Refinance Student Loans Without a Degree

Refinancing student loans when you don’t have a college degree can be tricky, but it’s not impossible. In the last 12 months, 28% of borrowers without a college degree prequalified for student loan refinancing through Credible, compared with 73% of those with a degree. Of those without a degree, around 81% had a credit score of 780 or higher.

Before refinancing federal loans, remember that switching to a private loan means you lose benefits like forgiveness and income-driven repayment. If you want to lower your monthly payment, you can also consider a Direct Consolidation Loan, which doesn’t require a degree.

Here's a look at the top lenders that let you refinance your student loans without a degree, and learn whether this option makes sense for your situation. 

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Can you refinance student loans without a degree?

​To qualify without a degree, you'll generally need a good credit score and steady income to demonstrate you can repay the loan. Some lenders set minimum loan amounts to refinance or require that you've made a certain number of payments on your existing student loans. For example, Earnest requires that you have been out of school for at least six years to qualify, and MEFA requires six on-time payments in the last six months.

Best lenders to refinance with no degree

These are lenders that offer no-degree refinancing for student loans:

What are the eligibility requirements to refinance without a degree?

Private lenders set their own refinancing criteria, whether you’re refinancing private or federal loans. Lenders evaluate applications using a mix of factors such as credit score, income, and repayment history.

“The most important aspects of refinancing without a degree will be someone's income, their income history, and their credit score,” says Clifford Cornell, a certified financial planner (CFP) and financial adviser at Bone Fide Wealth, LLC.

These restrictions help lenders manage the higher risk associated with non-graduate borrowers. “Lower income that comes with a lack of a college degree will reduce their likelihood of qualifying for the private refinance,” says Mark Kantrowitz, financial aid expert and author of “Who Graduates from College? Who Doesn't?” 

Kantrowitz adds that non-graduates may be “more likely to face financial challenges due to the lower income, and therefore they will have a lower credit score, which leads to a higher interest rate.”

If you don’t meet a lender’s eligibility requirements on your own, applying with a cosigner who has strong credit and stable income can improve your chances of approval and help you qualify for a lower interest rate.

Alternatives if you don’t qualify for refinancing

If you’re not eligible for student loan refinancing right now, these are other alternatives to consider:

• Check forgiveness programs: Federal borrowers may qualify for loan forgiveness based on their job or circumstances. For example, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is available to full-time government and qualifying nonprofit employees after making qualifying payments on Direct Loans.  
• Consider an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan: For federal loans, the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) became available July 1, 2026. Payments are 1% to 10% of adjusted gross income, with a $10 monthly minimum, and any remaining balance can be forgiven after 30 years of qualifying payments. Loans disbursed before July 2026 may qualify for legacy IDR plans, but some are ending by July 1, 2028.
• Consider a Direct Consolidation Loan: Federal loans can be consolidated into a single new loan with one monthly payment. Your new rate is the weighted average of your current rates, rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of 1%, so it usually won’t lower your rate. It simplifies payments while keeping federal protections. Private loans don’t qualify, and new consolidation loans may be limited to RAP for income-driven repayment.
• Talk to your lender: If you’re struggling to keep up with your private loans, contact your lender to discuss hardship options. Temporary relief through deferment or forbearance can provide short-term breathing room while you create a long-term repayment strategy.

Methodology

To determine the best student loan refinance lenders, Credible collected more than 1,000 data points on lenders and evaluated them across several categories: repayment options, eligibility, interest rates, loan terms, and customer support. We assigned each lender a score out of five stars based on our findings. Below are the weightings assigned to the general categories for the best student loan companies — which comprise individual criteria that are also weighted:

• Repayment options: 25%
• Eligibility: 25%
• Interest rates: 20%
• Loan terms: 20%
• Customer support: 10%

While the best lender for you will depend on your unique needs and financial circumstances, these findings should help answer your questions and assist you in your search for the best student loan.

Learn more about our methodology.

Why you can trust us

The Credible editorial team is independent and unbiased. Partners do not influence our editorial content. To help you find the best student loan for your situation, we conduct thorough research and analyze more than 1,000 lender data points. Using data-driven methodologies, we score criteria that are important to you. This allows us to objectively rank student loan lenders and products. To learn more, read our methodology below.