How to Refinance Student Loans as a DACA Recipient

~3 minute read below

two-students-walking students-sitting-on-ground
As featured in

Summary

Student loan refinancing is common, especially for people with private student loans, with an estimated 50,000 professionals doing so each month.

It involves taking out a new student loan to payoff the existing debt you have, lowering your rate and overall cost.

Historically, DACA recipients had limited options available for refinancing; however, we’ve recently gotten a new deal available to DACA graduates.

How it works

01

Fill out our quick simple form (2 mins)

Juno doesn’t run a credit check and is free to join
Signing up doesn’t commit you to anything
We’ll just make sure we’re showing you the best deal
signing-documents
02

Visit our partner with your link (10 mins)

We’ll provide a special URL to redeem the Juno deal
You’ll visit the lender site to get the credit check
Usually it’s an instant approval if you’re eligible
hands-on-computer
03

Complete the refinance (45 mins)

If you like your refinance offer, you can accept for free
Your new lender will pay off your old debt
You'll begin making payments on your new loan
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How we save you money

coin-falling-into-vault

Lenders spend so much money on marketing

In comparison, 80%+ of our members find out about us from a friend.

We pitch lenders an alternative

Give our members better deals and avoid spending thousands of dollars per customer on marketing. It saves them time and money, and we end up getting our community better rates and cash back for free.

Our Journey

Our founders Nikhil and Chris started Juno a few years ago when they were shopping around for loans for Harvard Business School. Since then, they’ve been immersed in the student loan industry, regularly speaking with key players nationwide and researching the market.

Every year, we make all the lenders compete to offer the best deals to our community. In the process, we pore over dozens of rate tables, and stay up all night crunching spreadsheets to map out which lenders offered the most people the best rates. Through this data analysis, we're confident that our choices are the best for the community.

Since Juno members never pay us, we charge all lenders a set fee that is agreed before the negotiations begin. That way, we can’t be swayed by a larger financial incentive. The only way to be featured on our site is to offer our community the best deal.

By the numbers

$502,121+

in cash back earned by our community

134,000+

members

$590M+

in loans

Hear from a member!

“I was with Sallie Mae and my interest rate was 10.75%, but I refinanced through [Juno] and not only got my rate down to almost 4%, but I also got $1000 cash.

I got paid. To save money.

So make sure as soon as you graduate and get your first paystub to refi. It's super easy and literally takes under 10 minutes, the hardest part is typing in how much you have saved in all our accounts to prove assets as well as entering your social.

Their system literally automates all the hard parts out of it. Not everyone will save as much as me because I'm kind of an extreme case.

I refinanced 170k at 10.75%V to 4.04%F, cutting my monthly payment from $2800 to $1250. This is totally free and you can still write off payments on your taxes. Hope this helps someone...

Of course, make sure you do plenty of research and ask tons of questions to the lender before you refinance any debt.

I applied for refi literally everywhere and this was the best deal by like 1.2% and was much easier to fill out the app than at other places.”

Andy Avatar

Josh C.

Georgia Institute of Technology

Who is refinancing for?

For people with high interest student loans

This can apply to individuals with either federal and private loans.

For private loan borrowers

There’s little downside associated with refinance, and a large potential upside in terms of savings, and reducing your monthly payment. Although it’s uncommon, do note that you may lose benefits associated with your underlying private loans if you refinance. If you file for bankruptcy, you may still be required to pay back this loan.

That said, you should always consult a financial advisor before taking any action. This article is not intended to be financial advice, and we urge you to do your own research independently.

Can I refinance?

students-on-bench-in-park-mirror

While we don't determine eligibility (our lending partners do) there are some basics that are usually needed.

At least $5,000 in student loan debt
No bankruptcies or defaults
Attended a Title IV-accredited non-profit school
Credit score above 650
Employed with a steady income in USD
DACA recipient

Note that while most lenders require a completed degree, one of our partners Earnest now has an option if you did not graduate. The last attending date needs to be longer than 6 years ago, and your credit needs to be above 700.

Earnest

Earnest is owned by one of the largest student loan servicers in America. While they operate as a separate unit, they have the backing and security of an established provider.

