3 signs it's time to refinance your MBA student loans

By Anna Baluch | Published on October 21, 2025

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If you took out student loans to cover the cost of a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and advance your career, refinancing might make sense. This strategy can allow you to reduce your interest rate, lower your monthly payments, and/or repay your debt sooner than you ever thought possible. Here are three telltale signs that might indicate it’s time to refinance your MBA student loans.

1. Your loans have high interest rates

While you may be able to secure Direct Subsidized Loans with lower interest rates for an undergraduate degree, loans for MBAs often come with higher rates. This is because your options are limited to federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, PLUS loans, and private loans, all of which are known for less competitive rates. Fortunately, refinancing your MBA student loans through a fee-free private lender like Earnest can give you the chance to lower your rates and in turn, reduce your debt burden. As long as you’re within six months of starting your job, you can go through the refinance process before you graduate.

2. Your financial situation has improved

It’s not uncommon for MBA grads to progress in their careers and land higher paying jobs. If this sounds like you, you’ve probably found it easier to make all your debt payments on time and improve your credit score. Fortunately, a better credit score can lead to a lower interest rate via a refi.

Depending on your situation, you may want to explore a variable rate refinance in addition to a fixed rate refinance, especially if you believe you’ll be able to repay your MBA loans off quickly. Note that while variable rates are usually lower than fixed rates at first, they’re tied to market conditions and might rise in the future.

If you’re concerned that you won’t be able to pay off your MBA loans before a variable rate goes up, you may be better off with a fixed rate refinance as your rate and payments will remain the same.

3. You won’t miss out on federal loan benefits

Federal student loans come with a variety of perks, such as income-based repayment plans and loan forgiveness programs. If you refinance your loans, you’ll lose them as you may only pursue this strategy through a private lender.

Therefore, it’s important to determine whether you actually qualify for federal student loan benefits based on your profession, employment status, and other factors. If not and your goal is to save some money, refinancing should be on your radar. You can refinance your federal student loans with a private lender like Earnest and potentially lower your interest rate.

Refinance your MBA student loans with Earnest (even while you’re still in school)

At Earnest, we make it a breeze to refinance your MBA student loans without any fees, including application, origination, prepayment, and late fees. While other lenders require you to graduate to qualify for refinancing, we allow you to start the process while you’re in school.

All you have to do is show proof of employment within six months of graduation. If you’re ready to start the process and potentially save money on your MBA loans, check your rate in under 2 minutes, without any impact to your credit score. The refinancing process is free, so you have nothing to lose!

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About the Author

Anna Baluch

Anna Baluch is a freelance finance writer from Cleveland, OH. She enjoys writing content that helps people from all walks of life make good financial decisions. Her areas of expertise include student loans, refinancing, mortgages, personal loans, budgeting, and debt management.

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: This blog post provides personal finance educational information, and it is not intended to provide legal, financial, or tax advice. Important Notes:

1. Please note that you will lose benefits associated with your underlying federal loans, such as federal Income-driven Repayment Plans (an example of which is the SAVE plan), Economic Hardship Deferment, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or other deferment and forbearance options, if you refinance into a private loan. If you file for bankruptcy, you may still be required to pay back this loan.
2. Choosing to refinance to a longer term may lower your monthly payment but increase the amount of interest you may pay. Choosing to refinance to a shorter term may increase your monthly payment but lower the amount of interest you may pay. Review your loan documentation for the total cost of your refinanced loan.
3. As a result of ongoing court actions, the terms of some Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans, including the SAVE plan, may be subject to change. Please refer to studentaid.gov for the current status of these plans.