Refinancing your student loans helps you take a big step toward financial freedom. But to qualify for the best refinancing offers, you must prove you’re a reliable candidate.
When reviewing your application, lenders look at your income and credit score, among other factors. And time and again, they find that borrowers in certain careers make the best candidates for student loan refinancing.
Refinancing lender CommonBond shared its list of top professions who refinanced in 2016. So if you work in the careers below, you’re one of the best candidates for refinancing your student loans.
1. Lawyer
The average lawyer makes a competitive $118,160 a year. But they also take on a lot of debt before commanding that high salary. In fact, the top 10 law schools have an average tuition of $60,293 per year.
Multiply that by the three years you spend in law school and you’re in the red by $180,879. Even with a decent salary, lawyers are making hefty student loan payments for a long time.
But if you refinance your student loans, you could pay them off a lot faster. If you’re a lawyer with a high income and strong credit score, you could likely qualify for competitive terms on a new refinanced student loan.
2. Pharmacist
Pharmacists also tend to be appealing candidates for student loan refinancing. For one, they bring home an average annual income of $122,230. And with pharmacy school tuition ranging from $65,000 to $200,000, they could reap major benefits from restructuring their student loan debt.
According to CommonBond, pharmacist was one of the most popular careers of its members who refinanced last year. With their high income, pharmacists likely qualify for some of the lowest interest rates on the market, too.
3. Physician or physician’s assistant
Like pharmacists, doctors take on major medical school debt. But after years of schooling, they typically establish steady careers with a high income.
CommonBond refinanced the student loans of many physicians and physician’s assistants last year. If you’re a doctor who has taken on over $100,000 of student loan debt, you could save money by refinancing your loans for better terms.
4. Executives and managers
Anyone in an executive or upper management position likely takes home a hefty salary. But after two years in an MBA program, their net worth might still fall well below zero. Some full-time programs cost almost $200,000 to attend, according to Financial Times.
But because executives have a high, stable income, lenders will likely trust them to pay back a loan. As a result, they may offer more competitive terms on a refinanced education loan. If you work in upper management, you could be the kind of candidate a refinancing lender is looking for.
5. Registered nurse
Registered nurses also made CommonBond’s top 10 list of common occupations who refinanced. Nurses have lower salaries than some of the other careers on this list with an average annual income of $68,450.
Fortunately, you don’t need to make $100,000 a year to qualify for student loan refinancing. As long as your income is steady and sufficient to cover monthly payments, you could get approved for attractive loan terms. And nurses could use the student loan help since nursing school costs as much as other grad programs.
6. Engineer
Engineers are also excellent candidates for student loan refinancing. Many take on significant student debt in undergraduate and graduate school. But they go on to make over $99,000 a year.
To apply as an engineer, you must show proof of income and a credit score in the mid-600s or greater. Then, you could qualify for low-interest rates on a refinanced education loan.
7. Teacher
Again, you don’t need to make $100,000 to refinance your student loans. According to CommonBond, teacher was the sixth most common occupation among borrowers who refinanced.
Most teachers have undergraduate and graduate loans from two or more years in a Master’s of Education program. But if you have a stable job and strong credit score, refinancing could help you manage your debt.
Student loan refinancing isn’t limited to these careers
When reviewing refinancing applications, lenders find that the best candidates are lawyers, doctors, and other professionals with stable incomes and lots of debt.
But anyone can qualify for decent loan terms as long as they have a steady income and a good credit score. You must show a reliable history of repayment, as well as the means to pay a new loan back in the future.
Most lenders want to see a credit score of 680 or higher. SoFi will consider applicants with credit scores as low as 650.
You can browse refinancing offers in just a few minutes. All you have to do is enter basic information, such as your income, former university, total debt, and career. Then, a lender will give you an initial offer.
As long as your credit score meets the requirement, you’ll be able to finalize one of these offers. Then, you’ll be well on the way to getting out of student loan debt as fast as possible.
Interested in refinancing student loans?
