Refinancing your federal student loan(s) with a private lender like Earnest can offer potential benefits, such as a lower interest rate or simplified monthly payments, but it's important to carefully weigh the tradeoffs before making a decision. Before refinancing a federal loan, you should consider the protections and benefits of your current loan and understand what you may be gaining (or giving up) by switching to a private lender.
If you refinance your federal loan(s) with Earnest, you will permanently lose the benefits associated with them. These include access to Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans, federal deferment or forbearance programs (such as economic hardship deferment), loan forgiveness options like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), or other flexible payment plans that are available to federal student loan clients.
While private lenders like Earnest offer their own protection options (you can read more about them here), they are not guaranteed and are granted at the lender’s discretion.
Refinancing may make sense if you’re confident you won’t need federal repayment options and are looking for lower rates or faster payoff. We recommend evaluating your financial goals and future flexibility needs and reviewing our Eligibility Guide & Requirements to see if we are the right fit for you.