Looking for student loan debt refinance? Many borrowers wonder whether there is a need to finance their student loans. Refinancing your student loan is a great idea, especially now that the annual interest loans have been reduced. What are the best student loans refinance companies?
Contents
- 1 What is student loan refinance
- 2 Advantages of student loan refinancing
- 3 How to refinance student debt
- 4 What Rates Do I Qualify For?
- 5 Student loan refinance with bad credit
- 6 Best student loan refinance companies
- 7 When to Refinance Student Loan?
- 8 Conclusion on best student refinance options
- 9 Find Out More
What is student loan refinance
Student loan refinancing is a situation where you apply for a new loan with a private lender to pay off all your existing student loans. The new loan usually has flexible repayment terms and better interest rates.
Advantages of student loan refinancing
There are many students who ask themselves, “Should I refinance my student loan?” It is a wise financial decision to refinance student loan debt because of its advantages. Some of the advantages of refinancing student’s loans in the US include:
- You make payments once in a month
- You will have a flexible repayment term of 5-20 years
- You will lower your student loan interest rates
- You will save money
- You will pay off your student loan faster
ChangEd, a Shark Tank and Mark Cuban backed app, is an app that allows you to link all of your student loans into one easy to use app. This app will help you build a repayment path that’s budget friendly and will automate extra savings it finds toward your debt. It’s helped thousands of borrowers pay off over $20 million in debt, saving the average borrower thousands in interest costs and helping them pay it off years sooner. Find out more from ChangeEd website.
How to refinance student debt
There are several factors considered when deciding if one qualifies for student refinancing. Among them are credit scores, debt-to-income ratio, the school where you studied and the amount you want to refinance. To increase pre-qualifying chances, it is crucial to add a creditworthy co-signer. In case you want to know which co-signer helps you pre-qualify with better rates, you can use Credible.com
America has seen the total value of college debt rise to more than $1.5 trillion. The scope of higher education borrowing is enormous. There were in 2019 44 million student debtors. According to the New York Times: “Researchers estimate that as many as 40 percent could default”.
What Rates Do I Qualify For?
Lenders determine the interest rates that apply to an individual by looking at various factors. Some of the considerations include good credit scores and a steady income. Lenders need an assurance that you will be in a position to repay your loan. The following are some lenders you can consider their rates.
Student loan refinance with bad credit
Getting a student loan refinance with bad credit using a private lender is difficult but not impossible. Despite your bad credit, you still have a few student loan refinance options. They include:
- Improve your debt-to-income ratio. Lenders look at your monthly income in comparison with your monthly loan payments.
- Apply for a loan with a co-signer. Adding someone with a good credit score like your family member on your student loan refinance application may help you qualify. Find out more about applying for a loan with a co-signer.
- Improve your credit score. Your credit score is one of the key indicators of your credit worthiness. If you have a bade credit score, all is not lost. Find out how to improve your credit score.
Best student loan refinance companies
1. Brazos Student Loan Refinance
Brazos Student Loans offer student loan refinancing at affordable fees and low rates. Besides, they provide private student loan refinancing for Texas residents. The minimum loan amount they offer is $10,000, while the maximum is $150,000. Their rates are from as low as 2.84% APR where the rate can be fixed or variable. They have various loan terms, which include 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years. Besides, they offer promotions of up to $750 bonus. They require a minimum credit score of 690. To qualify, you need to have a minimal annual income of $30,000 with a co-signer and $60,000 without a co-signer.
2. Citizens Bank Student Loan Refinance
Citizens Bank offers students loans at competitive fixed and variable rates with repayment options that enable one to repay the loan without issues. For fixed rates, they offer 4.72% to 12.04% APR where the interest rate and monthly payment amount will remain the same over the repayment duration. Their variable rates range from 2.90% to 11.01% APR where the interest rates and the amount payable mount will keep on changing from month to month. You need to be earning at least $24,000 annually to qualify.
