RISLA Reviews

Application process was straightforward. Staff was extremely helpful with my questions. Risla kept me updated with status of application.

RISLA and their customer service department made the whole student loan refinance experience smooth. We feel that the fixed rate is very good and their responses to our questions were handled efficiently. Process from start to finish went very quickly.

They were able to clarify and help answer some questions

Always helpful and friendly!

Easy process and fast

It was extremely quick and helpful. I would definitely recommend for anyone who is wanting to attend college to go here.

Helpful and informative. Makes the entire planning process less overwhelming. Highly recommend. Was our first visit

Website easy to follow. Staff very helpful and pleasant. Only issue we have had is that I inquired about borrowing for one full semester tuition for Fall and just 3 credits for the spring; however loan disbursement was evenly divided. RISLA instructed my son to get permission from URI for remainder disbursement for the Fall. Still working on this.

Always a pleasure. Very helpful with all fafsa requirements. I recommend RISLA college planning to all my friends.

Amazing knowledgeable caring staff!

This process was quick, easy and went exactly as their website promised. Initially there was a question about my approvability based on my complicated 1040, but the underwriting staff worked with me to understand the issues and get familiar with my particular circumstances before making their decision. This is a polite and friendly team that is easy to contact by phone or email, and replies in less than 24hrs, generallly. I will be saving hundreds per month with a RISLA loan.

CPC is the best place to go for expert advice on all areas of college planning. The staff is incredibly kind and knowledgeable! It's so easy to make an appointment and you are in and out of there in a very short amount of time. It makes it so much easier to have the FAFSA form filled out by someone who knows what they are doing and it saves so much time. They are the best!!

I have been doing this for many years and have always had a great experience. This year Bernie assisted me. I was very pleased with the personal service I was provided. Very nice man. Great service.

Excellent - love Erin Demaggio - she's extremely helpful - couldn't do it without her!! ~Ginny

Great customer service. Answered right away and let you know exactly the status.

RISLA, while needing a lot of documentation, once we where struggling with providing some documentation that did not exist, they were able to work around the issue using personal assistance to us.

Rates were very competitive compared to the banks. System was easy to navigate and when I had an issue and had to contact customer service they were very helpful!

they are the most helpful staff ever- Erin is wonderful!

Everyone I communicate via phone or email was responded very fast and professional way. I would recommend to everybody this company. Thank you

thank you for helping with the FAFSA

Always easy and fast! It makes me sad that kids graduating with massive debt have to have an enormous interest rate on top of that, however, RISLA is comparable to others and I would highly recommend them.

RI student loan is a gem! Knowledgeable, efficient and friendly...and shockingly it is a FREE service in RI. Thanks!!

I always appreciate the help I get here! I hope they don't leave Bristol!

Even though I've used the service before, Erin was very thorough with her explanations to make sure I understood everything.

Very helpful. Made the process quick, easy and painless

Very helpful! We would highly recommend to anyone beginning the college search process.

refinancing with RISLA went really great and I am very grateful, thank you very much! working with you online went very well and when I had a question, i was able to reach you and get the help I needed.

Terrific experience visiting the College Planning Center, and reviewing our FAFSA and CSS applications step by step. I was pretty sure I had everything OK myself, but the opportunity to double-check it before submission with someone knowledgeable was invaluable. I was able to submit them on the spot & print out a copy of the whole application for our records. This free service was absolutely excellent and appreciated- sincere thanks.

The staff was very knowledgeable and helpful and patient.

Best experience ever! Very quick, very through, very helpful, very polite. Definitely worth it. I've already told another college parent about RISLA and how great they are!!!

Extremely helpful advice on the college admissions and financial aid process. Knowledgable and caring staff.

Everything was completed in a timely manner with no hassel.

Courtney is amazing! So patient and kind! Thank you!!

She help me with all my question and very easy meeting thank you.

