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I have about $100k in loans that I plan to pay back in 1-2 years (I will have $80-90k after taxes, lodging, and food). Does it make sense for me to refinance through SoFi?

Without a doubt. I refianced with SoFi when I had $105k left on my loans, at low 3% variable. I paid it back in 13 months, during that time the interest actually went down. I could not have been happier with my decision, especially because I saved appoximately $4k in interest over that period.

For people who used SoFi or some other private lender, if you refinanced during the summer before starting biglaw, what did you use in terms of income verification? Was the offer letter enough?

Sorry to bump this old thread, but I couldn't find the answer in the other student loan threads.

juzam_djinn wrote:For people who used SoFi or some other private lender, if you refinanced during the summer before starting biglaw, what did you use in terms of income verification? Was the offer letter enough?

Sorry to bump this old thread, but I couldn't find the answer in the other student loan threads.

Also interested in that, as well as refinancing before starting is a good idea?

juzam_djinn wrote:For people who used SoFi or some other private lender, if you refinanced during the summer before starting biglaw, what did you use in terms of income verification? Was the offer letter enough?

Sorry to bump this old thread, but I couldn't find the answer in the other student loan threads.

Did you looks thrugh the Actual Student Loan Payments thread? Found this and i think one or two of the responses may answer your question (and i think there are more in the thread, just worded differently) http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/s ... sf=msgonly

lymenheimer wrote:

juzam_djinn wrote:For people who used SoFi or some other private lender, if you refinanced during the summer before starting biglaw, what did you use in terms of income verification? Was the offer letter enough?

Sorry to bump this old thread, but I couldn't find the answer in the other student loan threads.

Did you looks thrugh the Actual Student Loan Payments thread? Found this and i think one or two of the responses may answer your question (and i think there are more in the thread, just worded differently) http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/s ... sf=msgonly

ty for this. it is helpful to know about DRB but I'm still primarily interested in SoFi. If anyone else has info that'd be greatly appreciated. In particular, I've read that SoFi will take a pay stub or an employer "work #"....wondering if anyone knows what the latter is. I would prefer to use that b/c it might account for the biglaw salary bumps we've been seeing lately, and the offer letter would not.

in case it helps anyone, I spoke to a SoFi rep on the phone about a month before my graduation. She told me to just input all my info as if I were already graduated, and then to simply hold off on submitting the docs section of the app. Then she was able to read me my estimates off the phone. So you can at least get a quote from them, even if you're not sure about what to provide for the income verification step. I'll probably end up calling again some time this week if nobody has an answer on TLS, so I'll report back with what I hear

If you know you want to (and are able to) pay off your loans within a few years, it's likely that refinancing will be your best bet. I'd recommend getting quotes from a few lenders and going with the best deal. Compare based on interest rate as well as any transaction fees associated with the refinance (when my wife refinanced with SoFi last year, she paid zero transaction fees). If you're currently on gov't loans, there's a good chance you'll be able to reduce your interest rate by a few percentage points without spending anything at all.

If you're comfortable giving up the downside protection (forebearance, IBR, PAYE) because you're confident you can pay it off in 1-2 years, yes, absolutely refinance. I know some people who want to pay off quickly but don't want to refinance- I don't understand this. You could be saving something on the order of 5% by switching from Grad PLUS to a private variable rate. Just run the comparative math on a loan calculator:

$100k 2-year Repayment
No Refinance, 7.65% = $4,506/mo.
Refinance, 3%* = $4,298/mo.
SAVINGS = $204/mo. = $4,992 over 2 years
*SoFi goes lower than this, and I would suggest going for the shortest variable rate possible given your plans, but let's just say 3%.

I don't know if you're set on SoFi-- I haven't had the best experience with them-- but you should also consider Earnest, First Republic (if geographically eligible), and possibly Darien Rowaton (though I think they're no longer market leaders on rates).

kcdc1 wrote: Compare based on interest rate as well as any transaction fees associated with the refinance (when my wife refinanced with SoFi last year, she paid zero transaction fees).

I'm not aware of any refinance lenders, certainly none who are competitive, that charge fees to refinance. I guess Florida does charge a 0.35% stamp tax, but judging by the description, you'd probably have to pay that no matter who you refi through.

Does it make sense to refi 35k in loans if going to biglaw

umichman wrote:Does it make sense to refi 35k in loans if going to biglaw

Would you like to pay less in interest on those loans? I'm not sure why it wouldn't make sense unless you think it'd be too much of a hassle or you want to hang on to the downside benefits of those gov't loans. Otherwise, I say a penny saved is a penny earned. On a 10-year repayment going from 7.65% Grad PLUS to 1.95% at First Republic would save you $11,640 in interest. Heck, going from that 10-year Grad PLUS (where you'd pay $15,184 in interest over the life) to a 5-year First Republic refi paid off in 3 years, you'd pay $1,062 in interest, but get $700 back through the 4-year repayment, so it'd essentially be an interest-free loan at net $362 in interest.