cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Could I refinance at a lower interest rate? Sallie Mae Loans

tag
SeandSki
Established Member

Could I refinance at a lower interest rate? Sallie Mae Loans

After ten plus years of paying off my student loans, I've got them down to around $9,000 remaining.  My current interest rates range from 3.19% to 3.29%  on two Stafford and two Supplemental Loans to students.   My FICO score is 790,  I have a good job, 0 balance on 4 credit cards and several thousand dollars in savings.   I have one payment each month at $289 that is split between these loans, but try to pay $500 each month and apply the rest to principal.

 

Would it make sense to refinance these outside of Sallie Mae?  Could I get a lower interest rate?   Or should I just keep on my current path and try to pay these things off as soon as I can?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Message 1 of 6
5 REPLIES 5
InvincibleSummer3
Established Contributor

Re: Could I refinance at a lower interest rate? Sallie Mae Loans

It's not possible to refi federal loans, and I would be leery of moving a federal loan into a private loan because then you'd lose some important protections if for some reason you were unable to keep up the payments. That said, student loan rates could go up as part of the sequester so I can see why it would be compelling. I'm hopeful, though, that there'll be another congressional extension on the lower rate. Just be careful...there are a lot of stories about people moving federal loans into private loans and getting a disastrous outcome.

 

As fas as your Supplemental loans, those are private - but I don't know if you're going to be able to get a much better interest rate than what you've already got.

 

You're doing the right things already....if I were in your shoes, I'd just keep on truckin' the way you are.

Message 2 of 6
SeandSki
Established Member

Re: Could I refinance at a lower interest rate? Sallie Mae Loans

Great advice!   Thank you.  Smiley Happy

Message 3 of 6
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Could I refinance at a lower interest rate? Sallie Mae Loans

I have a question that relates to this:

 

I have about 15k of student loans and the rate is 7.25% .  These are FFEL loans, owned by Chase when I did a consolidation of them in 2007 to make my payment more maneagable and they are serviced by ACS.  

 

I am currently enrolled in graduate school, and I'm paying tuition, books, etc. in cash and receiving reimbursment from my employers at the end of each semester.

 

Could I take out a small graduate student loan for say, $500 bucks, and then consolidate them to today's rates of around 3% ??

FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 4 of 6
InvincibleSummer3
Established Contributor

Re: Could I refinance at a lower interest rate? Sallie Mae Loans

I'm not home, so I'll have to check - but every
other federal consolidation I've seen used a weighted average to calculate the interest rate post-consolidation. Might not lower the overall rate all that much....
Message 5 of 6
kjel
Established Contributor

Re: Could I refinance at a lower interest rate? Sallie Mae Loans


@InvincibleSummer3 wrote:
I'm not home, so I'll have to check - but every
other federal consolidation I've seen used a weighted average to calculate the interest rate post-consolidation. Might not lower the overall rate all that much....

+1

 

Consolidation takes a weighted average. It worked in my favor because my FFELs were sitting around 4% and my graduate Staffords were 6.8%. My consolidation loan ended up at 5.9%.

 

Current Score: TU: 674 | EQ: 722 | EX: 717 | Last Inq. 2/16/15...Locked Up in The Garden
NFCU Cash Rewards $14K | Chase Sapphire Preferred $5K | Amex Blue Cash Preferred $6K | Cap1 Quicksilver One Visa $9K

Message 6 of 6
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.