3. College Ave Student Loans
College Ave Student Loans is among the best companies to refinance student loans. It offers undergraduate student loans refinancing, graduate student loan refinancing and private student loans refinancing. For student loan refinancing, fixed interest rates are usually 3.24% to 7.99% APR while variable interest rates are usually 2.49% to 7.24% APR. Its loan terms are between 5 to 20 years and do not require a co-signer. Private student loans for undergraduates generally have a loan term of between 5 to 20 years, while the loan amount ranges from $1,000 to $80,000 with a grace period of 6 months. It requires one to have a co-signer.
4. EDvestinU Student Loan Refinance
EDvestinU Student Loans offer undergraduate, graduate and private student loans. They provide loans in variable and fixed APR. Private student loans variable APR ranges from 4.036% to 10.030%, while the fixed APR ranges from 4.516% to 9.260%. It does not charge other fees, yet it has flexible repayment options. Student loan refinancing caters to federal, private or PLUS loans. It can also combine several loans into one. Its variable APR ranges from 4.100% to 6.770%, while the fixed APR ranges from 4.530% to 7.200%. It has flexible repayment options and does not charge any fees. To qualify for EDvestinU student loans, you need to have a minimum credit score of 750, and you need to be earning at least $30,000 annually.
Student loan refinance calculator: Using a student loan refinancing calculator will help you find out how much you could save.
5. Education Loan Finance
Education Loan Finance offer student loan refinancing, undergraduate loans and graduate loans. Student loan terms range from 5 to 15 years, while student loan refinancing ranges from 5 to 20 years. All loans have fixed or variable rates. Student loan refinance with fixed rates start from 3.14%3 APR, while variable rates start from 2.42%+3 To qualify, you need to have a minimum annual income of $35,000.
6. Mefa Student Loan Refinance
Mefa provides student loan refinancing and private student loans. For student loan refinancing, they offer fixed rates at 3.6% to 5.65% APR and variable rates ranging from 3.33% to 5.38% APR. Loan terms are between 7 to 15 years, while the loan amount is from $10,000 to your total outstanding debt. To qualify, you need a minimum credit score of 670 and earn a minimum income of $24,000 annually.
7. Sofi Student Loan Refinance
Sofi offers student loan refinancing that could help you to save a lot and private student loans with flexible repayment options. For fixed-rate loans, you pay 3.899% APR and 2.47% APR for variable rate loans. To qualify for Sofi student loan refinancing, you need to have a minimum credit score of 650.
8. Risla Student Loan Refinance
Risla provides student loan refinancing and private student loans. For student loan refinancing, they have fixed-rate loans at an interest rate ranging from 3.49% to 8.14%. The loan terms range from 5 to 15 years, while the loan amount ranges from $7,500 to $250,000. The loan does not require a co-signer. You need a minimum credit score of 680 and a minimum income of $40,000 to qualify.
9. PenFed Credit Union Student Loan Refinance
PenFed Credit Union is unique since it allows married couples to refinance together. It provides student loan refinancing for fixed loans from 3.48% to 6.03% APR and variable loan rates at 2.42% to 7.16%. The loan terms range from 5 to 15 years, while the loan amounts range from $7,500 to 300,000. You need a minimum credit score of 670 and a minimum income of $24,000 with a co-signer or $42,000 without a co-signer to qualify.
When to Refinance Student Loan?
Many people ask when it is appropriate to refinance a student loan. The best time to refinance a student loan is when you qualify for lower interest rates. When the interest rates are lower, you can save a lot of money and free money to cater for other expenses. Also, paying your loan faster can go a long way in saving you money. Student loan refinance does not have limits, meaning you can refinance often.
Conclusion on best student refinance options
To qualify for a student loan refinancing, you need to meet the minimum credit score. Also, you need to have a regular income and meet the required annual minimum income by the lender. Some of the platforms in the US that can help you in student refinancing include Credible.com. It helps you to prequalify and get co-signers with better rates. Other options are the student loan refinance companies listed here.
Find Out More
- ChangEd: App to shorten your student loan repayment and gets you out of debt sooner
- Credible.com: Find best lenders with low rates in minutes