Refinance Student Loan rates starting at 2.49% APR
 | 2.49% to 11.72% 1VARIABLE APR | |
 | 2.50% to 6.30% 2VARIABLE APR | |
 | 4.13% to 7.39% 3VARIABLE APR |
- Variable APR
New Jersey borrowers carry an average federal and private student loan debt balance of $33,563 — 9% less than the U.S. average of $36,689.
But there are plenty of ways for New Jersey residents to find help to pay for college costs and lower their student debt burden. For example, eligible students can take advantage of the tuition-free New Jersey Community College Opportunity Grant, which assists with costs not covered by federal or state aid. Separately, the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) may cover up to the cost of tuition for those attending participating schools.
The 2021 fiscal-year budget from Gov. Phil Murphy included a proposal for the Garden State Guarantee program, though it was removed months later amid the coronavirus pandemic. The $50 million program would’ve provided two years of tuition-free education to qualified low-income students at public four-year colleges or universities in New Jersey.
Here’s what else you should know about New Jersey student loans.
New Jersey student loans: Borrowers owe average of $33,563 in federal, private debt
| New Jersey student debt overview | |
|---|---|
| Average balance | $33,563 |
| Total outstanding debt | $48.8 billion |
| Number of borrowers | 1.3 million |
| Average total monthly payment | $310 |
| Note: Averages include federal and private student loan debt. | |
Students can attend one of 18 public community colleges in the state, from Camden County College to Atlantic Cape Community College to Essex County College.
There are seven state colleges in New Jersey, including:
- Ramapo College of New Jersey
- Stockton University
- Thomas Edison State University
The state is also home to notable public universities, such as Rutgers University, and esteemed private institutions, such as the Ivy League’s Princeton University.
Community college students with a total household adjusted gross income of $65,000 or lower are automatically considered for the Community College Tuition Grant. Students enrolled in a minimum of six credits per semester must submit their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the New Jersey Alternative Financial Aid Application — for New Jersey “Dreamers.” This grant isn’t available to students who’ve previously earned a college degree.
Students in approved degree programs who demonstrate financial need can also explore the TAG program. Eligible students must have been a state resident for at least 12 consecutive months and meet other requirements. Those who don’t qualify for these New Jersey tuition grants, however, might need to consider other forms of aid, such as student loans.
Student loan debt in New Jersey’s largest counties, from Bergen to Union
Student loan debt by ZIP code in New Jersey’s 2 largest cities: Newark and Jersey City
Loan repayment programs for New Jersey residents
New Jersey’s Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) manages loan repayment programs for qualified state residents.
John R. Justice Student Loan Redemption Program
Full-time New Jersey public defenders and prosecutors with eligible federal student loans in good standing can seek repayment support through the John R. Justice Student Loan Redemption Program. Federal government employees aren’t eligible.
After at least three years of public-sector service, a lump-sum payment will be provided to the recipient’s federal student loan lender.
The award amount for 2020-21 is $2,433.78. Borrowers can reapply for an additional year of service after completing the initial contract.
New Jersey STEM Loan Redemption Program
The New Jersey STEM Loan Redemption Program is available to degree-holders who graduated after Dec. 14, 2018, from an in-state college or university, or New Jersey residents who have worked in a STEM field for at least four years.
Up to $2,000 is awarded for each service year, for a maximum of $8,000 over a four-year commitment. The first applications will be accepted in December 2022. Participants don’t need to apply annually, but employer certification is required each year.
Nursing Faculty Loan Redemption Program
The Nursing Faculty Loan Redemption Program offers student loan support for nursing graduates with:
- Master’s degrees in nursing
- Doctorates in nursing, nursing practice, nursing science or another similar field
Participants can serve a maximum commitment of five years. However, New Jersey residents can withdraw at any time. Awards (which can’t exceed $50,000 total) are based on the commitment year:
- Year 1: $5,000
- Year 2: $7,000
- Year 3: $10,000
- Year 4: $13,000
- Year 5: $15,000
Borrowers must meet GPA requirements and begin full-time work within a year of earning their graduate degree. Only federal or New Jersey student loans in good standing qualify.
Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program
Primary care health providers who’ll work in underserved areas in the state can consider the Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program. It offers recipients up to $120,000 in student loan repayment for a two- to four-year service commitment.
