Written By Clint Proctor
Updated on November 6, 2024
The Institute For College Access and Success found that less than half of California students (46%) who graduated in 2020 had student debt. The average debt load for these students was $21,125, which ranked third-lowest in the country.
Although these student loan averages are encouraging, they aren’t representative of every California student’s experience. For example, if you’re pursuing a graduate degree or are enrolled in a private California university, your tuition costs (and student loan needs) might be higher than average.
If high education costs have caused you to hit your federal student loan limits, you might’ve turned to private student loans for help. Private lenders can also help you refinance your existing student loans. Below is a breakdown of the best California student loan refinancing programs and private student loan options.
Where to find California student loan refinancing programs
It’s important to point out that refinancing federal student loans carries more risk than private student loan refinancing. After you refinance federal student loans, they’re no longer eligible for federal benefits.
This means that you won’t have the option to join an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan after refinancing your federal loans. You also can’t pursue federal forgiveness programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or Teacher Loan forgiveness.
If you weren’t planning to take advantage of any of these programs, refinancing could be a smart financial move. Since private loans don’t qualify for federal benefits anyway, it nearly always makes sense to refinance them if you can lower your rate or improve your terms.
Here are a few options to refinance student loans in California, from community banks and credit unions, to national refinance lenders.
Community banks and credit unions
There are a number of regional banks and credit unions that exclusively serve residents of California and/or surrounding states. Some of these lenders offer student loan refinancing products.
One benefit of using a community lender is that you might have a local branch near you. If you prefer to work with a banker face-to-face, local banks can be a great option. Here are two places to find local California student loan refinancing programs.
First Republic
First Republic is unique in that it doesn’t offer traditional student loan refinance loans. Instead, it offers a personal line of credit that can be used to refinance your existing student loans. The funds can also be used for other purposes, such as buying a car or paying for home repairs.
Here are the key details of the First Republic personal line of credit:
- Rate type: Fixed
- Terms: 7, 10 and 15 years
- Loan amounts: $60,000–$350,000
- Origination fee: None
- Prepayment penalty: None
With the First Republic line of credit, you can draw against your credit line for up to two years. And you can also choose to make interest-only payments during that two-year draw period.
To qualify for a First Republic line of credit, you’ll need to live near one of its local offices. Currently, it has locations in the following cities:
- San Francisco
- Palo Alto
- Los Angeles
- Santa Barbara
- Newport Beach
- San Diego
- Portland (Oregon)
- Jackson (Wyoming)
- Boston
- Palm Beach (Florida)
- Greenwich or New York City
Student Loan Planner® readers who refinance with First Republic can also earn a $300 referral bonus.
Related: Learn more about First Republic in our full review.
LendKey
Small banks and credit unions often don’t have the manpower or technical know-how to create online applications that can rival large banks and lenders. That’s why many of these smaller financial institutions partner with LendKey to offer student loan refinancing.
As not-for-profit institutions owned by their members, some credit unions offer California residents lower rates on student loan refinancing than national banks or online lenders.
If you’re a member of a credit union in California (or are eligible to join one), consider checking to see if it’s a LendKey partner. Here are two examples of California credit unions that offer student loan refinancing through LendKey:
- California Credit Union: Refinance up to $175,000
- Financial Partners Credit Union: Refinance up to $175,000
Regardless of the credit union that you choose, you’ll start the loan process with the same streamlined application on LendKey’s site. You also won’t pay origination fees, and can check your prequalified rates without impacting your credit.
LendKey: Best for community banks and credit unions
- Positives: Compares many smaller lenders you might not apply to
- Allows cosigners: Yes
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 4.89% APR; Variable starting at 4.82% APR
- Bonus: $100 for refinancing up to $20k, or $200 for $20k to $100k, or $400 for over $100k, or $1,250 for $150k or more
LendKey offers refinancing through community banks and credit unions, which have offered unusually good deals during the economic contraction of 2020 and 2021 recovery. LendKey also has some of the strongest unemployment protection. Get up to a $1250 bonus when you use our LendKey link to refinance. Note that for the $1,250 bonus, $500 would come from Student Loan Planner® directly. *See disclosures
National lenders
Community banks and credit unions can provide a strong personal touch and offer competitive rates, but they won’t always be the best choice.
In some cases, you might still be better off refinancing with one of the top national student loan refinancing companies. Here are a few of Student Loan Planner®’s favorite refinancing lenders that lend to California residents:
Earnest: Best for flexible repayment
- Positives: Flexible repayment terms, custom loan payments
- Allows cosigners: Yes
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, up to 36 months
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 4.29% APR; Variable starting at 5.89% APR
- Bonus: $200 for refinancing 50k to $99,999; $1000 for refinancing 100k or more.
