How To Refinance Graduate Student Loans: Benefits, Risks, and Best Lenders

If you have high interest rates on your graduate student loans, they can be especially difficult to manage. However, refinancing graduate student loans can potentially lower your interest rate, which could help you pay your debt off faster.

As of the first quarter of 2026, 1.9 million student loan borrowers were repaying more than $124.7 billion in grad PLUS loans. While federal student loans have a relatively low interest rate, private student loans can have rates exceeding 10%.

Here's what to know about whether you should refinance your graduate student loans, how to refinance, and top lenders to consider.

Compare current student loan refinancing rates

What is graduate student loan refinancing?

Graduate student loan refinancing replaces one or more of your graduate school loans with a new private student loan. Unlike federal student loan consolidation, refinancing can lower your interest rate but may cause you to lose federal borrower benefits. The new private loan may offer a lower interest rate, a different repayment term, or a lower monthly payment, depending on your credit history and finances.

When you refinance, a private lender pays off your current student loans and issues a new loan in their place. You then make payments to the new lender under the terms of the refinanced loan.

Should you refinance graduate student loans?

Whether you should refinance your graduate student loans depends on your financial goals. While refinancing could lower your interest rate and monthly payment, borrowers with federal loans will lose access to benefits like forgiveness programs and income-driven repayment plans. If you have strong credit, stable income, and no plans to use federal benefits, refinancing might be a smart move.

The refinancing rate you get will depend on your credit score. The graphic below shows average student loan refinance rates by credit score for prequalified borrowers who used the Credible marketplace over the last 12 months:

Pros and cons of graduate loan refinancing

Refinancing graduate student loans can reduce your interest rate, lower your monthly payment, and simplify repayment. However, borrowers with federal loans should carefully consider the loss of federal forgiveness programs and repayment protections before refinancing.

Details on the pros

• Potentially lower interest rate: If your credit score, income, or financial situation has improved since grad school, you may qualify for a lower interest rate. A lower rate can reduce your monthly payment and the total interest you pay over time.
• Lower monthly payment: Refinancing may allow you to extend your repayment term, reducing your monthly payment and improving cash flow.
• Pay off the loan faster: Borrowers who refinance into a shorter loan term may pay off their grad school debt sooner and save on interest costs.
• Simplify multiple loans into one payment: You can combine multiple student loans into a single loan with one monthly payment and one lender.
• Possible cosigner release: Some refinance lenders offer cosigner release programs that allow qualified borrowers to remove a cosigner after making a set number of on-time payments. For example, Brazos allows you to release a cosigner after 12 months of on-time payments.
• Access lender-specific perks: Some lenders offer benefits like autopay discounts, financial planning resources, and flexible repayment options.

Details on the cons

• Loss of federal borrower protections and forgiveness options: This is the biggest drawback for federal loan borrowers. When you refinance federal student loans, they become private loans and permanently lose access to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, federal deferment and forbearance programs, and future federal student loan relief programs.
• Credit approval required: Most refinance lenders require good credit, stable income, and a manageable debt-to-income ratio. Borrowers with weaker credit may not qualify for lower rates.
• Variable rates may increase costs: If you choose a variable-rate loan, your interest rate and monthly payment could rise in the future.
• Longer terms may increase total interest: A lower monthly payment may come at the cost of a longer repayment period, which can increase the total interest paid over the life of the loan.
• Not all borrowers qualify for lower rates: Refinancing only makes financial sense if the new loan offers better terms than your current loans.

Best lenders for refinancing graduate student loans

Graduate school can be an expensive investment. Grad students received an average of $17,710 in federal loans in the 2024-25 school year alone, according to the College Board.

If you have a high interest rate or steep monthly payments on your graduate student loans, you could reduce one or both by refinancing — which could save you money in the long run.

How to refinance graduate student loans in 5 steps

If you’ve decided to refinance your student loans, follow these five steps:

1. Check your credit

It’s a good idea to make sure your credit report doesn’t have any errors. If you find incorrect information, you can dispute it with the credit bureaus to potentially boost your credit score.

2. Research and compare lenders

Be sure to compare as many lenders as possible to find the right loan for you. Consider rates, repayment terms, and any fees charged by the lender.

3. Choose your loan option

After comparing lenders, choose the loan option that best suits your needs and goals — for example, a lower rate or extended repayment term.

4. Fill out the application

You’ll need to complete a full application and submit any required documentation, such as pay stubs or student loan statements. The lender will also do a hard pull of your credit to determine your creditworthiness.

5. Manage your payments

If you’re approved, the lender will have you sign for the loan. Be sure to continue making payments on your old loan until everything is processed. After this, you’ll begin paying on your new loan. You might also consider signing up for automatic payments — depending on the lender, you could get an autopay rate discount.

Refinancing might get you a lower interest rate, which could help you save money over the life of your loans — freeing up your budget for other financial goals.

When student loan refinancing makes sense and when to avoid it

Refinancing your graduate student loans can be smart for some borrowers, especially those who can qualify for a lower interest rate and no longer need federal loan benefits. While refinancing can offer savings, it isn't always the best choice, especially for borrowers who rely on federal student loan protections.

Why Credible?

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 thousands of 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.

Methodology

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

• Repayment options: 30%
• Eligibility: 25%
• Interest rates: 20%
• Loan terms: 15%
• 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.