Here are the top 6 lenders of 2019!Lender | Variable APR | Eligible Degrees | |
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Check out the testimonials and our in-depth reviews! 1 Important Disclosures for Earnest. Earnest DisclosuresTo qualify, you must be a U.S. citizen or possess a 10-year (non-conditional) Permanent Resident Card, reside in a state Earnest lends in, and satisfy our minimum eligibility criteria. You may find more information on loan eligibility here: https://www.earnest.com/eligibility. Not all applicants will be approved for a loan, and not all applicants will qualify for the lowest rate. Approval and interest rate depend on the review of a complete application. Earnest fixed rate loan rates range from 3.89% APR (with Auto Pay) to 7.89% APR (with Auto Pay). Variable rate loan rates range from 2.47% APR (with Auto Pay) to 6.97% APR (with Auto Pay). For variable rate loans, although the interest rate will vary after you are approved, the interest rate will never exceed 8.95% for loan terms 10 years or less. For loan terms of 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% (the maximum rates for these loans). Earnest variable interest rate loans are based on a publicly available index, the one month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). Your rate will be calculated each month by adding a margin between 1.82% and 5.50% to the one month LIBOR. The rate will not increase more than once per month. Earnest rate ranges are current as of Month/Day/Year, and are subject to change based on market conditions and borrower eligibility. Auto Pay discount: If you make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic, monthly deduction from a savings or checking account, your rate will be reduced by one quarter of one percent (0.25%) for so long as you continue to make automatic, electronic monthly payments. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. The information provided on this page is updated as of 08/21/18. Earnest reserves the right to change, pause, or terminate product offerings at any time without notice. Earnest loans are originated by Earnest Operations LLC. California Finance Lender License 6054788. NMLS # 1204917. Earnest Operations LLC is located at 302 2nd Street, Suite 401N, San Francisco, CA 94107. Terms and Conditions apply. Visit https://www.earnest.com/terms-of-service, email us at hello@earnest.com, or call 888-601-2801 for more information on ourstudent loan refinance product. © 2018 Earnest LLC. All rights reserved. Earnest LLC and its subsidiaries, including Earnest Operations LLC, are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America. 2 Important Disclosures for Laurel Road. Laurel Road DisclosuresFIXED APR However, if the borrower chooses to make monthly payments automatically by electronic funds transfer (EFT) from a bank account, the fixed rate will decrease by 0.25%, and will increase back up to the regular fixed interest rate described in the preceding paragraph if the borrower stops making (or we stop accepting) monthly payments automatically by EFT from the designated borrower’s bank account. VARIABLE APR However, if the borrower chooses to make monthly payments automatically by electronic funds transfer (EFT) from a bank account, the variable rate will decrease by 0.25%, and will increase back up to the regular variable interest rate described in the preceding paragraph if the borrower stops making (or we stop accepting) monthly payments automatically by EFT from the designated borrower’s bank account. 3 Important Disclosures for SoFi. SoFi Disclosures
4 Important Disclosures for LendKey. LendKey DisclosuresRefinancing via LendKey.com is only available for applicants with qualified private education loans from an eligible institution. Loans that were used for exam preparation classes, including, but not limited to, loans for LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, and GRE preparation, are not eligible for refinancing with a lender via LendKey.com. If you currently have any of these exam preparation loans, you should not include them in an application to refinance your student loans on this website. Applicants must be either U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents in an eligible state to qualify for a loan. Certain membership requirements (including the opening of a share account and any applicable association fees in connection with membership) may apply in the event that an applicant wishes to accept a loan offer from a credit union lender. Lenders participating on LendKey.com reserve the right to modify or discontinue the products, terms, and benefits offered on this website at any time without notice. LendKey Technologies, Inc. is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse, any educational institution. 5 Important Disclosures for CommonBond. CommonBond DisclosuresOffered terms are subject to change. Loans are offered by CommonBond Lending, LLC (NMLS # 1175900). If you are approved for a loan, the interest rate offered will depend on your credit profile, your application, the loan term selected and will be within the ranges of rates shown. All Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) displayed assume borrowers enroll in auto pay and account for the 0.25% reduction in interest rate. All variable rates are based on a 1-month LIBOR assumption of 2.28% effective October 10, 2018. 6 Important Disclosures for Citizens Bank. Citizens Bank Disclosures
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![]() | 2.47% – 6.97%1 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 2.56% – 7.30%3 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 2.68% – 8.96%4 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 3.23% – 6.65%2 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 2.61% – 7.35%5 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
![]() | 3.00% – 9.74%6 | Undergrad & Graduate |