Category: Student Loan Refinancing

Finding the best student loan calculators can help you pay off student loans faster, understand your options for student loan repayment, and bring your closer to your financial goals.

When it comes to student loan repayment, it’s critical to have the best student loan payment calculator. A student loan payment calculator helps you calculate automatically how much money you owe for student loans each month and overall. Whether it’s a student loan refinance calculator or a student loan monthly payment calculator, make sure you understand your monthly payment, principal balance, interest and total payments.

Here’s our review of the 7 best student loan calculators.

1. Student Loan Payment Calculator

A student loan payment calculator, as its name suggests, is a student loan calculator that calculates three things for you:

• Monthly Payment
• Total Interest
• Total Payment

To use a student loan payment calculator, you enter your current student loan balance, the interest rate and the loan term. With these data points, the student loan monthly payment calculator will automatically calculate your total payment. The best student loan payment calculator will summarize for you the monthly payment and total payment so you have a clear understanding of how much you owe.

[refinance_student_loans_table]

2. Student Loan Refinancing Calculator

A student loan refinancing calculator is essential for you to see how much money you can save through student loan refinance. Student loan refinance is the process of lowering your interest rate on your federal student loans, private student loans or both.

Student loan refinancing helps you get a new student loan at a lower interest rate so you can lower your monthly payment and save money. The key benefit of student loan refinance is the ability to pay off student loans faster. You can also simplify your monthly payments so you can make one student loan payment and have one student loan servicer.

The best student loan refinance calculator will compare the student loan payments on your current student loan and your new student loan through student loan refinance. The student loan refinance calculator shows you your monthly savings and lifetime savings after student loan refinancing.

With a student loan refinance calculator, you enter your current student loan balance, average interest rate of your student loans and your remaining loan term. Then, you enter your new interest rate and loan term, assuming you refinance student loans. If you don’t know what your new interest rate will be, you can check the latest student loan refinancing rates.

The student loan refinance calculator will automatically calculate your monthly savings and lifetime savings so you can see clearly why student loan refinance can save you so much money.

3. Student Loan Consolidation Calculator

A student loan consolidation calculator shows you the impact of student loan consolidation for your student loans. Student loan consolidation is the process of combining your federal student loans into a single student loan called a Direct Consolidation Loan. Student loan consolidation can be helpful to organize your federal student loans. However, student loan consolidation doesn’t lower your interest rate. Rather, the interest rate for a Direct Consolidation Loan is equal to a weighted average of the interest rate on your current student loans.

The best student loan consolidation calculator compares how much money you can save with student loan consolidation compared to student loan refinance. The best student loan consolidation calculator shows you how much money you can save each with student loan refinancing compared to your current student loans, and compared to student loan consolidation. This provides a fuller picture of your options.

The student loan consolidation calculator does all the work. All you enter is your federal student loan balance, average interest rate and loan term. For student loan refinance, enter your new interest rate and new loan term.

Typically, student loan refinance is a better choice than student loan consolidation if your goal is to lower your interest rate, reduce your monthly payment and pay off student loans faster.

4. Income Based Repayment Calculator

An Income Based Repayment Calculator shows you how much student loan forgiveness you can receive through an income based repayment plan. An income based repayment plan is a type of student loan repayment plan for federal student loans that is offered through the federal government. Several types of student loans qualify such as Subsidized Direct Loans, Unsubsidized Direct Loans, Federal Stafford Loans and many other types of federal student loans.

A student loan income-based repayment calculator helps you understand how much money you will pay under student loan income-based repayment. With a student loan payment calculator, you can see what your monthly student loan payment and total student loan payment will look like. With a student loan payment calculator, you can also see how much student loan forgiveness you will receive under the student loan income based repayment plan.

The best income based repayment calculator will compare your monthly savings and total savings when comparing the standard repayment plan with the income based repayment plan. An income based repayment plan is based on your income, state of residence, family size and other factors.

5. Student Loan Prepayment Calculator

A student loan prepayment calculator helps you calculate how much money you can save through student loan repayment. Student loan prepayment is when you pay off your student loans early. Unlike mortgages or other consumer debt, there is no prepayment penalty for paying off your student loans. Therefore, you can pay off your student loans anytime at no additional cost. A student loan prepayment calculator shows you how much interest you can save.

The best student loan calculator for student loan prepayment is a student loan prepayment calculator. A student loan prepayment calculator calculates your monthly savings and total savings. Plus, a student loan prepayment calculator shows you how much time you will save by paying off your student loans early.

You can enter your current student loan balance, average interest rate and current monthly payment. Then, you can enter your prepayment goal. You can either enter an extra monthly payment amount. Or, you can enter when you want to pay off your student loans, and the student loan prepayment calculator will automatically calculate how much money you can save.

6. Student Loan Lump Sum Payment Calculator

A student loan lump sum payment calculator is helpful to pay off student loans early. With a student loan lump sum payment calculator, you can easily calculate how much money you can save by making a one-time, lump sum payment on your student loans. A lump-sum payment is any amount of money you may have in savings, received in a bonus or even money you received as a gift. When you apply that money to your student loans, you reduce the principal balance and save money on interest.

For this student loan payment calculator, you can enter your student loan balance, average interest rate and current monthly payment. Then, you can choose the amount of your lump sum amount. The student loan lump sum payment calculator shows you how much money you can save for your student loans and how much sooner you can pay off your student loans.

7. Private Student Loan Consolidation Calculator

The final student loan payment calculator is a private student loan consolidation calculator. Private student loan consolidation is the same thing as student loan refinancing. Through private student loan payment consolidation, you can combine your existing private student loans into a new, single student loan with a lower interest rate. Private student loan consolidation enables you to make one monthly payment at a lower interest rate and a single student loan servicer.

A private student loan consolidation calculator shows you how much money you can save through private student loan consolidation (also known as student loan refinance). A lower interest rate saves you money each month and can help you pay off your student loans faster by lowering your monthly payment.

A private student loan consolidation calculator shows you how much money you can save through private student loan consolidation (also known as student loan refinance). A lower interest rate saves you money each month and can help you pay off your student loans faster by lowering your monthly payment.

The best private student loan consolidation calculator will calculate automatically both your monthly and lifetime savings.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to finding the best student loan payment calculator, these are the 7 best student loan payment calculators. From monthly payments to student loan refinancing, these student loan payment calculators will save you time, save you money and help you pay off your student loans faster.

[related_posts post_1=’318′ post_2=’321′ post_3=’333′]

If you want to know how to pay off student loans faster, you’re not alone. This guide will help you learn how to pay off student loans faster, your various student loan repayment options, the secret to pay student loans early and much more.

Here are some of the best ways to pay off student loans:

1. Consolidate or refinance student loans
2. Increase student loan payment
3. Choose your payoff date
4. Make a lump-sum payment
5. Public Service Loan Forgiveness
6. Get a side gig
7. Pay the highest interest rate debt first
8. Pay your student loan debt every two weeks

[refinance_student_loans_table]

Consolidate Or Refinance Student Loans

Student loan refinance is one of the smartest tools to pay off student loans faster. Student loan refinancing, or private student loan consolidation, is the process of combining your existing federal student loans, private student loans or both into a new, single student loan. This new single student loan has a lower interest rate than your current student loans, has a single student loan servicer and a single monthly payment.

Therefore, student loan refinancing can help you save money, stay organized and pay off your student loans early.

The key advantage of student loan refinancing is your ability to lower your interest rate. Plus, when you refinance student loans, you can choose a fixed or variable interest rate. You can also choose a repayment period, which typically ranges from 5 to 20 years.

To get approved for student loan refinancing, lenders will look at your credit profile, income, monthly cash flow and other factors.

This student loan refinancing calculator shows you how much money you can save when you refinance student loans.

Increase Student Loan Payment

It may sound like the last strategy that you want to follow if you’re struggling to pay student loans, but you would be surprised how much it can help.

When it comes to student loan repayment options, the goal is to reduce the principal balance of your student loans. The faster you can reduce your principal, the faster you can save on interest costs.

One smart strategy is to increase your monthly payment. The amount you choose is up to you, but any incremental amount should go to reduce your principal balance.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s assume that you owe $100,000 of student loans at an 8% interest rate and your monthly payment is $1,213. Now, let’s assume that you increase your monthly payment by $100 per month so that your new monthly payment is $1,313.

The extra $100 per month will save you $5,554 over the life of your student loans and help you pay off your student loans 1.08 years early.

It’s up to you how much extra you pay each month. With student loans, there’s no prepayment penalty so you can pay off your student loans early without any penalty.

Choose Your Payoff Date

When you evaluate your student loan repayment options, another strategy is to use the payoff date method.

With the payoff date method, you choose the payoff date when you would like to pay off your student loans.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s assume that you owe $100,000 of student loans at an 8% interest rate and your monthly payment is $1,213. The standard repayment terms for student loans is 10 years. Now, let’s assume that you want your payoff date to be 7 years so that you can pay off your student loans three years early.

To pay off your student loans three years early, you would need to increase your monthly payment by $360. That means that your new monthly payment would be $1,573.

Here’s the amazing part: not only will you pay off your student loans early, but also you will save $15,078.

Make A Lump-Sum Payment

When it comes to student loan repayment, another strategy is to make a one-time, lump-sum payment.

A one-time, lump-sum payment is basically making a one-time extra payment that directly reduces your principal student loan balance.

The source of your lump-sum payment may be a bonus, holiday present, tax refund, gift or even savings. Make sure to inform your student loan servicer in writing to apply the lump-sum payment to reduce your principal balance.

Let’s look at an example. Let’s assume that you owe $100,000 of student loans at an 8% interest rate and your monthly payment is $1,213. Now, let’s assume that you make a one-time, lump-sum payment.

Here’s how much money you can save and how much faster you can pay off your student loans by making one of the following lump-sum payments:

$1,000 lump-sum payment: Save $1,032 (+ 2 months early)

$5,000 lump-sum payment: Save $4,941 (+ 9 months early)

$10,000 lump-sum payment: Save $9,368 (+ 16 months early)

$15,000 lump-sum payment: Save $13,333 (+ 24 months early)

$20,000 lump-sum payment: Save $16,877 (+ 31 months early)

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

If you want to know how to pay off your loans fast, this strategy may take some more time. However, it could be worth the wait if you meet all the requirements.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is a federal program created in 2007 to help public servants have all their federal student loans forgiven.

There are certain qualifications that you need to meet. If you meet these qualifications, you can have your federal student loans forgiven after making 120 qualifying monthly payments.

You will need to work in a qualifying public service role at a qualifying employer and be enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan. You will also need to make the majority of your payments under the income-driven repayment plan.

If you have FFEL student loans, make sure that you first consolidate FFEL Loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan with the federal government. This is because FFEL do not qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Why? FFEL student loans are not federal student loans; they were issued by private financial institutions such as banks. Therefore, the federal government cannot forgive these types of federal student loans.

You can use this public service loan forgiveness calculator to determine which income-driven repayment plan is best for you and helps you maximize your student loan forgiveness.

Get A Side Gig

The best way to pay off student loans may involve making extra money.

Yes, you may be working hard in your current job, but you may be able to make extra money with a side gig.

There are so many types of side gigs. You could launch your own business. For example, you could be a tutor, create a website design business or start a dog-walking empire. You can buy and sell used belongings online for a profit. The possibilities are endless.

Take the income that you earn to pay off your student loan balance. Make sure to write your student loan servicer to apply your extra payments directly to reduce your principal balance. Absent those instructions, your student loan servicer will hold the payment and apply it to your next monthly payment, which means you will pay more interest in the process.

Over time, this strategy will help you pay off your student loans faster.

Pay The Highest Interest Rate Debt First

When it comes to student loan repayment options, not all debt is created equally.

