Student Loan Refinancing, How many hard credit checks are ok?

[ryan007]

I am in the process of trying to refinance by student loans.  I have been vetting the options on the WCI website. Many give you rates without a hard check on your credit, but some, like LinkCapital, require a hard check.  How many hard checks are ok in a short period of time and is it worth it to find the best rate?

[jhwkr542]

It'll be just a small temporary dip of your credit score.  Anything over 740 is considered good, so don't get hung up going from 800 to 780.  I'd apply to all of them and get the lowest rate.  It is worth it.

[MochaDoc]

From what I understand if you do them all in one week, they count as one hard check.

[cgossage]

The FICO score includes all inquiries as one if they are of similar type (mortgage, student loan refinancing) during a 45 day rate shopping period.  So once your price out one, you are better are rate shopping at a few lenders to get your best deal.

[sir_throckmorton]

I just refinanced my loans a couple months ago. I did two hard checks within 1-2 weeks time and oddly enough my next FICO score had gone up 7 points. So I'm not sure if it has much effect.