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Laurel Road is an excellent choice to refinance your student loans, as the company offers good APRs on its fixed-rate loans and a multitude of repayment options. However, its variable rates start slightly higher than the competition.
Late fee or $38 or 5% of payment, whichever is less
Editor's Rating
4.5/5
4.5 out of
5 Stars
Pros & Cons
Pros
Low fixed rates
Customer service seven days a week
Mobile app
Multiple repayment terms
Interest rate discounts
Cons
Late fees
Variable rates are slightly higher than competitors
Highlights
More Information
Five, seven, 10, 15, and 20-year repayment term lengths available
Customer service available via phone, live chat, and email
$5,000 loan minimum, with no maximum
Late fee of 5% of the late payment or $28, whichever is less
.25% three-month introductory discount when you open a checking account with Laurel Road, then .25% discount for $2,500-$7,499 in monthly direct deposits, .55% discount for $7,500+
Laurel Road is best for borrowers looking to refinance their private student loans at a low cost. Its rates are competitive with top lenders in the space.
Types of Student Loans Offered by Laurel Road
Laurel Road offers student loans refinancing in three forms:
Undergraduate
Graduate
Parent
Laurel Road also originates medical graduate school loans.
Laurel Road Student Loans Details
Laurel Road allows you to add a cosigner to your loan, which may make it easier to qualify and net you a lower rate if your cosigner has good credit.
Both refinanced and new loans come with a repayment term length of five, seven, 10, 15, or 20 years.
You'll receive an initial 0.25% three-month interest rate discount if you sign up for a Laurel Road checking account. You can get up to a 0.55% rate discount depending on the amount of money you direct deposit into that account monthly.
To contact Laurel Road's customer support, call the lender from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET, seven days a week. You're also able to send an email or use the company's live chat feature.
Checking your rates with Laurel Road won't have any impact on your credit score. However, if you continue with your application after checking rates, the lender will conduct a hard credit inquiry, giving the company a complete view of your credit history but also potentially hurting your score.
Laurel Road student loan refinancing
You won't pay any origination fees or prepayment penalties with Laurel Road, and you might save money in interest by refinancing your student loans. Be careful before you do this with federal loans though, as you will lose key protections such as income-driven repayment plans and loan forgiveness programs.
Only 11% of applicants who applied between July 2019 and June 2021 qualified for the best rate, according to Laurel Road's website, so don't bank on getting the top advertised rate.
Laurel Road healthcare graduate student loans
Laurel Road Medical Graduate Student Loan
4.5/5
Laurel Road Medical Graduate Student Loan
4.5/5
Origination Fee
0
Regular Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Variable: 1.98% - 6.30%, Fixed: 3.47% - 6.40% with all discounts
Variable: 1.98% - 6.30%, Fixed: 3.47% - 6.40% with all discounts
Origination Fee
0
Editor's Rating
4.5/5
4.5 out of
5 Stars
Pros & Cons
Pros
Some of the best graduate fixed rates available
Customer service ever day each week
Mobile app
Multiple repayment terms
Interest rate discounts
Cons
Late fees
Only available for people with certain majors
Variable rates are slightly higher than competitors
Highlights
More Information
Five, seven, 10, 15, and 20-year repayment term lengths available
Customer service available via phone, live chat, and email
$5,000 loan minimum, maximum up to cost of attendance
Late fee of 5% of the late payment or $28, whichever is less
.25% three-month introductory discount when you open a checking account with Laurel Road, then .25% discount for $2,500-$7,499 in monthly direct deposits, .55% discount for $7,500+
Loans are offered by KeyBank, member FDIC
If you're pursuing a graduate degree in dentistry, nursing, medicine, or are studying as a physician assistant, you are eligible to get a loan from Laurel Road. Undergraduates and any graduate students studying a discipline outside of the ones listed don't qualify for a loan.
APRs on Laurel Road's fixed-rate loans are some of the best in the industry. In fact, none of the fixed graduate loans on our list of the best private student loans have a lower starting rate.
Pros and Cons of Laurel Road Student Loans
How to Apply for a Laurel Road Student Loan
1. Put in an application on Laurel Road's website. You'll enter your email address, name, phone number, address, education level, employment status, and income history. Laurel Road will generate an estimated monthly payment and rate range with no impact on your credit score.
2. Sign loan agreement and get your new loan. After you sign your loan agreement, you may get your new loan soon after with Laurel Road. Keep in mind that refinancing a loan means you replace your old loan with a new one.
3. Work loan payments into your budget. Figure out how to adjust your budget to fit in your new loan payments. Make sure you have enough money to cover all of your financial responsibilities.
Laurel Road Frequently Asked Questions
Is Laurel Road a real bank?
Yes, Laurel Road is a real bank. The lender refinances undergraduate and graduate loans and originates medical graduate student loans.
What is the minimum credit score for Laurel Road?
Laurel Road has a minimum credit score of 660. A higher credit score will likely qualify you for a better rate.
Does Laurel Road have prepayment penalty?
