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LendKey Graduate Student Loan Review
Private Student Loans (Graduate)
Rewards: Autopay Discount
Flexibility: Offers borrowers a one-time payment due date change
Eligibility: Requires borrowers to become members of a participating credit union
Yearly Loan Limits: Covers 100% of your Cost of Attendance
Overall Loan Limits: $1,000 (minimum)
Cosigner Terms: Cosigner optional, allows for Cosigner Release after 24 on-time monthly payments
Rewards: Autopay Discount
Flexibility: Offers borrowers a one-time payment due date change
Eligibility: Requires borrowers to become members of a participating credit union
Yearly Loan Limits: Covers 100% of your Cost of Attendance
Overall Loan Limits: $1,000 (minimum)
Cosigner Terms: Cosigner optional, allows for Cosigner Release after 24 on-time monthly payments
The bottom line
LendKey has some of the best repayment policies, offering lengthy maximum deferment and forbearance periods for borrowers in need. Even so, you’ll likely find better rates with other lenders, and be aware that LendKey capitalizes unpaid accrued interest on a quarterly basis for variable rate loans.
Pros- Offers partial forbearance option
- Borrowers can customize payment due date
- Cosigner release option after 24 months of consecutive on-time monthly payments
Cons- Capitalizes interest quarterly
- Charges a fee on late payments
- Does not automatically offer a discharge in the event of death or total permanent disability of the borrower
Loan comparison
Full review
Certain elements of LendKey’s graduate student loan repayment policies are unparalleled. They offer a maximum in-school deferment period of up to 60 months, maximum forbearances of up to 12 months, and even a partial forbearance option (which prevents financially distressed borrowers from accruing an avalanche of unpaid interest). LendKey also allows you to customize your payment due date, allows for cosigner release after 24 months of on-time monthly payments, and offers a repayment term of 5 years (among others) for borrowers wanting to pay their student loan off quickly.
Other elements of LendKey’s repayment policies are lacking. Though most top lenders automatically discharge loans in cases where borrowers die or are permanently disabled, LendKey does not offer that same guarantee. Though they evaluate these situations on a case-by-case basis and ordinarily offer discharges in unusual circumstances like these, don’t count on it completely.
Also, if you let interest accrue on your variable-rate LendKey graduate student loan, beware of the mounting interest. LendKey will capitalize unpaid interest on a quarterly basis for these loans, meaning it is easy for your debt to snowball out of control.
LendKey - Private Student Loans (Graduate)
Other loans that LendKey offers:
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