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5 Best MBA Student Loan Refinance Options of December 2023

When refinancing MBA student loans, choose the lender that saves you the most money.

By
Cecilia Clark
Jul 13, 2023

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Best MBA Student Loan Refinance Options

Lender
NerdWallet Rating
Min. credit score
Fixed APR
Variable APR
Learn more
SoFi Parent PLUS Refinancing

SoFi Parent PLUS Refinancing

Check rate
on SoFi's website
5.0
/5
Best for Extra features

None

5.24-9.99%

6.24-9.99%

Check rate
on SoFi's website
Earnest Student Loan Refinance

Earnest Student Loan Refinance

Check rate
on Earnest's website
5.0
/5
Best for Fast payoff

650

4.96-9.79%

5.49-9.74%

Check rate
on Earnest's website

Our pick for

Extra features

SoFi can help grow your professional network with in-person member events. Other benefits, such as career coaching, may be of use if you got an MBA to change careers.

SoFi Parent PLUS Refinancing
Check rate
on SoFi's website
SoFi Parent PLUS Refinancing

SoFi Parent PLUS Refinancing

5.0
NerdWallet rating
Min. credit score

None

Fixed APR

5.24-9.99%

Variable APR

6.24-9.99%

Key factsBest for borrowers who want plenty of benefits with their refinanced student loan.
Pros
  • You can refinance parent PLUS loans in your name.
  • You can see if you’ll qualify and what rate you’ll get without a hard credit check.
  • Additional perks like career planning, job search assistance and entrepreneurship support available.
Cons
  • No co-signer release available.
  • Loan size minimum is higher than most lenders.
Qualifications
  • Typical credit score of approved borrowers or co-signers: 700+.
  • Loan amounts: $5,000, up to your total outstanding loan balance.
  • Must have a degree: Yes, an associate degree or higher.
Available Term Lengths5, 7, 10, 15 or 20 years
DisclaimerNotice: SoFi’s Refinance Loan is a private student loan. Understand that when you refinance federal loans, you forfeit all flexible federal repayment options that are or may become available to federal student loan borrowers. If you expect to incur financial hardship that would affect your ability to repay, you should consider federal consolidation loan options.Notice: Though SoFi offers an Unemployment Protection Program and career services, SoFi’s Refinance loan is a private loan. Understand that when you refinance federal loans, you forfeit certain flexible repayment options that are or may become available. If you expect to incur financial hardship that would affect your ability to repay, you should consider federal consolidation loan options.*NOTICE: If you are a federal student loan borrower, you should consider all of your repayment opportunities including the opportunity to refinance your student loan debt at a lower APR or to extend your term to achieve a lower monthly payment. Please note that once you refinance federal student loans you will no longer be eligible for current or future flexible payment options available to federal loan borrowers, including but not limited to income-based repayment plans or extended repayment plans. Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.Fixed rates range from 5.24% APR to 9.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount. Variable rates range from 6.24% APR to 9.99% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates will never exceed 13.95% (the maximum rate for these loans). SoFi rate ranges are current as of 9/08/2023 and are subject to change at any time. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. This benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your monthly payment. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi. You may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term.
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Our pick for

Fast payoff

Earnest Student Loan Refinance
Check rate
on Earnest's website
Earnest Student Loan Refinance