If you want to pay off your student loans more quickly, rank order your student loans by interest rate from highest interest rate to lower interest rate.

The higher interest rate student loans are costing you more money than the lower interest rate student loans.

Here’s how to use this strategy – known as the “avalanche method” – to your benefit.

Step 1: Always pay the minimum payment on all your student loans.

Step 2: If you make an extra payment, pay off the higher interest rate student loans first.

Step 3: After the highest interest rate student loan is repaid, pay off the second highest interest rate student loan next.

Step 4: Repeat this process with any extra payment you make until you pay off all your student loans.

This strategy is one of the smart ways to pay off student loans.

Pay Your Student Loans Every Two Weeks

If you want to know how to pay off student loans, rule #1 is you don’t have to pay your student loan bill once per month.

When it comes to student loan repayment options, you can pay your student loans early without a prepayment penalty. Another strategy is to make two payments, rather than one, per month.

You can simply divide your payment in half and pay each half once every two weeks. Since you get paid once every two weeks, you can match the timing of your paycheck to when you pay your student loans.

The net effect of this strategy is that you will end up making an extra payment at the end of the year, which can help you get out of debt more quickly.

Since student loan interest accrues daily, you also will save slightly on interest by splitting your payments.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to pay off student loans, you are on the fast track to become debt-free faster. With a solid understanding of your student loan repayment options and best way to pay off student loans, financial freedom may be closer than you think.

[related_posts post_1=’318′ post_2=’321′ post_3=’327′]

When it comes to student loans, many people turn to Google for the answers.

Mentor analyzed Google search results to find the 20 most Googled student loan questions – and here are the results.

Here are answers to the 20 most Googled student loan questions:

1. How can I pay for college?

If you want to know how to pay for college, you have several options:

• Financial aid, including federal student loans
• Private student loans
• Scholarships and grants
• Financial support from parents or family members
• Your income from employment
• Money that you have saved

2. How do student loans work?

Student loans are an important part of paying for college and graduate school.

There are two types of student loans: federal student loans and private student loans. Federal student loans are issued by the federal government. Private student loans are issued by private lenders.

You can borrow student loans to pay for each semester, and student loans typically are disbursed by your school’s financial aid office.

When you borrow student loans, you are charged interest and that interest begins to accrue from the time your student loan is disbursed. You will have to pay back the principal balance that you borrowed, plus interest.

The standard student loan repayment plan is 10 years, although you can pay back your student loans earlier with no prepayment penalty. Most student loans have a six-month grace period, so you won’t have to begin to repay your student loans until six months after graduation.

After you earn your degree and meet other requirements, you may be able to refinance student loans to lower your interest rate and monthly payment.

[refinance_student_loans_table]

3. How do I consolidate student loans?

If you want to know how to consolidate student loans, the process is simple.

There are two types of student loan consolidation: federal student loans consolidation and private student loan consolidation.

Federal student loan consolidation: You can consolidate your federal student loans with the federal government. Once you consolidate your federal loans, you will have a Director Consolidation Loan.

The advantage of a Direct Consolidation Loan is that you will have a single student loan with a single, monthly student loan payment. Student loan consolidation is helpful as an organizational tool to combine your federal student loans.

The disadvantage of federal student loan consolidation is that you cannot lower your interest rate. Rather, with a Direct Consolidation Loan, the interest rate is equal to a weighted average of the interest rates on your current student loans, rounded up to the nearest 1/8%. To apply for student loan consolidation with the federal government, you can visit StudentLoans.gov.

Private student loan consolidation: If you want to lower the interest rate on your student loans, student loan refinancing may be a better tool for you.

Student loan refinancing is a form of student loan consolidation, and it is done with a private lender. To qualify, approval is based on your credit profile, income and other factors. With student loan refinancing, you apply directly with a private lender.

4. What is the best way to pay off student loans fast?

There are several ways to pay off student loans fast.

The standard repayment term for student loans is 10 years. However, you can pay off student loans anytime because there is no prepayment penalty.

Here are the best ways to pay off student loans quickly:

• Refinance student loans to lower your interest rate and save money
• Make an extra student loan payment to reduce your principal balance and save interest
• Increase your monthly payment
• Make a one-time, lump-sum payment to reduce your principal balance and save interest

If you want to pay off student loans faster, make sure to use student loan calculators to help you see how much money you can save with these various strategies.

5. How long does it take to pay off student loans?

The standard repayment plan for federal student loans is 10 years.

However, you can pay off student loans faster, since there is no prepayment penalty for student loans.

When you refinance student loans, you can typically choose a repayment plan between 5 and 20 years.

If you need to extend the repayment period for your federal student loans, you may qualify for income-driven repayment plans. An income-driven repayment plan can lower your monthly payment, and potentially help you qualify for student loan forgiveness after 20 or 25 years.

6. Should I consolidate my student loans?

“Should I consolidate my student loans?” is a popular question. With student loan consolidation, you receive a new student loan, and use the proceeds to repay your current student loans.

If you consolidate student loans with the federal government, you can organize all your student loans into a single student loan and a single monthly payment. However, you won’t lower your interest or save money. In fact, it may cost your more money in the long run.

Student loan refinancing is a viable alternative that can simplify your student loans, help you receive a lower interest rate, lower your monthly payment and even release a co-signer from financial responsibility for your current student loans.

7. How can I pay student loans?

There are several ways how to pay student loans. When you borrow student loans, the standard repayment plan is 10 years.

Each month, you will need to make at least the minimum payment as specified by your student loan servicer. However, if you can make larger payments, you can pay off your student loans faster.

Don’t skip payments or submit late payments. Otherwise, you could owe additional interest and your credit score may be adversely impacted.

If you need help making your monthly payments, there are several student loan repayment options for you to consider when paying student loans:

• Student loan forbearance to pause your student loan payments
• Student loan deferment to pause your student loan payments
• Student loan forgiveness
• Income-driven repayment plans to lower your monthly student loan payments
• Increasing your income
• Lowering your monthly expenses
• Student loan refinancing to lower your interest rate

8. How much do I owe in student loans?

According to Mentor Money, there are more than 44 million borrowers who collectively owe $1.5 trillion in student loans. The average student loan debt balance for a member of the Class of 2017 is nearly $40,000.

If you don’t know how much you owe in student loans, you’re not alone. You may have moved, changed your phone number or even have a new email address. If so, it’s possible you haven’t received you student loan statement or don’t have access to your online account.

Where can you find your student loan balance?

Federal Student Loans: If you want to check your federal student loans balance, you should check the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). The NSLDS is the U.S. Department of Education’s central database for student aid. Each loan servicer shares information on federal student loans with the NSLDS.

You will need your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID to login to view your student loan balance. Once you log into the NSLDS, you will see all the information related to your student loans, including your student loan balance, the type of student loans, when you borrowed your student loans, when you grace periods ends and much more.

Private Student Loans: For private student loans, the NSLDS will not have your student loan balance. This is because the NSLDS only contains information about federal student loans.

To find your private student loan balance, contact your student loan servicer. If you do not know the name of your student loan servicer, contact your lender. Your lender may be able to provide you the information you need or can connect with you your student loan servicer.

If you do not know the name of your lender, you can contact the financial aid office at your school. Your last option could be your credit report. A soft credit pull provides information about student loan debt, and a soft credit pull will not impact your credit score.

9. How do I get federal student loans?

When you borrow money for college or graduate school, your first source should be federal student loans. Federal student loans are issued by the U.S. Department of Education and come with certain borrower protections.

Direct Loans are the most common type of federal student loans and are for borrowers who enroll in school.

To apply for federal student loans, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Once you complete the FAFSA, you will be informed which federal student loans you qualify for and how much you can borrow. Then, your federal student loans are disbursed to you by your school.

10. How do I fill out FAFSA?

If you want to fill out the FAFSA, it’s an easier process than you may think.

Step 1: You can access the FAFSA at FAFSA.ed.gov.

Step 2: Create an account and get a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID number.

Step 3: Login with your FSA ID and complete the FAFSA. You will need your tax returns, and your parents’ tax returns, if you are applying as a dependent.

Step 4: Make sure to submit the FAFSA by the deadline.

11. How do I get out of student loan debt?

If you have student loan debt, you’re not alone. Mentor Money estimates that more than 44 million people have student loan debt that collectively totals $1.5 trillion.

If you want to get out of student loan debt, you have several options:

• Refinance student loans to lower your interest rate and save money on interest
• Earn more money
• Reduce your expenses
• Increase your monthly payment to reduce your student loan principal balance
• Make an extra student loan payment
• Make a one-time, lump-sum student loan payment
• Use student loan calculators to see how much you can save

12. How do I defer student loans?

When you repay your student loans, it’s possible that you may not be able to make your monthly payments.

One option is to defer student loans. When you defer student loans, you can pause payments on your student loans for up to three years.

How do you defer your student loans? Contact your student loan servicer to defer your student loans.

How do you qualify for student loan deferment? To qualify for student loan deferment, you will have to demonstrate financial hardship.

13. What does forbearance mean?

When it comes to student loan repayment, it’s possible that you may not be able to make your monthly payments.

One option is student loan forbearance. Student loan forbearance is available to those borrowers who do not meet the requirements for deferral.

Under forbearance, your student loan payments may be suspended or reduced for a period of up to 12 months. It is possible that interest may continue to accrue on your student loans during the forbearance period.

14. How long does it take to get a student loan?

There are different time periods and processes to get a federal student loan and a private student loan.

Time To Get A Federal Student Loan

Your first step to get a student loan is to file the FAFSA, which is for federal student loans. It can take up to three weeks to process your FAFSA, although often the time period is less.

After your FAFSA is processed, your financial aid office will determine your financial aid eligibility. Your financial aid office will prepare a financial aid package, which will detail the types of federal student loans and amounts for which you are eligible.

If you are a first-year student, you will typically receive this information in late March or early April. Your financial aid letter will include information about Direct Subsidized Loans, which are need-based student loans. Some schools also include information about Direct Unsubsidized Student Loans such as Parent PLUS Loans.

Once you agree to the federal student loans, you will sign a Master Promissory Note, which includes and terms and conditions of your federal student loans.

After you sign the Master Promissory Note, your school will disburse your student loans directly to you. Depending on when you sign your Master Promissory Note, it may take up to a few weeks for you to receive the funds from a federal student loan.

Time To Get A Private Student Loan

You can get private student loans directly from a lender. You can compare the best private student loans online and find the best one for you.

With private student loans, you can apply online and get your new interest rate in two minutes with no impact to your credit score.

Once you submit your application online, you can get approved for a private student loan in as soon as a few days to a few weeks. Once your loan is approved, the lender will send the loan proceeds to your school for final disbursement to you. This process can take up to several weeks.

Therefore, for the overall loan process from application to disbursement, it can take three to 10 weeks for you to receive a private student loan depending how quickly you submit your completed application and how quickly it is approved.

15. Can student loans be forgiven?

Yes, student loans can be forgiven.

For example, the federal government will forgive student loan debt in certain circumstances, depending on the type of student loan and the position of the borrower.

• Meeting the requirements of a qualifying income-driven repayment plan
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness
• Perkins Loan Cancellation
• Permanent Disability or death
• Fraud or closure of your school

16. How do I get student loans out of default?

Student loan default occurs when you don’t make a student loan payment for at least 270 days.

It is a more serious situation than a delinquent student loan, which typically means you have not made a payment for at least 90 days.

If you find yourself in student loan default, there are several options you can pursue to get student loans out of default.

You could repay your student loan in full. You can contact your student loan servicer to assess the best way to rehabilitate your student loans. You could consolidate student loans.