Payment flexibility and consistently low rates make Earnest a top lender Student Loan Planner® readers use when refinancing student loans. Earnest also services its own loans and has a Rate Match program that matches competitors' contractual interest rates. If you refinance $100,000 or more, you can get a $1000 bonus ($500 Earnest bonus + $500 from Student Loan Planner®). *See Earnest disclosures
Laurel Road: Best for medical professionals
- Positives: Flexible repayment terms, profession based discounts
- Allows cosigners: Yes, cosigner release available after 36 months
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, up to 12 months
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 4.99% APR; Variable starting at 5.29% APR
- Student Loan Planner® bonus: $300 for refinancing 50k to 100k, $1,050 for refinancing over 100k, OR interest rate discount if applicable.
While Laurel Road serves all borrowers, it is a must check for medical professions as well as Parent PLUS loan borrowers. They offer residency and fellowship refinancing and an additional 0.25% rate discount based on membership to different medical and dental associations. Laurel Road will automatically apply the better of our bonus up to $1,050 OR an applicable professional association discount you qualify for when you use our link to apply. *See disclosures
ELFI: Best for customer service
- Positives: Highly competitive fixed rates
- Allows cosigners: Yes, but no cosigner release
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, up to 12 months
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 4.88% APR; Variable starting at 4.86% APR
- Bonus: $300 for refinancing at least $50,000. $575 for 100k to 149k, and $1,275 for refinancing 150k+.
Education Loan Finance, aka ELFI, excels with customer service and low rates for borrowers with the highest credit scores. There is a minimum loan size of $10,000 but no max loan size, and their fixed rates are very competitive historically. Expect about 5 minutes to get an initial rate estimate. Get up to a $1,275 bonus when you use our ELFI link. ($500 of this would come from Student Loan Planner®). *See disclosures
Interest rates are obviously an important factor when comparing refinancing companies. But other factors to consider include terms, borrowing limits, payment flexibility and customer service.
Should You Refinance Using Your California Home Equity?
California home values have soared over the past several years. It might be tempting to tap this equity to pay off your student loans.
Your interest rates will likely not be that different, and there are no tax advantages either, so we would not recommend it.
Instead, consider a low or no down payment mortgage if you qualify for a California physician mortgage loan.
Where to find private student loans for California residents
It’s more difficult to find local banks and credit unions that offer private student loans to Californians. But there are many national lenders that will lend to eligible students in any state.
Some graduate students may qualify for a private student loan on their own. But the vast majority of undergraduate students will need a creditworthy cosigner to join them on the loan application.
Students should exhaust their federal loan options before turning to private student loans. If you’ve reached your federal loan limits and still need money for education costs, here are a few private loan lenders worth considering.
Sallie Mae
Sallie Mae is a private student loan lender that owns 1.4% of today’s outstanding student loans. Here are the details of their undergraduate loan program:
- Rate type: Variable or fixed
- Terms: 5-15 years
- Loan amounts: Up to the full cost of attendance
- Origination fee: None
- Prepayment penalty: None
Sallie Mae
- Fixed interest rates: 3.49% APR – 15.49% APR1
- Variable interest rates: 4.92% APR – 15.08% APR1
Sallie Mae Disclosures
1 Lowest rates shown include the auto debit discount. Advertised rates are for the Smart Option Student Loan for undergraduate students and are valid as of 11/25/2024.
Advertised APRs for undergraduate students assume a $10,000 loan to a student who attends school for 4 years and has no prior Sallie Mae-serviced loans. Interest rates for variable rate loans may increase or decrease over the life of the loan based on changes to the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent. Advertised variable rates are the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Interest is charged starting when funds are sent to the school. With the Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options, the interest rate is higher than with the Interest Repayment Option and Unpaid Interest is added to the loan’s Current Principal at the end of the grace/separation period. To receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate discount, the borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The discount applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment.
In addition to its undergraduate loans, Sallie Mae also offers parent loans and a wide variety of graduate loans. Their in-school payment options include interest-only payments, $25 flat monthly payments or full deferment.
Sallie Mae private loan borrowers can lower their interest by 0.25% by signing up for auto-debit. And they can apply to have a cosigner released after 12 on-time principal and interest payments.
Related: Learn more about Sallie Mae in our review.
