As a student with a lot of debts, are you looking for the best method to get impressive interest rates and terms? Student loan refinance involves changing out your current loan with a new one, even if it’s a federal or private loan. This method assists students to cover every outstanding debt immediately and establishes other financial objectives.
With the best student loan refinance lender, students would be able to consolidate their outstanding debt and have lower interest rates and extended repayment terms. This simply means that your monthly payment would be lower. This article will enlist some of the best student loan refinance lenders based on crucial factors like annual percentage rates (APRs), repayment terms, accessibility, and loan amount and types.
Best Student Loan Refinance
It is absolutely up to you to choose if you want to refinance your student loan. Refinancing either a federal or private loan can increase your debt repayment and assist in obtaining other financial objectives. However, you should know that refinancing a federal student loan comes with certain disadvantages that could affect your choice. Knowing the best student loan refinance lender would help you determine if refinancing is a wise choice.
SoFi
SoFi is ranked first in our list as it’s considered the best for borrowers that require numerous benefits as they refinance student loans. These benefits include a $5,000 minimum loan amount, a committed debt consultant, and high credit ratings. Additionally, it offers co-signers and the minimum credit score of 700+. Furthermore, it offers a repayment term length of 5, 7, 10, 15, or 20 years, and having an associate’s degree or above is compulsory.
LendKey
LendKey is a platform that links borrowers with community bank loans, offering an easy experience even after accepting your request. In addition, to be able to refinance your student loan, there are necessary requirements that you should have. This includes an associate degree, being a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, and having payback terms ranging from five to twenty years. Furthermore, it does not pose origination fees and a single application for comparing multiple lenders. However, the loan type and amount are subject to their policies, and each lender has various forbearance choices.
Earnest
Earnest offers intentional students Prodigy Loans, a special loan alternative that allows them to skip one payment every 12 months. This provides budgetary flexibility because the payment is linked to the loan’s end and still has interest. Additionally, Earnest offers different payback schedules, with a low interval of one month.
Custom loan options like defense, forbearance, and biweekly payment are accessible from the company. Furthermore, its eligibility requirements include a minimum credit score of 665 or above, U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, and having at least two months of emergency funds. Lastly, it is available in Washington, D.C., and all states except Nevada.
RISLA
Rhode Island Student Loan Authority (RISLA) is a nonprofit organization that refinances debts for clients all around the country. It offers an income-based repayment policy that limits them at 15% of income for 25 years if borrowers are unable to make payments. This makes it one of the best student loan refinance lenders.
RISLA does not impose late fees or offer a co-signer release policy, and only fixed interest rates are available. The loan amounts range from $1,500 to $45,000 annually, and the periods are 5, 10, and 15 years. Candidates must earn at least $40,000 annually and have a credit score of 680. A co-signer release policy is offered following 24 months of payments, and forbearance alternatives are provided for a maximum of 24 months.
Splash Financial
Splash Financial is considered the best; receiving bids from several lenders, having a variety of repayment alternatives, and being able to check your eligibility and rate without a hard credit check are all made possible. However, each lender has different loan features, and death discharge and forbearance might not be offered. Loan amounts for qualified candidates range from $5,000 to $500,000, and their average credit score is 700+.
elfi
For borrowers looking for high loan amounts, refinancing with Education Loan Finance (ELFI) is the best option because it provides individualized help from a loan advisor. The requirements include a minimum income of $35,000, a credit score of at least 680, 36 months of credit history, a bachelor’s degree or higher from a Title IV, U.S. domiciled nonprofit postsecondary institution, and U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. The program doesn’t require a co-signer, has low fees, and offers individualized customer service. It has stringent admission conditions, though, and is only accessible to specific schools.
Laurel Road
For borrowers who wish to refinance parent PLUS loans while completing their medical or dental residency, the Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance is the best option. It doesn’t require a hard credit check and permits refinancing in your name. However, if borrowers go back to school, there is no way to postpone payments. A bachelor’s degree, loan amounts up to $5,000, and term lengths of five, seven, ten, fifteen, or twenty years are among the requirements.
Although these are some of the best student loan refinance companies, before choosing one, do some research and compare service providers. Refinancing your student loans might not always be the best financial choice, especially if you have federal student loans with competitive interest rates. Additionally, you can forfeit some of the possible advantages of federal student loans if you refinance from them to private ones.