It has nothing to do with "treatment" or "friction". They provide a service we need because we do not know how to navigate the financial assistance portion of college entry. The service was adequate. Screens that the worker knew like the back of her hand, she whipped through . Slower, with explanation at each screen, would have been better for us. Unfortunately, my son entered his SS# incorrectly so we couldn't finish there. However, the worker gave step by step instructuons to finish once he received the email. Overall. It was fine.

Quick and efficient in setting up consolidation on the school loans and at a great FIXED rate

Very easy and convenient....

Great experience, for myself and my son. Would reccomend their services to other parents and kids going through the college process.

Great people extremely helpful

The staff were very helpful and knowledgeable in the last 5 years that I've been going to CPC. Thank you very much

Excellent experience, nice and very helpful.

Helpful knowledgeable efficient staff

This was a quick and helpful process for me! When I called for assistance, everyone was kind and helpful. I have not started payments or anything yet, as my loan was just applied to my bill this week, but I assume the good service will continue!

Very easy to apply and very helpful

This is a wonderful program! So helpful and patient. I am grateful for all the help I received, for years I hear horror stories from co workers on filling out these forms and I did not have 1 problem with your help! Thank you so much

Just was extremely slow and very confusing the whole process.

Love scheduling the online appointment, friendly and competent staff. Highly recommend!

Excellent! Professional, friendly, and efficient. Whenever I had a question, there was always a live, pleasant, person available to take my call. This is my son's first year in college and RISLA took a stressful situation and made it extremely easy. I would definitely recommend them!

The RI student loan rep made it look easy, explained every detail so I could understand, and very nice. Five Stars!

Had good experience. The whole process is easy and turn around time is quick got apprives in less than a week.

I have had a wonderful experience over past three years. Thanks for all of the help.

Very rude and unacceptable attitude

Great support over the phone. They took there time to clearly explain conditions. Couldn't have been done any better.

Excellent service! Great staff. Thank you for all you do to make the college planning process less overwhelming for us.

They were helpful and the process was super easy!

From the initial application to the final approval, everything was done professionally. Awesome online system.

A valuable resource for anyone needing to complete the FASFA

Very easy process and the communication throughout via email made it stress free.

There service was a great help, and give attention 100%

Very easy to work with, timely in their processing. I'm sure we'll receive all of our loans through them for my daughters 4 year education. Only improvement I would like to see if their online account options/actions available.

Great personalized help! Made confusing process simple.

Very very helpful

100% recommend. Fast, knowledgeable service. It would have taken us hours to go through the application process. We made an appointment and was done in 20 minutes. With no fee-what do you have to lose?

RISLA helped me refinance my undergraduate student loans down to a lower interest rate and a lower monthly payment. I worked with Abe and Joe mostly and both were extremely helpful and made themselves available to answer all of my questions throughout the process.

I met with Stacy crooks who was just the kindest and most helpful person ever! I’m a high school senior navigating this all on my own and she put me in touch with someone from talent development over at URI. She helped me understand what options were available for me and other things like that. I am so thankful for college planning center!

I refinanced my loans from Nelnet. RISLA was wonderful and professional to deal with. I wish I could say the same for Nelnet. I highly recommend RISLA.

Stacy at the Cumberland office was extremely helpful and filling out the fast forms and just making sure we were doing things correctly. Everyone should take advantage of the college planning center services .

Excellent service and good rate!

I think the man that helped us with the fafs a form was knowledgeable and provided us with all the info we would need to complete the forms on our own,since I did not know to get a password for myself. He took me step by step in how to complete the form and told us which colleges needed extra information. He also explained that when the colleges need our final tinfoil what to include. He was extremely professional and helpful

Everyone I spoke to was helpful and kind. However, at times I spoke to too many different representatives . It would have been nice to have been assigned by one person. Either way. Everyone was wonderful. Applying online was streamline.

Great rates, easy to apply and fast approval !

It was a pleasure dealing with RISLA. Even though documentation was requested, different from SallieMae, I liked the fact that I could speak with someone who was able to help me with the process.

