Ohio students use a variety of funding sources to pay for college. Scholarships and grants can ease the financial burden, but many students end up taking out student loans.
The Institute for College Access & Success found the average cost of attendance at an Ohio four-year college for the 2018-2019 academic year was $34,971. It also found that Ohio class of 2019 graduates left school with an average undergraduate debt of $29,886.
Federal student loans offer low interest rates and strong borrower protections. But depending on your situation, they might not be enough to cover the full cost of your education expenses.
Private student loan lenders can bridge this financial gap when needed. They can also be a solution if you have existing Ohio student loans and want to refinance to a lower interest rate or monthly payment.
Read on to explore Ohio refinancing and private student loan options from local and national lenders.
Student loan refinancing
Refinancing your existing student debt can help lower your interest rate and save you thousands in interest over the life of your loans.
But, if you currently have federal student loans, consider the pros and cons of refinancing before giving up your federal benefits and protections. For example, when you refinance with a private lender, you’ll no longer have access to income-driven repayment plans or federal loan forgiveness programs.
However, if your loans are already with a private lender, then you have nothing to lose by periodically shopping around for a better refinancing interest rate.
Ohio student loan refinance options
There are many local and national lenders to refinance with. If you’re looking for a more personal experience where you can speak to someone face-to-face, consider exploring nearby credit unions and local banks.
Keep in mind that you’ll likely need to become a member of a credit union to receive funding, but many will allow you to apply without being a current member.
Here’s a few examples of Ohio student loan refinance lenders.
Cincinnati Ohio Police Federal Credit Union (COPFCU)
COPFCU was originally established to serve the city’s police force, but it now serves more than 10,000 public servants and their family members. It offers college graduates the opportunity to refinance federal loans (including PLUS) and private student loans.
Key refinancing details include:
- Rate type: Fixed and variable
- Terms: 5, 10 and 15 years
- Loan amounts: $5,000 to $125,000
- Cosigner option: Yes
- Cosigner release: Yes, after 48 on-time payments
KEMBA Financial Credit Union
KEMBA Financial Credit Union, founded in 1933, has 10 branches across Central Ohio and thousands of shared branching locations nationwide. It offers student loan refinancing for borrowers who graduated from an approved school, which currently includes 1,881 institutions.
Key refinancing details include:
- Rate type: Fixed and variable
- Terms: 10 and 15 years
- Loan amounts: $5,000 to $75,000
- Cosigner option: Yes
- Cosigner release: Yes, after 48 on-time payments
Splash Financial
Splash Financial is a student loan refinancing marketplace and technology platform that’s headquartered in Cleveland. It partners with credit unions and banks to help get borrowers low refinancing interest rates.
Key refinancing details include:
- Rate type: Fixed and variable
- Terms: 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15 and 20 years
- Loan amounts: $5,000 (no maximum)
- Cosigner option: No
- Cash-back bonus: Up to $1,000 (based on your refinancing amount)
Read our full Splash Financial student loan refinancing review.
Splash Financial: Best for easy application
- Positives: Compares multiple lenders, good customer service available
- Allows cosigners: No
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, length and availability varies based on lender
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 3.99% APR; Variable starting at 4.74% APR
- Bonus: $300 for 50k to 99k or $1,000 when you refinance $100,000 or more
Splash searches multiple lenders at once and provides a rate estimate very quickly. Their site provides one of the best user experiences, and you can get a rough estimate of how good your rate will be in the market as a whole by applying with them. Get up to a $1,000 bonus when you use our Splash Financial link to apply and refinance. For eligible refinances of $100,000 or more, $500 of the bonus comes directly from Student Loan Planner®. Lowest rates displayed may include an autopay discount of 0.25%. Additional terms apply.
Top national student loan refinancing lenders
You can find exceptional refinancing offers with online lenders that serve borrowers across the country. The top refinancing lenders have user-friendly websites and applications, which can make the process faster and more convenient.
They also have competitive interest rates and generous cash-back bonuses that can serve as an extra loan payment.
