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    How To Refinance Student Loan Balances Without A Degree

    To help students with their loan balances, the government provides certain legal rights designed to help borrowers repay debt easily. 

    For those students with poor finances, this is extremely helpful and allows them to pursue higher education. 

    However, it is not easy to predict the future and some issues might prompt students to drop out. 

    Certainly, some students do not like the stress of college and want to pursue other fields. Still, a few withdraw involuntarily due to low-income conditions and other circumstantial issues. 

    Therefore, they lose out on their degree pursuit. But how does that act affect outstanding student loan balances?

    If you are facing similar issues, this thought is bound to arise. Accordingly, knowing the answer is important. In fact, dropping out does not cancel the loan, and many end up having to pay them off anyway.

    Thus, to help you in this situation, we will discuss some options in this blog.

    How A Direct Consolidation Loan Can Help

    As a valuable means to handle your student loans without getting a degree, Direct Consolidation is a sure-fire method. To put it simply, this allows you to merge your various loans into a single one, and consolidate monthly payments accordingly. Moreover, it comes with its own rules and arrangements that you have to consider as well.

    For one, you need to know if you are eligible to apply given many private institutions do not support this strategy. 

    Not to mention, whether you are applying for the accompanying forgiveness program or not, these loans vary from regular college loans. 

    Thus, whatever benefits you were receiving previously and were entitled to are canceled out when you shift to this consolidation method. 

    However, if you leave school midway or the grace period is still ongoing, there are benefits to undertaking this option. 

    Additionally, the entire bulk of the previous loans will then be payable in smaller amounts every month. 

    This makes it easier to handle, despite more interest over the life of the loan. 

    Student Loan Refinancing 

    While the previous option relates primarily to government-issued loans, refinancing can include private mediums as well. Thus, your chance to apply for it increases along with your time limit. In fact, you can even receive other benefits like lower interest rates and more suitable term lengths depending on the lender. 

    With the refinancing loan, you can pay off your student loans, whether federally sponsored or private. Of course, the decision to approve your application is at the lenders' discretion and there are some which are particularly selective. 

    Lenders like SoFi check to see your educational progress before agreeing to lend you the money. 

    Although this possibility is helpful for many borrowers, the eligibility criteria for applying are determined by creditors and their own requirements. 

    Furthermore, it does not follow the regular rules of government-sponsored loans and many of their benefits are ineligible. 

    Similarly, some lenders have specified timelines to meet, and do not budge despite issues that you might encounter. 

    Therefore, there are both good and bad ramifications for this type of loan, especially if you do not have a degree. Still, the merits of it are visible, and there are many reliable lenders that can provide help in these types of circumstances. 

    3 Lenders That Can Help

    • PNC Student Loan- This bank has a viable credit score percentage limit, and many applicants can apply. Moreover, if your credit score is at least 660, you can gain help in refinancing your loan from this bank. Depending on the APR percentile you fall under, your loan repayment is eligible for 10 to 15-year terms. 
    • Discover Student Loan- This bank is a reliable option for student loan borrowers. A credit score between 650 and 680 is suitable for this type of offer. Furthermore, this financial services provider caters to a wide range of credit APR percentages and provides features like forbearance and a lower interest rate. Additionally, it aids borrowers with both private and federal loans, even if they have not completed a degree program. 
    • Wells Fargo Student Loan- This institution provides student loan refinancing opportunities to those who could not complete their degree program. The average credit score for borrowers and cosigners that participate in this refinancing offer sits at 761. Not to mention, it provides a lot of benefits too and is eligible for most applicants with a viable credit score. However, when it comes to handling outstanding federal student loan balances, this bank is not necessarily the best option. 

    Bottom Line

    Overall, you can access more affordable means to pay off your student loan balances even if you did not complete a degree program. While you cannot completely escape repaying a loan, you can still explore available government and private assistance. However, not everyone can apply for these solutions. 

    Carefully check the terms beforehand to ensure you are not losing out on advantageous benefits.