Graduate Student Loans

Graduate student loans
for your next step.

SoFi makes it fast and easy to pay for a grad degree
with a graduate student loan– and now, even a
grad-level certificate
—so you can focus on
what matters the most: your education.

View your rate

Unlike with other lenders, viewing your rate with SoFi will NOT affect your credit score.†︎.

New! Cash bonus for good grades.

Up to $2501 with GPAs 3.0 or higher.

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Graduate Loans that check all the boxes.

Pay for grad school with confidence with experts, scholarships, educational material, and student loans from SoFi.

All online. All easy.

Finish our simple graduate student loan online application in minutes. Plus, get access to live customer support 7 days a week.

No fees. No fuss.

No fees means no fees. That means no origination fees, no late fees, and no insufficient funds fees on any private loans for grad school. Period.

%

Competitive rates.

With variable rates as low as 4.64% APR with autopay*, you can save more versus other private lenders.

Exclusive member benefits.

SoFi members can qualify for exclusive rate discounts. You’ll get access to career services, financial advisors, networking events, and more—all at no extra cost.

Graduate Student loan rates.

Fixed

3.54% - 14.83% APR*

with all discounts

Variable

4.64% - 15.86% APR*

with all discounts

Not sure which to choose?
Learn more.→

PRIVATE STUDENT LOANS

Earn and redeem points to pay down your SoFi graduate student loan.

Now you can redeem your rewards points to pay down your SoFi graduate student loan. Earning rewards points is as easy as setting up bill pay, checking your credit score, and more.

Learn more

For complete Member Rewards details, read our Terms of Service.

SoFi Graduate School loans vs other lenders.

  • Time to get a rate quote
  • Fees
  • Ways to repay
  • Financial planning services
  • Multiple Repayment Term Options
  • Interest rate discount opportunities

  • 3 minutes

  • No fees

  • 4

  • Yes

  • Yes (5-, 7-, 10-, 15-year terms)

  • Automated payments and subsequent loans^

Sallie Mae

  • 15 minutes

  • Late fee + returned check

  • 3

  • No

  • No (terms assigned by lender)

  • Automated payments

College Ave

  • 3 minutes

  • Late fee

  • 4

  • No

  • Yes

  • Automated payments

Discover

  • No longer accepting applications after January 31, 2024.

Comparisons based on information obtained on lenders’ websites as of January 9, 2024

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Repay the graduate student way.

Pick the repayment option that works for you and your budget.

Deferred

Start paying principal and interest payments six months after you leave school.

  • No payments while in grad school
  • Highest overall cost option

Interest only

Pay only interest payments while you’re in school.

  • Moderate payment while in grad school
  • Reduces overall cost

Partial

Pay a $25 fixed monthly payment while you’re in grad school.

  • Lowest payment option while in graduate school
  • Reduces some of the overall cost

Immediate

Start paying principal and interest payments right away.

  • Highest payment option while in grad school
  • Lowest overall cost option

View repayment examples

On your terms.

We now offer four different term options so you can choose a repayment timetable that works for you.

5-year

Interest: lowest, Monthly payment: highest, Time to pay off: lowest

7-year

Interest: mid low, Monthly payment: mid high, Time to pay off: mid low

10-year

Interest: mid high, Monthly payment: mid low, Time to pay off: mid high

15-year

Interest: highest, Monthly payment: lowest, Time to pay off: highest

View repayment examplesStart your application

What about grad-level certificate programs?
Yep—covered.

Gaining a new skill through a graduate-level certificate program? Our loan for grad students can help you pay for it—so learning has even fewer limits.

View your rateCheck program eligibility

You got the job—
now get the grad school loan.

Now you can use your job offer letter as proof of income when applying for a Graduate School Loan. As long as your start date is within 90 days, you’re good to go.3

View your rate

Checking your rate will not affect your credit score.

How do I apply for a graduate student loan?

  1. 1

    Apply online in just minutes.

    Get your rate fast and find out if you’re pre-qualified before you even finish the full application. Seamlessly add a cosigner in just a few clicks.

  2. 2

    Select your rate and repayment option.

    Choose from fixed or variable rates. Then, pick from four repayment options.

  3. 3

    Sign and accept your loan.

    Upload screenshots of your info, sign your paperwork electronically, and voilà—your work is done! We’ll handle it from here.

