refinancing loans

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doctor-mom

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I have a very high interest loan from med school and I am thinking of refinancing it to a lower rate. Has anyone done that and what bank/program did you use for that?
How do I even start going about it...?
I live in mid west and the banks near me are chase, 5th third bank and huntington.

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I refinanced my loans to 3.3% from a 6.8% rate. It was very easy, quick, and didn't affect my credit score more than a few points from the hard inquiries on my credit. My s/o refinanced hers through one of the businesses below and it was easy and quick.

SoFi, Laurel Road, Earnest, Common Bond are all doctor friendly. Shop around and see who offers you the best rate.

I ended up going with a local credit union in my hometown of about 2,000 people since I like to keep things local with someone I knew and trusted. This credit union while I was in residency told me to pick my payment amount so that I would not be financially stressed while in training. Intern year I created a budget and decided to pick an amount which basically over covers the interest.

Once I graduated from residency, we sat down and came up with a new payment amount. My initial payment intern year was around $400 a month. Now, I'm on autopilot paying $3250 a month with a payoff date in 20 more months. I'm tempted to just write a check and be done with it but the interest is so low that I am just investing any extra money. Just because I personally didn't use one of those national businesses does not mean that I have anything against SoFi or the other ones listed above. Heck, my own Fiance used them and had a great experience. I also get a lot of referral bonuses from people who sign up for those on my website and have yet to hear a bad story.

If you don't plan on using a income based repayment plan or PSLF forgiveness, I say go for it. To date I've calculated that I've saved about $15,000 in interest by refinancing. Oh and by the way, refinancing my loan didn't cost me a single cent.

I hope this helps.
 
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