Community Savings Bank has seven locations in Iowa and serves the counties of Delaware, Dubuque, and Linn. There are no special member requirements to apply to refinance your student loans with its program.
Loan Rates and Longest Terms
- Variable rates from 6.40% to 7.66% APR
- 15 year loan term
Eligibility
- Must be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident
- Have graduated from an eligible school
- Meet the minimum credit requirements. Those with a credit score in the upper 600s will have a better chance of approval.
Pro
- No special member requirements
- Ability to consolidate both federal and private student loans
- For a smaller bank, the amounts you can consolidate are quite high. Most private lenders aren’t consolidating up to six-figures (especially for undergraduates
- Cosigner release available after 24 consecutive, on-time payments of principal and interest
- The graduated repayment option is great for graduates who might not be earning a lot right away, but think their income will increase over the course of the 4 years of interest-only payments.
Con
- Only variable interest rates, with the only repayment term offered is 15 years. Other lenders will refinance loans on 10, 15, or 20 year terms, offering more flexibility.
- Only variable rates are available. While these rates are on the lower end, you might be looking to get away from having a variable rate because the payments aren’t stable.
- There’s a 2.5% origination fee associated with this loan.
Best For
Who need to consolidate and want to be able to meet the ‘no special requirement’ to become a member.
The lack of flexibility with repayment options doesn’t exactly make Community Savings Bank the best option given there are better lenders out there, and those which do not charge an origination fee.
The Application Process
Community Savings Bank conducts a hard credit pull during the application process. There are six stages of the application process, and you can track your progress at any time by logging in online.
Have the following documents ready to go during the application process:
- Proof of graduation: copy of transcript, degree, or certificate
- Most recent student loan statement
- Payoff letter for your loans or a screenshot of the payoff amount 30-45 days in the future
- Proof of income: two most recent pay stubs, dated within the past 60 days
- Self-employed: last two years of tax returns, plus required schedules
- Retired: pension, Social Security award letter, or 1099R
- Commission-based: last two years of W-2 forms and two most recent pay stubs
Loans can be canceled for up to 3 days after signing the agreement.
There are two repayment options available: graduated and level (standard). Graduated repayment means you’ll be making interest-only payments for 4 years, while the next 11 years are under level repayment (principal and interest).
Community Savings Bank does note that level repayment “can result in lower interest rates,” so keep that in mind when choosing between the two.
