I am highly considering consolidating my student loan debt into a single loan instead of paying two separate loans.

These loans are currently in their grace period and I will not start making payments until Feb. 2019. The total loan amount is approx $42,000.

I recently looked into SoFi and they gave me a better interest rate than what Discover (loan provider) currently has on both of my loans.

I am seeking some advice from those which have done this before (both good and bad things) as well as recommendations of companies I should look into other than SoFi.

I did sofi from my mBA loans. I did make the mistake of taking the variable rate (which more than doubled over the life of the loan.) All in all they were great company to work with. Probably the most comfortable I've been with a financial institution since pre 1990s USAA

hodgesco said:

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If you have the funds, and want to get rid of them sooner than later, start paying on them now. No need to wait while racking up interest.

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This here.

Compare SoFi with Earnest. I refi'd my Navient loans to SoFi and then to Earnest (and refi'd twice with Earnest) to <5% interest rate.

I have a referral code for Earnest if you go that route and we both get a little money.

Thanks so far for the responses.

I have thought about starting to make payments now in advance to start mitigating the interest. Having a job out of college has been great but some anticipated expenses in the next month or so have me wanting to be a little more conservative out of the gate even if it means some more interest down the road.

To add; SoFi gave me 6.5% for a 15 year period and ~$370/mo.
Edit; checked Earnest, lower rate and payment for the same repayment period. I might be taking you up on that referral code Wonderer, thanks!

theGoodAg94 said:

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Thanks so far for the responses.

I have thought about starting to make payments now in advance to start mitigating the interest. Having a job out of college has been great but some anticipated expenses in the next month or so have me wanting to be a little more conservative out of the gate even if it means some more interest down the road.

To add; SoFi gave me 6.5% for a 15 year period and ~$370/mo.

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Wanna trade?

Wow 6.5...damn gina

Man, student debt is about to get even worse with the rising interest rates.

I did a 1 year masters in 2016-2017 and my federal loans are under 6. My small sallie mae loans were 3.5 variable that is now up to 4 and a fixed at 6.5.

I had looked into refinancing, but none of the rates were overall lower than what i currently pay. Especially since i didn't want to move my sallie mae past their current 6 year loans and the fed ones past 10 years. The degree was completely worth it as they will easily be paid off before their due dates. Will hit them hard once i buy a house in the next year or 2. I've been focusing on saving for a down payment there.

Personally I don't love the 15 year plan, but every career is different. It blew my mind when i was looking at them they offer like 20 and 25 year plans. So. Much. Interest.

My advice would be get some savings, then come up with a plan to not let those last 15 years.

Another vote for Earnest. I refi-ed my b-school loans with them several years back, and had no complaints.

The Wonderer said:

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The Lost said:

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Man, student debt is about to get even worse with the rising interest rates.

I did a 1 year masters in 2016-2017 and my federal loans are under 6. My small sallie mae loans were 3.5 variable that is now up to 4 and a fixed at 6.5.

I had looked into refinancing, but none of the rates were overall lower than what i currently pay. Especially since i didn't want to move my sallie mae past their current 6 year loans and the fed ones past 10 years. The degree was completely worth it as they will easily be paid off before their due dates. Will hit them hard once i buy a house in the next year or 2. I've been focusing on saving for a down payment there.

Personally I don't love the 15 year plan, but every career is different. It blew my mind when i was looking at them they offer like 20 and 25 year plans. So. Much. Interest.

My advice would be get some savings, then come up with a plan to not let those last 15 years.

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Kind of hard to pay off $200k in 6 years for most people.

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No sheet (I even said career matters!), but the op has 42k debt. This thread is about the op, right? Not you?

It's not a good idea for undergrad, an md (or whatever specialization racked up yours) is totally different. Even then, a 20 year is probably absurd unless your like this jackass and want to live outside your means.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mike-meru-has-1-million-in-student-loans-how-did-that-happen-1527252975

Call an Air Force guard or reserve recruiter and ask about loan forgiveness.

My rationale for the 15 year plan was to initially consolidate and then lower the monthly payment. And then pay more when able to so that the loan is paid off in advance of the term. Similar to financing a car for 60mo and having the intention of paying it off in less than that by paying 1.5x the monthly payment.

SoFi / Earnest are super easy but at 6.5% you may want to look into a credit union... mine currently has the following rates for student loan refi's:

5 year fixed 3.1
10 year fixed 3.85
15 year fixed 4.85

I have $183k at Earnest at 5% for 15 years.

Ragoo said:

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The Wonderer said:

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I have $183k at Earnest at 5% for 15 years.

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barf

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It'll be paid off in less than 7.

theGoodAg94 said:

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My rationale for the 15 year plan was to initially consolidate and then lower the monthly payment. And then pay more when able to so that the loan is paid off in advance of the term. Similar to financing a car for 60mo and having the intention of paying it off in less than that by paying 1.5x the monthly payment.

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I'd suggest making a bunch of models showing yourself how waiting a year to start paying more effects the interest (say the difference between starting to pay more in year 3 vs year 4 vs year 5).The interest accrues daily on student loans so those first few years are going to add up. Paying an extra $100 or whatever the math is a month could be worth it. At least know what you're getting yourself into and decide what works for you. Planning and then actually following through is important.

Also, if you aren't a budgetor, start. It sounds really easy in theory to say oh in 5 years I'm going to pay more, but it is really easy to find different ways to spend that money each month and say oh i'll start next month. Theres always a trip or car or something popping up that requires self discipline.

The Wonderer said:

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Ragoo said:

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The Wonderer said:

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I have $183k at Earnest at 5% for 15 years.

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barf

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It'll be paid off in less than 7.

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ots existence is what is gross.

If you're in the right geography I'd check out First Republic. Mrs. Malibu and I consolidated our combined grad school debt (>150k) into a 15 year 2.95% fixed loan. They have tough underwriting standards and it's not technically a student loan, it's a personal loan, but that rate is unbeatable.

Malibu said:

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If you're in the right geography I'd check out First Republic. Mrs. Malibu and I consolidated our combined grad school debt (>150k) into a 15 year 2.95% fixed loan. They have tough underwriting standards and it's not technically a student loan, it's a personal loan, but that rate is unbeatable.

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Wow - that is an amazing rate.

I just did a CLE on this topic yesterday - maybe I should have listened a little better. Discussed the consolidation, reformation, and other options such as income driven repayment plans (IDR plans) - income contingent plans, income based repayment, and PAYE plans. The lawyer that ran it has the website the studentlloanlawyer.com which has some good resources and options.

It was a free online presentation that would be helpful to anyone with mounting student loan debt (not just lawyers) in understanding their options. If interested, go to Pli.edu and click on the ProBono tab and search for student loan - the on demand program is "Representing the Student Loan Borrower" and you can also download the PowerPoint presentation and all of the forms associated with all of the various loan programs.

$175k @ 7.25%.

Paid off in less than 5 years (dual income).

Could you shoot me that referral code for Earnest?

135k paid off in 3.5 years with family income of about 125k. You can get it done in a hurry if you really want to.

Damn, those rates are insane. As an old, mine were 3.5% originally and consolidated at 2.75% back in the day. Paid it off a long time ago, but I wasn't in any hurry the first 5 years out of school at 2.75%.

theGoodAg94 said:

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Could you shoot me that referral code for Earnest?

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If you don't hear from wonderer I can shoot you an earnest referral

Thanks, for the information.