Can You Refinance Student Loans While Still In School?

As a college student, you might’ve noticed your student loan balance growing with each passing semester. If you’ve thought about how to get ahead of your school debt, student loan refinancing might seem like a good way to save money in the long run.

Refinancing your student loans is generally a helpful approach after you’ve graduated or left school. But, can you refinance student loans while still in school? Moreover, should you? There are caveats to know about student loan refinancing if you’re still enrolled in school.

Can you refinance student loans while still in school?

Yes — technically, you can refinance your private student loans while you’re still a student. The flip side is that you might not meet many lenders’ eligibility requirements if you don’t have a degree yet.

Here’s a look at student loan refinancing requirements, options for current college students, and whether it makes sense for you.

Quiz: Should You Refinance Your Student Loans?

Refinancing student loans: how it works

When you refinance student loans, existing federal (or private) student loans are paid off by a lender, and the new lender creates a new loan — a private student loan with a new rate and terms. Refinancing student loans can potentially knock thousands of dollars off your total debt and the life of the loan, letting you pay off your loans faster.

Here are some of the advantages to student loan refinancing:

• Lower rates. Depending on your credit history (or your cosigner’s credit), you might qualify for a lower interest rate. A lower rate means you’ll pay less interest over the life of your student loan. You typically can choose from variable rates or fixed rates.
• Lower monthly payments. Some borrowers get to choose their repayment terms when refinancing, including the option to receive lower monthly payments. This is especially helpful if you’re just starting your career or trying to reach other financial and life goals.
• You choose your lender. When you take out federal student loans, you’re assigned a loan servicer by the Department of Education. If you’re unhappy with your assigned servicer, you can refinance through a private lender of your choice if you qualify.
• Consolidate payments. If you have more than one student loan, you can use an online lender to refinance all of your loans into one loan with one convenient monthly payment.

The downside of refinancing federal student loans is that you’ll lose access to valuable federal protections. This includes repayment options based on your income, forbearance options and deferment options and access to loan forgiveness programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Student loan refinancing requirements

Refinancing requirements vary depending on the lender. Many lenders require that you have at least a bachelor’s degree to qualify for refinancing. As a college student, you likely haven’t had enough time to build up your credit to be eligible for refinancing on your own. Many lenders allow and sometimes require borrowers to use a creditworthy cosigner with good credit to qualify.

Here’s a snapshot of some basic eligibility requirements of a few private lenders that offer refinancing.

Age	18 years or older
Residency	U.S. Citizen or permanent resident living in the District of Columbia or any state except Kentucky and Nevada
Status	Current enrollment status is less than half-time with student loans currently in repayment or degree will be complete at the end of the current semester
Loans	The debt is from a Title IV-accredited not-for-profit school
Maximum loan amount	$5,000 in student loans to refinance ($10,000 in California)
Credit score	680 or higher
Income	Employed or possess consistent income

Age	Age of majority or older at the time of loan application
Residency	U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien
Status	Must have earned a Bachelor’s degree or higher
Loans	Loans were for a degree from an approved post-secondary institution and program of study
Maximum loan amount	$15,000
Credit score	680 or higher
Income	$35,000 or higher

Residency	U.S. citizens and permanent residents
Status	Graduates with four-year degrees, professionals with an associate degree, parents whose child earned their degree
Loans	Four-year degrees or associate's degree from a Title IV school
Maximum loan amount	$5,000
Credit score	700 or higher
Income	$42,000 or higher

Age	The age of majority in your state
Residency	US citizen, permanent resident, or visa holder in a state that SoFi Lending Corporation is authorized to lend
Status	Graduates with an associate’s degree or higher
Loans	Associates degree program or higher from a Title IV school
Maximum loan amount	$5,000
Credit score	Not published
Income	Currently employed, have sufficient income from other sources, or have an offer of employment to start within the next 90 days

Note that each of these lenders has additional minimum eligibility requirements for student loan refinancing. The rate you get will depend on your credit score.

Examples of refinancing before earning a degree

There are some unique scenarios where you could qualify for refinancing without a college degree requirement.

• Earnest: As mentioned earlier, Earnest allows you to refinance if you attend school less than half-time or are in the last semester of a degree program.
• Citizens: Students who decided to take a break from school can qualify for refinancing through Citizens by making 12 on-time loan payments.
• Grad Students: If you’re in school pursuing an advanced degree, you could qualify for refinancing based on the Bachelor’s degree you’ve already earned.
• Parent PLUS loans: Some lenders allow parents to refinance Parent PLUS loans before their child graduates. Parents may be able to transfer Parent PLUS loans to their child’s name too.

You’ll still need to meet other lender requirements to qualify for refinancing.

Student loan consolidation

Student loan consolidation and refinancing are often confused with each other, but they’re not the same. Most federal loans are eligible for a Direct Consolidation Loan whereas private loans aren't.

When you consolidate your federal loans, they become one loan with a new rate. The rate or APR is based on the weighted average of your current loan rates. There’s no cost to consolidate your student loans. Direct Consolidation Loans are still serviced by one of the government’s approved servicers, but you get to choose which one.

Refinancing is a type of loan consolidation but through a private lender. Refinancing student loan debt can give you a new loan term, a variable interest rate or fixed interest rate and potentially save you money. Your student loan payments may be more affordable through refinancing but it's important to note you'll give up federal student loan forgiveness programs when you do so.

Can you consolidate student loans while still in school?

Typically, you’re eligible to consolidate federal loans if you’ve graduated, left school, or dropped below half-time enrollment. Your loans must be in repayment already or in the six-month grace period.

That leaves the door open to consolidate while you’re still in school, but few college students are in a financial position to repay loans while attending school.

Although it's possible to refinance your student loans while you’re still in school, it might make more sense to wait. Graduating, securing a job, and building up your credit helps you qualify for better refinancing interest rates.

Waiting also opens up the door to other lenders that require a college degree. If you plan to refinance your student loans, check out these refinancing lenders to find the best rates, and earn cashback bonuses.

Quiz: Should You Refinance Your Student Loans?