If you’ve finished graduate school, you’re likely looking for a job or are already working in your preferred area of study. Which is all good. But you may also be looking at a pile of grad school debt and wondering how you can make it go away ASAP.
If the interest rate on your federal or private loan (or loans) is higher than current rates, if you’re finding your monthly payments too high, or if you’re juggling multiple payments on different loans for school each month, you might want to consider graduate school loan refinancing.
Here, you’ll learn what graduate student loan refinancing is, what the pros and cons are, and how to tell if it’s right for you.
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Table of Contents
Key Points
• Refinancing your graduate student loans lets you consolidate multiple monthly payments into just one payment with one interest rate, which can help simplify your finances.
• You may be able to get a lower interest rate than your current one, especially if you have a good credit score.
• You may be able to secure a lower monthly payment by extending the term of your refinanced loan, but this may mean you pay more interest over the life of the loan.
• If you have federal student loans and refinance them through a private loan, you’ll give up the protections associated with federal loans.
• If you have federal student loans, you may have other options to lower or defer your payments, depending on your circumstances.
What Is Graduate Student Loan Refinancing?
Can you refinance student loans? Absolutely!
Graduate school federal or private loan refinancing works like any other kind of loan refinancing: It’s a modification of an ordinary student loan that involves taking out a new loan to pay off your existing graduate school loans.
Even if you had multiple loan payments and multiple interest rates before, you’ll now have a single monthly payment and one interest rate, which may (or may not) be lower than the rate on the original loan or loans.
There are two important points to consider when thinking about student loan refinancing:
• If you refinance for an extended term, you’re likely to pay more interest over the life of the loan, even though your monthly payment may be lower.
• When you refinance a federal loan using a private loan, you forfeit the benefits and protections of federal loans.
đź’ˇ Quick Tip: Get flexible terms and competitive rates when you refinance your student loan with SoFi.
How Does Refinancing Grad School Loans Work?
So, why would you want to consider refinancing your graduate school loans? Here are some of the benefits:
• One single monthly payment
• Possibly a lower interest rate
• Potential to lower your monthly payment
First, if you’re making multiple payments for more than one school loan up to your graduate school loan limit, you might feel like you’re treading water and getting nowhere in actually paying off the loans. With private refinancing, you end up with one monthly payment, and it may be easier to adjust your payments to pay down the loan more quickly, as you’re not restricted to a certain income percentage or fixed figure.
If the interest rate you got on your original student loans for grad school was high, you might be able to save money with a lower rate by refinancing. If you’ve got great credit, you could qualify for low interest rates.
And if you’ve been struggling to make your monthly payment(s), you may be able to refinance for a longer period to reduce that monthly amount. However, as mentioned above, you may pay more in interest over the full life of the loan.
To refinance graduate student loans:
• Shop around among lenders who specialize in refinancing.
• Calculate your student loan refinancing savings for each option on offer, as rates can vary drastically from one lender to another.
• Find one lender that offers good rates and terms. And remember: The better your credit score, the better the terms you may qualify for.
• Apply for your new loan.
• Once approved, pay off your student loan debt. You’ll begin payments on the new loan within a few weeks.
Recommended: Undergraduate vs. Graduate Student Loans
Pros and Cons of Refinancing Grad School Loans
When you’re considering graduate school loan refinancing, it’s important to look at the benefits, as well as the drawbacks.
| Pros of Refinancing Grad School Loans | Cons of Refinancing Grad School Loans |
|---|---|
| Potentially lower interest rates | Bad credit might mean higher rates |
| Reduced monthly payment | May pay more interest over the life of the loan |
| One monthly payment | Might need a cosigner |
| Possible way to build credit | Applying could negatively impact credit |
If you’re refinancing federal student loans, remember, you’ll forfeit federal benefits and protections.
The Pros
As noted in the chart, these are the main advantages of refinancing your graduate student loans:
• You may be able to get lower interest rates and a reduced monthly payment, and you could roll what you’ve been paying on multiple loans into one monthly payment. But note you may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term.
• This could make it easier and faster to pay off your grad school loan.
• If you’ve been struggling to pay your loan, refinancing could make it easier to pay on time, which could help build your credit. If your credit score rises, you could potentially qualify for better terms.
And if you’ve felt confused or lost about how to refinance your loan, you’re in the right place. SoFi’s got lots of resources for guiding you through student loan refinancing.
The Cons
Now, to review the potential downsides:
• When you refinance a federal student loan with a private student loan, you forfeit federal benefits and protections, such as forbearance.
• If your credit isn’t great, you might only qualify for loans with higher interest rates, which could cause you to pay more for your refinanced loan.
• If you don’t qualify for graduate loan refinancing, you might need to have a cosigner to get approval, which can be a challenging step.
• If you refinance for an extended term, you may pay more interest over the life of the loan.
• When you apply for a new loan, it requires a hard credit pull, which can temporarily lower your credit score.
Alternatives to Refinancing Graduate School Loans
If you aren’t able to or don’t want to refinance your graduate loans, there may be other options for you to lower your payments:
• If you took out a federal loan through the U.S. Department of Education, you may qualify for one of several annually certified income-driven repayment plans, including, from July 2026, the new Repayment Assistance Plan. You’ll need to meet the income and household size requirements.
• You may also qualify to defer payments. There are deferment plans for unemployment, economic hardship, military service, cancer treatment, and more.
• If you work in certain areas of public service, such as teaching or employment with a nonprofit, you might qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. You may be required to work in a qualifying role for a certain number of years to receive forgiveness for your student loan.
Keep in mind that if your graduate loans aren’t federal loans, these options won’t be available to you.
Another option is simply to get aggressive about paying down your loan. This might require setting aside things you usually spend money on, such as clothes and vacations, for a while, or perhaps taking in a roommate. But once you pay off your grad school debt, you can resume those luxuries.
Recommended: Refinancing Student Loans vs. Income-Driven Repayment Plans
The Takeaway
If you’re struggling to pay your student loan or if you feel your interest rate is too high, graduate school loan refinancing could provide some relief and help you save money. The process can replace one or more monthly payments with a single payment, potentially for a lower amount, though this may involve extending the term and paying more interest over the life of the loan. Refinancing federal loans with a private loan, however, does involve forfeiting federal benefits or protections, so it may or may not be the right choice for you.
Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.
FAQ
Is refinancing graduate school loans any different than other student loans?
Refinancing a graduate school loan works like it would for undergraduate student loans. Be aware that by refinancing, you might lose benefits you had with your federal student loan, such as the ability to defer or change to an income-driven repayment plan.
Is it easy to refinance graduate student loans?
Refinancing grad school loans, particularly if you have good credit, is fairly simple. Find a provider that offers competitive rates, get approved, pay off your previous student loans, and then start paying down your new loan.
What are the advantages of refinancing graduate student loans?
Refinancing student loans for grad school may help you get a lower interest rate. It could also help you by consolidating multiple student loans into one monthly payment, and you could lower your monthly payment amount. Just keep in mind that you may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term.
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SoFi Student Loan Refinance SoFi Loan Products
Terms and conditions apply. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are private loans. When you refinance federal loans with a SoFi loan, YOU FORFEIT YOUR ELIGIBILITY FOR ALL FEDERAL LOAN BENEFITS, including all flexible federal repayment and forgiveness options that are or may become available to federal student loan borrowers including, but not limited to: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Income-Based Repayment, Income-Contingent Repayment, extended repayment plans, PAYE or SAVE. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Learn more at SoFi.com/eligibility. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).
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