View your rate

Graduate Student Loan FAQs

Graduate student loans allow students to cover part of or the whole cost of attendance for grad school. There are a number of different types of graduate student loans. In the spirit of transparency, SoFi strongly believes you should consider all of your federal grant and loan options before you consider private loans, including SoFi’s. If you do decide that a private student loan is the right fit for you, we’re happy to help! Our loan process is trusted, easy, and fast. SoFi’s Private Student Loans offer competitive rates and flexible payment options and terms, with absolutely zero fees.
SoFi’s graduate student loan application is entirely online. Borrowers can apply in just minutes. In order to apply, borrowers will need the following information:
  • Social Security number or Tax Identification Number (TIN) are required from all borrowers all the time
  • Proof of income: You may be required to provide proof of income if SoFi is not able to validate it automatically. We could use something similar for gov't ID.
  • Government-issued ID
  • Student’s school information (student’s estimated graduation date and academic term)
  • Loan amount (how much you’d like to borrow)
  • Financial aid you expect to receive
  • Do you already have a private student loan with SoFi? We’ll use your past application to pre-fill as much information as possible in your new application
After completing the online application, approved borrowers will receive their rate (with no impact to their credit score). Borrowers can then review and select their rate and repayment options. From there, borrowers would simply sign and accept their loan.
There are a number of different types of graduate student loans. Federal student loans are offered through the US Department of Education. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans for graduate school are one of the student loans available to students. Graduate borrowers are also eligible for Grad PLUS Student loans through the federal government. There are also private graduate student loans, like SoFi offers. These loans are offered through a private institution. Private loans may allow you to borrow beyond the federal limits imposed on federal loans, or help you pick up the excess if you don’t qualify for enough federal funding. Each type of loan has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it is important for graduate students to choose the type of loan that is right for their individual needs. If you want to learn more about the graduate student loan types, check out this article.
Private student loans can offer higher borrowing limits and more flexible repayment options than federal loans. They may also be a good option for students who do not qualify for federal loans or who need to borrow more money than the federal loan limits allow. SoFi Private Student Loans offer competitive rates and flexible terms with no fees, an easy all-online application, flexible repayment plans including an option to make no payments until after graduation, and U.S. based support when you need it. And you can check your rate in just 3 minutes. Our online application is simple–and for those who already have a private student loan with us, we make taking out additional private student loans even simpler with the Fast Track application that pre-populates information to make completing the application a breeze. SoFi members also get access to meaningful benefits.
SoFi’s offers both fixed and variable options for graduate student loans.
To be eligible for a SoFi Graduate Loan, a borrower must have an undergraduate degree, be enrolled at an approved, degree-granting institution, and be attending the school at least half time. Eligible borrowers may be in graduate-level certificate programs as well as programs for advanced degrees. Borrowers can add a cosigner to their application to increase their likelihood or approval. Cosigners must be the age of majority in their state of residents and be US citizens, permanent residents, or non-permanent residents. You can find more information on SoFi’s eligibility criteria here.
For federal unsubsidized loans, graduate or professional students can borrow up to $20,500 per year (with a lifetime cap of $138,500 including all undergraduate federal loans). For SoFi private student loans, the minimum amount that grad students can borrow is $1,000. Grad students can borrow up to the certified cost of attendance (including expenses like tuition, technology, transportation, books, and lab fees) less any financial aid they received from the school.
SoFi offers four different term options to choose a repayment timetable that works for you. SoFi offers 5-, 7-, 10-, 15-year term options. Borrowers can find more information about SoFi’s graduate student terms here.

See more FAQs

Get started in minutes.

Find your graduate student loan rate in just a few clicks.

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Terms and Conditions Apply. SOFI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. SoFi Private Student loans are subject to program terms and restrictions, such as completion of a loan application and self-certification form, verification of application information, the student's at least half-time enrollment in a degree program at a SoFi-participating school and, if applicable, a co-signer. In addition, borrowers must be U.S. citizens or other eligible status, be residing in the U.S., and must meet SoFi’s underwriting requirements, including verification of sufficient income to support your ability to repay. Minimum loan amount is $1,000. See SoFi.com/eligibility for more information. View payment examples. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. SoFi reserves the right to modify eligibility criteria at any time. This information is subject to change. This information is current as of 7/8/22 and is subject to change.

* Interest Rates: Eligibility and Important Details. Fixed rates range from 3.54% APR to 14.83% APR with all discounts. Variable rates range from 4.64% APR to 15.86% APR with all discounts. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates are capped at 17.95%. SoFi rate ranges are current as of 6/1/23 and are subject to change at any time. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term and type of repayment option you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer (if applicable) and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Check out our eligibility criteria at https://www.sofi.com/eligibility-criteria/. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. This benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your monthly payment. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi.