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Student Loan Refinancing Options for Physicians
Resources for doctors to refinance medical school debt and save money on interest
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Navigating student loan repayment as a doctor can be overwhelming, particularly with the variety of federal refinancing programs and all of their nuances. It is worth considering all the options though, as high monthly payments and paying a larger amount towards interest than necessary has short term effects on your budget and long term implications for your financial success. Especially if you have private student loans, it is important to regularly assess whether you can find a lower interest rate. We have partnered with the student loan refinancing companies below, who have helped thousands of doctors on our communities reduce their student loan burden and who offer special discounts or perks for our members such as rate discounts or money back for using our student loan refinancing affiliate links.
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If you aren't sure whether refinancing your student loans is the best option for you right now, visit our student loans and refinancing for physicians primer to learn more. If you have federal loans, it's especially important to be aware of the pros and cons, as refinancing your student loans will make you ineligible for federal student loan forgiveness options.
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If you are interested in partnering with Physician Side Gigs to provide student loan refinancing options to our physicians, please visit our partner with us page to learn more.
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Please note, this page contains information about our sponsors and affiliate links, which support us at no cost to you. These should be viewed as introductions rather than formal recommendations - please do your own due diligence before making decisions based on this page. We are not formal financial, legal, or otherwise licensed professionals, and you should consult these as appropriate. To learn more, visit our disclaimers and disclosures.
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STUDENT LOAN REFINANCING FOR PHYSICIANS
SoFi
SoFi has partnered with Physician Side Gigs to offer a 0.25% rate discount when you refinance student loans. SoFi is a leader in student debt refinancing that’s going beyond their already competitive rates for members like you. You could save thousands with this exclusive member discount rate. Flexible terms let you lower monthly payments or pay off your debt sooner. You could even get a discount for autopay—or just for having a medical school loan. And SoFi charges no fees.
See terms and view your rate in two minutes at SoFi.com/PhysicianSideGigs
Splash Financial
Splash Financial has partnered with Physician Side Gigs to provide a $500 cash bonus(1) to its members who refinance. Splash was originally founded to help physicians, so there is no maximum loan limit. Checking your rate does not impact your credit score(2), and the entire application can be completed online. Splash also offers the option for residents and fellows to refinance and pay $100 a month during training(3). Members must refinance at least $100k to receive the $500 bonus.
Do so here (affiliate link) at splashfinancial.com/physiciansidegigs.
Credible
Credible has partnered with Physician Side Gigs to offer bonuses to members who refinance. Members receive a $1000 bonus paid by gift card for refinancing amounts at or above $100,000 and $500 bonus paid by gift card for refinancing amounts below $100,000.
Do so here (affiliate link) at www.credible.com/physiciansidegigs. Terms and conditions apply.
SHOULD I REFINANCE MY PHYSICIAN STUDENT LOANS?
The compounding interest on large student loan balances common for medical school can add up quickly, and it's very important to be intentional about optimizing your strategy for tackling your medical school and undergraduate debt. The goal of student loan refinancing is to save money on interest payments.
By lowering the amount of interest you pay over the life of your student loans, you can pay off your debt quicker, which also helps accelerate financial freedom if you then invest what you were paying toward your loans, or if you use the reduced interest and resulting lower monthly payment to invest more earlier.
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For those with private loans, you simply want the lowest interest rate possible. There is no upfront fee for refinancing your student loans, so you should consider refinancing your student loans whenever a lower interest rate is available.
As alluded to above, the management of federal student loans can be complicated. Refinancing your loans will preclude you from taking advantage of any of the federal programs or protections and initiatives offered by the government, including federal student loan forgiveness options and plans. For those with federal student loans, it's very important to get appropriate financial advice from licensed professionals or the resources at studentloans.gov before making any permanent decisions that can't be undone. It's important to weigh the benefits and potential cons depending on your situation such as your current interest rate(s), your employment situation for potential forgiveness, etc.
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Learn more on our student loans and refinancing for physicians primer.