As a Juno member, you will receive a rate that's 0.25% lower than what you'd receive if you were to go directly to Earnest. Combined with their already low rates, this can make a significant difference in the amount you repay.1

Rates: Fixed starting at 4.96%2,3 APR, Variable starting at 5.49%2,3 APR including autopay and Juno discount.

Juno Benefit: Rate reduction of 0.25%1

Check: Soft Credit Check to get rates; Hard Credit Check to refinance

Cosigner: You cannot refinance with a cosigner with Earnest at the moment

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What happens when you refinance?

Usually after people refinance a loan, we hear “why was that so easy?” The truth is that the process is fairly straightforward.

On a basic level, you’re taking out a new loan to pay off your old loan.

Since you’re employed and are perceived as ‘less risky’, your new loan ideally has a lower interest rate, saving you money in the long run.

How to find out customized rates?

If you can answer these ten questions, you can probably go get customized rates within 5 minutes:

1. Your name
2. Email Address
3. Citizenship status
4. Degree
5. Graduation date
6. School name
7. Student loan balance
8. Income
9. Rent/mortgage payment
10. Address

Then you can use a calculator to decide if the amount you'd save is worth proceeding.

Why does the term refinance still give me the willies?

The likely culprit: home mortgage refinance – between closing costs, cash-out refinancing that involves moving other debt around, and potential loss of protections, this cousin of student loan refinance gives all refinance a bad rep.

In contrast, student loan refi through Juno doesn’t have any fees involved, and is basically a straight 1:1 refinance – that means you can only get a new loan covering the cost of your existing student debt.

So no room to borrow too much or end up in a pickle about losing your house (since student loan refi typically doesn’t involve collateral, unlike home mortgage refi where your house can be foreclosed if you don't pay your mortgage loan bills).

As always, please consult a financial advisor for additional context.

Remember, refinancing private student loan debt typically doesn't result in the loss of protections; refinancing federal student loan debt can result in the loss of certain protections (income-driven repayment, forbearance options, etc).

You can always pick and choose what you'd like to refinance without affecting all your loans.

Is now a good time to
refinance private student loans?

Rates hit historic lows back in November 2021, and started going back up since then. Given more likely upcoming rate hikes (as of July 2023), we think now is a great time to get in before they go up even more. Plus, don't forget that you have the option to refinance multiple times. Some of our members refinance their loans once a year if they can get a better rate.

Got questions?

Drop us a line at hello@joinjuno.com.

Disclaimers: Product name, logo, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within Juno are the property of their respective trademark holders. Please consult a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions. This site is not endorsed or affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education.

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 Earnest Rate Reduction Offer Disclosure:  Terms and conditions apply. To qualify for this Earnest Rate Reduction offer: 1) you must not currently be an Earnest client, or have received the rate reduction in the past, 2) you must submit a completed student loan refinancing application through the designated LeverEdge Association's link; and 3) you must provide a valid email address and a valid checking account number during the application process;  This offer is not valid for current Earnest clients who refinance their existing Earnest loans.

Earnest  Loans  are  made  by  Earnest  Operations  LLC  or One American  Bank,  Member  FDIC. Earnest  Operations  LLC,  NMLS  #1204917,  535  Mission St,  Suite  1663  San  Francisco,  CA 94105.  CA Financing  Law  License  #6054788  Visit  earnest.com/licenses for  a  full  list  of  licensed states.  One  American  Bank,  515  S.  Minnesota  Ave,  Sioux Falls,  SD  57104.  Earnest  loans  are serviced  by  Earnest  Operations  LLC  with  support  from Navient  Solutions  LLC  (NMLS  #212430). One American  Bank  and  Earnest  LLC  and  its  subsidiaries are  not  sponsored  by  or  agencies  of the  United  States  of  America.  ©  2020  Earnest  LLC. All  rights  reserved.

THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO MAKE ANY PAYMENT OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS OFFER.
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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.


THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO MAKE ANY PAYMENT OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS OFFER.
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You can take advantage of the Auto Pay interest rate reduction by setting up and maintaining active and automatic ACH withdrawal of your loan payment. The interest rate reduction for Auto Pay will be available only while your loan is enrolled in Auto Pay. Interest rate incentives for utilizing Auto Pay may not be combined with certain private student loan repayment programs that also offer an interest rate reduction. For multi-party loans, only one party may enroll in Auto Pay.

THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO MAKE ANY PAYMENT OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS OFFER.

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