Best for:
- Graduates with strong credit and income
- Refinancing without a cosigner
Brazos Higher Education is a nonprofit lender that offers student loan refinancing to Texas residents at competitive rates and with flexible terms. If you’ve finished your degree and have an established income and credit history, you may be eligible to refinance your student loan debt with Brazos.
Here’s what you should know when considering refinancing your student loans with Brazos.
In this post:
- Brazos interest rates and loan details
- Brazos student loan refinancing review
- How Brazos compares to other lenders
- How to refinance student loans with Brazos
Brazos interest rates and loan details
Brazos requires a minimum credit score of 720 and income of at least $60,000. But well-qualified borrowers can get low rates and refinance up to $150,000 if they completed a bachelor’s degree and $250,000 if they’ve earned a graduate or professional degree.
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| Rates from (APR) | Fixed rate: 3.90%+ Variable rate: 3.00%+ |
| Loan amounts | $10,000 up to $250,000 (depending on degree) |
| Loan terms | 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years |
| Loan types | Any private or federal student loan, including PLUS loans |
| Ability to transfer parent loan to child | No |
| Minimum credit score | 720 (690 with cosigner) |
| Minimum income | $60,000 ($30,000 with cosigner) |
| Cosigner release | Not offered |
| Death discharge available | If borrower of a cosigned loan dies, cosigner is responsible for repayment of the loan over the remainder of the repayment term. If cosigner dies, Brazos will not declare the loan in default or accelerate payment. Brazos will not pursue the estate of any deceased borrower or cosigner. |
| Fees |
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| Key benefits | 0.25% autopay discount |
| Education | Bachelor’s degree required |
| Citizenship/Residency | Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and a resident of Texas |
| Loan servicer | Firstmark Services (Nelnet) |
| Best if |
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Brazos student loan refinancing review
In addition to offering competitive rates, Brazos offers a good selection of repayment terms, ranging from 5 to 20 years. Choosing a shorter repayment term helps you qualify for a lower rate, and minimize your total interest charges. Stretching out repayment over a longer period of time can lower your monthly payment amount, but your total repayment costs may increase.
Although you can’t transfer federal PLUS loans taken out by your parents into your own name, your parents can refinance their PLUS loans with Brazos if it makes sense for them to do so.
Brazos offers both fixed- and variable-rate loans. If you choose a variable-rate loan, Brazos caps the maximum rate at 9.90%.
How to qualify
While Brazos has somewhat strict credit and income requirements, it can be easier to qualify if you apply with a creditworthy cosigner. If you apply with a cosigner, the minimum credit score is 690 and the minimum income is $30,000.
Just keep in mind that if you refinance with a cosigner, Brazos doesn’t offer cosigner release. If you want to relieve your cosigner of their obligation when you’re in a stronger financial position, you can always refinance your loans again.
You must also provide:
- Your social security number
- Proof of income
- A state ID or driver’s license to prove you’re a Texas resident
Repayment
Monthly payments on Brazos loans are collected by Firstmark Services, a division of Nelnet.
You can earn a 0.25% interest rate reduction when you authorize automatic payments to Firstmark from your checking or savings account. Brazos also offers other benefits like these forbearance options:
- Economic hardship: If you run into unexpected financial problems, Brazos offers economic hardship forbearance that allows you to defer payments on your loan for 3 months at a time, with a total limit of 12 months.
- Active duty military: Forbearance is available if you’re called up for active duty military service.
- Natural disaster: If you’re affected by a natural disaster, Brazos has forbearance options for you.
If you’re granted forbearance, though, keep in mind interest charges will continue to accrue on your loans.
How Brazos compares to other lenders
|  |  |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Rates from (APR) | Fixed rate: 3.90%+ Variable rate: 3.00%+ | Fixed rate: 3.48%+ Variable rate: 2.67%+ | Fixed rate: 3.45%+¹ Variable rate: 2.25%+¹ |
| Loan repayment terms (Years) | 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 | 5, 8, 12, 15 | 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 |
| Loan amount | $10,000 to $250,000 | $7,500 to $300,000 | $10,000 to $500,000 (depending on level of education) |
| Cosigner release? | Not offered | Applications accepted after 12 months of consecutive on-time payments | Yes, applications accepted after 36 months of consecutive payments |
| Transfer parent loan to child? | No | Yes | No |
| Loan servicer | Firstmark Services (Nelnet) | PenFed | Firstmark Services (Nelnet) |
| Best for | Graduates with strong credit and income | Refinancing student loans taken out by parent or spouse | Refinancing large loan balances |
How to refinance student loans with Brazos
If you live in Texas, finished your degree, and have good credit and earnings, it’s worth checking rates for student loan refinancing with Brazos.
Before making a final decision, it’s wise to also compare rates from other lenders that offer student loan refinancing. Credible makes it easy to request rates from Brazos and other top lenders that offer student loan refinancing by filling out a single form without hurting your credit score.
See Your Refinancing Options
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How Brazos can improve
Even though Brazos has helped thousands of Texas residents refinance their student loans, it could be even more valuable to borrowers by:
- Offering refinancing to residents of other states
- Accepting applications for cosigner relief
- Letting the student take over PLUS loans that their parents took out on your behalf