We recommend shopping around for the best interest rate with refinance lenders like:
Earnest: Best for flexible repayment
- Positives: Flexible repayment terms, custom loan payments
- Allows cosigners: Yes
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, up to 36 months
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 3.85% APR; Variable starting at 5.73% APR1
- Bonus: $200 for refinancing 50k to $99,999; $1,000 for refinancing 100k to $199,999; $1,500 for refinancing $200k or more.2
Payment flexibility and consistently low rates make Earnest a top lender that Student Loan Planner® readers use when refinancing student loans. Earnest also services its own loans and has a Rate Match program that matches competitors' contractual interest rates. If you refinance $100,000 to $199,999, you can get a $1000 bonus ($500 Earnest bonus + $500 from Student Loan Planner®).
If you refinance $200,000 or more, you can get a $1500 bonus ($500 Earnest bonus + $1,000 from Student Loan Planner®). Additional terms apply.
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1APR Disclosure:
2 Bonus Disclosure:
Terms and conditions apply. To qualify for this Earnest Welcome Bonus offer: 1) you must not currently be an Earnest client, or have received the bonus in the past, 2) you must submit a completed student loan refinancing application through the designated partner link; 3) you must provide a valid email address and a valid checking account number during the application process; and 4) your loan must be fully disbursed. The bonus will be automatically transmitted to your checking account after the final disbursement. There is a limit of one bonus per borrower. This offer is not valid for current Earnest clients who refinance their existing Earnest loans, clients who have previously received a bonus, or with any other bonus offers received from Earnest. Bonus cannot be issued to residents in KY, MA, or MI. Bonus amounts of $600 or greater in a single calendar year may be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as miscellaneous income to the recipient on Form 1099-MISC in the year received as required by applicable law. Recipient is responsible for any applicable federal, state, or local taxes associated with receiving the bonus offer; consult your tax advisor to determine applicable tax consequences.
ELFI: Best for customer service
- Positives: Highly competitive fixed rates
- Allows cosigners: Yes, but no cosigner release
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, up to 12 months
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 4.29% APR; Variable starting at 4.74% APR
- Bonus: $300 for refinancing at least $50,000. $500 for 100k to 149k, and $1,099 for refinancing 150k+.
Education Loan Finance, aka ELFI, excels with customer service and low rates for borrowers with the highest credit scores. There is a minimum loan size of $10,000 but no max loan size, and their fixed rates are very competitive historically. Expect about 5 minutes to get an initial rate estimate. Get up to a $1,099 bonus when you use our ELFI link. (For eligible refinances of $150,000 or more, $500 of the bonus would come directly from Student Loan Planner®). Additional terms apply.
You can also use a platform, like Credible, to compare multiple lender offers with only one form.
Ohio student loans options
Financial aid usually isn’t enough to cover the true cost of college. If you’re still in school and need help paying for your education, use federal loan options before signing up for student debt with a private lender.
Depending on your situation, you might still need private Ohio student loans to fill in any financial gaps. Local lenders like COPFCU and KEMBA Financial Credit Union offer private student loans for undergraduates enrolled at least half-time.
Here’s key details for each of their private student loan opportunities.
COPFCU
- Rate type: Fixed and variable
- Terms: 10, 20 and 25 years (depending on rate option and principal balance)
- Loan amounts: $1,000 per year, up to the certified need determined by your school
- Cosigner option: Yes
- Cosigner release: Yes, after 48 on-time payments
- In-school repayment options: Full payments, interest-only payments or defer principal and interest until six months after graduation
KEMBA Financial Credit Union
- Rate type: Fixed and variable
- Terms: 10, 20 and 25 years (depending on rate option and principal balance)
- Loan amounts: $1,000 per year up to the certified need determined by your school
- Cosigner option: Yes
- Cosigner release: Yes, after 48 on-time payments
- In-school repayment options: Full payments, interest-only payments or defer principal and interest until six months after graduation
Additionally, KEMBA Financial Credit Union offers graduate student loans with a variable rate.
National private student loan lenders
There are many private student loan lenders to choose from. So, it’s important you shop around for the best interest rate and terms. And take a look at what other borrowers are saying about their customer service experience.