Earnest
One of the key features that sets Earnest apart from other lenders is its “Precision Pricing.” Instead of forcing borrowers to choose from a few repayment terms, Earned offers over 180 options from five to 20 years (in one to three month intervals). It also has a Rate Match program where it can match competitors' interest rates.
Here are the key details of their private loans:
- Rate type: Variable or fixed
- Terms: 5-20 years
- Loan amounts: Up to the full cost of attendance
- Origination fee: None
- Prepayment penalty: None
Earnest
- Fixed interest rates starting at 3.47% APR
- Variable interest rates starting at 4.99% APR
Other benefits of Earnest student loans include a nine-month grace period, a 0.25% autopay discount and the option to skip a payment once per year. It also offers a variety of in-school repayment plans. However, it should be noted that Earnest doesn’t currently offer a cosigner release option for private student loans.
Related: Earnest Private Student Loan Review
Ascent
If you’re looking to take out a private student loan without a cosigner, Ascent could be a strong choice. It offers three types of undergraduate loans, two of which are non-cosigned. These are:
- Cosigned Credit-Based Loan
- Non-Cosigned Credit-Based Loan
- Non-Cosigned Future Income-Based Loan (for eligible juniors and seniors)
To qualify for one of the first two loan options, you (or your cosigner) need to meet Ascent’s credit score requirements. But you might qualify for the future income-based loan without any credit score whatsoever.
Ascent also offers custom repayment terms for graduate students who are enrolled in the following programs:
- Business School (MBA)
- Dental School (DMD, DDS)
- Law School (JD, LLM)
- Medical School (MD, DO, DVM, VMD, DPM)
- General Graduate School (Health Professionals, Nursing, Pharmacy, MA, MS, PhD), etc.)
Here are some of the key details that apply to all of their loans:
- Rate type: Variable or fixed
- Terms: 5, 7, 10, 12, 15 or 20 years
- Loan amounts: Up to the full cost of attendance
- Origination fee: None
- Prepayment penalty: None
Ascent
- Fixed interest rates starting at 3.69% APR
- Variable interest rates starting at 5.50% APR
Ascent offers borrowers flexible in-school payment options and automatic payment discounts of 0.25% to 2.00%. Also, after you’ve made at least 24 consecutive payments, you can apply to have a cosigner released
Related: Check out our full review of Ascent student loans.
Credible
Like LendKey, Credible is a lender marketplace that can save you time on shopping for rates. With Credible, you fill out just one loan application that’s sent to all of its lending partners. In minutes, you’ll have multiple quotes to compare from local and national lenders.
Once you’ve received your rate quotes, dig deeper into each lender’s details. For a full comparison of the top private lenders, consider reading our guide to the best private student loan companies.
How to reduce student loans for California residents
There are several options available to California students who want to minimize their student loan borrowing. First, you can search for area-based scholarships on scholarship search sites. You can also apply for a California grant program such as:
If you already have California student loans, know that you might qualify for state-specific forgiveness programs. Check out our guide to California student loan forgiveness to learn more about your options.
Refinance student loans, get a bonus in 2024
| Lender Name | Lender | Offer | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
|
$500 Bonus
For refinancing 100k or more (bonus from Student Loan Planner®, not SoFi®)
|
Fixed 4.49 - 9.99% APR
Variable 5.99 - 9.99% APR with all discounts with all discounts |
|
|
|
$1,000 Bonus
For 100k or more. $200 for 50k to $99,999
|
Fixed 4.29 - 9.74% APR
Variable 5.89 - 9.74% APR
|
|
|
$1,000 Bonus
For 100k or more. $300 for 50k to $99,999
|
Fixed 4.99 - 10.24% APPR
Variable 5.28 - 10.24% APR
|
|
|
$1,050 Bonus
For 100k+, $300 for 50k to 99k.
|
Fixed 4.99 - 8.90% APR
Variable 5.29 - 9.20% APR
|
|
|
$1,275 Bonus
For 150k+, $300 to $575 for 50k to 149k.
|
Fixed 4.88 - 8.44% APR
Variable 4.86 - 8.49% APR
|
|
|
$1,250 Bonus
For 100k+, $350 for 50k to 100k. $100 for 5k to 50k
|
Fixed 3.85 - 12.10% APR
Variable 4.70 - 13.44% APR
|
Not sure what to do with your student loans?
Take our 11 question quiz to get a personalized recommendation for 2024 on whether you should pursue PSLF, Biden’s New IDR plan, or refinancing (including the one lender we think could give you the best rate).
