When you take out loans for grad school, you’re basically gambling that your debt will be offset by salary hike you’ll gain when you’ve graduated and get a better-paying job. And remember, you probably still have loan balances from your undergrad degree. However, refinancing your loans could save you real cash, and offer other benefits. Here’s how to refinance your student loans – and more.

What is Student Loan Refinancing?

It’s basically when a private lender pays off your current loans and issues you a new one with new terms including lower rates. Over time, that could save you a wad and a half.

Who is a Refinancing Candidate?

You may want to consider refinancing your student loans if:

• Your finances are solid. Refinanced federal loans are ineligible for relief or forgiveness associated with the pandemic. So, you must be able to keep up with your payments.
• You would save cash. It doesn’t make sense to refinance if you aren’t getting a better interest rate. When you do, it’ll save you money.
• You’re eligible. In addition to earnings sufficient to pay your debts and other living expenses, you’ll need a credit score that’s at least in the high 600s or, you’ll need a co-signer who qualifies.
• You want all your loans together. This way, you’ll have just one monthly payment, rather than multiple payments of varying amounts.

Who Shouldn’t Pursue Refinancing?

You don’t want to do a refi if it winds up extending the time it will take you to repay your loans. Even if your monthly payment is lower, if you’ve paid down nearly half your debt, and refi would mean even more time, refinancing probably won’t benefit you in the long run.

How Much Could Refinancing Save Me?

Through refinancing, you might be able to save tens of thousands of bucks throughout the life of the loan. For the best student loan refinance rates, check out the service Juno, which partners with private lenders to offer discounted student loans and refinancing.

How Does Refinancing Work?

What is refinancing but a way to save you money, essentially. Here’s one such scenario: You have 40 grand in private student loans that carry an 8% interest rate. So, for the next 10 years, you fork over $485.31 monthly. You then were approved for a refi loan with a just a 5% interest rate, dropping your payments on the $40,000 loan to $424.26. You know how much that ultimately saves you in interest? Some $7,326. Not shabby at all.

Oh, and if you’re going to make the move, you should do so as soon as you qualify to get the most savings. You do need to shop around, however. In general, the better your credit score, the better rate you’ll get. Oh, and there are no origination or prepayment fees involve in refinancing, and you can refinance grad school loans as frequently as you wish.

Note that when you apply, you may need to provide info such as your debt load, citizenship, type of graduate degree, graduate school name, mortgage or rent payment, current income, plus your social security number, contact info, birth date, and the like.

Now that you know all about refinancing your student loans, you can move forward with confidence, particularly if you go through Juno. The point is, you should always save money when you can. If you go with Juno for your refi, which already saves you cash, your savings will be twofold.

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