Refinancing your medical school loans is one of the best ways to simplify and extend your student loan repayment. When you refinance, you can bring all your loans under one roof while saving money through a lower interest rate. Subject to credit approval, a private lender will pay off your underlying loans and issue a new loan with new terms.
Medical Student Loan Debt
The average student loan debt among medical school graduates in 2025 was $246,659, according to EducationData. This is a primary reason doctors choose to refinance their loan debt and lock in more manageable monthly payments. The specific student loans that are eligible for refinancing may vary by lender, but typically include the following:
- Direct Subsidized Student Loans
- Direct Unsubsidized Student Loans
- Direct Grad PLUS Loans
- Private Student Loans
- Parent PLUS Loans*
*Some lenders may allow you to include a Parent PLUS Loan taken out on your behalf; thereby transferring responsibility from your parents to you.
Federal Student Loans | Direct Consolidation
While your federal student loans can be included in a refinance, it may make more sense to use a Direct Consolidation Loan to preserve your borrower benefits within the federal loan program. You cannot roll private student loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan. However, some borrowers choose to consolidate their federal student loans together and refinance their private loans separately. This allows you to pursue benefits like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or Income Driven Repayment (IDR) that you would otherwise forfeit by including your federal loans in a privately refinanced loan.
Medical Residents
What if I’m still a medical resident? Or what about including my residency loans in a student loan refinance? The short answer is both are possible. Some lenders will refinance your student loans while you’re in residency (often requiring a minimum monthly payment of $100). And some lenders may allow you to include residency loans, although most will state that student loans that were used exclusively for qualified higher education expenses are eligible to be refinanced. This definition may vary depending on lender.
Medical Student Loan Refinance Companies
Student loan refinance companies allow you to combine your federal and private student loans together, while lowering your interest rate, your monthly payment, or both. Plus, you can find highly competitive interest rates from these private lenders in today’s market.
Subject to Credit Approval
Refinancing your medical student loans is subject to credit approval. You’ll need to have a minimum credit score in the high 600s, sometimes lower. It depends on the lender. Applying with a creditworthy cosigner is highly recommended. Note: many lenders do not offer a cosigner release option on student loan refinance.
Soft Credit Pull
To see if you qualify for refinancing—along with the interest rate you may be eligible for—many lenders will do a soft credit pull. A soft credit inquiry won’t harm your credit score. This is part of the pre-qualification process and can be done online in a short amount of time. If you decide to proceed with a full application, a hard inquiry will be performed since the lender will be completing the underwriting process and extending you a loan offer.
Rate and Terms
The interest rate and loan terms for your refinance will depend on several factors:
- The lender
- Your refinance loan amount and overall debt-to-income ratio
- Your credit history (and that of a cosigner, if applicable)
That said, here are some current trends that may help you shop around:
Fixed Rate for Medical Student Loan Refinance
Currently, fixed interest rates for medical student loan refinancing start as low as 3.99%. The highest fixed rates are around 18%.
Lowest Rate
It’s important to compare fixed and variable rates to see which is lowest. Many times, variable rates can be lower, but not always. Rates will fluctuate based on the current market and what is trending with prime rates and bond rates. Right now, the lowest rate available for a medical student loan refinance is around 4%, which is a fixed rate.
Student Loan Refinancing and Repayment Terms
Student loan refinancing and repayment terms vary by lender, but the best programs will share some common traits.
- Repayment period of 5 to 20 years, depending on the lender and your loan balance
- No application or origination fees
- No prepayment penalties
- High maximum loan balance or no maximum loan limit
- 0.25% interest rate reduction for automatic monthly payments
How Refinancing Affects the Life of the Loan
There are several ways refinancing can impact the life of the loan. You’ll want to consider everything from the loan terms and interest rates to leaving potential benefits on the table. This chart outlines some of the primary pros and cons.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| You can achieve lower monthly payments. | Refinancing typically involves lengthening the repayment term. This means you could pay more interest over the life of the loan, although there are no prepayment penalties. |
| You could qualify for a lower interest rate, either on your own or with a creditworthy cosigner. | The lowest advertised Annual Percentage Rate (APR) may be variable, which means your rate could increase over time. |
| You can combine your federal student loans and private student loans together. | You will lose federal loan protections (like PSLF) if you include Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, Direct Grad PLUS, Direct PLUS, or Direct Consolidation Loans. |
| You can refinance more than once. This is especially helpful if interest rates change substantially. | You would be required to complete a new refinancing application. |
Loan Amounts for Medical School Refinance
Some lenders offer refinancing for medical student loan debt as low as $5,000. Often the minimum loan balance starts at $10,000. Some lenders allow you to refinance up to $500,000 but others have more generous loan limits or may not impose a maximum loan amount.
Monthly Payment
Your monthly payment will be determined based on factors like your total loan debt and repayment term. Generally, the longer your repayment period, the lower your monthly payment. Some lenders allow you to choose a specific repayment term, like 5, 7, 10, 15, or 20 years. You can use a loan calculator to compare different repayment terms and see how they impact your monthly payment amount.
Interest Rate Discount
You can reduce the total amount of money you repay through interest rate discounts. This includes things 0.25% rate reduction when you sign up for automatic monthly payments. But you could also qualify for discounts through membership programs. For example, if you belong to the American Medical Association (AMA) or American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), some lenders may offer an additional 0.25% interest rate discount. There may even be loyalty discounts available from certain lenders. If you don’t see this information prominently displayed on the website, contact the lender to learn which interest rate discounts may be offered.
Income Based Repayment
Unlike the federal student loan program, private lenders do not offer income-based repayment plans. However, some lenders offer hardship deferments or interest-only payments on a temporary basis. You will need to meet certain criteria to qualify. Check with your lender regarding eligibility.
Income Driven Repayment Plans
Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plans can be a generous benefit for doctors and individuals with high loan balances. Within the federal student loan program, there are IDR plans that can reduce your monthly payment amount and eventually allow for your loans to be forgiven. And even if you choose to consolidate your federal loans together (through a Direct Consolidation Loan), you may still qualify for an IDR plan which caps your monthly payment based on a percentage of discretionary income.
Cosigner Release
Refinancing your medical school loans is one way to release a cosigner from your underlying loans. And if you need to use a cosigner to help you qualify for medical student loan refinance, some lenders do offer a cosigner release option on the refinanced loan. But you’ll want to confirm the lender’s policy up front before applying, as these programs are subject to change.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
As a doctor or health professional, you can pursue Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for your Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, Grad PLUS, or Direct Consolidation loans once you have already made 120 qualifying payments in an eligible repayment plan. This is an important consideration when choosing whether or not to include federal student loans in a refinance.
National Health Service Corps (NHSC)
The NHSC Loan Repayment Program awards up to $80,000 in loan forgiveness to physicians serving in an eligible discipline within a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).