If you find that your credit score has been impacted negatively, you could also begin the process to build credit through a secured credit card, for example.

17. Can I deduct student loan interest?

Yes, student loan interest is tax deductible.

You can write off student loan interest up to $2,500. There are certain qualifications that you must meet in order to claim the tax deduction. For example, you must have an eligible student loan that is used for education purposes and you may have to meet certain income qualifications.

You can speak with a qualified tax professional to assess your individual circumstances.

18. What is a Stafford Loan?

A Stafford Loan is a type of Direct Loan that is issued by the U.S. Department of Education.

To apply for a Stafford Loan, you must submit the FAFSA.

A Subsidized Stafford Loan means that you do not pay interest on your Stafford Loan while you are in school, and for a six-month grace period after you graduate.

19. What is a PLUS Loan?

A PLUS Loan is a type of student loan issued by the I.S. Department of Education.

A PLUS Loan is typically used in two types of circumstances. The first circumstance is when a borrower borrows a student loan for graduate school. The second circumstance is when a parent borrows a loan to pay for their child’s college expenses, which is referred to as a Parent PLUS Loan.

Unlike other federal student loans, PLUS Loans require a credit check for approval and typically carry a higher interest rate. The good news is that graduate PLUS Loans and Parent PLUS Loans can be refinanced, and you may qualify for a lower interest rate.

20. How do I pay off student loans faster with a calculator?

If you want to know how to pay off student loans faster with a calculator, make sure to use online student loan calculators to see how much money you can save.

There are several ways to pay off student loans faster, and here are some helpful student loan calculators to use:

• Student loan refinancing calculator
• Student loan refinancing vs student loan consolidation calculator
• Student loan repayment calculator
• Lump-sum student loan calculator

[related_posts post_1=’321′ post_2=’330′ post_3=’333′]

This pharmacist student loan refinancing guide will help pharmacists learn more about pharmacist student loan refinancing so you can conquer student loan debt

This pharmacist student loan refinancing guide has everything you will need for pharmacist student loan refinancing and to help you crush student loan debt.

Student loan debt for pharmacist students is on the rise, which is why pharmacist student loan repayment is so important. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of 2016, the median student loan debt for pharmacists, including college student loan debt, is now $275,000. When you combine that with undergraduate student loan debt, the numbers are even higher.

According to the latest student loan debt statistics from Mentor Money, there are more than 44 million borrowers who collectively owe more than $1.5 trillion of student loan debt.

This pharmacist student loan refinancing guide wants to help cut these numbers to help you pay off your pharmacy school student loans faster.

[refinance_student_loans_table]

Pharmacist Student Loan Refinancing Guide: Introduction

This Pharmacist Student Loan Refinancing Guide covers the key aspects of how to refinance pharmacy student loans and save significant money in the process.

As you will see in this student loan refinancing guide for pharmacists, student loan help comes in many shapes and sizes – student loan refinance, student loan consolidation, student loan forgiveness as well as student loan deferment and student loan forbearance.

This Pharmacist Student Loan Refinancing Guide will explain how you can save more money with student loan refinance and pay off pharmacy student loans faster.

What Is the Best Way How to Refinance Pharmacy Student Loans?

One of the most frequently asked questions at Mentor Money is pharmacist student loan refinancing.

The goal of this student loan refinancing guide for pharmacists is to get you a better deal on your pharmacy student loans so you can pay them faster and save money as you do it. Student loan refinance is also about getting you a lower interest rate based on your financial profile, and not just the same fixed interest rate that the federal government offers regardless of your financial profile.

There are multiple benefits to pharmacist student loan refinancing:

• Lower interest rate. Get a lower interest rate
• Lower payment. Lower your monthly pharmacy school student loan payments
• Change loan term. Shorten or extend your pharmacy school student loan term
• Fixed vs Variable Interest. Switch from a fixed interest rate to a variable interest rate, or vice versa
• Simplify payments. Simplify your monthly student loan payment with a single student loan repayment

You can use the Mentor Money Student Loan Refinancing Calculator to calculate your potential savings when you refinance your pharmacy school student loans.

For example, let’s assume that you have $400,000 of pharmacy school student loan debt at an 8% interest rate. When you use a student loan refinancing calculator for pharmacist student loan refinancing, you can see how much money you can save. With a strong credit and income profile, let’s assume that you can refinance pharmacy student loans to a 3% interest rate and the same 10-year loan term. With pharmacist student loan refinancing, you would save $118,881 and lower your monthly payment by $991 per month. The higher your pharmacy school student loan balance, the more money you can save with pharmacist student loan refinancing.

Sounds great, right? You are probably asking yourself a few questions:

• Why can I save so much money through pharmacist student loan refinancing?
• What’s the difference between student loan consolidation and student loan refinance?
• What is the eligibility criteria for pharmacist student loan refinancing?
• Am I a good candidate to refinance pharmacy school student loans?
• Who are the best student loan lenders for pharmacist student loan refinancing?

Many people have never heard of student loan refinancing and did not realize it was even an option. That’s why we put together this Mentor Money Pharmacist Student Loan Refinancing Guide to help you understand the basics, navigate your options, answer key questions, provide the facts and help you through the pharmacy school student loan refinance process.

Refinancing Pharmacy school Student Loans: Student Loan Refinance vs Student Loan Consolidation?

When it comes to refinancing pharmacy school student loans, it is important to understand the difference between student loan refinance vs student loan consolidation. This student loan refinancing guide for pharmacists can help you understand the difference between pharmacist student loan refinancing and student loan consolidation.

Student Loan Consolidation: Student loan consolidation, specifically direct loan consolidation, is offered by the federal government, and applies only to federal student loans. This means that you cannot consolidate private student loans with the federal government. As the name suggests, student loan consolidation means you combine your existing federal student loans into a single student loan called a Direct Consolidation Loan. The result is one monthly payment and one interest rate. The interest rate on your new consolidated student loan is equal to a weighted average of the interest rates on your existing federal student loans, rounded up to the nearest 1/8%. Therefore, with student loan consolidation, you cannot lower your student loan interest rate, and it is possible that your student loan interest rate will increase.

Student Loan Refinancing: Student loan refinance, or private student loan consolidation helps you receive a lower interest rate on your existing federal student loans, private student loans or both. Through pharmacist student loan refinancing, a private lender can give you a new student loan, pay off your existing student loans and most importantly give you a lower interest rate. With student loan refinancing, you will have one monthly payment, one student loan and one student loan servicer. Therefore, in addition to a lower interest rate, student loan refinancing is an effective student loan organizational tool.

Your new student loan interest rate will be based several factors, which may include your credit score, track record of financial responsibility, income, debt to income ratio, monthly cash flow and ability to manage debt payments.

Since the federal government does not refinance student loans, you can think of student loan refinancing as a form of private student loan consolidation – meaning that you refinance with a private student loan company rather than the federal government, with the primary goal to save money and lower your monthly payments. When you refinance your student loans, your new lender pays off your existing student loan and issues you a new private student loan. The goal is to lower your overall interest rate so you can save money on student loan interest costs.

You can compare how much money you can save with pharmacy school student loan refinancing with this helpful student loan consolidation vs refinancing calculator.

Why Do You Receive a Lower Interest Rate Through Pharmacist Student Loan Refinancing?

As you can see in this Pharmacist Student Loan Refinancing Guide, pharmacist student loan refinancing helps you receive a lower interest rate. Once you know how to refinance pharmacy student loans, you will see why this is the case.

Unlike a federal student loan in which every borrower receives the same interest rate, private student loans are credit-based, which means that your credit history, income and credit score may impact the interest rate on your new student loan. Private student loan companies use different underwriting models to determine qualifications and interest rates.

When you were a pharmacy school student, you likely had a limited credit history and income. Now that you are graduating or are working, your credit profile and income profile likely have improved. Plus, you likely have a more established, financial track record.

You can expect that the stronger your financial profile and demonstrated financial responsibility, the lower your student loan refinance interest rate will be. The good news is that some private student loan lenders enable you to have a qualified co-signer (such as a family member), who will assume financial responsibility for your student loan and can help you obtain approval for your student loan application based on their financial profile. The stronger the income profile and credit profile of your qualified co-signer, the lower the interest rate can you receive.

Pharmacist Student Loan Refinancing Guide: Why refinance pharmacy school student loans?

Now that this Pharmacist Student Loan Refinancing Guide has showed you why you can receive a lower interest rate and the difference between consolidating pharmacy student loans and pharmacist student loan refinance for your pharmacy school student loans, let’s now discuss why to refinance pharmacy student loans.

The primary reason to choose pharmacist student loan refinancing is the potential to receive a lower interest rate than your existing pharmacy student loans. It’s likely that the interest rates on your federal and private student loans are higher than the interest rate you can now receive through pharmacist student loan refinance. If you have PLUS Loans, your interest rate can be even higher. Now that you are graduating or have graduated and have an income (or job offer) and can demonstrate steady employment, private student loan lenders are likely to offer you a lower interest rate than your current types of student loans.

One downside of pharmacist student loan refinancing is that you lose federal student loan protections such as income-driven repayment options, Perkins Loan cancellation, public service loan forgiveness, teacher student loan forgiveness, student loan deferment and student forbearance programs, among others. So, if you think you will need these benefits for your federal student loans, then you should check for eligibility to see if you qualify before you refinance pharmacy student loans. However, if saving money on your pharmacy student loans is your top priority, then student loan refinance for pharmacy school student loans may be your best option.

Pharmacy School Student Loan Refinance Guide: Income-Driven Repayment Plans

Federal student loans offer benefits that are not offered by private student loan lenders such as income-driven repayment plans, which allow the borrower to make student loan payments based on income. For example, a graduated student loan repayment plan enables the borrower to make low monthly payments at the beginning of the student loan repayment period and increase the student loan payments over time as the borrower’s income increases. Other income-driven repayment programs for borrowers with high debt-to-income ratios allow the borrower to make small monthly student loan payments, and then any remaining principal can be forgiven after 20 or 25 years. These student loan forgiveness programs such as PAYE or REPAYE enable you to pay a lower monthly payment and then have your student loans forgiven after 20 or 25 years.

These income-driven repayment plans can be beneficial to lower your monthly student loan payments and provide flexibility, particularly if you have a lower income in the beginning of your career. The downside is that with a lower student loan payment, interest still accrues, or accumulates, on the principal balance. That means even though you are making a monthly payment for student loan repayment of your pharmacy school student loans, your student loan balance may increase over time. This is called negative amortization. So, even though the monthly student loan payment is lower, you may end up paying more for your student loans because of the interest costs.

Guide To Refinancing Pharmacy Student Loans: Student Loan Forgiveness

While this pharmacy school student loan refinance guide focuses on student loan refinancing, federal student loans can offer student loan forgiveness benefits as Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Teacher Student Loan Forgiveness for borrowers who work in qualifying roles in these professions. If you work in either of these professions, you may want to check whether these benefits apply to you before your refinance student loans. In the Mentor Money Public Service Loan Forgiveness Guide, you can learn that public service student loan forgiveness for qualified borrowers who work in a qualified public service role and make 120 payments (10 years of monthly payments).

How do I learn more about Student Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAP) for pharmacists?

When it comes to student loan repayment for pharmacists, there are many options. Importantly, Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs) for pharmacists can help with student loan repayment, especially if you want to pay off student loans faster.

Pharmacist Student Loan Refinancing Guide: Student Loan Deferment and Student Loan Forbearance

Most federal pharmacy school student loans allow you to postpone making pharmacy school student loan payments due to financial hardship. The most common benefits are student loan deferment (during which student loan interest does not accrue) and student loan forbearance (during which student loan interest does accrue). Most private student loan companies do not offer student loan forbearance but do offer some form of student loan deferment, including monthly payment postponement and help finding a new job if you lose your current job. That said, many pharmacist student loan refinancing lenders today offer some form of pharmacist student loan repayment plan if you face economic hardship.

