvestED offers private student loans, parent loans, and student loan refinancing. INvestED’s student loan refinance offering is best if you are a resident of Indiana or student who attended school in Indiana seeking competitive interest rates and a variety of repayment options.
Fixed APR Range: 5.85% to 9.48%
Variable APR Range: 8.63% to 12.27%
Loan Amounts: $5,000 to $250,000
Minimum Credit Score: 670
| Best Features | Drawbacks |
| • Competitive interest rates • You can refinance without a degree • Offers up to 36 months of academic deferment | • Only available to students that are residents of or attended school in Indiana • No biweekly payment via autopay • You can’t refinance parent PLUS loans in your name • Cosigner release option after 48 months of timely payments |
What’s Inside
- Interest Rates, Fees, and Terms
- Eligibility Requirements – Financial
- Eligibility Requirements – Personal
- Repayment Options
- Customer Service
- FAQ
Best Features of Refinancing with INvestED
Competitive interest rates
When looking for a student loan, finding a low-interest rate is typically a top priority. If you qualify to refinance your student loans through INvestED, you’ll have access to competitive interest rates, and won’t have to pay origination fees, application fees, or prepayment penalties.
| INvestED Student Loan Refinance | |
| Fixed APR* | 5.85% – 9.48% |
| Variable APR* | 8.63% – 12.27% |
You can refinance without a degree
While most lenders require you to have graduated in order to refinance, INvestED allows you to refinance in school and without a degree.
Offers up to 36 months of academic deferment
After refinancing your loan with INvestED, borrowers are eligible for up to 36 months of academic deferment if you decide to enroll in a graduate program at least half-time. This allows you to postpone making payments for 36 months while you pursue another degree.
Drawbacks of Refinancing with INvestED
Only available to students that are residents of or attended school in Indiana
While INvestED offers a high-quality student loan refinancing option, it is unfortunately only available to borrowers who are residents of Indiana or attended school in Indiana. If you are neither, you will need to apply with a different lender.
No biweekly payment via autopay
When you repay your student loan, your payments are due monthly by default. Instead, some borrowers choose to make biweekly payments via autopay, where you automatically pay half your monthly amount once every two weeks. Many borrowers use biweekly autopay in an effort to pay off their student debt faster and pay less in interest over the lifetime of the loan.
Unfortunately, when you borrow through INvestED, you don’t have the option to make biweekly payments via autopay.
You do, however, have the option to make greater-than-minimum payments via autopay. This means you have the option to pay more than your monthly balance in order to reduce the interest that accrues over time. With INvestED, you can set this up automatically so that the desired monthly payment is drawn from your bank account at the end of each month.
You can’t refinance parent PLUS loans in your name
If your parent has taken out a Parent PLUS loan or a private student loan in their name, your parent will not have the option to refinance that loan or transfer the loan to your name when refinancing with INvestED.
Cosigner release option after 48 months
While INvestED offers the option to add a cosigner, their cosigner release policy does require 48 months of on-time payments, which is longer than some other lenders. INvestED could improve by offering a lower payment requirement for cosigner release.
INvestED: The Nuts and Bolts
Interest Rates, Fees, and Terms
| Fixed APR Range | 5.85% to 9.48% |
| Variable APR Range | 8.63% to 12.27% |
| Loan Terms | 5, 10, or 15 years; 15-year term is only available for in-school refinancing. |
| Loan Amounts | $5,000 to $250,000. |
| Ability to transfer a parent loan to the student | No. |
| Application or Origination Fee | No. |
| Prepayment Penalty | No. |
| Late Fees | Yes, 5% of the unpaid past due amount or $10, whichever is less. |
Eligibility Requirements – Financial
| Minimum Credit Score | 670. |
| Minimum Income | $36,000. |
| Typical Credit Score of Approved Borrowers or Cosigners | Did not disclose. |
| Typical Income of Approved Borrower | Did not disclose. |
| Maximum Debt-to-Income Ratio | 50%. |
| Ability to qualify if you’ve filed for bankruptcy | Yes, but only after 5 years. |
Eligibility Requirements – Personal
| Citizenship | Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. |
| Location | Must be a resident of Indiana or have attended a school in Indiana. |
| Must have graduated | No. |
| Must have attended a school authorized to receive federal aid | Yes. |
| Percentage of borrowers who have a cosigner | 35%. |
Repayment Options
| Academic Deferment | Yes, up to 36 months of deferment for borrowers who enroll at least half-time at an eligible institution for a graduate degree. |
| Military Deferment | Yes. |
| Disability Deferment | Did not disclose. |
| Forbearance | Yes, up to 24 months of forbearance across the lifetime of the loan. Forbearance is available in increments of 1-3 months, and borrowers can only receive 2 forbearance periods in a 12-month period. |
| Cosigner Release | Yes, after 48 months of on-time payments. |
| Death or Disability Discharge | Yes. |
| Loan discharge if cosigner dies or becomes disabled | No. |
| Autopay | Allows for surplus payments via autopay: Yes. Allows for biweekly payments via autopay: No. |
Customer Service
| Loan Servicer | American Education Services. |
| In-house Customer Service Team | Yes. |
| Process for Escalating Concerns | Yes. |
| Borrowers get assigned a personal customer service representative | No. |
| Average time from approval to payoff | Around 18 days. |
Before you take out a loan from INvestED…
Complete the Sparrow application to compare real rates from more than 15 different lenders to make sure you’re getting the best rate possible.
See real rates, not rate ranges or estimates: Sparrow’s rates mimic those of our lenders so you know what rate you’re getting from each lender.
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FAQ
Is INvestED a legitimate lender?
Yes, INvestED is a legitimate lender that has been working with students for over 40 years.
Is INvestED available in all 50 states?
No, INvestED is only available to borrowers who are studying in or residents of Indiana.
How long does it take to get an INvestED student loan?
Submitting an application through INvestED takes a few minutes. Once you’ve submitted your loan application, INvestED will instantaneously return a decision about your eligibility. If you qualify, you will receive the rate and terms of your loan.
It may take some time to actually receive your loan. Your school must approve the loan which may take between four to six weeks.
What happens if I don’t qualify for an INvestED student loan?
If you don’t qualify for an INvestED student loan, the company will inform you why. Depending on the reason, you may consider applying with a qualified cosigner or trying with a different lender. To check your rates across multiple lenders at once, try using Sparrow’s free search engine. In just two minutes, you can receive real, personalized offers from over 15 different lenders ready to help you. And best of all, it won’t impact your credit score.
Are INvestED student loans federal or private?
INvestED offers private student loans. Before you take out a private student loan, we recommend that you exhaust your federal funding options, including grants and scholarships.
Does applying for a loan through INvestED hurt my credit score?
In order to see what rate you qualify for, INvestED conducts a hard credit check to verify your information. A hard credit check may temporarily impact your credit score.
See INvestED’s disclosures here.