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.
Consolidation means you are simply combining existing loans. Your total payment amount and total interest will likely remain the same, but you'll have the convenience of making one payment rather than multiple payments. This type of loan is usually associated with federal government student loans.
When you refinance, you are taking out a single new loan to pay off your old ones. You'll probably have a new interest rate, new terms, and a different monthly payment amount. This is the loan solution offered by your credit union.