SoFi Blog

Got student loans? We’ve got you covered with our Student Loan Smarts blog series. Our expert tips and hacks will help you save money, pay off loans sooner and stress less about student loan debt. Read the other posts in the series here—and get all the info you need to make intelligent decisions about your student loans. And while you’re at it, check out SoFi’s new Student Loan Debt Navigator tool to assess your student loan repayment options.

Student loans have a way of making you feel powerless. But the truth is, you have more control than you think. That’s what our Student Loan Smarts series is all about—helping you understand all of your options so you can make decisions that fit with your financial goals.

One of those options? Choosing to consolidate or refinance student loans. But what is consolidation, what is refinancing, and how do you know which one (if either) is right for you?

Chiara McPhee and Jen Kessler are great friends and the owners of San Francisco-based Bizzy, a startup offering a state-of-the-art email marketing platform for ecommerce businesses in varied industries and stages. They each refinanced student loans with SoFi, and they’re members of our Entrepreneur Program, which not only allowed them to defer their student loan payments for up to 6 months, but also provides access to valuable mentors and investors. Read about how they grew their friendship into a business and made it past a near-crippling initial failure to success.

Name: Nicole Gaines                                                                                                     

Locale: Nashville, TN                                                                                                    

Alma Maters: UC Chattanooga & Cumberland University                                                

By Day: Registered Nurse at Vanderbilt Medical Center                                                                                               

SoFi Member Since: 2015                                                                                             

Approximate SoFi Loan: $37,000                                                                                    

SoFi Savings: ~$500/month

Nicole Gaines is a single mother, full-time nurse, dedicated daughter, community volunteer, and bikini contest competitor. Needless to say, she is the definition of success. Nicole shares that her secret is in making it a priority to take care of herself in order to take care of others.

Name: Joe Lakier

Locale: Brooklyn, NY

Alma Maters: Wayne State University Law School (JD); University of Florida (LLM)

By Day: Manager/Fraud Investigator at EY

SoFi Member Since: 2015

Total independence isn’t easy. But for Joe Lakier, a law school grad and solo backpacking junkie, self-sufficiency has always been essential. So when he found himself strapped with six figures worth of student loan debt, Joe sought a solution to free up his finances. See how SoFi partnered up with his company to make sure he was back in control.  

Most people think that doctors have it pretty easy when it comes to paying off medical student loans. Sure, they rack up six figures worth of student debt—but their outsized salaries should help them decimate those loans in no time (not to mention set them up for life).

However, if you’re a doctor, you know the reality of having medical school loans is more complicated than people might think. For one thing, you don’t start making “student loan payoff money” until you’re out of residency, which—depending on your focus—can take 3, 4, 5, even 10 years. During that time you have to juggle a big student loan balance with a relatively small paycheck, learn the nuances of various medical school loan repayment programs, and stay on top of changing student loan legislation that can impact your payments or potential student loan forgiveness.