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Splash Disclosures:
See disclaimers at: https://www.splashfinancial.com/disclaimers/
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Splash Financial, Inc. (NMLS #1630038), licensed by the DFPI under California Financing Law, license # 60DBO-102545
Terms and Conditions apply. Splash reserves the right to modify or discontinue products and benefits at any time without notice. Products may not be available in all states. Rates and terms are subject to change at any point prior to application submission. The information you provide is an inquiry to determine whether Splash’s lending partners can make you a loan offer. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or other eligible status and meet lender underwriting requirements. Lowest rates are reserved for the highest qualified borrowers and may require an autopay discount of 0.25%. Splash does not guarantee that you will receive any loan offers or that your loan application will be approved. If approved, your actual rate will be within a range of rates and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, creditworthiness, income and other factors. This information is current as of December 15, 2023. You should review the benefits of your federal student loan; it may offer specific benefits that a private refinance/consolidation loan may not offer. If you work in the public sector, are in the military or taking advantage of a federal department of relief program, such as income-based repayment or public service forgiveness, you may not want to refinance, as these benefits do not transfer to private refinance/consolidation loans.
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Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the cost of credit calculating the interest rate, loan amount, repayment term and the timing of payments. Fixed APR options range from 5.19% (with autopay) to 10.24% (without autopay). Variable APR options range from 5.99% (with autopay) to 10.24% (without autopay). Variable rates are derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001).
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Payment Disclosure. Fixed loans feature repayment terms of 5 to 20 years. For example, the monthly payment for a sample $10,000 with an APR of 5.47% for a 12-year term would be $94.86. Variable loans feature repayment terms of 5 to 25 years. For example, the monthly payment for a sample $10,000 with an APR of 5.90% for a 15-year term would be $83.85.
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1Bonus Disclosure. Terms and conditions apply. Offer is subject to lender approval. To receive the offer, you must: (1) be refinancing over either $50,000, $100,000 or $200,000 in student loans depending on the channel partner that is providing the bonus offer (2) register and/or apply through the referral link you were given; (3) complete a loan application with Splash Financial; (4) have and provide a valid US address to receive bonus; (5) and meet Splash Financial’s underwriting criteria. Once conditions are met and the loan has been disbursed, you will receive your welcome bonus via a check to your submitted address within 90-120 calendar days. Bonuses that are not redeemed within 180 calendar days of the date they were made available to the recipient may be subject to forfeit. Bonus amounts of $600 or greater in a single calendar year may be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as miscellaneous income to the recipient on Form 1099-MISC in the year received as required by applicable law. Recipient is responsible for any applicable federal, state or local taxes associated with receiving the bonus offer; consult your tax advisor to determine applicable tax consequences. Splash reserves the right to change or terminate the offer at any time with or without notice. Bonus Offer is for new customers only.
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2Credit Pull Disclosure. To check the rates and terms you qualify for, Splash Financial conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, if you choose a product and continue your application, the lender will request your full credit report from one or more consumer reporting agencies, which is considered a hard credit pull and may affect your credit.
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3Medical School Loan Refinance Disclosure. Terms and conditions apply. Fixed APR options range from 6.39% to 9.59% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Variable APR options range from 6.39% to 9.61% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Rates current as of December 6, 2023. Borrowers employed full time as an intern, resident, fellow, or similar postgraduate trainee at the time of loan disbursement are eligible to make $100 monthly payments throughout their training (“Residency Period”). The maximum amount of time they can pay $100 per month is 84 months. Residency and fellowship loans offer fixed and variable rate options and have a loan term of up to 240 months, inclusive of an optional 84-month deferment period during residency or fellowship and provide the option to either immediately repay the principal and interest or to defer repayment. Variable interest rates may increase after consummation. The APR range shown assumes the APR, monthly payment and total payments that would apply to a loan that is made at the end of the residency period in a single disbursement. For example, a refinance loan with a fixed 7.24% APR on a $180,000 principal balance, a 3-month training period with payments of $100 per month, will have a 5-year repayment term after training is complete with payments of $3,649.85 per month. Splash reserves the right to modify or discontinue products and benefits at any time without notice. Rates and terms are also subject to change at any time without notice. Offers are subject to credit approval. To qualify, a borrower must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident in an eligible state and meet applicable underwriting requirements. Not all borrowers receive the lowest rate. Lowest rates are reserved for the highest qualified borrowers. If approved, your actual rate will be within a range of rates and will depend on a variety of factors, including term of loan, a responsible financial history, income and other factors.
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