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Sallie Mae once allowed its borrowers to consolidate their student loans — however, it ended this service in 2008.
While you can’t consolidate your Sallie Mae student loans anymore, you do have other refinancing options available.
Here’s how to refinance Sallie Mae loans (and how to decide if you should):
- How to refinance Sallie Mae student loans
- Should you refinance your Sallie Mae student loans?
- Sallie Mae no longer offers student loan consolidation
- Compare multiple options when refinancing your loans
How to refinance Sallie Mae student loans
If you want to refinance your Sallie Mae loans, you’ll need to consider another lender that offers refinancing. Here’s how to refinance student loans with a different lender:
- Shop around and compare lenders. Be sure to do your research and compare as many refinancing lenders as possible to find the right loan for you. Consider not only interest rates but also repayment terms and any fees charged by the lender.
- Pick your loan option. After comparing lenders, choose the loan option that best fits your needs.
- Fill out the application. You’ll need to complete an application and submit any required documentation, such as pay stubs or tax returns.
- Manage your payments. If you’re approved, your old Sallie Mae loans will be paid off with your new loan. Make sure to keep making payments on your old loans until everything is processed with your new lender. After this, you might also consider signing up for autopay — this will help you keep track of your payments and might even qualify you for a rate discount, depending on the lender.
Even if you don’t need a cosigner to qualify, having one could get you a lower interest rate than you’d get on your own.
If you’re ready to refinance student loans, remember to consider as many lenders as you can to find the right loan for you.
Credible makes this easy — you can compare your prequalified rates from our partner lenders in the table below in two minutes.
| Lender | Fixed rates from (APR) | Variable rates from (APR) | Loan terms (years) | Cosigner release? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 4.9%+ | 5.33%+ | 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 | No |
|
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 7.0%+1 | 7.29%+1 | 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 | Yes, after 24 - 36 months |
|
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 6.99%+2 | 6.99%+2 | 5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 20 | Yes, after 24 - 36 months |
|
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 6.0%+5 | 8.05%+5 | 10, 15, 20 | Yes, after 36 months |
|
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 5.48%+3 | 5.28%+3 | 5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 20 | No |
|
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 5.9%+4 | 8.4%+4 | 5, 10, 15, 20 | Yes |
|
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 5.24%+ | 5.52%+ | 5, 7, 10, 15 | Yes, after 12 months |
|
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 6.2%+ | N/A | 7, 10, 15 | No |
|
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Credible Rating
Credible lender ratings are evaluated by our editorial team with the help of our loan operations team. The rating criteria for lenders encompass 78 data points spanning interest rates, loan terms, eligibility requirement transparency, repayment options, fees, discounts, customer service, cosigner options, and more. Read our full methodology.
| 5.79%+ | N/A | 5, 10, 15 | No |
|
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| Compare personalized rates from multiple lenders without affecting your credit score. 100% free! |
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All APRs reflect autopay and loyalty discounts where available | 1Citizens Disclosures | 2College Ave Disclosures | 5EDvestinU Disclosures | 3 ELFI Disclosures | 4INvestEd Disclosures | 7ISL Education Lending Disclosures | 8Nelnet Bank Disclosures |
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Learn More: Sallie Mae Review
Should you refinance your Sallie Mae student loans?
Whether or not refinancing your Sallie Mae student loans is right for you will ultimately depend on your individual circumstances.
Here are a few scenarios when refinancing could be a wise choice:
- You’ll get a lower interest rate. If you can lower your interest rate, you’ll likely save money on interest charges over time. This could also help you pay off your loan faster. If you choose to refinance, you’ll need to decide between a fixed- or variable-rate student loan — a fixed rate will stay the same while a variable rate could fluctuate over time and possibly go up in the future. Also keep in mind that you can refinance more than once if you can get a better interest rate in the future.
- You want a lower monthly payment. If you’re struggling with your payments, refinancing to a longer term could reduce how much you owe each month. Refinancing for a lower monthly payment could also help reduce your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. Just keep in mind that a longer repayment term will mean paying more in interest over the life of your loan.
- You want to combine multiple loans into one. If you’re like most borrowers, you’ll probably have several loans to manage by the time you leave school. Refinancing can help you simplify your repayment by combining all of your loans into a single loan with only one payment to worry about.
While Navient took on some of Sallie Mae’s private student loan portfolio in their split, it also began servicing the federal student loans that Sallie Mae once managed. So if you have Navient student loans, they might actually be federal and not private.
You can refinance federal student loans, but you’ll lose your federal benefits and protections, such as access to income-driven repayment plans and student loan forgiveness programs.
If you’re wondering how competitive your Sallie Mae loan is, the loan score tool below can help. Just enter your APR, credit score, monthly payment, and remaining balance (estimates are fine) to see how your loan stacks up.
Learn More: Private Student Loan Forgiveness
Sallie Mae no longer offers student loan consolidation
Sallie Mae used to offer student loan consolidation for its federal student loan borrowers, making it easier for borrowers to manage their loans.
However, Sallie Mae ended this program in 2008. Sallie Mae also doesn’t offer private student loan refinancing.
However, keep in mind that if you had federal student loans with Sallie Mae that are now serviced by Navient, you still have the option of consolidating through a federal Direct Consolidation Loan.
- Federal student loan consolidation: The only option for combining federal student loans is through a Direct Consolidation Loan. The interest rate on a Direct Consolidation Loan is the weighted average of the loans you consolidated. You also have the choice to extend your repayment term up to 30 years.
- Private student loan refinancing: When it comes to private student loans, consolidation is simply another word for refinancing. If you refinance private student loans, you might get a lower interest rate and also have the option to shorten or extend your repayment term. Remember that you can refinance federal student loans, too, but this means you’ll give up your federal benefits and protections.
Check Out:
- Refinancing Consolidated Federal Student Loans: Can You and Should You?
- Average Student Loan Payment
Compare multiple options when refinancing your loans
If you decide to refinance your Sallie Mae student loans, be sure to shop around and compare as many lenders as you can.
Remember to consider interest rates as well as repayment terms and any fees charged by the lender to find a loan that works for you. Depending on whether you’re approved for refinancing and the terms you get, you might be able to save money on interest and potentially pay off your loans faster.
You can use our calculator below to see how much you can save by refinancing your student loans.
Step 1. Enter your loan balance
Step 2. Enter current loan information
Step 3. Enter your new loan information to start calculating your savings
If you refinance your student loan at % interest rate, you can save will pay an additional $ monthly and pay off your loan by . The total cost of the new loan will be $.
Does refinancing make sense for you?
Compare offers from top refinancing lenders to determine your actual savings.
Checking rates won’t affect your credit score.
Keep Reading: Pay Off $30,000 in Student Loans
