Refinancing your student loans can have many benefits, including a lower payment and total savings on interest. While the most important factor is your current financial position, here are some other things to consider before refinancing:

• Have you shopped around? Applying with LendKey, Veridian's student loan partner, is fast and free, so it's easy to see what rates you qualify for and compare them to other lenders.
• Are you eligible for loan forgiveness? Some teachers, government workers and nonprofit employees can have part of their loans waived after working for a certain amount of time. However, this usually applies only to federal loans, so refinancing those with a private lender may make you ineligible. Be sure to check the requirements!
• Do you need a co-signer? If you don't qualify for refinancing or can't get the rate you'd like on your own, consider asking a family member to be a co-signer. They will share equal responsibility for your loan, which can affect their credit, so be sure to make your payments on time.
• Do you have a variable rate? You may want to move quickly to refinance if the Federal Reserve is in the mood to raise rates, as that will increase the amount of interest your loans accrue.
• Are you in your grace period? Your student loans earn interest while you're in your grace period, but you don't have to make monthly payments. If you're ready to refinance, consider waiting until your payments kick in so you can use the money you would put toward your student loans to pay down other debt or build your savings.

If you're ready to take control of your student loans, apply for refinancing today.

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