Initial logistical review
I got approved for up to $50k but claimed less than half of it. Here's my profile at the time of Upstart's hard pull: Credit score: 668. (They show you this in your messages after you apply & it was higher than many of my various tracked scores) Credit utilization: 66% of over $30k worth in multiple credit card accounts; no other debts (no student loans, mortgages etc.) The minimum credit requirements for Upstart is listed at the bottom of their site under "Help Center" if you search for "minimum". Things to note are the 620 min credit score and no more than 6 inquiries on your report in the past 6 months (not including student/vehicle loans or mortgages). What they ask you for in addition to how much you want and what you need a loan for: -Your educational background -Your job status & income (they will need a paystub or work email verification later) -A primary bank account Total time from applying to approval: About 2 hours. Money was deposited the next business morning. I had been debating on taking out a loan to cover my total credit card debt of over $20k since all their 0% interest rates were expiring and we had a series of financially draining life events occur that stalled my otherwise great, on-time plan to pay everything off. I nervously applied and gratefully accepted the loan a few hours later before the cutoff time (5pm EST), so my funds were made available to my bank account the next business morning. A further surprise was that my initially quoted APR went down from around 13% to around 11%, which was way less than my lowest credit card APR. Something cool about Upstart is that you get to see how much more you can get approved for with their interactive slider which will also show you how much your rate and monthly payment would rise/fall. Great tool! Something to note for loan virgins is that the origination fee is taken out of your loan amount - you do NOT have to save up this money beforehand in order to accept the loan. Hope this helps!