We recommend checking out these top private student loan lenders:
- Fixed interest rates: 1.99% APR – 17.64% APR1
- Variable interest rates: 3.62% APR – 17.03% APR1
- Terms: 10 to 15 years
- Loan amounts: Borrow from $1,000 up to the full cost of attendance
- Autopay discount: Yes
Sallie Mae Disclosures
1 Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount. Advertised rates are for the Smart Option Student Loan for undergraduate students and are valid as of 08/04/2026.
Advertised APRs for undergraduate students assume a $10,000 loan to a student who attends school for 4 years and has no prior Sallie Mae-serviced loans. Interest rates for variable rate loans may increase or decrease over the life of the loan based on changes to the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent. Advertised variable rates are the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Interest is charged starting when funds are sent to the school. With the Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options, the interest rate is higher than with the Interest Repayment Option and Unpaid Interest is added to the loan’s Current Principal at the end of the grace/separation period. To receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate discount, the borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The discount applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment.
- Fixed interest rates starting at 1.99% APR1,2 for qualified cosigner borrowers
- Variable interest rates starting at 4.74% APR1,2
- Terms: 5, 7, 10, 12 or 15 years3
- Loan amounts: Up to the full cost of attendance
- Autopay2 discount: Yes
Earnest Private Student Loans are subject to credit approval.
1 (Includes 0.50% combined Auto Pay and Loyalty rate discounts.) Actual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your financial profile. Fixed annual percentage rates (APR) range from 2.69% to 16.74% (2.19% – 16.24% with Auto Pay and Loyalty discounts). Variable annual percentage rates (APR) range from 5.24% to 17.1% (4.74% – 16.6% with Auto Pay and Loyalty discounts). Earnest variable interest rate student loans are based on a publicly available index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The variable rate is based on the rate published on the 25th day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent plus a margin and will change on the 1st of each month. The rate will not increase more than once a month, but there is no limit on the amount that the rate could increase at one time. Our lowest rates are only available for our most credit qualified existing cosigned loan borrowers who receive the 0.25% Loyalty discount and requires selection of our shortest term offered, full principal and interest payment while in school, and enrollment in our 0.25% Auto Pay discount. Enrolling in Auto Pay is not required as a condition for approval. Interest rates are subject to change.
Loyalty Discount
To be eligible for the Loyalty Discount, applicants must have previously obtained an Earnest Private Student Loan and apply using the same email address associated with that loan. Only one Loyalty Discount may be applied per eligible Earnest Private Student Loan. Not all applicants may qualify. This offer cannot be combined with Earnest’s Rate Match program. Earnest may modify or discontinue this offer at any time and without notice, however, once a Loyalty Discount is earned, it will not be taken away.
2 You can take advantage of the Auto Pay interest rate reduction by setting up and maintaining active and automatic ACH withdrawal of your loan payment from a checking or savings account. The interest rate reduction for Auto Pay will be available only while your loan is enrolled in Auto Pay. Interest rate incentives for utilizing Auto Pay may not be combined with certain private student loan repayment programs that also offer an interest rate reduction. It is important to note that the 0.25% Auto Pay discount is not available when loan payments are deferred during the interim period as a result of selecting the deferred repayment option.
3 Available interest rates are subject to change. Interest rates as of 03/19/2026. Earnest’s Loan Cost Examples:
1.) These examples provide estimates based on principal and interest payments beginning immediately upon loan disbursement. Variable annual percentage rate (“APR”): A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $152.84) and a 16.85% interest rate without Auto Pay (16.85% APR) would result in a total estimated payment amount of $27,511.20. For a variable loan, after your starting rate is set, your rate will then vary with the market. Fixed APR: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $150.30) and a 16.49% interest rate without Auto Pay (16.49% APR) would result in a total estimated payment amount of $27,054.10.
2.) These examples provide estimates based on interest-only payments while in school. Variable interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $152.84) and a 16.85% interest rate without Auto Pay (16.85% APR) would result in a total estimated payment amount of $35,515.14. For a variable loan, after your starting rate is set, your rate will then vary with the market. Your actual repayment terms may vary. Other repayment options are available. The calculation assumes that the “in-school” period is 4 years (48 months) and includes our 9 month grace period, during which the monthly payment will be $140.42 for 57 months. Fixed interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $150.30) and a 16.49% interest rate without Auto Pay (16.49% APR) would result in a total estimated payment amount of $34,886.94. Your actual repayment terms may vary. Other repayment options are available. The calculation assumes that the “in-school” period is 4 years (48 months) and includes our 9 month grace period, during which the monthly payment will be $137.42 for 57 months.
