Refinance a consolidated student loan?

[wideopenspaces]

Howdy!
I have a friend that is too embarrassed to post her financials despite my reassuring her that people here are generally kind and helpful. So I told her I'd post for her. There's a lot of issues at play but one of the biggest is that she has about 300k in student loans that she consolidated to 5.5 percent about a year ago. Her credit is pretty bad but for the past year she's made all the payments on time. Can she refinance these consolidated loans? Or is she stuck with this rate? I don't have much experience with student loans so I'm not sure how to guide her. Would love to hear from anyone that might know more about this!

[DMFA]

There *should* be no reason she couldn't refinance, unless it's one of those joint spouse consolidations that hasn't existed in a decade. But idk how good of a rate she'll get; shop around at SoFi, LendKey, Common Bond, Credible, etc.

[wideopenspaces]

Ok, that's what I thought but wasn't sure. Thanks for the info!

[adventure]

I'd suggest pulling a credit report (not a score) from www.annualcreditreport.com, from 1 or 2 of the 3 bureaus. Check it for any inconsistencies. If there are, get them fixed/resolved. Feel free to post here if you have questions.

Then, see if your bank/credit card websites/statement show your credit score for free.

Then, keep paying the payments, on time. Do you have other debts? Credit card? Car? Mortgage? Sometimes the electric bill is even submitted to the credit agency. Paying on time helps improve the score.

IF you have a good credit score, check with one or 2 lenders to see what rates/repayment options you have! Then post here with questions or results!

[Zaphod]

She needs to learn how the credit ranking/scoring system works, then tackle the low hanging fruit that is available. Keep refinancing as things get better and if rates are still good.

[Peds]

She can always try and see what rates exist.

Sounds like she would really benefit from a full on post...

[wideopenspaces]

adventure wrote:

I’d suggest pulling a credit report (not a score) from www.annualcreditreport.com, from 1 or 2 of the 3 bureaus. Check it for any inconsistencies. If there are, get them fixed/resolved. Feel free to post here if you have questions.

Then, see if your bank/credit card websites/statement show your credit score for free.

Then, keep paying the payments, on time. Do you have other debts? Credit card? Car? Mortgage? Sometimes the electric bill is even submitted to the credit agency. Paying on time helps improve the score.

IF you have a good credit score, check with one or 2 lenders to see what rates/repayment options you have! Then post here with questions or results!

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Thanks, this is helpful, I'll pass it along to her!

[wideopenspaces]

Peds wrote:

She can always try and see what rates exist.

Sounds like she would really benefit from a full on post…

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Yeah, I keep trying to persuade her to do so but she feels embarrassed about where she is financially and is afraid of being shamed. I don't feel it's my place to share more than she's given me permission to share.

[Hatton]

If she is anonymous how can she be ashamed?

[adventure]

wideopenspaces wrote:

Yeah, I keep trying to persuade her to do so but she feels embarrassed about where she is financially and is afraid of being shamed. I don’t feel it’s my place to share more than she’s given me permission to share.

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Even if through a proxy, she at least started the conversation! Good for her! Keep it up. Some good reading around here. We all aren't so perfect ourselves...

[wideopenspaces]

hatton1 wrote:

If she is anonymous how can she be ashamed?

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Even if no one knows who she is, I think she's just afraid of being judged for making certain choices in the past. She is reading the site though, which can only be helpful.

[DMFA]

Do we intimidate and shame people? My goodness, I hope not. I'd feel awful. Sure, sometimes bad news has to be given and we need more coaches than cheerleaders, but...shaming? Is society that sensitive now that anything someone didn't want to hear is shaming? ...I don't want someone to think I'm shame-shaming them if they feel shame for not being financially perfect. Were any of us ever financially perfect?

[Miss Bonnie MD]

DMFA wrote:

Do we intimidate and shame people? My goodness, I hope not. I’d feel awful. Sure, sometimes bad news has to be given and we need more coaches than cheerleaders, but…shaming? Is society that sensitive now that anything someone didn’t want to hear is shaming? …I don’t want someone to think I’m shame-shaming them if they feel shame for not being financially perfect. Were any of us ever financially perfect?

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I don't think we do, but the peeps on this board are pretty ahead financially compared to most docs. So I can see it being a bit intimidating.

As for the OP's friend - s/he should apply to multiple refinancing places - as long as s/he applies to them all within the same 30 day period it'll only count as 1 hard pull. But I believe the pre-qualification is a soft pull. Apply to SoFi, Laurel Road, Elfi (new ish on the scene), Commonbond. Most will price match and they all pretty much have the same terms. If her/his credit score isn't great unlikely to qualify for First Republic Bank which give the lowest rates by far - and does not forgive on death/disability.

[wideopenspaces]

DMFA wrote:

Do we intimidate and shame people? My goodness, I hope not. I’d feel awful. Sure, sometimes bad news has to be given and we need more coaches than cheerleaders, but…shaming? Is society that sensitive now that anything someone didn’t want to hear is shaming? …I don’t want someone to think I’m shame-shaming them if they feel shame for not being financially perfect. Were any of us ever financially perfect?

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I do think that this group can be intimidating-people here are pretty on top of their stuff! Which I really love. Honestly I think it's more about how she feels about her situation, rather than anyone's response to it.

[Hatton]

The only possibly intimidating responses I think are directed at people who are trying to finance cars they cannot afford or houses too soon in the career.  I think it is just some occasional tough love to save people from themselves.