Can You Refinance a Student Loan to a 30-Year Term?

Are you interested in refinancing your existing student loans and looking for a 30-year student loan refinance loan option? 

Unfortunately, the bad news is that there is no student loan 30-year repayment term for refinance loans -- although there is a 30-year student loan consolidation option for some federal loans. But the good news is, many lenders are offering lengthy repayment timelines that can still make your student loan payments much more affordable even if you don't get three full decades to pay off your debt. 

What you should know about a 30-year student loan refinance loan

When you refinance your student loans, you take out a new loan to pay off the old loan balance. And you can choose the repayment timeline for your new debt.

However, for those looking to refinance student loans, 30 years is a very long time to be paying back debt. Lenders don't offer loans with such a long repayment timeline because of the risk associated with such a lengthy borrowing period. And even if lenders did offer a student loan 30-year repayment term, you may not actually want to take advantage of it.

When you make your repayment timeline longer, you reduce the monthly payment. That can be an attractive proposition, especially if you are struggling to pay your debt. The problem is, by taking longer to pay your loans, you pay interest for a much longer period of time. And that means you end up paying much more interest over time. 

The bottom line is, your loans would be much costlier if you choose a 30-year student loan refinance loan. And you would spend decades paying down your debt instead of doing other things with your money. 

Options for a 30-year student loan consolidation loan

While you cannot find a private student loan refinance loan that has a 30-year repayment time, you may be able to explore a 30-year student loan consolidation loan if you have federal student debt.

The Department of Education offers a direct consolidation loan, which allows you to extend your loan term to as long as 30 years for eligible federal student loans. A consolidation loan does not change your interest rate; your new rate will be based on a weighted average of the loans you consolidate. 

Private loans cannot be included in a Direct Consolidation Loan program. And, before choosing such a long payoff time, remember to consider the downside. The lower monthly payments that come with a longer term come at the price of much higher total loan costs over the life of the loan. 

Juno's Exclusive Student Loan Refinance Deals

	Rates	Juno Benefit	Check
Best for Most Can’t be refinanced with a cosigner	Fixed starting at 3.95% APR APR, Variable starting at 5.89% APR including the .25% autopay discount and the .25% Juno discount.	Rate reduction of 0.25%	Soft Credit Check to get rates; Hard Credit Check to refinance
Register for Earnest Deal (it’s free!)
Alternative Best for Most May be able to refinance with a cosigner	Fixed starting at 4.96% APR, Variable starting at 4.99% APR. May include autopay discount.	Up to $1,000 cash back based on loan amount	Soft Credit Check to get rates; Hard Credit Check to refinance
Register for Splash Deal (it’s free!)
Best for Medical Professionals May be able to refinance with a cosigner	Fixed starting at 5.74% APR, Variable starting at 5.49% APR *	Rate reduction of 0.25% *	Soft Credit Check to get rates;* Hard Credit Check to refinance
Register for Laurel Road Deal (it’s free!)

Juno's Exclusive Student Loan Refinance Deals

Alternatives to student loan 30-year refinancing options

Although there are no options for a 30-year student loan refinance loan, plenty of lenders offer lengthy payoff periods. 

For example, the Department of Education also offers income-driven plans that enable you to make payments based on your income for between 20 and 25 years (depending on the specifics of your plan). These income-driven plan options cap payments as a percentage of your income, making them very affordable. And at the end of your repayment period, any outstanding loan amount is forgiven. 

There are also private student loan refinance loans that allow you to pay your loans off over many years, thus reducing the amount you must pay each month towards your student loan debt. For example: 

• Splash, a Juno partner lender, offers loan repayment terms that last between five and 25 years. 
• Earnest, another Juno partner lender, offers loan repayment timelines up to 20 years, and while their most common payoff times are 5, 10, 12, 15, and 20 years, you can also select payoff timelines in between. 

If you are looking for a student loan 30-year repayment, you may just find that a loan with a 20 or 25-year payoff time provides you the financial flexibility you need in your budget -- even without that extra five to 10 years a 30-year loan would offer. 

If you are interested in refinancing, Juno can help you find a loan that you can afford with competitive student loan refinance rates and has a repayment timeline you're comfortable with. Juno takes a unique approach to student loan refinancing by getting groups of borrowers together and making private lenders compete for their business.

With Juno harnessing the power of collective bargaining, each individual borrower can qualify for the most competitive rates possible for their situation. 

See how Juno can help you save on student loan refinancing -- even without a 30-year student loan refinance loan.