Got a private student loan with Discover? You could stick with them—or you could refinance your loan, score a lower interest rate, and laugh all the way to the bank.
So, how, exactly, do you refinance your Discover student loan? All you need to do is check competitor's rates and apply—the whole process takes about 15-20 minutes. We'll walk you through it.
What is student loan refinancing?
First things first: Refinancing means replacing an existing loan with a new loan—along with a new interest rate and new terms. It’s the closest thing you get to a do-over on your student loan.
When you refinance, your new lender pays off all your existing loan or loans for you and then issues you a single new private loan. You make payments to one place—not to multiple lenders. That’s one benefit of refinancing—it makes your loans easier to manage.
See also: How Much Student Loan Debt Do I Have?
It also makes your loan cheaper. Ideally, you get a lower interest rate with your new loan—and in a lot of cases, it’s a lot lower. According to our data, most people who refinance can lower their payments by $253 a month or save over $16,000 over the life of the loan.
If your credit score is better now than when it was when you originally took out your Discover student loan, you could qualify for a lower interest rate if you refinance.
How do I pick a new lender to refinance my loan?
Ideally, you want to have maybe four or five lenders to choose from. Here are some criteria to use:
The interest rate they offer
The main point of this exercise is to score a lower interest rate. Each lender will offer you a different rate, based on your credit score and financial history.
You don’t have to go through an entire application process to get a ballpark figure—a lot of lenders have a student loan refinancing calculator on their website (here’s ours).
Once you’ve narrowed the field further, you can put in an application and get an initial offer from the lenders on your shortlist (more on that in a sec).
Their customer service
You’re going to be working with your new lender for a while, so hopefully they’re good with customer service. Read online reviews. Ask around with people you know. Put the question out on social media.
Some people may have had bad experiences--but some lenders really do have great customer service. CommonBond, for instance, has won awards for theirs.
The terms on their loans
Want to stretch your loan out to 20 years so you can save month-to-month? Or how about paying it off in five so you can realize more savings over the life of your loan? Either way, make sure the lender offers loan terms in that range.
What makes each lender stand out
Other factors may make a lender the right fit for you. For instance:
- SoFi offers entrepreneurial seed funding, career counseling, networking events, and even yoga and cooking classes for ambitious members.
- LendKey hooks you up with over 13,000 local community banks and credit unions to score very low rates.
- CommonBond has a major social responsibility mission—for every loan they fund, they put a kid through school in Ghana.
- SplashFinancial negotiates hard with individual banks and credit unions to score you a particularly low rate.
What’s the refinancing process like?
Once you’ve picked a lender you’re interested in, you can apply through their website. The process shouldn’t take more than about 20 minutes—but may vary depending on the lender.
During the application process, you'll be asked about:
- Your existing loans
- Your income
- Personal contact details
- The degree you hold
- Your existing job
- Where you live, and
- Where you went to school.
Once you submit this info, the lender will do a “soft pull” to determine your credit score. This doesn’t show up on your credit report, so know that's it's totally fine to check out several lenders.
After the soft pull, you'll receive initial offer. If you decide to proceed, the lender will then do a hard pull on your credit to get you a final offer.
If you pull the trigger on that, they’ll handle all the paperwork to switch your loan over from Discover to your new, lower-interest-rate loan. However, be sure to keep paying on your Discover loan until you've verified that the balance has been paid off by your new lender.
Is refinancing worth it?
Refinancing could save you a large chunk of change—and reset the terms on your student loan. If you have a Discover student loan, it’s definitely worth considering.
Curious about refinancing? See how much you could save. Check out Refi Ready.
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Special offers for medical resident and fellow refinance products
- Fixed rates: 1.99% - 7.84% APR
- Variable rates: 1.74% - 7.49% APR
- Minimum credit: 650
Splash Financial is a leader in student loan refinancing with some of the lowest fixed in the industry which can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your loans. No application or origination fees and no prepayment penalties. Splash Financial is in all 50 states and is intensely focused on customer service. Splash Financial is also one of the few companies that offers a great medical resident and fellow refinance product. You can check your rate with Splash in just minutes.
- Low interest rates – especially for graduate students
- No application or origination fees. No prepayment penalties.
- Co-signer release program - you can apply for a cosigner release form your loan after 12 months of on-time payments
- Specialty product for doctors in training with low monthly payment
Click here to see more of Splash's offerings and to see how you can save money.
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Ability to apply for cosigner release after 24 consecutive payments.