Eligible borrowers include:
- Certified nurse midwives
- Certified nurse practitioners
- Dentists
- Physician assistants
- Physicians
Applicants — who must reside in New Jersey — have to join the program within two years of completing residency or training.
New Jersey federal student loan borrowers younger than 25 owe more than national average — and more comparisons
How to refinance student loans in New Jersey
More than 7% of New Jersey borrowers owe $100,000 or more in student loans. Refinancing student loans — especially for those with six-figure debt — can help borrowers get debt-free, faster.
The HESAA offers ReFi+ Refinance Loans to borrowers with outstanding NJCLASS Loans, federal parent PLUS loans or private student loans. Interest rates — which range from 2.99% to 4.99% as of Aug. 7, 2021 — on the 10- or 15-year repayment terms depend on various factors, including creditworthiness, income and debt-to-income ratio.
New Jersey borrowers with student loans that don’t qualify might consider refinancing with a private lender. Private refinancing loans are provided by traditional banks and credit unions, as well as online lenders.
Regardless of which refinancing option borrowers pursue, it’s important to note that refinancing federal student loans can be risky. Federal loans offer useful borrower benefits, including:
- Income-driven repayment plans
- Loan forgiveness
- Deferment or forbearance in the event of financial hardship
Borrowers lose access to these protections when they refinance federal loans, though some private lenders offer various forms of deferment or forbearance.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education data as of June 30, 2020
- Anonymized My LendingTree June 2020 credit reports
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax as of June 2020
- mappingstudentdebt.org
Because the latter data is from 2015, researchers estimated the increase in student loan debt per borrower in the state using statewide data from anonymized credit reports.
Interested in refinancing student loans?
Here are the top 9 lenders of 2022!| Lender | Variable APR | Eligible Degrees | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 2.49% – 11.72%1 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 2.50% – 6.30%2 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 4.13% – 7.39%3 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 2.49% – 7.99%4 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 2.49% – 7.99%5 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 3.24% – 8.24%6 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 2.48% – 7.98% | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 1.74% – 7.99%7 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
 | 3.69% – 9.92%8 | Undergrad & Graduate | |
| Check out the testimonials and our in-depth reviews! 1 Important Disclosures for Splash Financial. Splash Financial DisclosuresTerms and Conditions apply. Splash reserves the right to modify or discontinue products and benefits at any time without notice. Rates and terms are also subject to change at any time without notice. Offers are subject to credit approval. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in an eligible state and meet applicable underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. Lowest rates are reserved for the highest qualified borrowers. If approved, your actual rate will be within a range of rates and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, a responsible financial history, income and other factors. Refinancing or consolidating private and federal student loans may not be the right decision for everyone. Federal loans carry special benefits not available for loans made through Splash Financial, for example, public service loan forgiveness and economic hardship programs, fee waivers and rebates on the principal, which may not be accessible to you after you refinance. The rates displayed may include a 0.25% autopay discount. The information you provide to us is an inquiry to determine whether we or our lenders can make a loan offer that meets your needs. If we or any of our lending partners has an available loan offer for you, you will be invited to submit a loan application to the lender for its review. We do not guarantee that you will receive any loan offers or that your loan application will be approved. Offers are subject to credit approval and are available only to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who meet applicable underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers will receive the lowest rates, which are available to the most qualified borrowers. Participating lenders, rates and terms are subject to change at any time without notice. To check the rates and terms you qualify for, Splash Financial conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, if you choose a product and continue your application, the lender will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect your credit. Splash Financial and our lending partners reserve the right to modify or discontinue products and benefits at any time without notice. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen and meet our lending partner’s underwriting requirements. Lowest rates are reserved for the highest qualified borrowers. This information is current as of September 6, 2022. 2 Important Disclosures for Laurel Road. Laurel Road DisclosuresAll credit products are subject to credit approval. Laurel Road began originating student loans in 2013 and has since helped thousands of professionals with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees consolidate and refinance more than $9 billion in federal and private school loans. Laurel Road also offers a suite of online graduate school loan products and personal loans that help simplify lending through customized technology and personalized service. In April 2019, Laurel Road was acquired by KeyBank, one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies. Laurel Road is a brand of KeyBank National Association offering online lending products in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. All loans are provided by KeyBank National Association, a nationally chartered bank. Member FDIC. For more information, visit www.laurelroad.com. As used throughout these Terms & Conditions, the term “Lender” refers to KeyBank National Association and its affiliates, agents, guaranty insurers, investors, assigns, and successors in interest.