You can check out the latest rates and reviews from the top lenders to refinance student loans to learn more.

Where can I refinance pharmacy student loans?

When it comes to pharmacist student loan refinancing, you can learn more about student loan lenders who can offer pharmacist student loan interest rates starting as low as 2-3%.

With Mentor Money’s comparison tools, you can compare the latest student loan rates, loan terms, qualification criteria, student loan refinancing reviews and more.

You can also use the Mentor Money Student Loan Refinancing Calculator to calculate how much money you can save when you refinance pharmacy student loans.

Plus, if you sign up for autopay with your student loan refinancing lender, you can earn a 0.25% discount on your student loan interest rate, which adds up to big savings over the course of your student loan.

Pharmacy School Student Loan Refinancing: Flexible Student Loan Repayment Terms​

If you want to know how to refinance pharmacy school loans, it’s helpful to know that pharmacist student loan refinancing lenders offer borrowers multiple options for student loan repayment, with terms ranging typically from 5 to 20 years. With pharmacist student loan refinancing, you also will have an opportunity to choose between fixed and variable interest rates. As described in this student loan refinancing guide for pharmacists, if you want to pay off student loans and get out of debt as quickly as possible, then you will want to choose a shorter-term option (such as 5 years or 10 years).

While you will save on student loan interest costs (compared with a 20-year student loan, for example), your monthly interest costs will be relatively higher than with a longer-term student loan option. However, you may be able to save money depending on how much money you save with your new student loan interest rate.

You can compare your monthly payment and total payment depending on your chosen student loan term for pharmacy school student loan refinancing by using our student loan payment calculator.

Am I a good candidate to refinance my pharmacy school student loans?

If your goal is to obtain a lower interest rate, lower your monthly payments, switch from a variable interest rate to a fixed interest rate (or vice versa), or change the loan term to a longer to shorter number of years to repay your loan, then you may be a good candidate to refinance pharmacy school student loans.

When you first borrowed your pharmacy school student loans, you may have had both a federal student loan and a private student loan. Your federal student loan is likely at the same high rate as everyone else’s, since the federal government offers the same fixed rate to all borrowers. If you have a private student loan, it likely has a high interest rate. This is because when you borrowed that loan, you were in school and you may have had a limited credit history, which meant that your student loan company deemed you a higher credit risk.

Now, you may have graduated, become employed, and developed a stronger credit history. As a result, you may be able to qualify to consolidate and refinance your existing federal student loans and private student loans into a new private loan with a lower interest rate.

Do I qualify for student loan refinance for pharmacy student loans?

To qualify to refinance pharmacy school student loans, you usually need to show a few things:

1. You need to have graduated from a qualified degree program or university, which is typically a Title IV accredited school.
2. You need to have a steady stream of income (or a written job offer)
3. You need a history of financial responsibility.

Each lender has different criteria for eligibility.

Typically, eligibility criteria for refinancing pharmacy school student loans include:

• Healthy credit
• Strong monthly cash flow
• Demonstrated financial responsibility
• Currently employed or have written job offer
• Degree from Title IV accredited university or degree program

Of course, eligibility criteria vary by student loan lender, but this should give you a general framework. The stronger your financial metrics – for example, credit score, income, historical financial responsibility, current outstanding debt – the lower student loan interest rate you may be able to obtain.

Do federal student loans offer the lowest interest rates?

This is a major misconception. As noted in this student loan refinancing guide for pharmacists, federal student loans often are higher than the interest rates you can receive through pharmacist student loan refinancing.

Why? The federal government does not “underwrite” student loans based on the individual borrower. Rather, each borrower gets the same interest rate – regardless of your income, financial profile or credit score. If you score high in these categories, then you are essentially overpaying for your student loan and may be able to obtain a lower student loan interest rate through a private student loan company. This is why student loan refinance has become such a popular solution for student loan repayment for pharmacy school student loans.

Can I combine my federal student loans and private student loans for pharmacist student loan refinancing?

Here is a great tip inside this Pharmacist Student Loan Refinancing Guide.

One of the keys of how to refinance pharmacy school student loans is knowing that you can combine federal and private student loans when refinancing pharmacy school student loans. You also may be able to refinance student loans that you previously consolidated with the federal government through the U.S. Department of Education (e.g., Direct or FFEL) or a private student loan company.

When you refinance pharmacy school student loans, you can decide to only refinance private student loans and leave your federal student loans outstanding. One reason is if you plan to pursue public service loan forgiveness or another income-driven repayment plan.

When refinancing pharmacy school student loans, you lose most flexible student loan repayment plans and other protections connected with a federal student loan. That said, some student loan companies offer flexible student loan repayment plans, including student loan deferment and student loan forbearance if you have economic hardship during student loan repayment.

What will my monthly payments look like when refinancing pharmacy school student loans?

Hopefully lower than what you are currently paying! You are in the driver seat – so you should consider a student loan that fits your personal and financial needs. Your monthly payment is primarily a feature of your interest rate, loan term and loan amount.

• Fixed Interest Rate. If you have a fixed interest rate, your monthly student loan payment will remain constant each month for the duration of your loan.
• Variable Interest Rate. If you have a variable student loan payment, your monthly loan payment may change each month based on the underlying benchmark such as 1 Month LIBOR.
• Shorter-Term Loan. If you have a shorter-term student loan (e.g., 10 years or less), your monthly payments may be higher than if you have a longer-term loan (more than 10 years) because you have a shorter period to pay off the loan.
• Longer-Term Loan. The longer the term of your loan (e.g., the number of years to pay back your loan), the more interest that will accrue over time and the more interest you will owe.

So, you should decide how much you can afford to pay now versus over time and find which works best for your personal and financial needs. And remember – most student loan companies offer up to 0.25% discount off your interest rate if you sign up for auto pay. The autopay savings can really add up.

You can use this student loan refinancing calculator to calculate your new monthly payment so you know it will look like and can compare it to your previous monthly student loan payment.

How does student loan consolidation work for pharmacy student loans?

As you read this Pharmacist Student Loan Refinancing Guide, it is important to know how student loan consolidation and student loan refinance differ.

With pharmacist student loan refinancing, the goal is to receive a lower interest rate or better overall terms for your student loan repayment. However, with a Direct Loan Consolidation, your interest rate will be calculated based on the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans being consolidated, rounded up to the nearest 1/8%.

While most federal student loans are eligible for student loan consolidation, private loans are not. Also worth remembering – if you’re a parent with Parent PLUS loan, you cannot transfer that Parent PLUS loan to the student (now graduate) when he or she consolidates.

How To Refinance Pharmacy School Student Loans: The Process

How to refinance pharmacy school student loans is one of the top questions we receive at Mentor Money. Now that you have made the decision to refinance your pharmacy student loans, it is time to understand the process for pharmacist student loan refinancing. Over the past five years, the process to refinance pharmacy school student loan debt has been simplified considerably. Gone are the days of piles of paperwork, long wait times and bureaucracy.

So, what does the process for pharmacy school student loan refinancing look like?

1. Apply Online
2. Choose Your Student Loan
3. Submit Documents
4. Underwriting Review
5. Congratulations — you’re approved
6. Review Disclosures & Sign Loan
7. Your Student Loan Is Disbursed

Apply Online

• All the student loan refinance applications are online and you receive a student loan interest rate offer for free with no impact to your credit score typically within 2 minutes
• The total pharmacy school student loans refinancing application takes 10-15 minutes to complete
• Co-signers can also apply online as well

Choose Your Student Loan

• You can choose a fixed or variable student loan interest rate
• You can choose your loan term and decide how fast you want to pay off your student loan
• Typical loan terms are 5-20 years with pharmacy school student loan refinancing

Submit Documents

• You can submit your student loan documentation online
• Some lenders will allow you to take a photo of your documents, or even submit via text
• Key documents may include your Driver’s license or passport (or government issued ID), transcript / diploma to verify your degree, payoff statement from your current lender, monthly rent or mortgage statement, and two most recent pay stubs or tax returns (or offer letter of employment)

Underwriting Review

• The lender will review your submitted documents and credit report
• The lender will apply its proprietary credit model to ensure that you meet all its underwriting criteria

Congratulations — you’re approved

Review Disclosures & Sign Loan

• Review truth in lending and other disclosure statements
• Sign your student loan documentation

Your Student Loan Is Disbursed

• If you refinance, your lender will issue you a new student loan and directly pay off your existing student loan from your existing lender
• If you borrow a new student loan, your lender will send the funds directly to your school

How do I enroll in pharmacist student loan refinancing?

While it used to be a cumbersome process that involved mountains of paperwork and hours of your time, now in just two minutes, you could learn your new student loan interest rate for free and with no impact to your credit score. The reason your credit score is not impacted is because lenders only do a soft credit check, which is not the same as a hard credit pull.

To learn more about pharmacist student loan refinance options, you can read compare the latest rates for pharmacist student loan refinancing.

Compare pharmacist student loan refinancing rates and pay off pharmacy student loans faster

Find a new student loan interest rate in only 2 minutes. Your credit score is not impacted when you view a new rate.

These are our highest-rated options for pharmacist student loan refinancing.

[related_posts post_1=’318′ post_2=’321′ post_3=’333′]

When it comes to student loan repayment for dentists, there are many options. Importantly, Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs) for dentists can help you pay off student loans faster.

Dental professionals such as dentists, dental assistants and dental hygienists, for example, can benefit from LRAPs. Here is a state by state analysis of LRAPs that can help dental professional with student loan repayment assistance.

Alabama

Alabama does not currently have a separate, state-funded program. However, Alabama does participate in the National Health Service Corp Loan Repayment Program.

Alabama Board of Dental Scholarship Awards will repay student loans in the amount of $3,000 per year of service in approved communities for a maximum of four years.You can learn more about dental student loans in Alabama at http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loanrepayment/index.html.

Alaska

Overview: The SHARP-II program offers dentists student loan repayment assistance.

Amount: The award is up to $35,000 per year. For certain positions that are difficult to hire, the amount of student loan repayment assistance could increase to $47,000.

Eligibility: A qualified dentist must: a) work in an eligible role either full-time or part-time and b) sign a 3-year service agreement. It is possible to renew the three-year agreement.Goal: The goal of the SHARP-II program is to increase access to health care professionals in Alaska. Sharp-III is expected to expand student loan repayment for dentists. For more information, please visit: https://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/Emergency/Pages/healthcare/sharp/default.aspx

Arizona

Overview:The Arizona State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists in Arizona repay student loan debt.Amount: The award ranges from $52,000 to $65,000 for an initial 2-year service agreement for at least 40 hours per week or at least half-time at 20 hours per week.

Eligibility: To become eligible for the Arizona State Loan Repayment Program, dentists must a) work at a qualified site, and b) agree to a 2-year service agreement. Loan assistance may be extended to up to 6 years. However, student loan repayment assistance for dentists may be reduced to $35,000 in subsequent years.

Goal: The goal for this student loan repayment program is to attract dentists to Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) or Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs).

Arkansas

The Delta Dental Foundation of Arkansas provides student loan assistance for dentists who work in underserved areas, including in rural areas.

California

Overview: The California State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) offers student loan repayment assistance for dentists and hygienists.

Amount: Eligible candidates who work full time can receive up to $50,000 in dental student loans repayment assistance for a 2-year service agreement. The service agreement can be extended. The programs pay 50% and the state pays the remaining 50%.

