Direct lender · United States
ISL Education Lending vs MEFA: the interest at the ceiling, not the advertised rate
At the top of each published range, a $30,000 loan over 10 years costs $15,584 in interest with MEFA and $16,386 with the other — a difference of $802 over the life of the loan.
The advertised floors are 5.15% and 6.20%, which is the opposite order: the lender with the lower advertised rate has the higher top of range.
Side by side
Both columns use the fixed-rate product where the lender publishes a full range for it, on the basis the lender advertises.
| ISL Education Lending | MEFA | |
|---|---|---|
| Product compared | Fixed | Fixed |
| Published APR range | 5.15% to 9.40% with autopay | 6.20% to 8.99% autopay basis not stated |
| Terms listed | not stated | 7, 10, 15 years |
| Minimum loan | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Origination fee | none | not stated |
| Interest at the ceiling, 5 years | $7,715 | n/a |
| Interest at the ceiling, 7 years | $11,058 | $10,532 |
| Interest at the ceiling, 10 years | $16,386 | $15,584 |
| Interest at the ceiling, 15 years | $26,063 | $24,738 |
| Interest at the ceiling, 20 years | $36,644 | n/a |
| Interest at the floor, 10 years | $8,448 | $10,330 |
| Gap between floor and ceiling | $7,938 | $5,254 |
| Monthly payment at the ceiling, 10 years | $387 | $380 |
| Loan made by | not confirmed | not confirmed |
This table mixes autopay bases. Lenders do not publish on the same basis. Most print the range with a 0.25 point autopay discount already taken off; some print it before the discount; some do not say. We print the figure as published and label the basis where the lender states it. We do not add or remove the discount, because a figure we adjusted could not be checked against the lender's page.
How that is worked out
Nothing else is added. The rate you are offered, any lender-specific discount you do or do not qualify for, and variable-rate movements are not in any figure on this site, because they depend on you and on the future. Where a lender states an origination fee it is added once. The published range is used exactly as printed: where the lender says the range already includes its autopay discount, we say so and do not add it back. The full method is at Method.
Where does the answer change?
The order above holds only under the conditions listed here.
- The answer flips between the floor and the ceiling. If you are offered each lender's best rate, ISL Education Lending costs less; at the top of the range the other one does. Which end you land at is decided by the lender's offer, not by this page.
- Only ISL Education Lending states that its range already includes autopay. MEFA's basis is not stated, so the two ranges are not printed on the same footing.
- Do not decide yet if $802 over the life of the loan is smaller than the $7,938 gap between one lender's own floor and ceiling, which it is here; the rate you are actually offered moves the answer more than the choice of lender.
Who this is not for
This compares published rate ranges and nothing else. It is not a judgment about service, hardship options or underwriting, and we have not borrowed from either lender. If the two ceilings are close, this page will not decide it for you and should not.
Sources
- ISL Education Lending rates page. checked 2026-08-25
- MEFA rates page. checked 2026-08-25
Related
Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from the sources' published pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.