SoFi Student Loans Reviews

We filed a complaint. They listened to the recorded call and 100% agree that that disclosure was NOT made, and we WERE told the entire “payment” would be deferred. However, we were then told that the person that told us that on a recorded call last October was not in the correct department to be able to make that statement, that they had made a mistake and that person should have transferred the call that day to the proper department and had they done so, we would have been provided a different answer. So, they admit 100% that they made the mistake yet refuse to honor what we were told.

On 12-8-25 the rep from SOFI that was evaluating our complaint (who had listened to the call and agreed with us that we were misled) called to tell us that his request was turned down attempting to correct the situation. He apologized and said it was out of his hands and that there is NO WAY at SOFI to speak to anyone above him to further dispute how we were misled. All he offered to do was provide the contact for the SOFI legal department. We then received a 12-8-25 follow up email from the SOFI rep that contradicts what he said on the phone and contains an outright lie about how we were lied to on a recorded call in October 2025. Our advice: do NOT do business with SOFI, as they cannot be trusted.

In the next couple of days, the SOFI representative contacted me again, and when I asked about the $500 credit, he was unaware of the offer and told me to contact SOFI customer service, which was the same number the representative was calling me from. That was a red flag for me, so I decided to take my business elsewhere. I reported the situation to SOFI and withdrew my application. If you're dealing with SOFI, regardless of your situation, do not allow them to pressure you into signing anything until you have all your facts straight.

DO NOT borrow from SoFi if you can help it. They have absolutely no transparency and garbage customer service and despite multiple references on the internet saying they will discharge a loan in the event of a death of a loved one- they won't and they won't tell you why either. My mother refinanced for a better rate on a federal loan that would have been forgiven in the event of her death, worked till she was 69 trying to pay that loan off, dropped dead of a heart attack, and now they are going to draw blood from a stone and rob me of the last pieces of my mother that I have. They are predatory, cruel, disorganized and they will not help you.

I made a rookie mistake: I didn't carefully read the contract. It turns out that they require interest payments from people enrolled full-time in school if that person refinanced their loan with them. I explained that I cannot afford this. I asked if I could pay a reduced amount. I explained that I was misled in my earlier communications about the terms of in-school deferments.

SoFi did not care and are still insisting that I pay the full amount, which is 20% of my meager income working 30 hours each week in addition to my full-time schooling. Now I have to figure out how I can come up with this money, and I honestly have no idea. As a note, I could remove the in-school deferment and then apply for economic forbearance, but they only allow a maximum of 12 months of economic forbearance for the life of the loan, and I have two more years of my PhD, so that is of little help.

Unfortunately, after starting the application process my rate was significantly increased because my income could not be “verified.” SoFi clearly thinks I can repay the loan, since they still offered me one, I just do not qualify for normal rates. This is despite producing two years worth of tax returns (2019 and 2020) supporting my income and a signed letter from our office manager with my stated guaranteed income.

After going back and forth with customer service for 13 days I was finally put in contact with an account specialist. They informed me that the only way I would qualify for their initial offer was if I could produce two years worth of End Of Year paystubs (the W2 was not sufficient). So, if you are a physician/independent contractor you will not qualify for their advertised rates unless you can also produce End Of Year paystubs, even if you have over 2 years worth of tax returns confirming you income. If you don’t happen to have End Of Year paystubs do not even bother checking your rate, it won’t be honored anyways.

The real salt in the wound was being approved for the mortgage (which is twice the amount of the student loan I am refinancing) with the same documentation and half the hassle. If you have ever purchased a house, think back on your mortgage application. Remember the frustration and headache? Now double it and you have an idea of what dealing with SoFi has been like. If you are a physician/independent I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere. I know that is what I will be telling the medical students and residents that rotate through my clerkship when they ask about student loan refinancing.

My credit was run on November 12. That is how long this process has taken only to be denied when I had been in touch with customer service several times throughout the application. I am grossly disappointed in the lack of communication and service from Sofi. The platform is not user friendly, many customer service representatives citing a “technical glitch” in the platform and advising I wait for them to contact me with a solution (which never came.) I strongly suggest looking elsewhere for any financing needs.