- Fixed rates: 4.49% - 8.44% APR See Disclaimer
- Variable rates: 4.54% - 11.05% APR See Disclaimer
- Minimum credit: 680 (640 w/ co-signer)
Give Your Life’s Journey a Jump-Start.
If you’re ready to put student loans in your rearview mirror, Nelnet Bank student loan refinancing offers low rates and flexible terms to help you start getting ahead.
- VARIABLE RATES: 4.54% - 11.05% APR See Disclaimer
- FIXED RATES: 4.49% - 8.44% APR See Disclaimer
- AUTO DEBIT SAVINGS: We’ll knock .25% off of your interest rate when you enroll in auto debit. See Disclaimer
- NO ORIGINATION FEES: No application, origination, or prepayment fees on Nelnet Bank loans.
- HARDSHIP PROTECTION: Hardship forbearance helps protect against unexpected loss of income. See Disclaimer
See How Much You Can Save: Estimate your savings with a student loan refinance from Nelnet Bank.
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ElFi offers top-rated customer service, some of the lowest rates available, and flexible terms to fit your goals.
- Fixed rates: 3.39% - 6.99% APR
- Variable rates: 1.86% - 7.98% APR
- Minimum credit: 680
Discover our low rates and fast, no-fee application process for refinancing your student loans or financing your college education.
- Some of the Lowest Rates Available – We believe in rewarding financially responsible borrowers by providing some of the lowest refinancing rates available.
- Expertise That’s Second to None – Our ELFI management team has over 30 years of expertise in student loans and student loan refinancing.
- Fast and Easy Process – Secure your personalized student loan or refinancing options in just a few short minutes.
- Personal Loan Advisors – Our award-winning customer service team will guide you every step of the way.
- Service Coast to Coast - ELFI private student loans and student loan refinancing are available across the entire U.S. and Puerto Rico.
Click here to refinance now with ELFI.
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SoFi is the leading student loan refinancing provider.
- Fixed rates: 3.49% - 7.99% APR
- Variable rates: 1.74% - 7.99% APR
- Minimum credit: 650
$30 billion+ in refinanced student loans. SoFi has some of the lowest interest rates and, unlike the other lenders we reviewed, there's no maximum on the amount you can finance. Some state restrictions may apply.
- Serious savings: Save thousands of dollars thanks to flexible terms and low fixed or variable rates.
- No hidden fees, no catch: No application or origination fees. No pre-payment penalties.
- Fast, easy, and all online: Simple online application and access to live customer support 7 days a week.
- Access to member benefits: SoFi members get career coaching, financial advice, and more—all at no cost.
- 98% of surveyed members would recommend SoFi to a friend
Save thousands on your student loans and pay off your loans sooner. Find your rate.
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Works with 300+ community lenders for higher approval chances
- Fixed rates: 2.49% - 7.75% APR
- Variable rates: 1.90% - 5.25% APR
- Minimum credit: 660
Connecting student borrowers to a network of over 300 community lenders with low interest rates. By partnering with these lenders, LendKey is able to give consumers direct access to the best rates available from the most borrower friendly institutions. As the servicer of all loans obtained through its platform, you can rest easy knowing your personal information will be safe and that the best customer service team will be ready to answer your questions from application until your final payment.
- Lightning fast rate check - 2-minute rate check with no impact on your credit score
- More lenders, more options - see the best offers from over 300+ community lenders for higher approval chances
- Life of loan relationship - With LendKey, your personal information will never be sent or passed on to third parties. Their customer service team is with you from the moment you land on their website until you've completely repaid your loan.
- Unmatched benefits- Community lenders put people over profits and offer unique benefits like cosigner release after 12 on-time payments, interest only repayment options to keep monthly payments low, the largest unemployment protection period in the market, and more.
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Best for borrowers who want to customize their repayment schedule to pay off debt fast.
- Fixed rates: 2.44% - 7.99% APR (with 0.25% autopay discount)
- Variable rates: 1.74% - 7.99% APR (with 0.25% autopay discount)
- Minimum credit: 650
Using technology, data, and design to build affordable products, Earnest's lending products are built for a new generation seeking to reach life's milestones. The company understands every applicant's unique financial story to offer the lowest possible rates and radically flexible loan options for living life.
- Commitment-free 2 minute rate check
- Client Happiness can be reached via in app messaging, email, and phone
- No fees for origination, prepayment, or loan disbursement
- Flexible terms let you pick your exact monthly payment or switch between fixed and variable rates
- Skip a payment and make it up later
- Online dashboard is designed to make it easy to apply for and manage your loan
Click here to apply with Earnest and to see how much you can save.
I reduced my student loan payment by $152 per month, by refinancing thru Nitro
