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Tuesday, August 9th
Comparison shopping is a great way to save money and get good deals. Why should student loan refinancing be any different? Since 2012, Credible has made it possible to find the best rates on a number of financial products, from mortgages to personal loans, with nearly 1.5 million people using the platform to get the money they need.
12 lenders to choose from
There are a handful of referral services like this available today, but Credible is one of the best. Their online form makes it quick and uncomplicated to find out if you prequalify for refinancing with one of their 12 partner lenders: Advantage Education Loans, Brazos, Citizens Bank, College Ave, CommonBond, EDvestinU, INvestEd, ISL, MEFA, PenFed, RISLA and SoFi.
Find out if you prequalify
After you've answered the standard questions about yourself and your refinancing needs, Credible performs a soft pull on your credit. You'll get a results list that clearly shows you which lenders prequalified you, plus all of the terms of the loans they might offer (interest rate, monthly payments and loan length, total interest). We appreciate that Credible also shows you which of their lenders would prequalify you under certain circumstances, like a higher loan amount or adding a cosigner, as well as the ones that weren't a match. Don't be offended if you don't prequalify with some of Credible's partners: it could be due to state residency or other requirements you just don't happen to meet.
Do your homework on the lender you select
Once you click on "Select Lender" , your experience will depend on the provider. For example, with Citizens and EdvestinU, your process continues on the Credible platform, but SoFi will take you directly to their own site (with the information you provided to Credible pre-filled in at SoFi for your convenience). And, it should go without saying that the rest of the process - completing the full application, going through underwriting, and servicing of the refinanced loan itself - all goes through the lender and has nothing to do with Credible. We encourage you to read more about the lender before making your final decision (and you can find many of those institutions in the other reviews here!).
Excellent feedback from clients
It's hard to find anyone with a negative thing to say about Credible. The Better Business Bureau gives the company their highest "A+" rating and accreditation, and there were almost no complaints registered there. Better yet, more than 4,200 people gave Credible a 5-star rating, saying that the service connected them with loans from reputable lenders and it saved them a lot of money. Those reviews aren't strictly limited to student loan refinancing, because Credible matches people with other types of lending, but it's still reassuring feedback.
Best rate guaranteed
Another compelling reason to work with Credible to source your student loan refinancing is their $200 Best Rate Guarantee. If you get an offer with a lower interest rate from a lender outside of Credible's network, it could get you some cash. Just be sure to read the terms and conditions of the offer before you start making plans for the money!
Great way to shop for student loan refinancing options
Credible is a great place to start if you're hoping to refinance your student loans. With just a few clicks, you'll know exactly which lenders will prequalify you - and you'll save yourself the hassle of applying with any lender who won't. There are lots of good reasons to start your loan refinance process with Credible, and they earn high marks in our review.
If you got your student loans back when interest rates were high, you're smart to think it might be a good idea to refinance when rates have dropped. Whether you get a lower rate or take years off your loan (or both!), your savings could be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
You can typically qualify to refinance your student loans if your outstanding balance is at least $5,000, though some lenders have higher minimums. You'll often need to be in good standing and up to date on your current loan payments, have steady income and a credit score of 660 or higher. Otherwise, your refinancing may require a cosigner.
But, be careful if you're considering refinancing your federal student loans into a private loan. There are some benefits offered with government student loans that don't carry over into privately-funded ones. Do your research before you sign on the dotted line and make sure that the benefits you'd gain outweigh the perks you'd lose.
So, you've determined that it's the right time to refinance your student loan. What should you look for in a lender? Here are some factors to guide your decision-making:
To help you determine the best way to refinance your student loan, TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked today's top lenders. We're confident that with this information, you'll easily find the right rate and term on your loan refinancing!
Select any 2 Student Loan Refinance Companies to compare them head to head