Refinancing your federal student loan, private student loan, or both can help you reduce your debt and achieve other financial goals. The pause in federal loan payments could influence your decision.
College Ave
| Refinance Minimum Credit Score | Mid 600s |
| Refinance variable APR | Autopay: 6.99% to 13.99% |
| Refinance fixed APR | Autopay: 6.99% – 13.99% |
Why We Selected This
- College Ave Student Loans provides undergraduate and graduate student loans, parent loans, and student loan refinancing. They offer a variety of repayment options with competitive interest rates.
SoFi(r)
| Refinance Minimum Credit Score | Not disclosed |
| Refinance variable APR | Discounts from 5.99% to 9.99% |
| Refinance fixed APR | All discounts from 4.74% up to 9.99% |
Why We Selected This
- SoFi(r), offers a variety of student loan options and refinancing, including undergraduate, MBA or law, health professions, or parent loans. SoFi has no origination fees, late or insufficient fund fees, or any application fees.
Earnest
| Refinance Minimum Credit Score | 665 |
| Refinance variable APR | Autopay: 5.88% – 9.99% |
| Refinance fixed APR | Autopay: 4.99% – 999% |
Why We Selected This
- Earnest offers flexible repayment terms, a nine-month grace interval, and no late fees.
ELFI
| Refinance Minimum Credit Score | 680 |
| Refinance variable APR | From 4.86% up to 8.24% |
| Refinance Fixed Rate APR | From 4.88% up to 8.44% |
Why We Selected This
- ELFI provides private student loans, refinancing, and other options via an online application that has received high marks from customers for its ease of use. The company is backed by Tennessee’s Southeast Bank and charges no application or origination fees.
Nelnet Bank
| Refinance Minimum Credit Score | Mid to high 600’s |
| Refinance variable APR | Autopay: 5.99% to 10.28% |
| Refinance Fixed Rate APR | Pay as little as 4.99% and get up to 9.97% |
Why We Selected This
- Nelnet Bank is a private lender that offers student loans to students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, or advanced degrees in law, MBA, health care, and other fields.
According to an analysis by U.S. News of the minimum and maximum APRs provided by private lenders, interest rates for refinancing student loans remained about the same in November. The rates for student loan refinancing have been trending higher over the last year. Variable rates are rising faster than fixed rates.
The following are the rates for student loan refinance in September 2025.
- Range of fixed average APR: 4.93% to 10.46%
- Range of variable average APR: 5.69% to 10.64%
APRs at the lower end are reserved for those who have a good credit rating and a low debt-to-income ratio. Those with bad credit or limited earnings will be charged higher rates.
Refinancing student loans allows you to get a lower rate of interest rate. A private lender will repay your existing loan or loans and issue a new one based on your score. You could get a lower rate and save money if you qualify. Refinancing federal student loans is not offered by the federal government. If you refinance these loans through a private lender, you will lose any federal benefits that you might have received.
It can be hard to decide if you should refinance. These pros and cons are only applicable to refinancing federal student loans.
Pros
- You could get a lower rate of interest. You may qualify for a lower interest rate if your credit rating has improved since your last loan.
- Fewer payments per month. You can combine multiple loans to make one loan, which means you will have to make fewer monthly payments.
- The co-signer can be removed. If you only want to be responsible for your student loan debt, refinancing could be the way to go.
You can also find out more about Cons
- You won’t be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs. You will no longer qualify for federal loan forgiveness if you refinance a federally-backed loan.
- You will lose access to federal income-driven repayment programs. You will lose your federal income-driven loan repayment plan if you refinance the loan.
Check that your loan is eligible before you refinance. Also, make sure your choice fits your needs.
Refinance Private Student Loans
Many private student loan refinancing firms look at the following factors when determining eligibility.
- Minimum credit score. For refinancing, you may need to have a credit rating in the mid-600s or above. Even if you are eligible for refinancing, you may not be able to get a lower rate of interest.
- Credit history. Credit history. You can order free copies of your credit reports – now weekly through the end of 2023 – at AnnualCreditReport.com to monitor for and dispute any errors.
- Proof of income. A minimum annual income may be required by lenders.
- DTI ratio, also known as debt-to-income. This is the percentage that you pay on your debts each month. It can be used by lenders to determine whether or not you will have difficulty making loan payments. A lower DTI is better, as it shows that your budget has more space. By switching to longer repayment schedules, you can lower your monthly payments and reduce your DTI.
Student loan refinancing is a good idea “if you want to lower your interest rate and pay off your entire balance,” says Travis Hornsby. Hornsby founded Student Loan Planner, which helps borrowers who have at least $20,000 of student loan debt. Private lenders may be willing to help you refinance your student loan debt.
- You may be eligible for better terms. With good credit, and if you meet the minimum income requirements and other requirements of the lender for refinancing loans, you could qualify for a lower interest rate. This can reduce your monthly payment as well as the cost of the mortgage.
- You wish to combine federal and private loans. To combine federal and private student loans, you’ll need to refinance your loans through a private lender.
- You have a stable income. If you refinance federal student loans, you will no longer qualify for income-driven repayment programs or federal hardship programs.
- You do not plan to use the federal student loan forgiveness programs or alternative repayment plans. These federal loan programs do not apply to private loans.
You will be ineligible for the current loan forgiveness program or future programs if you refinance your federal student loans through a private lender.
If you don’t have good credit and a steady income, refinancing your private student loans can be a challenge.
Both federal and private student loans can be refinanced.
When you refinance your student loans, you can get a lower rate of interest rate and a different repayment schedule.
As long as you meet the requirements, you can refinance as many times as you like. You can refinance more than once to get a better interest rate, terms, or repayment schedule.
Refinancing has multiple effects on your credit score. When you apply to refinance your loan, lenders check your credit score through a hard inquiry, which may cause your score to fall slightly.
