BEST OF
6 Best MBA Student Loan Refinance Options of February 2021
When refinancing MBA student loans, choose the lender that saves you the most money.
Business school graduates can be ideal candidates for student loan refinancing. MBAs often earn high incomes and work in the private sector, so they would be OK refinancing federal loans and losing benefits like income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
The best MBA student loan refinance lender is the one that saves you the most money. But if multiple options offer similar savings, look for loans with features that tie into your repayment or professional goals.
Here are our picks for the best lenders for MBA student loan refinancing, as well as tips on how to decide if this strategy is right for you.
Business school graduates can be ideal candidates for student loan refinancing. MBAs often earn high incomes and work in the private sector, so they would be OK refinancing federal loans and losing benefits like income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
The best MBA student loan refinance lender is the one that saves you the most money. But if multiple options offer similar savings, look for loans with features that tie into your repayment or professional goals.
Here are our picks for the best lenders for MBA student loan refinancing, as well as tips on how to decide if this strategy is right for you.
Summary of Best MBA Student Loan Refinance Options of February 2021
Lender | NerdWallet Rating | Fixed APR | Variable APR | Min. Credit Score | Learn More |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Best for Refinancing before graduation | 2.98 - 5.79% | 1.99 - 5.64% | 650 | Check Rate on Earnest's website | |
Best for Fast payoff | 2.99 - 5.15% | 2.19 - 4.49% | 670 | Check Rate on Purefy's website | |
Best for International MBA students | N/A | 6.56 - 8.65% | N/A | See my rates on NerdWallet's secure website | |
Best for Extra features | 2.99 - 6.88% | 2.25 - 6.43% | Does not disclose | Check Rate on SoFi's website | |
Best for Extra features | 2.98 - 5.79% | 1.99 - 5.61% | 680 | Check Rate on CommonBond's website | |
Best for Extra features | 2.63 - 5.49% | N/A | 650 | Check Rate on Splash Financial's website |
Our pick for
Refinancing before graduation
The earlier you refinance, the more you could save. If you’re in an executive MBA program — or if you otherwise have a job waiting for you in the private sector — look for lenders that let you refinance without a degree.
on Earnest's website
Earnest Student Loan Refinance
Fixed APR
Variable APR
Min. Credit Score
on Earnest's website
Our pick for
Fast payoff
If your post-MBA salary lets you afford to pay more each month, consider a lender that enables speedy repayment.
on Purefy's website
PenFed Student Loan Refinance
Fixed APR
Variable APR
Min. Credit Score
on Purefy's website
Our pick for
International MBA students
Most lenders require international students to build U.S. credit or get a co-signer to qualify for refinancing. If you’re unable to do either, you have fewer options.

on NerdWallet's secure website
Prodigy Student Loan Refinance

Fixed APR
Variable APR
Min. Credit Score
on NerdWallet's secure website
Our picks for
Extra features
These lenders’ extras may put a competitive offer over the top, depending on your professional or financial goals.

on SoFi's website
SoFi Student Loan Refinance

Fixed APR
Variable APR
Min. Credit Score
on SoFi's website
on CommonBond's website
CommonBond Student Loan Refinance
Fixed APR
Variable APR
Min. Credit Score
on CommonBond's website

on Splash Financial's website
Splash Financial Student Loan Refinance

Fixed APR
Variable APR
Min. Credit Score
on Splash Financial's website
How much could student loan refinancing save MBAs?
Business school students graduate with an average MBA student debt of $66,300, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics. If you repaid that much debt on the standard, 10-year repayment plan with an interest rate of 7%, you'd pay $92,376 overall. Reducing the interest rate to 5% would drop that total to $84,385 — a savings of almost $8,000.
The amount you’d save would depend on your loan's terms. For example, the $66,300 includes undergraduate loans, but students often start MBA programs in their late 20s. That means you could already be halfway done with repayment, decreasing your savings. Alternatively, a 2019 Bloomberg Businessweek survey found that many business school graduates owe more than $100,000. Refinancing that much MBA student debt would increase your savings.
Plug your info into a student loan refinance calculator to determine how much you could save.
Should you refinance MBA student loans?
If you paid for your MBA with private student loans, there’s little downside to refinancing them. Consider refinancing whenever you qualify for a better rate. That may be while you’re in business school, after you graduate or both. Refinance lenders typically don’t charge fees, so you begin saving money immediately.
Here are some additional questions that can help you decide if an MBA student loan refinance makes sense for you:
What type of rate do you have? Most student loan refinance lenders let you choose a fixed or variable interest rate; some offer hybrid rates as well. If you originally went for a private MBA loan with a variable rate to keep costs down, you may want to lock in a fixed rate via refinancing to avoid future increases. Or maybe you opted for a fixed rate during school to minimize risk. If you’re now confident in your earning power and want to repay loans faster, you could refinance into a lower variable rate.
Are your loans lacking features you want? In addition to interest rates, refinancing can change other aspects of your loans, like shortening your repayment term to let you pay off loans fast. Some lenders offer features that could tie into additional financial goals. For example, you may be able to refinance your debt with your spouse’s to save you both money. Or a lender might offer a discount on other loans — like a mortgage — by refinancing with them.
Do you have federal student loans? You’ll hopefully have a good grasp on your career trajectory after finishing business school, so refinance federal student loans only if you’re sure you won't need benefits like income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. You can’t get those back after refinancing. If you have a mix of federal and private loans, you can always refinance just the private loans to keep federal loan protections.
Last updated on December 11, 2020
To recap our selections...
NerdWallet's Best MBA Student Loan Refinance Options of February 2021
- Earnest Student Loan Refinance: Best for Refinancing before graduation
- PenFed Student Loan Refinance: Best for Fast payoff
- Prodigy Student Loan Refinance: Best for International MBA students
- SoFi Student Loan Refinance: Best for Extra features
- CommonBond Student Loan Refinance: Best for Extra features
- Splash Financial Student Loan Refinance: Best for Extra features
Frequently asked questions
Multiple lenders offer student loan refinancing. When looking to refinance your MBA student loans, compare different lenders’ offers to find the loan that costs you the least in the long run.
Savings depend on your current loan’s terms. But if you refinanced the average MBA student debt of $66,300 from 7% to 5%, you would save almost $8,000 over the course of a 10-year term.
Consider refinancing your business school loans if they’re already private loans or if you have federal loans but don’t need benefits like income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.