Upstart
6.6
Overall Scorea month ago
Upstart
Upstart is a peer-to-peer lending personal loan company that offers financial solutions primarily for recent college graduates and young professionals. Borrowers can obtain unsecured loans at fixed rates.
What separates Upstart from other personal loan online lenders is its unique approval process. For a recent college graduate, Upstart looks at other factors such as education and employment history instead of only credit history. Because this process is tailored to meet the individual applicant, Upstart states it is able to save its borrowers over 23 percent compared to high-interest credit card rates.
The Good
- High Likelihood of Approval
- Flexible Options, Fast Disbursements
High Likelihood of Approval
Upstart is an excellent choice of lender for applicants who have little to no credit history and a quality education or a high-paying job. Upstart personal loans are tailored to meet the needs of the individual applicants. This is especially helpful for young professionals or recent college graduates. There is a minimum credit score requirement of 620, but there are no minimum lines of credit or years of credit required in order to apply. Factors that go into determining eligibility include:
- Education
- Areas of Study
- Job History
- Credit Score
- Years of Credit
Flexible Options, Fast Disbursement
The loan application process is tailored to the needs of the applicant. This enables Upstart to pass on its savings directly to the borrower. This can be seen in its APR Range (lowest rate: 9.57 percent, highest rate: 29.99 percent), low fees, and competitive max loan terms (five years).
The process is also incredibly fast. Most borrowers are able to receive their funds the day after they apply and are approved (it takes up to three days for education loans). It is at least a day faster than some top personal loan lenders.
The Bad
- Not Ideal for Debt Consolidation
- Fees Can Add Up
Not Ideal for Debt Consolidation
Although the approval process is tailored to meet the needs of the individual applicant, being approved can be challenging. The average Upstart personal loan borrower has the following credentials:
- Credit Score of Roughly 620
- Debt-to-income Ratio of 18%
- Mid-twenties to Mid-thirties
The above credentials can be difficult to meet because most borrowers are looking to consolidate debt, like credit card debt or student loans.
Fees Can Add Up
Upstart unsecured personal loans do have fees to consider. It enforces a loan origination fee of one percent to six percent. The loan origination fee is taken out of the loan before the funds are disbursed to you, so one percent to six percent of the total amount of the loan is taken out. This percentage is determined by how qualified the borrower is. The higher rates go to less qualified applicants.
Upstart also charges late fees at a standard rate of five percent or $15 (whichever is greater) on late payments. It's a good idea to make sure your monthly payments arrive on time. Unlike some of its competitor lending companies, Upstart does not charge a check processing fee or a prepayment penalty. A prepayment penalty is an additional charge for paying off a loan early.
The Bottom Line
When choosing a lending company from the online lenders, Upstart is a solid lender to consider for young professionals with a good credit score, but little to no credit or credit history. Its unique application process allows these individuals to receive competitive terms.
Potential borrowers should be aware of the loan origination fee and late fees. The good news is that there is no prepayment penalty or a check processing charge. Upstart unsecured personal loans are funded the day after an applicant has been approved, which makes them a good choice for someone in need of cash quickly.
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User Reviews
Fast and easy way to get the money you need at a low interest rate.
Very pleased and impressed with the process. They look at more than just your credit score, which is great. Both thorough and friendly. Easy to navigate through the process, and very helpful. Started the process on Monday afternoon, had money in my account by Wednesday morning. Would probably never use a bank for anything other than another home loan with upstart around.
The process is fast, user friendly, and very straight forward. I was very impressed with the service and professionalism of the Upstart team.
The Upstart team was responsive, attentive and courteous. They made the entire process a painless one.
Excellent Service! Very prompt approval process and helpful staff.
Upstart is amazing. What would have taken me countless years to pay off was done in less than a day and will be paid off in only three years with upstart. They mean what they say when they state "you're more than your credit score." Thank you for helping me turn things around..
Great customer service: knowledgeable, friendly, eager to walk me through the process, patient. Wouldn't change a thing!
Ridiculously easy application process; awesome staff; friendly callers; tech friendly for provision of evidence. All around awesome. And more importantly, GREAT interest rates!
Great people, great customer support. Try it!
Incredibly easy! I was in need of a short term loan to cover a lump sum education cost. Upstart made this possible!
Very smooth process with kind and knowledgeable people at the helm.
The process, while a little complicated, was clearly explained. The customer service was outstanding. The time frame was reasonable. I really appreciate being able to get the loan I need for my business when my bank had turned me down. Basing my acceptance and rate on my education and work experience was refreshing. Finally, I got some value from that 4.0 in graduate school!
The experience was easy and straightforward. The staff was helpful and informative.
Upstart was a pleasant and easy experience and gave the best rates that I could not have received from my bank. Thank you upstart I will be recommending the company to everyone I know.
It felt so good to nuke my balances, and it was so easy to get through the process!
Had a wonderful experience with Upstart and have recommended it to all of my friends and family. Wonderful service and a great opportunity to receive a low-interest loan.
Great customer experience. Would highly recommend.
Very fast! Customer service was fantastic. No issues whatsoever!
Streamlined processes and prompt and professional staff.
I was very happy with the process. I have been advocating for a company like yours to look at the entire person, not just a credit score.
Awesome customer service. Convenient and efficient. We would recommend to anyone.
This was one of the simplest and easiest loan experience I have ever encountered! Good work!
Super easy to fill out the forms. I uploaded all my supporting documents and scheduled a call for the next day to see if I was approved or not. What surprised was that they called back within a couple hours, verified some things, and told me I was approved. Got the money the next business day. I'm super impressed with the service, the representative that called me, the APR I got, and can't recommend them enough!
Had researched ways to consolidate my credit card debt, heard about Upstart and thought I'd try it. So glad I did. Wonderful experience in obtaining a loan with low APR. I talked with THREE different people who were all very helpful and they looked at my situation, not my credit score. I recommend Upstart to anyone looking for financing options.
The process was relatively easy and fast. The requirements were explained in lay terms making it more understandable. And the best part, the rates were the lowest I have ever come across.
Lower interest rate than LC and Prosper offered me, and much more user friendly process and website
Tremendous concept...using other means and methods to evaluate risk with lending money and ignoring Fair Isaac and the FICO system in general. A quick, painless and fair process, couldn't be happier. Thanks so much
Everything was quick, easy and efficient. As a young person trying to get their first financed car the process was easy to understand very reasonable for a small loan of $3000. All of the people I worked with were friendly and replied promptly to any of my questions or concerns.
Upstart has provided nothing but wonderful service for 2 different loans! Because of them, I am on my way to financial freedom in only 3 years as opposed to nearly an unlimited amount of year and interest. Every time I have had questions or issues, the customer service team has provided quick and easy solutions/help. I highly recommend Upstart!
So easy!
The application process is straight forward and the terms are very clear. Customer service is also excellent with very knowledgeable people willing to help you get the best conditions for your loan based on your particular situation. 100% recommended.
Seamless. Lowest rates. Excellent customer service. A few of the great things about my Upstart experience. Highly recommended!
Ridiculously great company to work with.Easy to use-- from the application process to getting the money in my account-- it took less than 3 days and was seamless. Highly professional team working for this company. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
The Upstart proces was efficient.
This was so easy to fill out the Application and then actually getting the money in your account??!! It literally was 1, 2, 3 and then I had the money.
Good experience!
Everything was easy, everyone I spoke to was friendly, and I had the money in hand within 48 hours.
Very quick turn around and the representative was friendly and helpful.
Very quick and easy....
It was very easy....It seemed to easy, but I'm very happy.