Eligibility: Eligible dentists and hygienists must work in designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program is to help attract qualified dentist and hygienists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas. The California Dental Association (CDA) also offers a student loan repayment grant, which provides loan assistance to dentists who work in public health. The grant provides $35,000 per year in dental student loans loan repayment assistance for a 3-year service agreement. Eligible dentists must practice in California and work in an undeserved community that is designated by the California Dental Association Foundation.

Colorado

Overview: The Colorado Health Service Corps offers dental student loans repayment assistance to general and pediatric dentists as well as hygienists.

Amount: Qualified dentists who work full time for a 3-year agreement may receive up to $90,000, and dental hygienists may be awarded $20,000. Half-time is also eligible, and the award amount is 50% of the full-time amount. Therefore, for half-time, dentists would receive $45,000 and dental hygienists would receive $10,000.

Eligibility: Eligible dentists and hygienists must practice in Health Professional Shortage Areas.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Colorado is to help attract qualified dentists and hygienists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas. Colorado also offers state loan repayment program. Eligible dentists and hygienists must agree to serve a 2-year term. Dentists can receive $10,000 to $25,000 depending on the number of patients they serve, while dental hygienists can receive $3,000 to $6,000.

Connecticut

Connecticut currently does not offer state student loan repayment assistance for dentists.

Dentists and hygienists should consult federal student loan repayment assistance.

Delaware

Overview:The Delaware State Loan Repayment Program helps general and pediatric dentists receive student loan repayment assistance.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $70,000 (for mid-level dentists) and up to $100,000 (for more experienced dentists). In many cases, mid-level dentists receive $35,000 and more experienced dentists receive $70,000.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must work full-time, which is 40 hours per week.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Delaware is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Georgia

Overview: The Georgia Oral Health Workforce Advancement Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $75,000 over three years, with a minimum of a 1-year commitment for $25,000 in dental student loans repayment.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Georgia.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Georgia is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Illinois

Overview: The Illinois National Health Service Corps State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $50,000 over two years, with a minimum of a 2-year commitment for $25,000 in dental student loans repayment each year. Eligible dentists can extend their service for up to two more years for a total of four years.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must work full-time or part-time and serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Illinois.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Illinois is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Iowa

Overview: The Iowa Loan Repayment Program, along with The Primary Care Recruitment and Retention Endeavor (PRIMECARRE), helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $50,000, with a 2-year commitment. Part-time dentists can receive up to $25,000, with a 2-year commitment.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must work full-time or part-time and serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Iowa.

Goal:The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Iowa is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.Dentists can also receive student loan repayment assistance through the Delta Dental of Iowa Loan Repayment Program. This dental loans repayment program offers $50,000 each year for three years.Dentists can receive up to $100,000 in funding over 5 years through Fulfilling Iowa’s Need for Dentists (FIND) program, which helps to dentists establish dental practices in rural and undeserved areas.

Kansas

Overview: Kansas State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $25,000, with a 2-year commitment. Eligible dentists can extend their contract one year at a time for a maximum extension of three years.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Kansas.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Kansas is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas. The Kansas Initiative for New Dentists (KIND) Program works to attract dentists to underserved or rural areas of Kansas. Eligible dentists can receive up to $50,000 over a 3-year period.

Kentucky

Overview: The Kentucky State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $80,000, with a 2-year commitment. Eligible hygienists can receive up to $20,000. Since this program is a federal match program, there must be a match from your employer or other financial sources.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Kentucky.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Kentucky is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Louisiana

Overview: The Louisiana State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $30,000 per year, with a 3-year commitment. Eligible dentists can then extend their service agreement for an additional two more years and receive $24,000.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Louisiana.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Louisiana is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Maine

Overview: The Maine Dental Education Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $20,000 per year, with a 2-year commitment. Eligible dentists can then extend their service agreement for an additional two years. With four years of service, eligible dentists could receive $80,000.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Maine.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Maine is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Maryland

Overview: The Maryland Dent-Care Loan Assistance Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $23,740 per year, with a 3-year commitment.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Maryland.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Maryland is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Loan Repayment Programis currently not accepting applications for student loan repayment assistance for dentists.

The program, when active, could offer up to $50,000 dental loans repayment assistance for a 2-year commitment in designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Michigan

Overview: The Michigan State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $200,000 over an 8-year period.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Michigan and work a minimum 2-year commitment.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Michigan is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Minnesota

Overview: The Minnesota State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists and dental hygienists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $20,000 per year for a 2-year commitment. Dentists and hygienists who work half-time may receive up to $10,000 per year.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Minnesota.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Minnesota is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Missouri

Overview:The Missouri Health Professional State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $50,000 for a 2-year commitment.Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Missouri.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Missouri is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Montana

Overview: The Montana State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists and dental hygienists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $15,000 per year for a 2-year commitment. Part-time dentists and dental hygienists can receive up to $7,500 per year.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Montana.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Montana is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Nebraska

Overview: The Nebraska Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans. This program is a matching program, which means that the designated site matches the dollars from the state.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $40,000 per year for a 3-year commitment.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Nebraska.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Nebraska is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Nevada

Overview: The Nevada Health Service Corps helps dentists and dental hygienists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists and dental hygienists can receive student loan repayment assistance based on available funding in exchange for a 2 year-commitment.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Nevada.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Nevada is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

New Hampshire

Overview:The New Hampshire State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $75,000 per year for a 3-year commitment. Part-time dentists can receive up to $37,500 per year.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within New Hampshire.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in New Hampshire is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

New Jersey

Overview: The Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program of New Jersey helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $120,000 per year for a 2-year commitment, with a maximum of four years. A percentage of debt is paid after each year of service:

• 1 Year of Service: 18% of outstanding dental school student loan debt, up to $21,600
• 2 Years of Service: 26% of outstanding dental school student loan debt, up to $31,200
• 3 Years of Service: 28% of outstanding dental school student loan debt, up to $33,600
• 4 Years of Service: 28% of outstanding dental school student loan debt, up to $33,600

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within New Jersey.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in New Jersey is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

New Mexico

Overview: The New Mexico Health Professional Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $25,000 per year for a 2-year commitment, with the option to extend the service agreement.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within New Mexico.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in New Mexico is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

North Carolina

Overview: North Carolina helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $100,000 per year for a 4-year commitment.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within North Carolina.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in North Carolina is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

North Dakota

Overview: The North Dakota Dental Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $80,000 in student loan repayment assistance.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within North Dakota.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in North Dakota is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Ohio

Overview: Ohio Dentist Loan Repayment Program  (ODLRP) and Ohio Dental Hygienist Loan Repayment Program (ODHLRP) help dentists and dental hygienists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $50,000 in student loan repayment assistance for a 2-year commitment. Part-time dentists and dental hygienists are eligible for $25,000 for a 2-year service agreement. Eligible dentists and dental hygienists can receive up to $35,000 per year for a third and fourth year under their service agreement.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Ohio.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Ohio is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Oklahoma

Overview: The Oklahoma Dental Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $25,000 per year in student loan repayment assistance.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Oklahoma. The program offers assistance to 25 dentists for 2-5 years.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Oklahoma is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Oregon

Overview: The Oregon Partnership State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up student loan repayment assistance on a percentage basis ranging from 10-20% of their outstanding student loan debt for a 2-year commitment.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Oregon.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Oregon is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Pennsylvania

Overview: The Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $100,000 for full-time work for student loan repayment assistance for a 2-year commitment. Part-time dental work can yield $50,000 in dental student loan repayment assistance.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Pennsylvania.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Pennsylvania is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Rhode Island

Overview: The Rhode Island Health Professionals Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive student loan repayment assistance for a 2-year commitment. Part-time dental work requires a 4-year commitment.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Rhode Island.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Rhode Island is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

South Carolina

Overview: The South Carolina Rural Dentist Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive student loan repayment assistance. Amounts may vary.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within South Carolina and treat at least 100 individual Medicaid patients.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Rhode Island is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

South Dakota

Overview: The South Dakota Department of Health Recruitment Assistance Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans through an incentive payment. The Delta Dental of South Dakota helps dentists with dental student loan repayment assistance.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive student loan repayment assistance. Amounts may be as much as double the tuition for the previous four years of the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. Requires a 3-year commitment in a rural community.The Delta Dental of South Dakota program awards vary from $40,000 to $100,000 for those dentists who work in Dental’s Mobile Dental Program.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within South Dakota and treat at least 100 individual Medicaid patients.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in South Dakota is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Tennessee

Overview:The Tennessee State Loan Repayment Program (TSLRP) helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $50,000 in student loan repayment assistance for a 2-year service agreement. After two years, the service agreement can be extended and eligible dentists can receive up to $20,000 in additional dental student loan assistance.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) in Tennessee.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Tennessee is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Vermont

Overview: The Vermont Educational Loan Repayment Program for Dentists helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $20,000 per year student loan repayment assistance by working at least 20 clinical hours per week and at least 45 weeks per year.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Vermont.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Vermont is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Virginia

Overview:The Virginia State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists and dental hygienists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans through a matching program.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive student loan repayment assistance up to $100,000 for a 2-year commitment. The maximum award is $140,000 for a 4-year commitment. The local site would need to match each dollar from the state program.

Eligibility:To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Virginia.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Virginia is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Washington

Overview:TheFederal-State Loan Repayment Program (FSLRP) and The Health Professional Loan Repayment Program (HPLRP)helps dentists and dental hygienists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive student loan repayment assistance through these programs. The FSLRP program offers a maximum award of $70,000 with a 2-year service agreement. The HPLRP is a 3-year commitment with a maximum award of $75,000.Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Washington State.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Washington state is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Washington, D.C.

Overview: The DC Health Professional Loan Repayment Program helps dentists and dental hygienists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $143,137 of student loan repayment assistance over a 4-year period. Dentists who apply must already be employed with a Service Obligation Site (SOS). The dental student loan repayment assistance program is based on a percentage of outstanding debt:

• Year 1: 18% of outstanding dental student loan debt
• Year 2: 26% of outstanding dental student loan debt
• Year 3: 28% of outstanding dental student loan debt
• Year 4: 28% of outstanding dental student loan debt

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Washington, D.C.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Washington, D.C. is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

West Virginia

Overview: The West Virginia State Loan Repayment Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive student loan repayment assistance up to $40,000 per year for a 2-year commitment. Eligible dentists can extend the service agreement for an additional 2 years for $25,000 per year. The maximum award is $90,000 for a 4-year commitment.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within West Virginia.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in West Virginia is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Wisconsin

Overview: The Wisconsin Dental Loan Repayment Assistance Program helps dentists receive student loan repayment assistance for dental student loans.

Amount: Eligible dentists can receive up to $50,000 of student loan repayment assistance for a 3-year commitment. Dental hygienists can receive up to $25,000.

Eligibility: To be eligible for student loan repayment for dentists, eligible dentists must serve in Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSA) within Wisconsin.

Goal: The goal of this dental student loan repayment program in Wisconsin is to help attract qualified dentists to designated Health Professional Shortages Areas.

Wyoming

The Wyoming Healthcare Professional Loan Repayment Program is currently not funded so check back for updates.

[related_posts post_1=’318′ post_2=’321′ post_3=’543′]

What are the Top 30 Questions about student loan refinancing? This ultimate guide will teach you the answers to the most important questions you need to know about refinancing student loans.

Student Loan Refinancing: Top 30 Questions

What is student loan refinancing?

Student loan refinancing is the process of lowering the interest rate on your student loans and saving money in the process. With student loan refinancing, you can simplify your student loan payments by having a single student loan, single monthly payment and single student loan servicer.

The lower interest rate means you save money in interest costs and can pay off your student loans faster. Most student loan refinancing lenders allow you to refinance both federal student loans and private student loans.

[refinance_student_loans_table]

What’s the difference between student loan consolidation and student loan refinancing?