Assumptions: Repayment examples above assume a loan amount of $10,000 with repayment beginning immediately following disbursement. Repayment examples do not include the 0.25% AutoPay Discount. Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): This term represents the actual cost of financing to the borrower over the life of the loan expressed as a yearly rate. Interest Rate: A simple annual rate that is applied to an unpaid balance. Variable Rates: The current index for variable rate loans is derived from the one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and changes in the LIBOR index may cause your monthly payment to increase. Borrowers who take out a term of 5, 7, or 10 years will have a maximum interest rate of 9%, those who take out a 15 or 20-year variable loan will have a maximum interest rate of 10%. KEYBANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. This information is current as of April 29, 2021. Information and rates are subject to change without notice. 3 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. Subject to floor rate and may require the automatic payments be made from a checking or savings account with the lender. The rate reduction will be removed and the rate will be increased by 0.25% upon any cancellation or failed collection attempt of the automatic payment and will be suspended during any period of deferment or forbearance. As a result, during the forbearance or suspension period, and/or if the automatic payment is canceled, any increase will take the form of higher payments. The lowest advertised variable APR is only available for loan terms of 5 years and is reserved for applicants with FICO scores of at least 810. As of 09/09/2022 student loan refinancing rates range from 4.13% APR – 7.39% Variable APR with AutoPay and 2.99% APR – 9.93% Fixed APR with AutoPay. 4 Rate range above includes optional 0.25% Auto Pay discount. Important Disclosures for Earnest. Earnest DisclosuresYou can choose between fixed and variable rates. Fixed interest rates are 3.99% – 8.74% APR (3.74% – 8.49% APR with Auto Pay discount). Starting variable interest rates are 2.74% APR to 8.24% APR (2.49% – 7.99% APR with Auto Pay discount). Variable rates are based on an index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus a margin. Variable rates are reset monthly based on the fluctuation of the index. We do not currently offer variable rate loans in AK, CO, CT, HI, IL, KY, MA, MN, MS, NH, OH, OK, SC, TN, TX, and VA. 5 Important Disclosures for Navient. 6 Important Disclosures for SoFi. SoFi DisclosuresFixed rates range from 3.99% APR to 8.24% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Variable rates from 3.24% APR to 8.24% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates on 5-, 7-, and 10-year terms are capped at 8.95% APR; 15- and 20-year terms are capped at 9.95% APR. 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. 7 Important Disclosures for Purefy. Purefy DisclosuresPurefy Student Loan Refinancing Rate and Terms Disclosure: Annual Percentage Rates (APR) ranges and examples are based on information provided to Purefy by lenders participating in Purefy’s rate comparison platform. For student loan refinancing, the participating lenders offer fixed rates ranging from 2.73% – 7.99% APR, and variable rates ranging from 1.74% – 7.99% APR. The maximum variable rate is 25.00%. Your interest rate will be based on the lender’s requirements. In most cases, lenders determine the interest rates based on your credit score, degree type and other credit and financial criteria. Only borrowers with excellent credit and meeting other lender criteria will qualify for the lowest rate available. Rates and terms are subject to change at any time without notice. Terms and conditions apply. 8 Important Disclosures for Citizens. CitizensBank DisclosuresEducation Refinance Loan Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates range from 3.69%-9.92% (3.69%-9.92% APR). Fixed interest rates range from 4.49%-10.11% (4.49%-10.11% APR). Undergraduate Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates range from 6.39%- 9.60% (6.39% – 9.60% APR). Fixed interest rates range from 6.58% – 9.79% (6.58% – 9.79% APR). Graduate Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates range from 3.69% – 9.16% (3.69% – 9.16% APR). Fixed interest rates range from 4.49% – 9.35% (4.49% – 9.35% APR). Education Refinance Loan for Parents Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates range from 3.69%- 9.09% (3.69%- 9.09% APR). Fixed interest rates range from 4.49% – 9.28% (4.49% – 9.28% APR). Medical Residency Refinance Loan Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates range from 3.69% – 9.16% (3.69% – 9.16% APR). Fixed interest rates range from 4.49% – 9.35% (4.49% – 9.35% APR). |
|||
