Borrower tip: Refinancing federal student loans into a private student loan can make you ineligible for certain types of protections, such as income-driven repayment plans, federal debt forgiveness programs and forbearance/deferment options through the Department of Education.
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MPower Financing has student loan options for undergraduate and graduate degree programs. You may be eligible to refinance your loan if you have graduated and worked in the U.S. or Canada for at least three months.
Applying for an MPower loan starts with checking whether your school and your program are eligible. Then you will complete and submit an initial application and a valid photo ID online. You could receive a conditional offer either immediately or within three business days.
If you get a conditional offer, the lender will ask you to watch a video, complete an assessment and upload documents. MPower Financing verifies these documents for loan approval, which can take up to three business days, and provides a visa support letter if necessary. Lastly, the lender certifies costs and then disburses funds to your school, a timeline that can stretch up to 10 weeks.
Loans can be used for all education-related expenses, according to MPower Financing. But the lender also says to ask your school’s financial aid office if you plan to spend loan money on anything other than tuition. MPower Financing sends funds directly to your school.
MPower loans cannot be used to pay school application fees because you must be admitted to or enrolled at an eligible school before your application can be approved.
MPower Financing offers fixed-rate student loans from $2,001 to $50,000 over two academic periods – semesters, quarters, trimesters or school years – with a $100,000 lifetime borrowing limit.
Annual percentage rates are as low as 14.75% if you qualify for MPower Financing’s discounts. Your loan repayment terms depend on whether you’re an international student, whether you’re an undergraduate or graduate student, and what country your school is located in.
Loans have a repayment term of 10 years. The lender adds a 5% origination fee to your loan balance that you will pay over the loan term rather than upfront. MPower Financing also charges a late payment fee of either $5 or 4% of the past-due amount, whichever is less, plus a $5 returned payment fee.
You must be admitted to or enrolled at one of more than 400 eligible schools before you can apply for an MPower loan. If you are ineligible to borrow from MPower Financing, the company recommends looking into its partner, Sallie Mae.
If you qualify to refinance a loan, your APR with all discounts will be fixed at 12.69%. You can borrow the same $2,001 minimum and $100,000 lifetime amount and then repay it over 10 years. A 2% origination fee will be added to the loan amount, plus international borrowers pay a foreign currency exchange rate fee and a premium conversion charge.
Borrowers can qualify for three interest rate discounts of a half percentage point by:
- Signing up for autopay. You will receive the rate discount as long as you remain enrolled.
- Making consistent payments. Your rate will drop another half percentage point after you make six consecutive full payments with autopay.
- Keeping a full-time job. After you graduate and start working a full-time, salaried job, you can get one more half percentage point discount.
Note: Your discount may be removed if you make an invalid payment for any reason – a returned payment, for example – request forbearance or enter a modified payment plan.
MPower Financing doesn’t require a credit history, co-signer or collateral. Instead, the lender considers your academic success and career path to determine your creditworthiness.
International students, DACA recipients, refugees or asylum-seekers are eligible to apply. Undergraduate or graduate students must be starting a one- or two-year program or within two years of earning a degree at one of more than 400 schools in the U.S. or Canada. Graduates who have worked in the U.S. or Canada for at least three months may be eligible for refinancing.
MPower Financing doesn’t have a minimum credit score but instead makes loan decisions based on your future earning potential. Your application won’t be hurt if you have no credit.
If you have a credit history in the U.S. or your home country, the lender will verify your record and look for delinquencies, collections or tax liens. These are important factors considered during MPower Financing’s credit review. The lender recommends checking with TransUnion in the U.S. or Canada at 800-888-4213 or Nova Credit at 844-423-1345 for international accounts if you are concerned that your credit history could affect loan approval.
MPower Financing received an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau but is not accredited by the BBB. Trustpilot scores the lender 4.5 out of 5 stars, an excellent rating, based on more than 300 reviews.
Borrowers can contact customer service by chat, email or phone. You can also ask the chatbot questions by clicking on the chat icon – a blue circle containing a question mark – at the bottom right corner of any webpage.
If you can’t find the information you need, you can complete this form to receive an email response within 10 business days.
The lender recommends reaching out by email before calling because of high volume. You can reach MPower Financing at 202-417-3800 in the U.S. or 647-503-4607 in Canada, and borrowers from India and Nigeria should contact the U.S. number or request a callback online.
Borrowers can access digital tools for tasks such as setting up autopay, uploading documents and checking basic loan eligibility. You can apply for a loan, search and apply for scholarships, and use loan calculators to estimate payments on the lender’s website.
The MPower dashboard allows you to arrange loan payments and to view your monthly payments and due dates, as well as your loan servicer’s information.
MPower Financing provides a Support Center with answers to FAQs on topics such as applying for a loan, refinancing and repaying a loan. The lender also offers immigration, career, financial empowerment and other resources for students.
MPower Financing does not offer in-school or extended training deferments. You must make interest-only payments in school and for six months after graduation and then pay off principal and interest over 10 years. Borrowers struggling to make payments should contact MPower Financing to discuss options and find the best solution.
- International students, DACA recipients, refugees and asylum-seekers.
- Students who need to borrow without a credit check or co-signer.
- Students starting a one- or two-year program or who are within two years of graduating.