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Questions for a Financial Aid Officer Before Picking a College

We spoke with Daniel Barkowitz, Assistant VP of Financial Aid and Veterans’ Affairs at Valencia College to learn what advice he would share with those attending college in the coming years.

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Disclosures and methodology

The Earnest content platform is created and managed by Earnest. Articles and other content posted by Earnest are provided for general informational purposes only and not intended to provide legal or tax advice. Any links provided to other sites are offered as a matter of convenience and are not intended to imply that Earnest or its writers endorse, sponsor, promote, and/or are affiliated with the owners of or participants in those sites, or endorses any information contained on those sites unless expressly stated otherwise.

Earnest regularly publishes insights drawn from original analysis based on data from loan applications, surveys, and/or publicly available data sources. We always anonymize our data and we never sell our data to third parties. You can learn more here.

Explanation of $30,939 Average Client Savings

Average savings calculation is based on all Earnest clients who refinanced student loans owned and serviced by Navient between 03/06/2017 and 03/31/2018. The savings figure of a particular client is calculated by subtracting the projected lifetime cost of their Earnest refinancing from the projected total cost of their original student loans.

How we calculate the figures:

For the original student loans, the projected lifetime costs are calculated using the weighted average term of the original loans and the weighted average interest rate in effect in the month prior to the refinance event, including borrower benefits (e.g. automatic payment discounts).
For the refinanced loans, projected lifetime costs are calculated using the selected Earnest term and interest rate, also including borrower benefits.
Projected lifetime costs assume a principal balance of $75,000.
Projected monthly savings is derived by using the “projected lifetime savings” divided by the selected Earnest term

In order to calculate our average client savings, we excluded:

Savings from any client that selected an Earnest loan with a longer term than their Navient student loan terms
Loans resulting from a client refinancing the same Earnest loan with Earnest

Average client savings amount is not predictive or indicative of your individual cost savings. For example, your individual savings may differ based on your loan term and rate type selections, if you change your repayment options, or if you pay off your student loans early.

Explanation of Rates “With Autopay”

Rates shown include 0.25% APR reduction when client agrees to make monthly principal and interest payments by automatic electronic payment. Use of autopay is not required to receive an Earnest loan.

Explanation of Precision Pricing™ Savings

Savings calculations are based on refinancing $121,825 in student loans at an existing loan servicer’s interest rate of 7.5% fixed APR with 10 years, 6 months remaining on the loan term. The other lender’s savings and APR (light green line) represent what would happen if those loans were refinanced at the other lender’s best fixed APRs. The Earnest savings and APR (white line) represent refinancing those loans at Earnest’s best fixed APRs.

Savings is computed as the difference between the future scheduled payments on the existing loans and payments on new Earnest and “other lender” loans. The calculation assumes on-time loan payments, no change in interest rates, and no prepayment of loans.

Client Testimonials

Individuals portrayed as Earnest clients on this site are actual clients and were compensated for their participation.

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Disclaimers

Disclosures and methodology

Explanation of $30,939 Average Client Savings

How we calculate the figures:

In order to calculate our average client savings, we excluded:

Explanation of Rates “With Autopay”

Explanation of Precision Pricing™ Savings

Client Testimonials

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