Earnest Student Loan Refinance

5.0
NerdWallet rating
Min. credit score

650

Fixed APR

4.96-9.79%

Variable APR

5.49-9.74%

Key factsBest for borrowers who want to customize their repayment schedule to pay off debt fast.
Pros
  • Customizable payments and loan terms.
  • Option to skip one payment every 12 months.
  • You can see if you’ll qualify and what rate you’ll get without a hard credit check.
Cons
  • Loans aren't available in Nevada.
Qualifications
  • Typical credit score of approved borrowers or co-signers: 760.
  • Loan amounts: $5,000 to $500,000.
  • Must have a degree: No, but must be within six months of graduation and have income or a job.
Available Term Lengths5 to 20 years
DisclaimerActual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your income. Fixed rates range from 5.21% APR to 10.04% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Variable rates range from 5.74% APR to 9.99% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Earnest variable interest rate student loan refinance loans are based on a publicly available index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The variable rate is based on the rate published on the 25th day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent. The rate will not increase more than once per month. The maximum rate for your loan is 8.95% if your loan term is 10 years or less. For loan terms of more than 10 years to 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 9.95%. For loan terms over 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 11.95%. Please note, we are not able to offer variable rate loans in AK, IL, MN, NH, OH, TN, and TX. Our lowest rates are only available for our most credit qualified borrowers and contain our .25% auto pay discount from a checking or savings account.
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College Ave Student Loan Refinance
Check rate
on College Ave's website
COMPARE RATES
on Credible’s website
College Ave Student Loan Refinance

College Ave Student Loan Refinance

5.0
NerdWallet rating
Min. credit score

Mid-600s

Fixed APR

6.99-11.99%

Variable APR

6.99-11.99%

Key factsBest for borrowers who want a nonstandard loan term — six or nine years, for instance.
Pros
  • You can choose any loan term between 5 and 15 years.
  • You can see if you’ll qualify and what rate you’ll get without a hard credit check.
Cons
  • No co-signer release available.
  • Students cannot refinance a parent PLUS loan in their name.
Qualifications
  • Typical credit score of approved borrowers or co-signers: Mid-700s.
  • Loan amounts: $5,000 to $300,000, depending on the highest degree earned.
  • Must have a degree: Yes, an associate degree or higher.
Available Term Lengths5 to 15 years
DisclaimerCollege Ave Student Loans products are made available through Firstrust Bank, member FDIC, First Citizens Community Bank, member FDIC, or M.Y. Safra Bank, FSB, member FDIC.. All loans are subject to individual approval and adherence to underwriting guidelines. Program restrictions, other terms, and conditions apply. As certified by your school and less any other financial aid you might receive. Minimum $1,000. Rates shown are for the College Ave Undergraduate Loan product and include autopay discount. The 0.25% auto-pay interest rate reduction applies as long as a valid bank account is designated for required monthly payments. If a payment is returned, you will lose this benefit. Variable rates may increase after consummation. This informational repayment example uses typical loan terms for a freshman borrower who selects the Flat Repayment Option with an 8-year repayment term, has a $10,000 loan that is disbursed in one disbursement and a 7.78% fixed Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): 54 monthly payments of $25 while in school, followed by 96 monthly payments of $176.21 while in the repayment period, for a total amount of payments of $18,266.38. Loans will never have a full principal and interest monthly payment of less than $50. Your actual rates and repayment terms may vary. This informational repayment example uses typical loan terms for a freshman borrower who selects the Deferred Repayment Option with a 10-year repayment term, has a $10,000 loan that is disbursed in one disbursement and a 8.35% fixed Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): 120 monthly payments of $179.18 while in the repayment period, for a total amount of payments of $21,501.54. Loans will never have a full principal and interest monthly payment of less than $50. Your actual rates and repayment terms may vary. Information advertised valid as of 09/01/2023. Variable interest rates may increase after consummation. Approved interest rate will depend on the creditworthiness of the applicant(s), lowest advertised rates only available to the most creditworthy applicants and require selection of full principal and interest payments with the shortest available loan term.
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RISLA Student Loan Refinance
COMPARE RATES
on Credible’s website
Read review
RISLA Student Loan Refinance

RISLA Student Loan Refinance

5.0
NerdWallet rating
Min. credit score

680

Fixed APR

5.79-8.24%

Variable APR

N/A

Key factsBest for borrowers who want payment flexibility should they run into financial trouble.
Pros
  • Income-based repayment plan available, with forgiveness after 25 years.
Cons
  • No co-signer release available.
  • Students cannot refinance a parent PLUS loan in their name.
Qualifications
  • Typical credit score of approved borrowers: 748.
  • Loan amounts: $7,500 to $250,000, depending on the highest degree earned.
  • Must have a degree: No.
Available Term Lengths5, 10 or 15 years
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Our pick for

Refinancing before graduation

The earlier you refinance, the more you could save. If you’re in an executive MBA program and have a job lined up, look for lenders that let you refinance before graduation.

