Linn Area Credit Union is one of the many lenders who seek to simplify your finances by consolidating and refinancing your student loans into one convenient payment.
This refinance option does not do much justice for grads. There are many other top consolidation companies who can bring in the offer way better than Linn Area Credit Union. For students who live in this area, this may be a choice based on location and simplicity.
Loan Rates and Longest Terms
- 20 year loan term
- Variable interest rate from 5.30% to 9.61 AP
Eligibility
- You must be a U.S citizen or permanent resident who graduated from an eligible school.
- You must also be a member of the credit union.
- In order to qualify for membership, you must live or work in one of the following Iowa counties:
- Benton, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Cedar, Clayton, Clinton, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Iowa, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Linn, Louisa, Muscatine, Poweshiek, Scott, Tama or Washington. Or be related to someone who’s already a member.
- Linn Area Credit Union looks for applicants that have a good to excellent credit score (high 600’s or above)
Pro
- Linn Area Credit Union will refinance both private and federal student loans
- Automatic payment includes a 0.25% discount
- Cosigners released after 24 consecutive on time payments
- Interest-only payments for up to 4 years
- Forbearance is also available for 6 month period
Con
- Variable interest rate at 5.30%APR isn’t lowest in the market
- There is an upfront refinance fee of 2.5% is charged at disbursement of the loan and added to your principal.
Best for
This is good for borrowers with great credit criteria. The minimum amount you can borrow is $7,500. The maximum amount is $125,000 for undergraduate loans and $175,000 for graduate loans.
You should be weary of variable interest refinances. Since interest rates are currently at an all-time low, if you refinance with Linn Area Credit Union your rate will likely increase at some point within your loan term lifespan. The upfront fee of 2.5% is a fee you could avoid elsewhere. Depending on how much you need to refinance the fee can be pretty steep. There are not many other student loan refinance companies which include a fee like this one.