Laurel Road Student Loan Refinance Review For 2024

Key Takeaways

• Laurel Road refinances federal, private, and parent loans with flexible terms.
• Borrowers can choose fixed or variable rates with repayment terms of 5–20 years.
• Applicants need proof of income, ID, graduation, and student loan repayment history.
• Discounts include rate reductions for linked accounts and autopay enrollment.

Laurel Road is one of our most popular online student loan refinancing partners, offering borrowers the ability to consolidate debt into a single monthly payment. As a private lender, the company has different qualification criteria compared to federal loan servicers.

If you want to know about the interest rates on their refinanced loans, the credit history required for qualification, and other details, you’re in the right place. This guide reveals everything there is to know about Laurel Road student loan refinance. 

About Laurel Road

Laurel Road is a financial technology company that offers online banking services in all 50 U.S. states. It was established in 2013 as Darien Rowayton Bank and rebranded to its current name in 2017. 

The company provides online traditional banking services and offers private student loans, refinancing services (federal and private loans), and student loan consultation. Its student loan services cater to undergraduate and graduate students and their parents (parent student loans).

How Laurel Road Student Loan Refinancing Works

Laurel Road refinances private and federal student loans. You can choose to refinance all your student loans with the company, or just a few, including any existing Laurel Road loans. The company also lets customers refinance their loans during the grace or in-school deferment periods.

Refinancing options include:

• Student Loan Refinancing: The standard refinancing offered by private student loan lenders/refinancing companies (i.e., for all students who didn’t pursue a medical degree).
• Medical Student Loan: Doctors and dentists can refinance their private and federal student loans during residency/fellowship. They can also defer their monthly payments for up to six months after and refinance as early as their final semester (provided you have a signed contract, letter of employment, or co-signer).
• Parent: Laurel Road lets customers refinance parent student loans. Either the parent who took the loan on behalf of the student or the student can refinance. In either case, Laurel Road will underwrite the loan based on the borrower’s eligibility.

Once you refinance with Laurel Road, you won’t be able to take advantage of federal student loan forgiveness programs. It’s something to remember if you plan on utilizing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, or similar debt relief programs.

Application Process

You can refinance with Laurel Road via an online application. The process involves the following steps:

1. Enter your loan, education, and employment information into the form provided on Laurel Road’s website and authorize a soft credit pull. Laurel Road will provide you with preliminary rates.
2. Upload all supporting documents to Laurel Road’s secure dashboard and authorize a hard credit pull.
3. Choose a loan type and term and provide an e-signature for the disclosures and promissory note.

Upon successful application, Laurel Road will pay what you owe to your current lenders and give you new loan terms and instructions for servicing them.

Eligibility/Application Requirements

You must meet the following eligibility requirements to qualify for student loan refinancing with Laurel Road:

• Employment and Graduation Status: Working professionals who received federal and private student loans while studying at one of the US’s Title IV accredited institutions qualify for Laurel Road refinancing. 
• Parents of Graduates: Parents will qualify for Laurel Road’s Parent Student Loan Refinancing Program if their child attended a Title IV eligible school. The child doesn’t need to have graduated, as eligibility depends on the parent’s credit profile, income, and debt payments.
• Associate Degree Holders: Professionals with an associate degree in designated professions also meet Laurel Road’s criteria (subject to conditions). Examples of individuals with an associate’s degree include cardiovascular technologists, dental hygienists, radiation therapists, and pharmacy technicians.

Also, Laurel Road expects you to provide the following documents when applying for federal and private student loan refinancing:

• Photo identification
• Graduation verification
• Proof of income
• Evidence of student loan repayment (pay-off statements)

Finally, the company recommends applying with a minimum credit score in the mid to high 600s. If you have a co-signer, you’ll need to provide their financial and employment documents.

Features

Here’s what to expect in your Laurel Road refinancing contract:

Interest Rates and Loan Terms

Laurel Road provides loans that come with either fixed or variable interest rates, but assure that variable rates won’t exceed 15%. The company derives its current index from the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York).

The fixed and variable rate loans Laurel Road offers will depend on factors like your credit profile.

Loan Limits

The lowest student loan balance Laurel Road will refinance is $5,000. It doesn’t have a maximum loan limit. Check our guide on how to assess your student loan balances to ensure the debt you want to refinance qualifies under Laurel Road’s criteria.

Discount and Lower ReFi Rate

Laurel Road offers new customers and account holders a lower ReFi rate and discount.

When you open a Laurel Road linked checking account during your refinancing and set up qualifying monthly direct deposits, you can access a lower loan ReFi rate that starts at 4.77%.

Also, Laurel Road will give you a three-month 0.25% discount on your fixed or variable-rate student loan. The company will apply the discount to the first three billing cycles of the refinanced loan and will apply a discount based on the amount you deposit via an automatic clearing house (ACH) from the fourth billing cycle and beyond.

Get Expert Advice on the Best Student Loan Refinancing Companies

Laurel Road’s student loan refinancing services can help you recalibrate your financial situation through lower monthly payments or longer (or shorter) repayment terms. 

Book a consultation today for expert advice on the best refinancing options with Laurel Road. As one of our clients, you may even be eligible for a $500 cash bonus for loans over $100k and a $200 bonus for smaller loans. 

Regardless, we can help you analyze different lenders to ensure you make the right decision for your specific needs.

Brandon Barfield

Brandon Barfield is the President and Co-Founder of Student Loan Professor, and is nationally known as student loan expert for graduate health professions. Since 2011, Brandon has given hundreds of loan repayment presentations for schools, hospitals, and medical conferences across the country. With his diverse background in financial aid, financial planning and student loan advisory, Brandon has a broad understanding of the intricacies surrounding student loans, loan repayment strategies, and how they should be considered when graduates make other financial decisions.