ISL Refinance Loan
COMPARE RATES
on Credible’s website
Read review
ISL Refinance Loan

ISL Refinance Loan

5.0
NerdWallet rating
Min. credit score

660

Fixed APR

6.81-11.83%

Variable APR

N/A

Key facts

Best for saving on interest before graduation.

Pros
  • You can see if you’ll qualify and what rate you’ll get without a hard credit check.
  • You can refinance without a degree.
  • You can refinance while in school or during a medical residency.
Cons
  • Interest rates vary by refi product.
Qualifications
  • Typical credit score of approved borrowers or co-signers: Approximately 750.
  • Loan amounts: $5,000 to $300,000. (Minimum for California residents is $10,000.)
  • Must have a degree: No.
Available Term Lengths5, 7, 10, 15 or 20
Read Full Review
RISLA Student Loan Refinance
COMPARE RATES
on Credible’s website
Read review
RISLA Student Loan Refinance

RISLA Student Loan Refinance

5.0
NerdWallet rating
Min. credit score

680

Fixed APR

5.79-8.24%

Variable APR

N/A

Key factsBest for borrowers who want payment flexibility should they run into financial trouble.
Pros
  • Income-based repayment plan available, with forgiveness after 25 years.
Cons
  • No co-signer release available.
  • Students cannot refinance a parent PLUS loan in their name.
Qualifications
  • Typical credit score of approved borrowers: 748.
  • Loan amounts: $7,500 to $250,000, depending on the highest degree earned.
  • Must have a degree: No.
Available Term Lengths5, 10 or 15 years
Read Full Review

How much could student loan refinancing save MBAs?

On average, an MBA program costs $225,605 in the U.S. Depending on how much you borrow to pay for an MBA, your savings from refinancing could be substantial.

Let's use $66,300 in MBA student loans as an example. Fewer schools are reporting average student debt numbers, so it's harder to nail down — but this aligns with the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

If you repaid $66,300 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 save depends on your loan's terms, like the interest rate offered and term length. The lower your interest rate and the shorter your loan term, the less money you'll pay in interest.

Plug your info into a student loan refinance calculator to determine how much you could save.

» MORE: How to pay off $100,000+ in student loans

Should you refinance MBA student loans?

If you paid for your MBA with private student loans, there’s little downside to refinancing. 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 it's OK to refinance as often as you need to and you'll 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 if interest rates fall — and you’re confident in your earning power — you could refinance to a lower variable rate and pay off your debt faster.

  • 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? Before you refinance federal student loans make 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.

» MORE: MBA student loan repayment and forgiveness options

STUDENT LOAN REFINANCE RATINGS METHODOLOGY

Our survey of more than 29 banks, credit unions and online lenders offering student loans and student loan refinancing includes the top 10 lenders by market share and the top 10 lenders by online search volume, as well as lenders that serve specialty or nontraditional markets.

We consider 41 features and data points for each financial institution. Depending on the category, these include the availability of biweekly payments through autopay, minimum credit score and income requirement disclosures, availability to borrowers in all states, extended grace periods and in-house customer service.

The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.

Read more about our ratings methodologies for student loan refinance and our editorial guidelines.

Last updated on July 13, 2023

To recap our selections...

NerdWallet's Best MBA Student Loan Refinance Options of December 2023

  • SoFi Parent PLUS Refinancing: Best for Extra features
  • Earnest Student Loan Refinance: Best for Fast payoff
  • College Ave Student Loan Refinance: Best for Fast payoff
  • ISL Refinance Loan: Best for Refinancing before graduation
  • RISLA Student Loan Refinance: Best for Fast payoff + Refinancing before graduation

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.

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