The things that shape your decision.
Explained plainly, and sourced.

A fixed rate never changes. A variable rate is a benchmark (often SOFR or prime) plus a fixed margin set by your lender, so when the benchmark moves, your rate moves with it, usually monthly or quarterly, up to a lifetime cap. Federal loans are all fixed; variable rates are a private-loan thing.

The trap is judging a variable loan by today's number. A variable loan at 6% can sit below your 7.5% fixed loan right now and still be the riskier one, because it can climb past 7.5% and keep going toward its cap, while the fixed loan never budges. A lower rate today is not the same as a lower rate over the life of the loan.

So the question for a variable loan isn't only "can I beat this rate," it's "should I lock it before it rises." The honest way to weigh it: compare your current variable rate to the fixed rate you could refinance into. If fixed is only a little higher (a small premium for certainty), locking is usually worth it. If your variable rate is far below fixed, locking now would just raise your payment, so keep it and watch, with a clear trigger: if it drifts up toward that fixed offer, lock it in.

The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) launches July 1, 2026. It's the new income-driven plan, with payments based on your adjusted gross income and a $50/month reduction for each dependent child.

It includes a principal-match subsidy: if your payment doesn't cut principal by at least $50 in a month, a subsidy makes up the difference. But there's a catch the tool watches for; paying more than the minimum can cancel that month's interest subsidy and principal match (the extra goes to interest first).

So on RAP, overpaying can quietly backfire. If you want to pay extra, it's usually better aimed at a high-rate private loan instead.

The SAVE plan was eliminated by the 2025 law (OBBBA) and vacated by a federal court in March 2026. Short of new legislation, it's permanently gone.

The 0% interest forbearance SAVE enrollees were parked in ended August 1, 2025, and that period does not count toward forgiveness or PSLF. Starting July 1, 2026, servicers notify former SAVE borrowers, who get 90 days to pick a new plan or be auto-enrolled in a standard one.

If you were on SAVE, the action item is simple: choose your next plan deliberately rather than letting the auto-enroll decide for you.

IBR is the only legacy income-driven plan that survives for existing borrowers, and it still leads to forgiveness after 25 years. PAYE and ICR end by July 1, 2028; graduated and extended fixed plans are being phased out too.

Anyone taking a new loan after July 1, 2026 gets only RAP or a reworked tiered standard plan.

The trap to avoid: existing borrowers keep their legacy plans only if they don't take new loans after July 1, 2026. Any new loan, including going back to grad school, can force all your loans, even old ones, onto RAP.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness still exists and is still paying out, over $90 billion forgiven to 1.2M+ borrowers, with millions enrolled. A president can't cancel it by executive order; Congress narrowed it through the 2025 law.

The core requirements are unchanged: work full-time for a government or 501(c)(3) nonprofit, hold Direct Loans (consolidate others), repay on an income-driven or 10-year standard plan, and make 120 qualifying payments. A 2026 rule also lets the government exclude employers deemed to have a "substantial illegal purpose"; that piece is contested and in active litigation.

Bottom line for your strategy: if PSLF is even possible for you, never refinance your federal loans. Refinancing forfeits it forever.

Two questions. First: is the loan federal? If yes, no, don't refinance. The protections you'd give up outweigh any rate improvement, especially now.

If the loan is private: is your rate meaningfully above what your credit tier maps to today (fixed refis start around 3.90% in mid-2026)? If yes, check 2 to 3 lenders with a soft pull. If no, keep what you have.

Refinancing isn't one-and-done; you can refinance again later if rates fall or your credit improves.

Avalanche directs every extra dollar at your highest-rate loan first. When it's gone, you roll that payment into the next-highest, and so on.

It saves the most because the highest-rate loan costs you the most per day it exists. Killing it earlier means less interest accrues in the months that follow.

Paying smallest-balance-first (snowball) gives faster wins but costs more in total interest. Both work; avalanche is the cheaper one.

A floor is a monthly payment you set BELOW your current total minimum, by switching some federal loans onto an income-driven plan that fits a lower obligation. It's the most you might pay in a rough month, not a target.

In normal months you pay your normal payment (or more, aimed at high-rate private debt). The floor is just insurance: it protects cash flow without giving up federal optionality.

The math: the floor lengthens your payoff if you literally only ever paid the floor. But you almost certainly won't; the floor exists so a bad quarter doesn't derail your strategy.

A soft pull doesn't affect your score. Lenders use them to quote you a rate before you formally apply, so rate shopping is free.

A hard pull happens when you submit a real application. It typically dings your score 3 to 5 points and stays on your report two years.

FICO bundles multiple hard pulls for the same product within about 30 days into one inquiry, so shopping several refi lenders at once is safe.

Your servicer collects payments, sends statements, and handles paperwork; they don't own the loan. The lender (or the government, for federal) does.

For federal loans you can't pick your servicer; it's assigned. For private loans, the only way to change servicers is to refinance with a different lender.