Refinancing allows you to combine multiple student loans, both federal and private, into one new loan. Refinancing may result in a new, lower interest rate, which can equate to a lower monthly student loan payment and extra cash per month.

Consolidation allows you to combine only federal loans into one new federal loan through the Direct Consolidation Loan program offered by the federal government.

Want to learn more about refinancing vs. consolidation? Click here.

Our MEFA REFI Loan application process means you can obtain conditional approval for a loan without a hard pull on your credit. We’ll simply ask you to provide some demographic and financial information, and let you know if you’ve been approved based on that information. If you decide to proceed with the loan, we’ll then ask for some additional information and documents, and perform a hard credit check before your final approval.

Personal Documents:

Proof of identity and Social Security number

Contact Information:

Current address, phone number, and email address

Financial Information:

Monthly income, housing costs, employment information, two most recent pay stubs or proof of income, and current billing statements for loans to refinance. There are times when we also may need to collect statements for any loans not being refinanced for underwriting purposes.

It will take you approximately 10-15 minutes to submit an application for conditional approval if you apply alone. The process can take longer if you have a co-borrower. After you have received a conditional approval and submitted all of your requested financial documents, the final review of your application should be completed within 10-14 days. Once the loan is approved and you have e-signed your loan documents, the loan will disburse within the next 5 days.

In order to qualify for a MEFA REFI Loan, you need an established credit profile. Your credit profile is determined by your credit score, income, repayment history of debt, and other factors. If you do not have a long credit history or are unsure if you will be eligible for this loan, a qualified co-borrower can be added to your application. This co-borrower may increase your chance of eligibility.

It’s best to refinance when your credit score is high/strong enough to get a lower interest rate on your loans. When you refinance, getting a lower interest rate can mean lower monthly payments and more money in your pocket each month. Many lenders, including MEFA, allow you to get your preliminary rate by providing a few pieces of information and without hurting your credit score. This can help you determine if refinancing at this time is best for you. As well, many lenders, including MEFA, require you to have been in repayment for a certain amount of time before refinancing. With MEFA, you must have made 6 on-time payments in the most recent 6 months on all loans being refinanced.

There is no pre-payment fee on the MEFA REFI Loan.

Refinancing can lengthen the amount of time it takes to pay off your loans completely, even if it does reduce your monthly payments. It can also result in paying off a larger amount for your loans in total. Before you refinance, check with your refinancing lender to see if there is any penalty to paying off your refinanced loan early, in case you decide you’d like to do so. Also, keep in mind that when you refinance your federal or private student loan debt with MEFA, you will lose current and future benefits, as well as any protections, associated with those loans.

In most cases, there are no fees associated with refinancing your student loans. However, prepayment penalties may occur for zeroing your balance before the end of your loan term, though not with MEFA. Late payment fees for submitting your payment past the deadline are another possible “extra” cost for refinancing as well as collections fees for defaulted loans if you have missed payments.

Refinancing your student loans doesn’t typically cause a great deal of damage to your credit, though you should know that there is a hard credit hit for each final application.