Laurel Road Student Loan Refinancing

Laurel Road is a digital banking brand that offers student loan refinancing and, historically, private student loans for healthcare and other graduate professionals. It operates as part of KeyBank and is particularly focused on serving borrowers in medicine, dentistry, nursing, and other healthcare fields.

Before considering Laurel Road's student loan refinancing, it is important to understand what refinancing means for federal student loans. If you refinance federal loans through Laurel Road or any private lender, you permanently give up access to federal income-driven repayment plans, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and other federal protections. This cannot be reversed. Refinancing federal loans is generally only worth considering if you have stable income, do not plan to pursue loan forgiveness, and can secure a meaningfully lower interest rate.

For healthcare professionals specifically, Laurel Road may offer terms tailored to training periods, such as options to make reduced payments during residency or fellowship before transitioning to full payments. This feature is designed to reflect the reality that early-career physicians and nurses may have limited income during training.

Refinancing rates are offered in fixed and variable formats. Fixed rates provide payment certainty. Variable rates may start lower but can change based on market indexes. The rate you receive depends on your creditworthiness and income.

For borrowers considering private student loans rather than refinancing, Laurel Road has offered products for students in qualifying healthcare programs. Eligibility, availability, and product details should be confirmed directly with Laurel Road.

When evaluating Laurel Road, compare the annual percentage rate, total repayment cost, repayment terms, and any specific features for healthcare professionals against other refinancing options before committing.