New Jersey Student Loan Refinance and Private Loan Options

Trying to figure out how to repay your student loans as a New Jersey resident? New Jersey students are graduating with an average of $35,117 in student loan debt, according to the latest data from The Institute for College Access & Success.

There are many approaches for repaying this debt— a New Jersey student loan refinance strategy being one of the most popular. Here’s what you should know about New Jersey student loans and how to repay them.

Student loan refinancing for New Jersey residents

Student loan refinancing is a popular strategy because it can help reduce your total amount of debt. This is especially important for borrowers with six-figure debt. If your credit has improved since the time of your original loan, you can often qualify for lower rates with a New Jersey student loan refinance.

You’ll take out a new, private loan at the lower rate and repay your old loan with the funds. With the money you save on interest you can afford to devote more money to repaying the principal of your loan.

Here are some options for refinancing or private loans in New Jersey. Always remember that if you refinance your federal student loans you’ll lose federal protections offered to student loan borrowers, such as income-driven repayment options, and extended deferment and forbearance.

HESAA Refi+ Loan

In New Jersey, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) is tasked with overseeing student loan repayment programs. You don’t need to use their loan to refinance student loans in New Jersey but you could find they offer you the best rate.

An HESAA Refi+ Loan lets you refinance NJCLASS loans, Federal Parent PLUS Loans and private student loans. Terms of 10 to 15 years are available and interest rates are contingent on your credit score.

NJCLASS Consolidation Loan

If you have multiple loans to consolidate while also potentially obtaining a better interest rate, consider a New Jersey student loan consolidation. Through HESSA, you can consolidate NJCLASS loans for 20 and 30 year terms. Your interest rate works out to be the weighted interest rate of all your consolidated loans, minus 0.5%.

North Jersey Federal Credit Union

For a local, in-state refinancing solution, there’s North Jersey Federal Credit Union. It partners with Nelnet Bank to offer student loan refinancing with fixed or variable rates. This New Jersey student loan refinance option doesn’t charge origination fees.

LendKey

You don’t have to go with a New Jersey-specific option to refinance your student loans. You could refinance through a traditional bank or online lender, like LendKey, who has a partnership with Members 1st of NJ Federal Credit Union for student loan refinancing. It doesn’t charge origination fees, and terms of five to 20 years are available.

Laurel Road

If you’re a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA), you could save money by refinancing your student loans with Laurel Road as there is a partnership between the two entities. NJSBA members receive a $400 welcome bonus for refinancing with Laurel Road.

However, this is smaller than what you can receive as a Student Loan Planner® reader. If you apply through our referral link, you can be eligible for up to $1,050 cash-back with Laurel Road for refinancing.

The vast majority state specific refinance deals are worse than what we have on this site.

PA Forward

New Jersey residents are also eligible to refinance loans with the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency through PA Forward. You can refinance loans from $5,000 to $300,000 with terms of five to 20 years.

New Jersey student loan refinancing pros and cons

There are advantages and disadvantages to a New Jersey student loan refinance. Here are the pros and cons of student loan refinancing for New Jersey borrowers.

Pros

• Reduces your interest charges. A New Jersey student loan refinance can open doors to competitive interest rates. This can be particularly helpful if you have federal loans at the fix-figure mark, and don’t qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
• Work with a different lender. If you’ve experienced bad customer service with your original servicer, refinancing lets you work with a lender of your choice.
• Simplify your finances. By consolidating your loans into one refinance student loan, you’ll reduce the number of monthly payments to keep track of and focus on one, easy-to-manage payment.
• Remove a cosigner. If you used a cosigner to obtain your original student loans, and your original lender doesn’t offer a cosigner release, a New Jersey student loan refinance can help.

Cons

• Lose federal repayment options. If you’re refinancing federal student loans you’ll automatically lose access to any federal loan repayment plans, such as income-driven repayment, or robust deferment and forbearance protection.
• Prepayment penalty. Some lenders charge a prepayment penalty for repaying your loan early. This could erode the cost savings of refinancing.
• Might not qualify for lowest rates. Keep in mind that the rate you see quoted on a lender’s website isn’t necessarily the rate you'll ultimately get. Be sure to compare student loan refinance rates based on your credit score before moving forward with New Jersey student loan refinancing.

New Jersey private student loans

If you’re looking for private student loans in New Jersey, consider banks, credit unions and online lenders. Make sure to compare rates and terms from each option, before making a final choice. Here are some private lenders in New Jersey.

SoFi®

SoFi® is an online lender offering student loans to undergraduates, graduates and parents. It doesn’t charge additional fees, and offers rate discounts, like 0.25% off when you sign up for autopay. The online lender offers variable and fixed APRs and four repayment options, including the option to defer payments while in school.

Garden State Credit Union

Garden State Credit Union in Moorestown, New Jersey, partners with Sallie Mae to offer private student loans to New Jersey residents. Its loans provide variable- and fixed-rate options, with three repayment terms to choose from: deferred repayment, fixed repayment and interest repayment.

Citizens

Not all traditional banks in the United States offer private student loans — in fact, many big banks no longer offer higher education financing. However, Citizens does. Borrowers can receive variable and fixed rates for undergraduate student loans at five, 10 or 15 year terms.

New Jersey-sponsored loan forgiveness programs

Refinancing isn’t your only option for repaying student loans in New Jersey. There are several student loan repayment programs, managed by HESAA that assist in repaying your loans.

Using these programs could help you retain the benefits and protections of your federal student loans (which you’d automatically lose during a private student loan refinance).

Here are the programs that HESAA administers:

• New Jersey STEM Loan Redemption Program. This program is for eligible New Jersey residents who’ve worked in a STEM career for at least four years. Recipients can have $2,000 of student loan expenses redeemed each year for a maximum of four years.
• John R. Justice Federal Loan Redemption Program. Full-time public defenders or prosecutors in New Jersey with outstanding federal student loans can apply for this program. In 2020, the award amount was $2,433.78.
• National Health Services Corp State Loan Repayment Program. Eligible primary care providers, working in health professional shortage areas, can receive a maximum of $50,000 in assistance. Two years of full-time service is required.
• Nursing Faculty Loan Redemption Program. This is available for nurses with graduate degrees who’ve been faculty members at nursing schools in New Jersey for at least five years. Interest due on eligible student loan expenses can be reimbursed.
• Primary Care Practitioner Loan Redemption Program. The program provides up to $120,000 in student loan redemption and is available for two to four years of service. Borrowers must work in medically underserved areas of New Jersey, serving in medicine, dentistry or another profession. If you're a physician, know that you could also get a New Jersey physician mortgage. Note that we do not suggest refinancing your student loans into your mortgage since it's not tax efficient.

These New Jersey loan repayment programs are worth considering if you qualify. Before refinancing your New Jersey student loans, make sure to explore all forgiveness options offered by the state.

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