No, Laurel Road doesn't charge a penalty for paying off your loan early. Paying your loan ahead of time may save you money on overall interest.
Laurel Road Trustworthiness
Laurel Road has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, a non-profit organization focused on consumer protection and trust. The BBB evaluates businesses by evaluating replies to consumer complaints, truthfulness in advertising, and clarity about business practices.
Laurel Road hasn't been involved in any scandals or controversies over the past few years, so you might feel comfortable taking out a loan from the company.
However, you won't necessarily have a good relationship with Laurel Road simply because of the business' sparkling BBB score and clean history. Reach out to your friends and family about their experiences with the lender and find online what other customers are saying about the company.
What Options Do I Have to Repay My Laurel Road Student Loans?
Laurel Road offers several options to repay your medical graduate loans: deferred, flat, interest-only, and immediate payments. The best repayment plan for you depends on your situation. Laurel Road student loan refinancing payments begin 30 days after funding.
Full Deferment
Flat
Interest-only
Immediate
Make no payments while in school or during a six-month grace period
Unpaid interest accrues
Interest is capitalized at the end of grace period
Highest total cost
Pay $50 per month while in school and during a six-month grace period
Unpaid interest accrues
Interest is capitalized at the end of grace period
Low in-school payments
Pay loan's interest monthly while in school and during a six-month grace period
Higher in-school payments
Make payments on the loan's principal and interest right away
Highest in-school payments
Lowest total cost
Deferred and flat payments will cost more than interest-only or immediate payments because interest will accrue while you're in school and during your grace period. This interest will then capitalize, which means it will be tacked on to your loan balance after periods of nonpayment, including forbearance, deferment, and after your grace period. This will add on to your loan balance, and you'll then pay interest on that higher amount, increasing the overall cost of your loan.
Actual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your income. Fixed rates range from 5.21% APR to 10.04% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Variable rates range from 5.74% APR to 9.99% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Earnest variable interest rate student loan refinance loans are based on a publicly available index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The variable rate is based on the rate published on the 25th day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent. The rate will not increase more than once per month. The maximum rate for your loan is 8.95% if your loan term is 10 years or less. For loan terms of more than 10 years to 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 9.95%. For loan terms over 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 11.95%. Please note, we are not able to offer variable rate loans in AK, IL, MN, NH, OH, TN, and TX. Our lowest rates are only available for our most credit qualified borrowers and contain our .25% auto pay discount from a checking or savings account.
Earnest originates undergraduate and graduate loans, while Laurel Road only refinances those loan types. You can get a healthcare graduate loan with both companies.
Laurel Road has five repayment terms to choose from, and Earnest has six.
Laurel Road vs. Sallie Mae
Sallie Mae sets the repayment term for undergraduate students and only has one repayment term available for graduate students.
Laurel Road offers a rate discount of up to 0.55% when you open a checking account with the company and make a certain amount of monthly direct deposits. You'll get a 0.25% interest rate discount with Sallie Mae when you set up AutoPay.
How we rated Laurel Road Student Loan Refinancing
We rate all student loan products in our reviews and guides on a 1-5 scale. The overall rating is a weighted average that takes into account seven different categories, some of which are judged more heavily than others. They are:
Interest rate (20% of rating)
Fees (20% of rating)
Term lengths (15% of rating)
Repayment options while in school (15% of rating)
Borrower accessibility (15% of rating)
Customer support (7.5% of rating)
Ethics (7.5% of rating)
Each category's weighting is determined based on its importance to your borrowing experience. Rates and fees have the most significant impact on the total cost of your loan, so we weigh those the most heavily. Customer support and ethics are still crucial parts of the borrowing experience, but do not directly tie to a student loan's terms, so they have less of an impact on the overall rating.
Ryan Wangman was a reporter at Personal Finance Insider reporting on personal loans, student loans, student loan refinancing, debt consolidation, auto loans, RV loans, and boat loans. He is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF).In his past experience writing about personal finance, he has written about credit scores, financial literacy, and homeownership. He graduated from Northwestern University and has previously written for The Boston Globe. Learn more about how Personal Finance Insider chooses, rates, and covers financial products and services here >>
Elias Shaya is a junior compliance associate on the Personal Finance Insider team based in New York City.Personal Finance Insider is Insider's personal finance section that incorporates affiliate and commerce partnerships into the news, insights, and advice about money that readers already know and love. The compliance team's mission is to provide readers with stories that are fact-checked and current, so they can make informed financial decisions.The team also works to minimize risk for partners by making sure language is clear, precise, and fully compliant with regulatory and partner marketing guidelines that align with the editorial team. Elias is the point person for the loans sub-vertical and works with the editorial team to ensure that all rates and information for personal and student loans are up to date and accurate.He joined Insider in February 2022 as a fellow on the compliance team.Elias has a Bachelor of Science in International Business from the CUNY College of Staten Island. Prior to joining Insider, he volunteered at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he worked with the biomedical engineering department. In his spare time, Elias enjoys exploring new restaurants, traveling to visit his family in Lebanon, and spending time with friends.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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