Are you asking yourself “should I refinance my student loans?” Well, if you are, the key to finding the best deal is to shop around and compare offers from different lenders. While this strategy is effective, it can be time-consuming and even confusing. And sometimes, when you find one that looks attractive, you may not meet the eligibility criteria. You then have to start all over again.
This is where Credible comes in.
Student Loan Comparisons
Credible is a student loan refinancing comparison company. It does all the behind-the-scenes work for you and shortlists some of the best refinancing offers for your unique circumstances. What would have taken you days or weeks to do, Credible does in a few minutes.
Credible Eligibility Requirements
Credible states very clearly that they do not have any minimum requirements for using their platform for comparing loan refinancing options. However, you will find that there are certain restrictions that apply to all students looking to refinance their student debt.
To qualify for refinancing student loans through this platform, you must:
- Be 18 years or older
- Be a US citizen or a permanent resident of the US
- Have debt from a qualifying US educational program (it is possible to refinance loans for international schools as long as loans themselves are US-based)
- Have a minimum $5,000 in student loans
How to Use Credible to Find Refinancing Offers
Using Credible’s platform is very straightforward. You complete the whole process in 4 easy steps.
Step 1: Enter your information. A form will ask you about your finances, education history, and the student loan amount you are looking to refinance.
Step 2: Wait to get customized rate estimates. Credible will do a soft credit pull to provide you personalized prequalified rates. (This will not affect your credit score).
After you fill out the form, you’ll see a dashboard with all the loan refinancing offers that you qualify for. This just takes a minute or two. You should know that these are not 100% guaranteed offers, simply because at this stage your information has not been verified and no hard credit check has been done.
Step 3: Compare rates and terms from different lenders. Having all the rates and other terms right in front of you makes it easy to compare the offers that you can pursue. You can narrow down the list further and personalize it to your preferences by adjusting the filters on the dashboard.
Step 4: Choose your preferred lender and apply. Once you’ve gone through all the offers available and chosen one that is best suited for you, you can submit your application right away. It is always a good idea to choose more than one lender so you have a back up just in case your chosen lender does not approve your application.
What Happens After You Submit Your Application
When you submit your application it goes directly to the lender to be approved. At this stage, the lender that receives your application will run a hard credit check in order to determine whether you are a responsible borrower and also to set the interest rate on your refinanced loan.
This approval process takes about one business day after submitting your application. If everything looks good and the lender approves your application, the lender will work directly with you to finalize all the details.
The Biggest Benefits of Using Credible to Refinance Student Loans
Using Credible’s platform saves you a whole lot of time. You can compare rate estimates from multiple student loan refinancing lenders by completing the initial.
You will find only reputable student loan refinancing lenders on this platform.
There are no costs to use the Credible platform. None of Credible’s private student loan or student loan refinancing lenders charge origination fees or any other fees.
Most important of all, using Credible to find out refinancing rates will not impact your credit score. This is because Credible does a soft check at the start of the process. This is a HUGE benefit as it means you don’t have to worry about negatively impacting your credit score, even if you want to use the platform just to check rates.
Should I Refinance My Student Loans with Credible?
Credible has a number of benefits and advantages when it comes to student loan refinancing. However, as with anything relating to student loans, it’s important to look around and discover all of your options. Check out College Raptor’s reviews of the best student loan refinance companies, where we feature Credible!