3.) These examples provide estimates based on fixed $25 payments while in school. Variable interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $253.39) and a 16.85% interest rate without Auto Pay (14.92% APR) would result in a total estimated payment amount of $47,035.20. For a variable loan, after your starting rate is set, your rate will then vary with the market. Fixed interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $246.61) and a 16.49% interest rate without Auto Pay (14.65% APR) would result in a total estimated payment amount of $45,814.80. Your actual repayment terms may vary. Other repayment options are available. The calculation assumes that the “in-school” period is 4 years (48 months) and includes our 9 month grace period, during which the monthly payment will be $25.00.
4.) These examples provide estimates based on deferred payments. Variable interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $275.17) and a 16.85% interest rate without Auto Pay (14.67% APR) would result in a total estimated payment amount of $49,530.60. For a variable loan, after your starting rate is set, your rate will then vary with the market. Fixed interest rate: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $268.03) and a 16.49% interest rate without Auto Pay (14.39% APR) would result in a total estimated payment amount of $48,245.40. Your actual repayment terms may vary. Other repayment options are available. It is important to note that the 0.25% Auto Pay discount is not available when the deferred repayment option has been selected and the loan is in the interim period. The calculation assumes that the “in-school” period is 4 years (48 months) and includes our 9 month grace period, during which the monthly payment will be $0.
Earnest Private Student Loans are made by FinWise Bank, Member FDIC. FinWise Bank, 756 East Winchester, Suite 100, Murray, UT 84107.
Earnest student loans are serviced by Earnest Operations LLC, 300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 340, Oakland, CA 94612. NMLS #1204917, with support from Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA) (NMLS# 1442770).
FinWise Bank and Earnest LLC and its subsidiaries, including Earnest Operations LLC, are not sponsored by agencies of the United States of America.
- Fixed interest rates: Starting at 2.19% APR
- Variable interest rates: Starting at 3.64% APR
- Terms: 5, 7, 10, 12, 15 or 20 years
- Loan amounts: Up to the full cost of attendance
- Autopay discount: Yes
Ascent's undergraduate and graduate student loans are funded by Bank of Lake Mills or DR Bank, each Member FDIC. Loan products may not be available in certain jurisdictions. Certain restrictions, limitations, terms and conditions may apply for Ascent's Terms and Conditions please visit AscentFunding.
Make a plan for your student debt
Whether you have existing student loans or plan to have them in the future, you’ll save the most money by having a debt repayment plan in place. Borrowers can also explore various Ohio loan forgiveness programs, as well as federal forgiveness options to reduce their total student debt after graduation.
And our team of student debt experts is always ready to help. Schedule a consultation today to discuss your repayment options and receive a custom plan.
Refinance student loans, get a bonus in 2026
| Lender Name | Lender | Offer | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$1,000 Bonus
Bonus for eligible users who refinance $200k or more. $500 for $100k to $200k (bonus from SLP, not SoFi. Terms apply.)
|
Fixed 3.99 - 9.99% APR
Variable 5.74 - 9.99% APR with all discounts with all discounts |
|
|
$1,500 Bonus
For $200k or more. $1,000 for $100k to $200k. $200 for 50k to $100k
|
Fixed 3.85 - 9.99% APR
Variable 5.73 - 9.99% APR
|
|
|
$1,750 Bonus
For $200k+. $1,250 for $100k to $199k. $350 for $50k to $99k. $100 for $5k to $50k
|
Fixed 3.98 - 10.35% APR
Variable 3.62 - 10.67% APR with autopay with autopay |
Not sure what to do with your student loans?
Take our 11-question quiz to get a personalized recommendation for 2026 on whether you should pursue PSLF, IDR, or refinancing (including the one lender we think could give you the best rate).