Common Questions
If you are a college graduate currently in repayment, a recent college graduate, or a parent who took out student loans for a child, you may want to consider refinancing your student loans. For those with high interest rate student loans, refinancing might be a good way to lower the interest rates on your private or federal student loans (including parent and graduate PLUS). Choosing a new repayment term that fits your needs could help you simplify multiple payments or adjust your repayment terms.
Refinancing could potentially reduce the amount of interest you pay long term, but be sure to compare your options to determine what solution is right for you. Remember, Federal loans offer some special benefits, for example, public service forgiveness and economic hardship programs, that may not be accessible to you after you refinance. See disclosures for more details.
A Direct Consolidation Loan from the federal government allows you to consolidate (combine) multiple federal education loans into one loan. The result is a single monthly payment for your federal student loans at one interest rate instead of multiple payments.
Refinancing your student loans involves working with a private lender like your credit union. This lender will pay off your existing loans (which may include private and federal loans) and combine them through consolidation. You will then make a single loan payment to the new private lender.
Private, Federal, and Institutional
Fixed interest rates offer a predictable monthly payment with a rate that doesn’t change over time – you’re locked in at the current rate for the life of your loan. With a fixed rate, you also know exactly how much interest you’ll pay over the life of your loan. Fixed rates may be slightly higher than variable rates, so you’ll need to weigh the benefits of consistency versus a potentially lower variable rate.
Variable interest rates offer potentially lower starting rates which can result in lower payments, but your interest rate can rise and fall over the life of your loan. That means, your monthly payment and total interest may vary as well. Variable rates may be lower up front with a lower monthly payment, so you’ll need to weigh these benefits versus the consistency of a fixed rate.
Credit unions are not-for-profit, member-owned financial institutions that exist to serve the financial needs of their member owners. Unlike for-profit banks and lenders, when you borrow from a credit union you’re supporting a local business focused on the needs of its members, not bank stakeholders. Because credit unions aren't focused on making a profit, they value educating each of their members on which financial option would be best for their own situation.