I had the pleasure to meet with representatives at the Bristol office and Warwick office. Both were very helpful and efficient. My experience went very smoothly and quickly. Thank you

We went twice for help with our FAFSA. I have to say both women that dealt with us were so down to earth and so understanding with our situation. They were kind and compassionate about our situation and gave us advise on how to handle our situation.

Mrs Crooks was awesome. She is very knowledgeable and I was in and out very quickly. Really appreciate your service. Thanks again

Makes the entire process quick and easy! Their knowledge and expertise helps make this a great way to get the paperwork done with no hassle

RISLA made refinancing my student loans easy and I didn’t have to worry about there being a balance on my old student loans due to interest. I would highly recommend!

Fast, easy, great rate

RISLA was the only lender that came through with the advertised rate. The process was easy and completely online. I would recommend them.

The phone assistance was very helpful, but some of the rules were slightly confusing requiring us to resubmit all the forms a few different times... also the phone assistance closes afternoon for those living on the west coast.

I had a wonderful experience dealing with RISLA. Everyone that I dealt with was very helpful.

When I call RISLA, I am able to talk to a person, not a machine. Everyone I've ever encountered has been able to address my questions and concerns. Online application process is simple. Customer service is excellent!

Site was user friendly and switching my student loan to a lower rate was extremely easy!

Erin is amazing! She takes the crazy out of the college-planning and college-paying process! I’ve used RISLA’s services multiple times since my daughter’s junior year three years ago. I’m not sure what I would have done without her and RISLA. I tell everyone I know about RISLA and urge them to utilize them to the fullest. Erin is a wonderful asset. Be sure she knows she’s appreciated!

Thank you for the excellent overview of college application process.

Simple process. Spoke to a representative on the phone and she was both pleasant and helpful.

My oldest daughter is a senior and the college planning / application / financial aid process is overwhelming. My first meeting was VERY informative. I left feeling much better about what we should be doing. I'll be heading back for help with the FAFSA / CSS process in a few weeks. Great service !!

A pleasure to do business with. Thank you.

Very helpful and polite.

The agent was very helpful, personable, and patient.

Came in for help filling out fasfa information. Asked advisor if i had done evwrything i needed for the upcoming semester , she signed me up for the following semester but did not include this upcoming one! Now im passed the deadline for submittal because i didnt know & have to try to come up with thousands in a few days . Thanks guys!

2nd loan for me, 5th overall for our family. Consistently rated as one of the best lenders and lucky Rhode Islanders benefit from this! Simple online process. One year my mom made a silly mistake and it said we were REJECTED! Very scary moment. She got someone on the phone in minutes and could see and fix her mistake. Not like big banks where you get lost in the shuffle of paperwork. My brother just started paying his loans back and so far so good.( I've heard some lenders mess around with how the apply extra payments so pay attention. )

Thank goodness this resource is available.

The woman helping me and my father fill out FAFSA was very patient and helpful. I am grateful for the option of having this service. I definitely reccomend it to anyone struggling with their finanicial aid!

I have worked with RISLA for three years now and used all facets of contact, from the website, phone and walk-in support, my experience has been positive, information provided is clear and the customer service, outstanding. I especially appreciate the security measures taken to ensure the processes and information being transferred electronically is being handled in safe manner.

I made a few mistakes on the application, and everyone at RISLA was extremely helpful and friendly. They are so easy to work with and I highly recommend them for student loans!

I didn’t find the info very informative. It is an overwhelming process and the person I met with gave me web sites for scholarship. She was professional but again I thought I would take away more. I left there even more overwhelmed. Basically I learned I can’t afford college because I make too much.

I do not know how I would have been able to get through this process without the Center's help!!! Everyone that has helped me and my daughter have been kind, patient, and extremely helpful. Thank you so very much!

RI supporting RI students! Process was quick and easy.

Michael was really great, made me feel very comfortable. Filling out FAFSA has always been overwhelming, I'm so grateful for the service. Thanks!