The terms “student loan refinancing” and “student loan consolidation” are often confused as synonyms, but they mean different things. Student loan refinancing and student loan consolidation both simplify your student loan payments, but they do it in different ways.One of the most popular student loan questions is “what is the difference between student loan consolidation and student loan refinancing?”

Student loan refinancing enables you to receive a lower interest rate on your student loans and therefore save money. You can refinance your federal student loans, private student loans or both. Student loan refinancing is one of the most effective ways to save money on your student loans and pay off your student loans faster.

With student loan refinance, the result is one student loan, one monthly payment, and one student loan servicer. You can refinance one or multiple student loans. Therefore, student loan refinancing helps you lower your interest rate and your monthly payment.

Student loan consolidation enables you to combine your existing federal student loans into a single, Direct Consolidation Loan. You can analyze student loan consolidation with a student loan consolidation calculator. Unfortunately, private student loans cannot be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan. With a Direct Consolidation Loan, your interest rate is equal to a weighted average of the interest rates of your existing federal student loans, rounded up to the nearest 1/8%.

Therefore, you will not receive a lower interest rate with federal student loan consolidation, and your interest may increase slightly. If you extend your student loan term through student loan consolidation income-driven repayment plan, you could pay more for your student loans. You can use a student loan refinancing calculator to weigh the benefits of student loan refinance vs consolidation.

Can you refinance student loans if you already consolidated student loans? Yes, you can refinance your student loans if you previously consolidated your student loans.

Can I refinance both federal student loans and private student loans?

Yes, most lenders allow you to refinance federal student loans, private student loans or both. For example, you could refinance both your federal student loans and private student loans and receive a single student loan with a lower interest rate.

Alternatively, you could refinance your private student loans and leave your federal student loans outstanding, or vice versa. When you refinance federal student loans, you no longer will have a federal student loan and won’t have access to federal repayment programs.

Who are the best lenders for student loan refinancing?

The best lenders for student loan refinancing offer the lowest interest rates, have easy applications and excellent customer service. Make sure to compare interest rates and loan terms to find the best lenders for you.

Most lenders enable you to check your new, personalized interest rate within minutes for free with no impact to credit score. This is called a soft credit check. When you apply for student loan refinancing and submit documentation, you can apply to multiple student loan lenders and it will only count as one hard credit check. The application generally takes only about 10-15 minutes.

How do I choose a student loan lender?

Choosing a student loan lender may seem like a daunting task, but it’s actually easy if you know what to look for. With these simple steps, here’s how you can choose the best student loan lenders:

Step 1. Compare student loan lenders: You can compare the best student loan offers and find the best student loan refinance options for you. Analyze loan terms, interest rates, and eligibility criteria.

Step 2. Apply to multiple lenders: To maximize your chance for approval, you should apply to multiple student loan refinancing lenders. If you apply within a certain time frame (such as 30 days) to multiple student loan refinancing lenders, it will only count as one credit check.

Step 3. Banks and Online Lenders: The best student loan refinance lenders tend to be banks and online lenders built on customer service, technology and reputation.

Do banks refinance student loans?

Yes, banks and online lenders are often the best lenders to refinance student loans. Banks have excellent customer service, strong technology operations and significant capital to refinance student loans.

You can compare the best student loan refinancing offers and find the latest, personalized rates in minutes.

What are the key benefits of student loan refinancing?

Student loan refinancing has several benefits. With student loan refinancing, you can potentially save tens of thousands of dollars on your student loans. As shown in this student loan refinancing calculator, you can cut your student loan payments and participate in the following key benefits when you refinance student loans:

• Receive a lower interest rate
• Reduce the total amount of interest that you pay
• Combine your existing federal and private student loans into a single student loan
• Make one student loan payment per month
• Have only one student loan servicer
• A lower monthly payment means you will lower your debt-to-income ratio, which can help you qualify for other financial products such as a personal loan, mortgage or auto loan
• Pay off your student loans faster
• Choose either a fixed rate student loan or variable rate student loan
• Lower your monthly payment, which means you could have extra money for other life expenses

The decision to refinance student loans is a personal choice. If you have a strong credit score, stable income, are employed and want to lower your interest rates on your student loans, then student loan refinancing is an option to consider. With student loan refinancing, you can lower your interest rate, pay off your student loans faster and save up to tens of thousands of dollars on your student loans.

With a student loan refinance calculator, you can see how much you can save through student loan refinancing. When you refinance student loans, you convert your federal student loans, private student loans or both into a single, private student loan with a lower interest rate and a single monthly payment. The goal is to reduce your high-interest rate to a low-interest rate, save thousands of dollars and get out of debt faster.

You can check your interest rate for free in just two minutes from these top-rated lenders.

What are the key risks of student loan refinancing?

If you refinance federal student loans, you will no longer have access to certain federal student loan protections such as income-driven repayment plans and federal student loan forgiveness programs such as public service loan forgiveness.If you plan on federal student loan forgiveness or do not currently have the steady income, student loan refinancing may not be the best choice for you.

The good news is that most student loan refinances lenders offer repayment plans if you lose your job or are struggling financially.

Is it smart to refinance your student loans?

The top reason to refinance a student loan is to lower your interest rate, save money and get out of debt faster. Student loan refinancing is free, has no application fee and has no prepayment penalty. So, you can apply for free and pay off your student loans anytime. With a lower interest rate, you could potentially save tens of thousands of dollars on your student loans.

Student loan refinance is an important choice to evaluate when it comes to your student loan debt. Here are some helpful resources to help you make an informed decision:

• Top 5 Reasons To Refinance Your Student Loans Now
• Refinance Student Loans Or Consolidate Student Loans?
• 5 Things To Consider When Refinancing Student Loans

Is it worth it to refinance my student loans?

Student loan refinancing is free so it won’t cost you anything to refinance student loans. The application takes about 10 minutes and you can check your new interest rate for free in just two minutes. A student loan refinances calculator can show you how much you will save through refinancing student loans. Plus, this student loan refinance vs consolidation calculator compares how much money you can save through student loan refinance vs consolidation.

You can compare the lowest rates and find the best lender for you.

When you refinance student loans, you can lower your interest rate, save money and pay off your student loans faster.

Should I refinance my federal student loans? What’s the downside to refinancing my federal student loans?

The top reason to refinance your federal student loans is to receive a lower interest rate, a lower monthly payment and pay off your student loans faster. This is especially true for federal student loans since everyone receives the same, fixed interest rate regardless of your current income or credit score.

With student loan refinancing, you can get a better interest rate based on your income, credit score, debt-to-income ratio, and other factors. When you refinance student loans, you also have access to fixed and variable interest rates.
Student loan refinances also enables you to consolidate multiple federal student loans into a single monthly payment or to extend the payment term.

If you have federal student loans, there are several factors to consider before refinancing student loans.

1. Student Loan Protections: When you refinance federal student loans, you will no longer have federal student loans. Therefore, you lose access to income-driven repayment plans such as income-based repayment or income-contingent repayment.

2. Student Loan Forgiveness: If you plan to seek student loan forgiveness under an income-driven repayment plan such as PAYE or REPAYE or pursue Public Service Loan Forgiveness, then you would need to keep your federal student loans outstanding.

3. Unemployed: If you have low or unsteady income, or are currently unemployed, then you may want to wait to apply for student loan refinance so that your financial situation can improve.

Should I refinance my private student loans? What’s the downside to refinancing my private student loans?

Refinancing your private student loans has multiple advantages:

1. Lower interest rates: The number one reason to refinance private student loans is to lower your interest rate. If you have a stronger credit profile, higher income and history of financial responsibility compared to when you were a student, your interest rate with student loan refinance could be much lower.

2. Lower monthly payments: With lower interest rates, you can now lower your monthly payment because you will owe less interest each month. With student loan refinancing, you can even extend your loan term to 20 years and lower your payment even further each month. Now, you will owe more interest if you extend your loan term, but it could help lower your monthly payment.

3. Flexible repayment schedule: Most student loan lenders allow you to refinance student loans into a new single student loan with a loan term ranging from 5 to 20 years. If you want to pay off your student loans faster, you could choose a shorter loan term with higher monthly payments. If you need more time to repay your student loans, then you could choose a longer loan term and lower your monthly payments.

So, what are the downside of refinancing private student loans?

Most importantly, always check your loan terms so that you understand your new interest rate, repayment term and other essential terms of your loan.

Two items to watch for:

1. Longer repayment terms: The longer your repayment term, the more you will pay in interest costs.

2. Variable interest rates: While fixed rates have the same monthly payment for the duration of your refinanced student loan, variable interest rates move up or down depending on interest rate movements. In a rising interest rate environment, this can work against you. In a falling interest rate environment, a variable interest rate can benefit you.

Can I refinance a Stafford loan?

Yes, a Stafford Loan is a type of federal student loan. You can refinance federal student loans, private student loans or both.

How To Apply For Student Loan Refinancing

Am I eligible for student loan refinancing?

While eligibility requirements for student loan refinancing vary by lender, here are some general guidelines to be eligible for student loan refinancing:

• You are at least the age of majority in your state and able to enter into a binding contract
• You are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and 18 years or older.
• You reside in a state in which your lender is authorized to lend.
• You are employed and have the steady income
• You have graduated from a Title IV school.
• You have a good credit score (typically at least 650 or higher), low debt-to-income ratio and sufficient monthly cash flow to pay for your living expenses and debt obligations

You can apply to multiple student loans refinance lenders to maximize your chances for approval. You can learn more in this Student Loan Refinance Guide.

How do I apply for student loan refinancing?

Applying for student loan refinancing is easy and can be accessed online. You can apply directly through the best lenders for student loan refinancing. You can check for new interest rate for free within 2 minutes with no impact to your credit score. When you apply for student loan refinancing, you can complete the application online in about 10-15 minutes.

What do I need to get approved for student loan refinancing?

To get approved for student loan refinancing, among other factors, lenders like to see:

• Good credit score (usually 650 and above; the higher the better)
• Strong income
• A low debt-to-income ratio
• Strong monthly cash flow to cover your total debt obligations (including your student loans) and your living expenses
• A history of financial responsibility

When you apply for student loan refinancing, it will be helpful to have:Before you start the application, you’ll want to have these documents accessible:

• A copy of your most recent student loan statement
• A copy of your driver’s license or passport
• Your most recent 1-2 pay stubs
• Your transcript or diploma as proof of graduation

Overall, lenders want to lend money to responsible borrowers who are likely to pay back their student loans in full and on-time. If that describes you, then you may be a good candidate for student loan refinancing.

How much money can I save from student loan refinancing?

You can save significant money when you refinance student loans. On average, some students can save $20,000 – $30,000 on their student loan through student loan refinancing. The amount of savings depends on your student loan balance, your current weighted average interest rate and your new interest rate through student loan refinancing. Therefore, if you are a doctor with $300,000 of medical school student loans or a dentist with $400,000 of dental school student loans, you could save substantially on your student loans with student loan refinancing.

The reason is due to the lower interest rate that you can achieve through your credit profile, income, debt-to-income ratio, monthly cash flow and demonstrated a history of financial responsibility. Let’s look at an example. Let’s assume you have $100,000 of student loan debt, an 8% average interest rate and 10 years remaining on your loan term. Through student loan refinancing, let’s assume that you qualify for a 3% interest rate and choose a 10-year loan term. This Student Loan Refinancing Calculator shows you how much money you can save by refinancing your student loans.

With student loan refinancing, you can lower your monthly payment by $248 per month and save $29,720. Let’s assume that you are a dentist with a $400,000 student loan balance and all terms the same. Through student loan refinancing, you can lower your monthly payment by $991 per month and save $118,881.

Can I check interest rates for student loan refinancing without affecting my credit score?

