Refinance Student Loans

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monthly payment.

Compare top-rated lenders to refinance student loans, save money and pay off student loans faster.
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Top Picks For Student Loan Refinancing

October 2024

Fixed APR ?APR, or Annual Percentage Rate, is the price you pay to borrow money. Fixed APR means that your interest rate will always stay the same. Even if interest rates change, your interest rate or monthly payment will not. Fixed APR includes a 0.25% discount when you enroll in autopay.
Variable APR ?APR, or Annual Percentage Rate, is the price you pay to borrow money. Variable APR means that your interest rate can fluctuate over time, which can increase or decrease your monthly student loan payment. Typically, a variable-rate loan has a lower introductory rate than a fixed-loan rate loan. Variable APR includes a 0.25% discount when you enroll in autopay.
APR
3.99% - 9.99%
5.99% - 9.99%
3.99% - 9.99%

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on SoFi's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.99% - 9.99%
Fixed APR:
3.99% - 9.99%
Minimum Credit Score:
650
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000 ($10,000 in CA)

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All states
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
4.69% - 9.74%
5.89% - 9.74%
4.69% - 9.74%

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on Earnest's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.89% - 9.74%
Fixed APR:
4.69% - 9.74%
Minimum Credit Score:
650
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5-20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States except NV
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
No
5.19% - 9.74%
5.99% - 9.74%
5.19% - 9.74%

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on NaviRefi's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.99% - 9.74%
Fixed APR:
5.19% - 9.74%
Minimum Credit Score:
680
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,001 ($10,001 in CA)

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5-20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States except NV
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
No
4.84% - 8.44%
4.86% - 8.49%
4.84% - 8.49%

View Details

on ELFI's website

Overview

Variable APR:
4.86% - 8.49%
Fixed APR:
4.84% - 8.44%
Minimum Credit Score:
680
Minimum Income:
$35,000
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$10,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
4.84% - 9.99%
5.89% - 9.99%
4.84% - 9.99%

View Details

on Splash's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.89% - 9.99%
Fixed APR:
4.84% - 9.99%
Minimum Credit Score:
640
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5 – 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All states
Hardship Deferment:
Varies
Co-signer Option:
No
5.89% - 10.98%
7.02% - 12.44%
5.89% - 12.44%

View Details

on Citizens' website

Overview

Variable APR:
7.02% - 12.44%
Fixed APR:
5.89% - 10.98%
Minimum Credit Score:
Not disclosed
Minimum Income:
$24,000
Fees:
No prepayment or origination fees
Minimum Loan Amount:
$10,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All states
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
4.99% - 8.90%
5.29% - 9.20%
4.99% - 9.20%

View Details

on Laurel Road's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.29% - 9.20%
Fixed APR:
4.99% - 8.90%
Minimum Credit Score:
680
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
5.49% - 9.75%
5.53% - 12.18%
5.49% - 12.18%

View Details

on LendKey's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.53% - 12.18%
Fixed APR:
5.49% - 9.75%
Minimum Credit Score:
680
Minimum Income:
$24,000
Fees:
None
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Eligible Degrees:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All states, except ME, ND, NV, RI, WV
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes

Choose a low
fixed or variable rate.

Find a lower interest rate, lower monthly payment, or both.

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Starting At

4.86%APR

(includes 0.25% auto pay discount)

variable

Starting At

3.99%APR

(includes 0.25% auto pay discount)

fixed

Student Loan Refinancing

Calculate your savings

Why refinance student loans?

Get My Rate

Big savings

Save up to thousands of dollars when you refinance with a low fixed or variable rate.

Flexibility

Choose a student loan repayment term from 5-20 years.

No fees

No application or origination fees.
No pre-payment penalties.

Pay off debt faster

Achieve financial freedom sooner.

How To Refinance Student Loans

Step 1: Compare lenders

Review multiple lenders online

Shop for the best rates and loan terms

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Step 2: Check your rate

Check your rate for free within minutes

Compare with multiple lenders

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Step 3: Choose your loan

Pick your best loan offer

Select based on rates, loan terms and other benefits

Choose Loan

Step 4: Apply online

Complete an application and upload documents

Relax, and wait to get approved

Student Loan Refinancing

Popular Questions

What is student loan refinancing?

When you refinance student loans, you combine your existing student loans into a new, single student loan with a lower interest rate, lower monthly payment or both. Your new student loan is used to pay off your old student loans. With student loan refinancing, you can choose new student loan repayment terms to save money each month or to pay off debt more quickly.

There are many advantages to student loan refinancing, including:

  • Get a lower interest rate
  • Save money
  • Pay off student loans faster
  • Get a single monthly student loan payment
  • Get a new student loan servicer
  • Get new student loan repayment terms
  • Choose a fixed interest rate or variable interest rate
  • Choose a new repayment term ranging from 5 to 20 years
Should I refinance my student loans?
Student loan refinancing is an excellent strategy to get a lower interest rate and save money on your student loans. You also have flexibility to change your student loan repayment terms to pay off student loans faster or lower your monthly payment. Refinancing student loans with a high-quality lender is an easy process. There are no fees to refinance student loans, and you can check your new rate in minutes with no impact to your credit score.

There are several reasons why you should refinance student loans:

  1. Get a lower interest rate
  2. Save money
  3. Pay off student loans faster
  4. Change loan terms
  5. Simplify student loan repayment
  6. Change lender or loan servicer
What are the disadvantages of refinancing student loans?

