The Best Lenders To Refinance And Consolidate Parent PLUS Loans

By Mentor Staff | Edited By Mentor Staff

Updated On September 13, 2022

Editorial Note: This content is based solely on the author's opinions and is not provided, approved, endorsed or reviewed by any financial institution or partner.

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If you want to know the best lenders to refinance and consolidate Parent PLUS Loans, you’ve come to the right place. Parent PLUS Loans typically have high interest rates, which can interfere with your retirement savings and become a financial burden. According to the latest student loan debt statistics, there are more than 3.5 million borrowers who collectively owe $80 billion of Parent PLUS Loans.

Parent PLUS Loan Refinancing is an effective tool to pay off Parent PLUS Loans. You can refinance Parent PLUS Loans to save money, lower your interest rate and pay off debt more quickly.

Top Picks For Parent PLUS Loan Refinancing

March 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
5.24% - 9.34%
6.24% - 9.59%
5.24% - 9.59%

View Details

on SoFi's website

Overview

Variable APR:
6.24% - 9.59%
Fixed APR:
5.24% - 9.34%
Minimum Credit Score:
Good or Excellent
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000 ($10,000 in CA)
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
5.19% - 9.74%
5.84% - 9.75%
5.19% - 9.75%

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on NaviRefi by Navient's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.84% - 9.75%
Fixed APR:
5.19% - 9.74%
Minimum Credit Score:
680
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None

Details

Eligible Loans:
$5,001 ($10,001 in CA)
Minimum Loan Amount:
None
Loan Terms:
Private & Federal
Borrower Residency:
Undergraduate & Graduate
Hardship Deferment:
5-20 years
Co-signer Option:
All States except NV
5.44% - 9.99%
6.24% - 9.99%
5.44% - 9.99%

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on Earnest's website

Overview

Variable APR:
6.24% - 9.99%
Fixed APR:
5.44% - 9.99%
Minimum Credit Score:
650
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000
Loan Terms:
5 – 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States except NV
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
5.48% - 8.69%
5.28% - 8.99%
5.28% - 8.99%

View Details

on ELFI's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.28% - 8.99%
Fixed APR:
5.48% - 8.69%
Minimum Credit Score:
680
Minimum Income:
$35,000
Fees:
None

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Minimum Loan Amount:
$10,000
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10 years
Borrower Residency:
All States
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
5.19% - 9.99%
5.99% - 9.99%
5.19% - 9.99%

View Details

on Splash's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.99% - 9.99%
Fixed APR:
5.19% - 9.99%
Minimum Credit Score:
640
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000
Loan Terms:
5 - 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States
Hardship Deferment:
Varies
Co-signer Option:
No
5.44% - 10.39%
5.49% - 10.59%
5.44% - 10.59%

View Details

on Laurel Road's website

Overview

Variable APR:
5.49% - 10.59%
Fixed APR:
5.44% - 10.39%
Minimum Credit Score:
700
Minimum Income:
None
Fees:
None

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Minimum Loan Amount:
$5,000
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All States
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes
7.78% - 10.15%
8.08% - 11.60%
7.78% - 11.60%

View Details

on Citizens' website

Overview

Variable APR:
8.08% - 11.60%
Fixed APR:
7.78% - 10.15%
Minimum Credit Score:
Not disclosed
Minimum Income:
$24,000
Fees:
No prepayment or origination fees

Details

Eligible Loans:
Private & Federal
Minimum Loan Amount:
$10,000
Loan Terms:
5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years
Borrower Residency:
All states
Hardship Deferment:
Yes
Co-signer Option:
Yes

Mentor can help you compare the best companies to refinance Parent PLUS Loans. We evaluate the best student loan companies across multiple factors, including reputation, customer service, trust, execution, interest rates, fees, flexibility and many more considerations.

When you refinance Parent PLUS Loans, you exchange your current Parent PLUS Loans for a new, single student loan with a lower interest rate. The goal of Parent PLUS Loan refinancing is to save money and pay off Parent PLUS Loans faster.

What are the best places to refinance Parent PLUS Loans?

