Sparrow Review 2023 | U.S. News

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.

Sparrow is not a lender, so it doesn’t offer loans itself. However, Sparrow partners with lenders that offer products including:

Students and parents can complete a form on Sparrow’s website to see whether they are eligible for loans offered through Sparrow’s lending partners. In addition to personal information such as your name, address, date of birth and contact information, you’ll also need to provide:

After you complete the Sparrow application for prequalified rates, Sparrow performs a soft credit inquiry. This will not impact your credit score.

Shortly – Sparrow says “within minutes” – after submitting the application, you should be notified of any options available from Sparrow’s 14 partner lenders.

Students who create a Sparrow account can view offers from lending partners on their Sparrow dashboard and can compare loan offers side by side, filtering by criteria such as term or annual percentage rate.

After you apply for a specific loan on a partner lender’s website, the lender will perform a hard credit check, which will show up on your credit report. You can expect the lender to respond to you within a business day or two of submitting your loan application.

Funds for private student loans are sent directly to the school, and students should contact their financial aid office to learn about accessing this money.

Sparrow is a free service, so you don’t have to pay anything to create a Sparrow profile and compare loan offers on the site.

Sparrow’s partner lenders offer student loans with five-, seven-, eight-, 10-, 12-, 15- and 20-year terms, and there are options for undergraduates and graduate students. Loan terms vary, so students should confirm terms with their lender.

The minimum loan amount you can apply for through Sparrow’s lending partners is $1,000. In general, the maximum loan amount available through Sparrow’s partner lenders is based on your school’s certified costs minus any financial assistance you’ve already received, such as from scholarships or federal financial aid.

For student loan refinancing through Sparrow’s partner lenders, the minimum loan amount is $10,000 and the maximum is $500,000.

Fixed and variable APR ranges also differ among lenders, but fixed APRs range from 2.15% to 14.98% and variable APRs range from 0.99% to 12.99%.

Some of Sparrow’s lending partners offer an autopay discount, which usually lowers the rate by 0.25 of a percentage point. Sparrow rate offers include the autopay discount when available, but you can choose to view the rate without the discount.

Loans must be for students enrolled in an educational program at least part time. Applicants younger than the age of majority in their state of residence need a co-signer.

Students can complete an application form on Sparrow’s website to determine eligibility and prequalified rates.

Most lenders consider the applicant’s credit score when determining loan eligibility. Students with poor credit, no credit or who are just starting to build their credit history may want to consider applying with a co-signer even if they are old enough to apply independently; this may help them qualify for loan products with better terms and lower interest rates.

There is no minimum FICO score requirement for a student loan with Sparrow; the platform has options for students with no credit history.

The minimum FICO score required for student loan refinancing is 650.

Students can chat with Sparrow representatives online through their dashboard, email support@sparrowfi.com, send a message using the site’s contact form or call 310-433-6966. Sparrow representatives can be reached Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time, and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

Prospective borrowers can complete a brief application through Sparrow to see any customized rates they prequalify for with partner lenders.

Through their Sparrow dashboard, students can check the status of their loan application, view their prequalified rates and compare loan options side by side, and chat with a Sparrow representative.

The mobile app is not yet publicly available, but it will allow students to make loan payments in-app.

Some of Sparrow’s lending partners may offer deferments or forbearance; students should find the lender’s policy on the credit agreement for the loan.

Not all repayment plans are available with all of Sparrow’s partner lenders or on all products, but there are multiple repayment options. These include:

U.S. News is an investor in Sparrow.