Refinance before or after end of residency?

[totem]

I am in my final year of residency and recently signed with a private group, ending my ability to pursue loan forgiveness. My IBR just renewed. I have ~225k at 6.6% unsubsidized, ~35k at 6.6% subsidized, ~40k at 8% (institutional loan--not accruing interest until end of residency), and ~17k at 7.8% (private loan for relocation/residency application that was originally 12k 5 years ago).

When should I refinance? Now to start taking advantage of lower interest rates or once I start my job next summer and can document higher income? Any thoughts or advice much appreciated.

[Peds]

if you can refinance, can you afford that much payment on a residents salary for 1 year?

[Craigy]

Refinance now and refinance later.

[sir_throckmorton]

I'm in a similar spot as you being in my final year of residency, although I'll be completing a one year fellowship.  I am currently in the process of refinancing my federal loans.  I finally decided to forget about PSLF and go ahead and refinance as I'm almost assuredly going into private practice.

I agree with Craigy above that you should refinance now as a resident and then refinance again once you have your attending salary.  You'll get a much better rate now than what you're currently paying and you'll get an even better rate once your salary bumps.

For reference, I used the links on the WCI student loan refinancing page to lock in the cash bonuses.  After comparing all of them, I narrowed it down to CommonBond and Advantage Education Loans (found through Credible).  Ultimately, Advantage Education Loans is offering me the best current rate (4.09% for a fixed 10-year term).  You'll just have to shop around.

[Going Under]

A colleague of mine said he was able to refinance with Laurel Road once he had a signed contract and was within 12 months of receiving that salary. Apparently they're letting him make lower (like $300?) payments until the attending salary kicks in. This is one of the big selling points of Laurel Road, may want to get a quote from them, and please correct me if that ends up being incorrect.