With student loan refinancing, your resulting student loan will be a private student loan with a private lender. Therefore, if you refinance your federal student loans, you would no longer have access to benefits such as public service loan forgiveness, forbearance, deferment, or an income-driven repayment plan, for example. If these benefits are essential to you, then you may want to refinance your private student loans only. However, if you’re comfortable forgoing access to these federal programs to get a lower interest rate and save money, then student loan refinancing for both your federal and private student loans can be an effective strategy for student loan repayment.

Which student loans can be refinanced?

Student loan refinancing is available for both federal and private student loans, including undergraduate and graduate student loans from a Title IV-accredited college or university in the U.S. This also includes PLUS Loans for graduate school as well as Parent Loans and Parent PLUS Loans.

Do I qualify for student loan refinancing?

You are a good candidate for student loan refinancing if you meet the following criteria:

  • Have a credit score of at least 650
  • Currently employed or have a signed job offer
  • Have steady and stable income

If you don’t meet these or any other requirements, you can apply with a qualified co-signer such as a parent. A co-signer can help you get approved for student loan refinancing and get a lower interest rate. Each lender has its own underwriting requirements. For example, some lenders may evaluate additional criteria, such as your debt-to-income ratio. Most lenders may require that you graduated from a Title-IV accredited college or university.

Who should refinance?

Student loan refinancing is a smart strategy if you graduated from college or graduate school, are employed, and have high-interest student loan debt such as Direct Loans, private student loans or Graduate PLUS Loans. You can refinance federal student loans, private student loans, or both.

Federal loans offer certain benefits such as financial hardship programs and public service loan forgiveness, for example, that won’t be available to you after you refinance federal student loans. If this applies to you, then you can still refinance your private student loans. However, if you’re not pursuing public service loan forgiveness or don’t need income-driven repayment plans, for example, then you could refinance both your federal and private student loans.

Are there any fees to refinance student loans?
There are no fees to refinance student loans. Most lenders don’t charge application fees, origination fees, or prepayment penalties.
When is the best time to refinance student loans?
If your goal is to save money and pay off debt, then refinance your student loans as soon as possible. The earlier you can refinance, the more money you can save on interest.
How does student loan refinancing impact my credit score?

Before you refinance your student loans, most lenders let you check your estimated new rate before you submit a full application. This is called a soft credit check, and there is no impact to your credit score.

If you like your new rate, you can submit an application to refinance your student loans. At that time, a lender will pull your credit. This is called a hard credit check, and your credit score is impacted by a few points. You can apply to multiple lenders within a short time frame such as a week, and it will only count as a single credit inquiry. When you make on-time payments on your new loan, you can increase your credit score over time. This is because on-time payments comprise 35% of your FICO score, whereas applying for any new loan counts as 10%.

Do I need a cosigner to refinance student loans?

No, a cosigner is not required to refinance student loans. If you meet the requirements to refinance student loans, you can apply without a cosigner. That said, a qualified cosigner may help you get a lower interest rate on your student loans and also could help you get approved for student loan refinancing. A cosigner is a parent, spouse, relative or friend who helps you apply for student loan refinancing. A qualified cosigner must have good credit and income, and the cosigner must independently meet the requirements for student loan refinancing. A cosigner accepts equal financial responsibility for your student loans after you refinance. That said, many lenders allow you to release your cosigner after a certain period of time and once you satisfy certain requirements. Contact your lender for details about a cosigner release.

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

Student loan refinancing is combining your existing federal and/or private student loans into a new, single student loan with a lower interest rate. With student loan refinancing, you work with a private lender and can choose a fixed or variable interest rate as well as a student loan repayment term of 5-20 years.

Student loan consolidation is combining your existing federal student loans into a new loan called a Direct Consolidation Loan through the U.S.  Department of Education. Student loan consolidation won’ lower your interest rate, however. Rather, with student loan consolidation, your interest rate is equal to a weighted average of the interest rates on your current federal student loan debt, rounded up to the nearest 1/8%.

So, both will let you combine your existing student loans into a new, single student loan. However, only student loan refinancing gives you a lower interest rate and helps you save money. This student loan refinancing vs. student loan consolidation calculator shows you how much you can save when you refinance your student loans.
How do I get the lowest student loan refinancing rate?

To get the lowest student loan refinancing rate, make sure to compare lenders. Most lenders reserve the lowest student loan refinancing rates for borrowers with strong credit and income as well as a lower debt-to-income ratio. Variable interest rates tend to be lower than fixed interest rates, so you may be able to save money with a variable interest rate student loan. To save interest, you can also choose a shorter student loan repayment term. Typically, a shorter student loan repayment period such as 5 years will have a lower interest rate than a longer student loan repayment period such as 20 years.

What’s the difference between fixed and variable rate loans?

When you refinance student loans, you can choose between a fixed and variable interest rate. A fixed interest rate means that the interest rate on your student loan will never change for the duration of your student loan.A variable interest rate means that the interest rate on your student loan can change over time based on movements in prevailing interest rates.

A fixed interest rate will provide you with more certainty and predictability because you will have the same interest rate every month. Since the interest rate on a variable interest student loan can change, you may have a higher or lower monthly payment over time. Typically, the starting interest rate on variable rate loans are lower than on fixed rate loans.

How do I refinance student loans?
The process to refinance student loans is straightforward:
  1. Compare rates
  2. Use a student loan refinancing calculator
  3. Check your rate with no impact to your credit score
  4. Choose your loan and repayment terms
  5. Apply online
  6. Get approved
Can I refinance student loans more than once?
Yes, you can refinance student loans more than once. There is no limit to the number of times you can refinance student loans. If you can get a lower interest rate, you could refinance your student loan again. This is true whether you previously refinanced or consolidated your student loans. Since there are no fees, it's usually to your financial advantage to keep refinancing your student loans.

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