Yes, checking interest rates for student loan refinancing will not affect your credit score. There is only a soft credit when you check your new, personalized interest rates and it only takes about 2 minutes. You can check your interest rates for free with multiple lenders without any impact to your credit score.

Will student loan refinancing hurt my credit score?

Checking your new, personalized rates for student loan refinancing will not impact your credit score because there is only a soft credit check. When you apply for student loan refinancing, there is hard a credit check similar to any other loan application. The good news is that you can apply to multiple lenders within a given time frame (such as 30 days) and only have one credit check count on your credit report. It’s advantageous to apply to multiple student loan lenders to increase your chances of approval.

What’s the difference between a fixed interest rate and variable interest rate?

A fixed interest rate means that the interest rate will not change over the life of your private student loan. For example, if you borrow a private student loan at 5% interest, the interest rate will not change over the life of your private student loans. Private student loans and federal student loans may have different interest rate, but if they are both fixed, the respective interest rates will remain the same.

A variable interest rate means that your student loan rate will rise or fall with movements in interest rates. Typically, a variable interest rate student loan has a lower rate than a fixed interest rate student loan.

For example, if you borrow a variable interest rate private student loan at 4%, that rate may increase or decrease based on the underlying benchmark for interest rates. If interest rates move up, your variable rate may increase. If interest rates move down, your variable rate may decrease.

What interest rate can I get with student loan refinancing?

The primary goal of student loan refinancing is to lower your interest rate and save money compared to your current student loans.

Your new interest rate will be based on several factors, including your credit score, your income, debt-to-income ratio, monthly cash flow and history of financial responsibility, among other factors.

The stronger your credit profile, the lower the interest rate you can expect.You can check the latest student loan refinancing interest rates and find the best lender for you.

Is there any limit to the amount of student loans I can refinance?

It depends on the lender. Some lenders have no limit on the amount of student loans you can refinance, while other lenders may set a limit such as $500,000. For the most part, unless you have a very large student loan balance, you will be able to refinance student loans and not face a limit, if any.

You can compare the best lenders to assess which lenders will cover the student loan amount you want to refinance.

Is there a fee to refinance student loans?

Student loan refinancing has no fees, so there are no origination fees or prepayment penalties. You can repay student loans at any time without fee or penalty.

Specific Situations For Student Loan Refinancing

Am I paying too much money for my student loans?

It’s likely you are paying too much for your student loans. When you were a student loan and borrowed a student loan, you had limited control over the interest rate on your student. For example, if you borrowed federal student loans, every borrower receives the same interest rate, regardless of their credit profile.

Similarly, your private student loans carry an interest rate based on your credit profile when you were a student, which may be one reason you are overpaying for student loans now.

Today, you likely have a stronger credit profile and higher income compared to when you were a student. This is why you can apply to refinance student loans and may receive a lower interest rate compared to your current interest rate. Your stronger credit profile and higher income is what makes the difference because lenders view you as a more responsible borrower with a demonstrated history of financial responsibility.

Also, student loan refinancing does not have any fees. So, even if you can save 0.25% on your student loans, student loan refinancing may be a smart strategy for you.

Is there a penalty if I pay back my student loans early?

There is no prepayment penalty to repay your student loans early. So, you can repay student loans at any time.

Is there a penalty if I pay back my student loans early?

Most lenders require that you graduated from college.

Can I refinance student loans if I didn’t go to a Title IV school?

Most lenders only refinance student loans if you attended a Title IV school. A Title IV school is any school that is eligible for federal student aid.

Can I refinance my parents’ Parent PLUS Loans through student loan refinancing?

Yes, some lenders allow you to assume responsibility for your parents’ Parent PLUS Loan through student loan refinancing. Check with the lender for details. So long as you meet the lender’s requirements, you should be able to assume responsibility for the Parent PLUS Loans.

Similarly, if you have a qualified co-signer help you get approved and get a lower interest rate for student loan refinancing, some lenders offer a co-signer release, which can release your co-signer after you are approved and meet certain requirements. Your parents also can refinance Parent PLUS Loans through Parent PLUS Loan Refinancing.

Can I refinance student loans during a grace period?

Some lenders permit you to refinance student loans during a grace period. Be sure to check the terms when you refinance student loans. Your lender will still want to ensure you have stable income and a good credit score, or your lender may ask you for a qualified co-signer.

Can I defer my refinanced student loan if I go to graduate school?

Yes, many lenders allow you to defer your refinanced student loans if you attend graduate school. Check with your lender to make sure that your lender offers this option. Remember, if you do defer your student loans while in graduate school, you may not owe monthly payments, but interest still accrues on your student loans.

[related_posts post_1=’318′ post_2=’321′ post_3=’333′]

The decision to consolidate federal student loans or to refinance student loans is an important one. Since federal student loan consolidation and private student loan consolidation (also known as student loan refinance) are different, it is essential that you understand the differences before deciding which path to pursue.

While consolidation of your federal loans means that you combine more than one loan into a single loan, refinancing means issuing a new loan (and paying off your existing student loans) with a new student loan with a lower interest rate.

[refinance_student_loans_table]

Student Loan Consolidation

When you consolidate student loans, you can only consolidate your federal student loans. Consolidation of your federal student loans means that you combine more than one student loan into a single student loan, and the resulting interest rate is a weighted average of the student loans that were combined. With a single monthly payment, you are still afforded borrower protections such as flexible, income-driven student loan repayment plans and student loan forgiveness. More to come on those topics below.

You can consolidate your federal student loans with the federal government. Since only federal direct loans qualify for consolidation, if you combine certain other student loans into a direct consolidation loan, you can gain access to the income-driven student loan repayment plans.

Mentor Money Tip: If you have a Perkins loan and are considering consolidating your Perkins loan, you are better off keeping your Perkins loan outside of your student loan consolidation.

Mentor Money Tip: The primary reason is that Perkins loans offer certain teacher student loan forgiveness and public service student loan forgiveness programs, and you would lose those benefits if you consolidate your Perkins loan.

How To Apply For Federal Loan Consolidation In 5 Steps:

1. Create a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID through Federal Student Aid.
2. Log on to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) to view your loan types as well as balances and interest rates.
3. Choose a repayment plan (income-based or basic)
4. Apply for direct consolidation
5. Pick a student loan servicer (FedLoan, Great Lakes, Nelnet, or Navient)

You can also always call the federal government’s Loan Consolidation Information Call Center at 1-800-557-7392.

What is an income driven repayment option?

Income-Based Repayment Option

The federal government offers four income-based and three basic repayment plans to help you repay your federal loans in a more financially manageable way. Let’s take a closer look to see if any of these options work well for you.

• Income-based repayment
• Pay As You Earn
• Revised Pay As You Earn
• Income-Contingent Plan

Income-based repayment plans cap your monthly student loan payment based on a percentage of your income. The federal government allows you to repay your federal direct student loans based on your income. After 20 or 25 years, your loan balance is forgiven. In order to apply for any of these student loan repayment plans, you should visit the U.S. Department of Education, or through your loan’s servicer. Also make sure that you apply on time and reapply each year, since you have to update your income information each year in order to qualify.

Mentor Money Tip: While an income-based repayment plan can lower your monthly payment, remember that it may now take longer to pay off your student loan.

Mentor Money Tip: So make sure to balance your potentially lower monthly payment with your time goal to repay your loan.

You can learn more about each of these student loan repayment options.

What is a basic repayment plan?

Basic Student Loan Repayment Plan

There are three types of basic student loan repayment plans:

• Standard Repayment
• Graduated Repayment
• Extended Repayment

The basic student loan repayment plans do not depend on your income and you do not need to reapply each year. The default is the standard repayment plan, unless you otherwise choose the graduated or extended plan. The standard repayment plan involves making monthly payments based on your original loan term. If you can afford to make your monthly payments, you are better off staying with the standard monthly plan because you will pay off your loans on time and pay less in interest compared with an income repayment plan.

Mentor Money Tip: No matter which student loan repayment option you choose, you can pay off your student loan faster by making an extra payment at any time.

Mentor Money Tip: The more extra payments you can make, the faster you can repay your student loan and save on interest costs. Just remember to tell your student loan company to apply your extra payment to your principal balance, rather than toward your next payment.

Student Loan Refinance

Since the federal government does not refinance student loans, you can think of student loan refinancing as a form of private student loan consolidation – meaning that you refinance with a private lender, rather than the federal government. Many private student loan companies will refinance, though, both your federal and private student loans. When you refinance your student loan, your new lender pays off your existing student loan and issues you a new private student loan.

Unlike a federal government loan, private student loans are credit-based, which means that your credit history and/or credit score may impact the interest rate on your new loan. Private student loan companies use different underwriting models to determine qualifications and interest rates. But you can expect that the stronger your financial profile and demonstrated financial responsibility, the lower your interest rate will be. The good news is that some private student loan companies enable you to have a co-signer (such as a family member), who will assume financial responsibility for your student loan and can help you obtain approval for your student loan application based on their financial profile.

Why Refinance Student Loans?

The primary reason to refinance student loans is the potential to receive a lower interest rate than your existing student loan. Federal student loans may have interest rates as high as 6.8% on an undergraduate student loan, and even higher for a graduate PLUS loan. You may have other private student loans at even higher interest rates that you borrowed while you were a student. Now that you have graduated and have an income and established a work history, private student loan lenders are likely to offer you a lower interest rate than these types of student loans.

One downside of refinancing student loans is that you lose federal student loan protections such as income-driven repayment options, Perkins Loan cancellation, and public service loan forgiveness, and teacher-student loan forgiveness, among others. However, private lenders have sought to provide relief by offering loan deferment and forbearance options. You can learn more by checking with each lender on the benefits that they offer.

Where can I refinance student loans?

You can find and compare student loan rates from top private student loan companies who offer student loan interest rates as low as 2-3%. Plus, if you sign up for autopay, you can earn a 0.25% discount on your student loan interest rate, which add up to big savings over the course of your student loan term.

Flexible Repayment Terms

Private lenders offer borrowers multiple options to repay their loans, with terms ranging typically from 5 to 20 years. You also will have an opportunity to choose between fixed and variable interest rates. If you want to pay off your student loans and get out of debt as quickly as possible, then you will want to choose a shorter-term option (such as 5 years or 10 years).

While you will save on interest costs (compared with a 20-year loan, for example), your monthly interest costs will be relatively higher than with a longer term loan option. However, you may be able to save money depending on how much money you save with your new interest rate.

Student Loan Consolidation vs Student Loan Refinancing Calculator

This student loan consolidation vs student loan refinancing calculator shows which option saves you more money on your federal student loans: consolidating into a Direct Consolidation Loan with the federal government or refinancing with a private lender.

[related_posts post_1=’318′ post_2=’321′ post_3=’330′]

Welcome to the Mentor Student Loan Repayment Guide

There are many options for student loan repayment, ranging from student loan refinancing to income-driven repayment plans. In this student loan repayment guide, we will cover everything you need to know about the best ways to pay off student loans.

You may have done your homework, explored your student loan refinancing options, understand which student loans you have and how much you are paying currently, but you still aren’t sure if you are on the best student loan repayment plan for your budget. You dive into all of the options for student loan repayment, but now you find yourself feeling like you’ve got more choices than a buffet.

Don’t stress — we’ll make it easy for you.

Explore our easy to follow Mentor Student Loan Repayment Guide below and we will help you figure out which options can meet your student loan repayment needs. Mentor has a helpful Student Loan Forgiveness Guide as well, but this student loan repayment guide is for those borrowers looking at the student loan repayment options, when student loan forgiveness is not an option for you.

The first thing you need to know is that there are two groups of student loan repayment plans to look out for.