Here are the best companies to refinance Parent PLUS Loans:

Earnest

Earnest is one of the best companies to refinance Parent PLUS Loans. As one of the best student loan consolidation companies, Earnest differentiates itself by allowing you to choose your own student loan interest rate and loan term. Earnest also offers industry-leading repayment flexibility on your Parent PLUS Loans. With Earnest, you can choose your exact minimum monthly payment and increase your payment anytime to pay off Parent PLUS Loans faster.

Earnest allows you to refinance and consolidate both federal and private Parent PLUS Loans, including for both undergraduate and graduate school loans, into a new, single student loan. You can also skip a student loan payment and make it up later.

Earnest looks beyond credit score to approve you for Parent PLUS Loan refinancing, and will incorporate savings, education and earnings potential. Earnest services its own Parent PLUS Loans, so Earnest will be your student loan servicer when you refinance Parent PLUS Loans with Earnest. Parents with Parent PLUS Loans can also refinance and consolidate Parent PLUS Loans with Earnest.

Splash

Splash is a new lender that works with banks and credit unions to refinance Parent PLUS Loans. Splash has competitive rates and offers free Parent PLUS Loan refinancing for federal and private Parent PLUS Loans, including both undergraduate and graduate Parent PLUS Loans. Parents with Parent PLUS Loans can also refinance Parent PLUS Loans with Splash.

SoFi

SoFi is one of the most recognizable student loan consolidation companies and one of the best companies to refinance Parent PLUS Loans.

As one of the best lenders to refinance and consolidate Parent PLUS Loans, SoFi positions itself as the “anti-bank” and has some of the lowest student loan refinance rates in the industry. In addition to Parent PLUS Loan refinancing, SoFi offers its members several perks such as free career services, customer support seven days a week, and free SoFi events. SoFi also offers unemployment protection, so if you lose your job, SoFi will temporarily pause your payments for up to 12 months.

Laurel Road

Laurel Road is a bank that offers Parent PLUS Loan refinancing and Parent PLUS Loan refinancing, including for both undergraduate and graduate school loans.

Laurel Road has no fees and refinances both federal and private Parent PLUS Loans. If you are a parent and want to refinance Parent PLUS Loans that you borrowed for your child’s college, Laurel Road permits parents to refinance Parent PLUS Loans in their child’s name.

Laurel Road may allow borrowers to pause their student loan payments for one or more three-month periods (up to 12 months) through a forbearance if they face economic hardship.

Parent PLUS Loan refinancing is the process of lowering the interest rate on your Parent PLUS Loans. You can exchange your existing Parent PLUS Loans to receive a new loan with a lower interest rate. There are many potential benefits when you refinance Parent PLUS Loans, including saving money by having a lower interest rate.

With Parent PLUS Loan refinancing, you have flexibility to decide your student loan repayment term. You can pay off Parent PLUS Loans in a shorter time period with a higher monthly payment, or you can choose a lower monthly payment and pay off Parent PLUS Loans over a longer time period.

Parent PLUS Loan refinancing enables you to choose a new lender, choose a repayment term, select a fixed or variable interest rate, consolidate your federal Parent PLUS Loans into one monthly payment, and simplify your repayment with only one student loan servicer.

This Parent PLUS Loan refinancing calculator can help calculate how much money you can save with Parent PLUS Loan refinancing.

How do you get approved for Parent PLUS Loan refinancing? Lenders prefer borrowers with a strong credit score (at least in the mid 600’s and preferably in the 700’s), stable and recurring income and a low debt-to-income ratio. If you don’t meet these requirements, you can always apply with a qualified co-signer, who can help you get approved and receive a lower interest rate.

One benefit of Parent PLUS Loan refinancing is the ability to check your interest rate for free in about two minutes before you apply. You can do this with multiple lenders to determine which lender offers the lowest interest rate. The lender will do a soft credit check to determine your interest rate, and this has no impact on your credit score.

Remember, when you refinance Parent PLUS Loans, your new loan will be a private student loan. This means that you no longer will have federal student loan if you choose to refinance federal Parent PLUS Loans. When you refinance Parent PLUS Loans, you won’t have access to income-driven repayment plans such as Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) or federal programs such as public service loan forgiveness or teacher loan forgiveness.

Learn more:

Compare the latest rates for Parent PLUS refinancing.

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