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Nelnet Student Loans Review
Whether you’re looking for a private student loan or student loan refinancing, Nelnet student loans might be right for you. Nelnet offers a variety of options for student loan repayment so you can meet your financial obligations whether you’re between jobs or in your dream job. Its website makes it easy to understand why Nelnet student loans ratings are high; it’s easy to use and educational. While it has offices worldwide, Nelnet is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, where it was founded in 1996. Nelnet offers some of the best student loans rates to borrowers, and its purpose and vision is to serve others and make their dreams possible
Paying back loans with Nelnet
Making your monthly payments with Nelnet is very easy with its online portal. Once you are set up with your log-in credentials, you can find all of your Nelnet student loan rates and associated info when you log in on your computer or via the mobile app.
Borrowers who have more than one student loan may have multiple payment dates, but luckily, you can request your payment dates to be on the same date. This will make budgeting much simpler. In addition to getting your payments on a schedule that fits your budgeting cycle, you can sign up for auto-debit so you’re never late or miss a payment.
Nelnet offers several student loan repayment options in regulation with other federal student loan servicers:
- Standard: This plan divides your loan amount into 120 equal payments, allowing you to have it paid off in just 10 years.
- Graduated: This option starts you off with a lower payment for two years and then increases the monthly payment amount every 24 months.
- Extended: The extended option is if you have more than $30,000 in student loans and allows you up to 25 years to pay off your loans using either the standard or graduated monthly payment plan.
- Income-Sensitive: For five years, your monthly payment is based upon your monthly gross income; after that, you can choose the standard or graduated monthly plan.
- Income-Driven: This payment option is with you for all of life’s ups and downs. You can choose from among four plans based on the one that meets your financial situation best.
Not sure about which plan is best for you? Contact Nelnet customer service to speak with a representative who will learn about your situation and explain your options so you can make an informed decision.
How to contact Nelnet
There are a variety of ways to get in touch with Nelnet regarding your student loans.
Online
You can email Nelnet through its website, or you can reach out on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Phone
The call center is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday.
- United States: 1-888-486-4722
- International: 1-303-696-3625
Nelnet mailing addresses
General correspondence can be sent to:
Nelnet
P.O. Box 82561
Lincoln, NE 68501-2561
For California residents:
Nelnet
P.O. Box 82578
Lincoln, NE 68501-2578
For sending in documents related to deferment, forbearance, repayment plans, or enrollment status changes:
Attn: Enrollment Processing
Lincoln, NE 68501-2565
For sending in documents related to loan discharge, forgiveness claims or bankruptcy claims:
Attn: Claims
P.O. Box: 82505
Lincoln, NE 68501-2505
Specific addresses for mailing in your payments can be found on the Nelnet website.
Nelnet student loan refinancing
While Nelnet makes it easy to pay your lenders back through its third-party platform, it does not directly offer student loan refinancing. This may come as welcome news to those who are dissatisfied customers and leave negative Nelnet student reviews. However, for those who are interested, Nelnet does have a subsidary company offering student loan refinancing.
U-fi From Nelnet offers competitive rates on student loan refinancing and can even refinance Parent PLUS loans. Variable interest rates are as low as 1.98%, while fixed-rate refinances can be as low as 3.19%. The eligibility requirements are lax, and this is one of the best student loans for bad credit since you can add a co-signer if your credit score isn’t high enough. Then, build your credit as you make payments. Your co-signer can be removed after your first 24 on-time payments.
There are two major benefits of refinancing your student loans. First, rather than having multiple loans to pay each month, you have just one lump sum payment. The second benefit is you can lower the overall student loan interest rate. When you do a refinance, there is a downside. You will lose privileges such as grace periods and eligibility for loan forgiveness programs.
Nelnet private student loans
For current or prospective students who have exhausted their options for federal loans, grants and scholarships, Nelnet private student loans are available. They are offered through U-fi From Nelnet and have fixed-rate student loans starting as low as 3.95% and variable ones from 1.23%. Loan amounts start at $1,000 and go up to $125,000 for undergraduate programs and $500,000 for graduate medical programs.
The student loans come with a six-month grace period as well as interest rate reduction incentives, including a 0.25% interest rate reduction for setting your repayment up on auto-draft. There are three repayment plans: immediate repayment, interest-only repayment and deferred repayment. A co-signer may be required to obtain the loan, but they can be released from their obligation after you’ve made 24 on-time payments.
Too long, didn’t read?
Whether you’re just thinking about getting your first student loan or are done with college and ready to restart the repayment process, keep in mind that making smart financial decisions now will set you up for a great financial future. Student loans in your name can help you build credit, but having several loans may cause your credit score to drop since you are likely to have a high debt to income ratio. Refinancing or consolidating your loans into just one loan might be a good decision since you will have just one debt to focus on as you pay off your student loans on your way to becoming debt-free.
We welcome your feedback on this article. Contact us at inquiries@thesimpledollar.com with comments or questions.
Methodology
The SimpleScore is a proprietary scoring metric we use to objectively compare products and services at The Simple Dollar.
For every review, our editorial team:
- Identifies five measurable aspects to compare across each brand
- Determines the rating criteria for each aspect score
- Averages the five aspect scores to produce a single SimpleScore™
Here’s a breakdown of the five aspect scores and their rating criteria for our review of the best student loans of 2020.
Max Fixed Rate
Lenders who offered a lower maximum fixed rate were awarded higher scores.
Perks
We awarded higher scores for lenders that list more perks including services, discounts and special offers for their borrowers.
Transparency
Lenders that laid it all bare by publishing important data about products — APR, offered loan amounts, applicable fees and customer support contact links — scored higher for transparency.
Loan Amount
Lenders that offered higher loan amounts compared to others received higher scores.
Fees
We awarded higher scores to lenders that have fewer loan fees for borrowers.