The first group contains the traditional student loan repayment plans. These plans are what you will originally be offered when your student loan repayment period starts. They have nothing to do with how much you earn or how much you borrowed and can be used to repay just about any kind of student loan.

The second group of student loan repayment plans are options for borrowers to structure their student loan repayment based on their income. These plans each have specific benefits and limitations. In most cases, these student loan repayment plans reduce your monthly payments, but may extend the life of your student loan. These plans are only available to certain federal student loans. While the highlights of the student loan repayment plans are below to help you compare – as with any dotted line you planning on signing your name to – we encourage you to read the fine print before making it final!

Compare rates and pay off student loans faster

With student loan refinancing, you can combine existing federal and private student loans into a single student loan with a personalized lower interest rate and lower monthly payment.

[refinance_student_loans_table]

Traditional Student Loan Repayment Plans

Before the federal government instituted repayment plans, traditional student loan repayment plans were the only options for student loan repayment and in many, although not all, cases they still can offer an effective strategy to pay down your student loans. Under these student loan repayment plans, you will be responsible for paying off your student loan debt yourself, but you can control how quickly you pay it and how much you pay at a time.

Let’s take a look at the federal student loan repayment options.

Standard Student Loan Repayment

Standard Student Loan Repayment is just what is sounds like. Take no action and this is likely where you will land. All student loans are eligible for this type of student loan repayment and the maximum term is 10 years. Payments are fixed and because you make a higher monthly student loan payment compared to other student loan repayment plans, not only do you pay your student loans quickly, but also you pay less over the long term. Take that, interest and compound interest!

Extended Student Loan Repayment

The Extended Student Loan Repayment gives you a little breathing room and does exactly what it suggests – extends the length of your student loan repayment.

How do you know if this student loan repayment plan is right for you? Well, if you’re staring down the barrel of a monthly student loan payment on a 10-year plan and thinking…what was I thinking?! You were planning on making a student loan repayment every month on time, but when you start dividing what you borrowed by 10 years, and then 12 months and adding interest and compounding interest, the math does not compute. By repaying your student loan for a longer period of years, you have the ability to make smaller monthly student loan payments. The major drawback to this approach is of course the interest that accrues and compounds and accrues and compound and…. yeah, that.

Payments Based On What You Earn

Payments Based On What You Earn, otherwise known as Income Driven Plans, are only available for certain federal student loans (not private student loans), and they use different formulas to calibrate your student loan payments based on your income. The federal student loans generally must be consolidated under the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) or must be paid through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL). You have to apply for these programs through the U.S. Department of Education.

If you qualify, these student loan repayment plans almost always result in lower monthly student loan payments and student loan forgiveness as to any remaining balance at the end of the student loan repayment tern. You will pay income tax on the remaining amount to be forgiven (only in the year it is forgiven).

Income Contingent Repayment

Income Contingent repayment, or ICR is, like all of IDR plans, directed at reducing the burden of repaying high student loan debt on borrowers with lower income. It specifically considers those borrowers working in public service. In order to qualify for ICR, you must have consolidated your student loans through the FDLP student loan consolidation. Parent PLUS Loans are not eligible for the ICR program, but Direct Parent PLUS Loans, which are part of a student loan consolidation, are eligible.

The maximum student loan repayment period under this plan is 25 years. Like all IDR plans, at the end of the student loan repayment period, any remaining debt is forgiven. The student loan interest rate is fixed, but you are not locked into ICR for life and you may switch plans if you choose. Unpaid student loan interest can only be capitalized at 10 percent of the original loan amount. Your student loan payment will change every year depending on your income and family size. Depending on those numbers, if your salary increases, you could be repaying your student loan at a rate even higher than the 10-year standard student loan repayment plan.

You can calculate your monthly student loan payments and student loan forgiveness with the Mentor Student Loan Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Calculator.

Income Based Repayment

Income Based Repayment, or IBR, requires you to have a partial financial hardship to qualify. IBR generally has a broader reach than ICR and is available under both FFEL and FDLP. Neither Parent PLUS loans nor Direct Parent PLUS loans are eligible.

Under IBR, monthly student loan payments will generally be 10 percent of your discretionary income if you’re a new borrower on or after July 1, 2014, but these payments will never be higher than the 10-year standard repayment plan. If you’re not a new borrower by that date, you are looking at a monthly student loan payment capped around 15% of your discretionary income.

That said, your student loan payment will never be set at a rate higher than the 10-year standard repayment plan. Depending on when you borrowed, your student loan repayment plan will either be 20 or 25 years. As with all of the IDR plans – at the end of the student loan repayment period, the remaining balance is forgiven.

Don’t forget – you have to recertify every year. If your income goes up, so will your student loan payments, but under IBR, payments will never exceed the 10-year standard student loan repayment rate.

You can calculate your monthly student loan payments and student loan forgiveness with the Mentor Student Loan Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Calculator.

Pay As You Earn (PAYE)

Pay As You Earn, or the PAYE plan, is an income-driven repayment plan that was created in 2012 in order to relieve student loan debt and was specifically directed at students graduating that year. As a result, PAYE has very specific requirements and is only available to a narrow group of borrowers. However, if you graduated in 2012 (or if you took out loans after Oct 1, 2007 and received a disbursement after October 1, 2011), this student loan repayment plan could be for you. Like IBR, you must prove that a 10-year standard repayment plan will not be affordable for you. Generally, payments are capped at 10 percent of your discretionary income, but like IBR, even if your income goes up, payments will never be higher than the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan amount.

You can calculate your monthly student loan payments and student loan forgiveness with the Mentor Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Calculator.

One More Thing…

I heard about this Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program – isn’t that a student loan repayment plan?

No, not exactly, but certain borrowers can be eligible for student loan forgiveness after making 120 qualifying payments if they enroll in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is a federal program create by President George W. Bush that forgives federal student loans for borrowers who are employed full-time (more than 30 hours per week) in an eligible federal, state or local public service job or 501(c)(3) non-profit job who make 120 eligible on-time payments over ten years. You must make a majority of your student loan payments while enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan, to qualify for public service loan forgiveness.

Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE)

Revised Pay As You Earn, or the REPAYE plan, is an income-driven repayment plan that was announced as a revision to the PAYE program. Unlike PAYE, which is targeted at 2012 grads, REPAY is available to anyone with federal direct loans. Also unlike PAYE, you do not have to prove that the 10-year standard repayment program is unaffordable for you, so borrowers at any income level can apply.

If you have undergraduate student loans, your student loan payments will end after 20 years, and if you have graduate student loans, your student loan payments will end after 25 years. Generally, student loan payments will be capped at 10 percent of your discretionary income. REPAYE also provides an interest subsidy payment to borrowers in cases where payments under the REPAYE plan cannot keep up with accrued interest on the student loans.

One word of caution – like the ICR plan – if your income ever spikes, you could find yourself making very high payments. You must recertify every year and student loan payments will always be based on income (and will never be capped, even at the 10-year standard rate).

You can calculate your monthly student loan payments and student loan forgiveness with the Mentor Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) Calculator.

[related_posts post_1=’318′ post_2=’327′ post_3=’330′]

Student loan repayment in less than 7 years. Meet Jessica Elberfeld – the Millennial who did it and shared her story with Mentor.

Jessica Elberfeld paid off $113,000 in student loans in less than seven years.

In Part 1 of How This 29-Year-Old Paid Off $113,000 In Student Loans In 7 Years, Elberfeld shared with Mentor (and Forbes) her inspiring student loan journey and her strategy for student loan repayment. With interest rates as high as 10.75%, Elberfeld knew she had to do something about her student loans than make an interest-only payment.

Here is Part 2 of our interview, in which Elberfeld discusses student loan mistakes, Dave Ramsey, Robert Kiosakyi, IRAs, her financial goals and more:

[refinance_student_loans_table]

Zack Friedman (ZF): What student loan repayment mistakes, if any, did you make along the way?

Jessica Elberfeld (JE): My “extra payments” to Sallie Mae came in the form of lump sum payments to my savings account. So instead of putting my extra $200 one week directly toward a student loan payment, I would put it into my savings account. Then, I would only transfer my savings to repay my student loans once my savings reached a certain amount, which was usually $3,000 – $4,000.

ZF: What would you have done differently?

If I would have put every dollar directly towards a student loan when I had it and not put it into my savings account first, I could have avoided some interest.

ZF: What student loan mistakes do you see your friends make?

JE: Throughout this journey, I have found that some friends are pretty content with living paycheck to paycheck and some friends are 100% content with having debt.

Some have student loans, car payments, mortgages and credit card balances; several of them have all of those combined, plus others. Once I found my way with debt payoff, I all but shouted it from the rooftop as I wanted those close to me to understand that this was the way we should be going. But, as time went on, I learned people are going to do what they want, and their want is not the same as mine.

ZF: What advice would you offer to your friends?

If I could suggest one piece of advice, it would be to stop financing everything just because the financing option is available; and on the items that are already financed, make a payoff plan. Knowing some friends will still have their student loans when they are in their mid-40s is tough to witness.

ZF: What, if anything, would you have done differently in terms of student loan repayment?

JE: I would have tried to refinance my loans again in 2014 versus 2015.

Between 2009 and 2012, I tried refinancing with Sallie Mae, Chase and Wells Fargo. I was rejected 11 times total for the same reason: debt to income ratio. I kept all 11 rejection letters and possess 3 from Sallie Mae, 5 from Wells Fargo and 3 from Chase. That was a very discouraging time period for me so I knew I had to significantly increase my income and decrease my debt if I was ever going to qualify for student loan refinance.

ZF: Do you have a 401(k)? Do you take advantage of your employer’s 401(k) match?

JE: I have an IRA from a previous 401k that I rolled over. I do take advantage of my current employer’s match at 6%. I plan to open a Roth IRA this April and hope to contribute the maximum amount every year going forward.

ZF: How did you choose between student loan repayment and retirement contribution?

JE: When I decided to snowball my student loans, I read about Dave Ramsey’s advice to temporarily stop your 401k and stock contributions so that you focus all possible income on the loan payoff. Since it was only temporary, it made sense for my situation. However, throughout repayment, I never could quite commit to stopping so I always kept my 401k contribution at 1-2%. I understand this is not much, and it was definitely below the company match, but it was something.

ZF: Now that your student loans are repaid, what are your other financial goals?

JE: My first goal outside of being debt free is to fully stock an emergency fund in a money market account by this March.

Then, I have three different plans in mind for my monthly discretionary income:

1. Open a Roth IRA and make monthly contributions (around $450) until I have hit the contribution limit.
2. I will be saving for a car, since I am still driving the same SUV I have had since I was 16. I am 29 now.
3. I will be setting a little bit aside to get my feet wet in investing – whether that consists of stocks, low-cost index mutual funds or something else that I have yet to learn.

ZF: Do you invest and, if so, what has been your investment strategy?

JE: Other than retirement and an existing Employee Stock Purchase Plan, not at this current moment. There are two financial gurus who teach opposing investment practices, and it is my goal to keep learning more about both approaches.

Dave Ramsey’s game plan (after fully stocking an emergency fund) is to play it safe by eliminating risk through diversification in low-cost index funds – all while being completely debt-free, of course.

Robert Kiyosaki’s plan is to not save any money, but invest it all into income generating assets which are all fruitful, therefore eliminating the need to diversify– and in direct contract with Ramsey, use “good” debt to finance all of these investments.

I’m on the hunt to see if I can find a middle ground between the two. Mentor can help you learn more about student loan options, investing and more:

• Student Loan Refinancing
• Federal Student Loan Consolidation
• Income-Driven Repayment Plans
• Student Loan Forgiveness

[related_posts post_1=’318′ post_2=’327′ post_3=’333′]