Please note: Education Loan Finance is rebranding to our commonly known name, ELFI. Our look and name have changed, but our commitment to providing our customers with great products and service remains the same. Please note that this will not affect any existing loans or applications in any way.

Student Loan Refinancing: Terms & Conditions

Please read below for SouthEast Bank’s general disclosures, rate details, terms and conditions.

Your rate is variable. This means that your rate could move lower or higher than the rates on your disclosure. Although the interest rate will vary after you are approved, the maximum interest rate that could apply will be included in your loan agreement.

The variable interest rate will be based on a publicly available index, the Prime Rate of Interest, as published in the Money Market Section of the Wall Street Journal. These variable rates will be calculated and set each month by adding a margin between -3.14% to 0.49% to the Prime Rate.


  • Application Fee: $0
  • Origination Fee: 0%
  • Loan Guarantee Fee: 0%
  • Prepayment Fee: 0%
  • Late Charge: the lesser of 5% of the past due amount or $50
  • Returned Check or Insufficient Funds Charge: $30

For example, a 10-year loan with a fixed rate of 6% APR would have 120 monthly payments of $11.10 per $1,000 borrowed. Rates are subject to change.


You may be able to consolidate your outstanding federal loans into a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan. The current interest rate for a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan is the weighted average of the interest rates being consolidated rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent.

Think carefully before taking out a loan with ELFI, the education loan refinance program offered by SouthEast Bank, to pay off your federal loans. If you refinance your federal loans through ELFI, you will not be able to select income-contingent repayment or other flexible payment plans that are available to federal student loan borrowers. In addition, federal student loans offer deferment and forbearance options that may not be available to you if you take out a loan with ELFI.

Private education loans are not eligible to be included in a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan.

See https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/federal-vs-private for a description of the benefits and repayment options available to federal student loan borrowers.


  1. Find out about other options.
    • The Federal Direct Consolidation Loan may have student loan benefits and terms not detailed on this form. Visit the Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov for more information about other consolidation loans.
  2. To apply for this loan, complete the application.
    • If you are approved for this loan, the loan terms will be available for 30 days (terms will not change during this period, except as permitted by law).

See your loan agreement for important disclosures about the consequences of refinancing federal student loans with ELFI.

  • Your interest rate will depend on the loan term that you select.
  • Interest rates are valid within the preceding 30 days.

ELFI does not have a grace period. Monthly payments of principal and interest begin the month after the loan proceeds are disbursed unless we grant you a deferment and align your repayment begin date to the expiration of the grace period on the federal student loans that you are refinancing with us. You understand that interest will continue to accrue during this deferment period and that accrued interest will be capitalized at the end of this deferment period.

  • All loans are subject to credit approval.
  • Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien without conditions and with proper evidence of eligibility.
  • Must be at the age of majority or older at the time of loan application.
  • Must have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher from an ELFI approved post-secondary institution and program of study.
  • Must reside in a state in which ELFI is authorized to lend.

Neither ELFI nor SouthEast Bank is affiliated with the schools included on the ELFI Approved Post-Secondary Institution list, nor does inclusion on this list constitute any endorsement or partnership between either party.

Must be at the age of majority or older at the time of loan application.

If you file for bankruptcy you may still be required to pay back this loan.

This website and all content is the exclusive property of SouthEast Bank and may not be reproduced without permission. All information contained on this website is subject to change without notice. SouthEast Bank is not responsible for typographical errors.

More information about loan eligibility and repayment deferral or forbearance options is available in your loan application and loan agreement.