Brazos Student Loan Refinancing: 2025 Review

Brazos Snapshot

Brazos is a non-profit lender that offers private student loans and student loan refinancing. Since it was launched in 1975, Brazos has focused on bringing transparency and low-cost loans to Texas residents. While Brazos student loan refinancing is only available to Texas residents, the non-profit lender offers competitive rates and flexible terms to those who qualify. It’s best if you are a Texas resident with at least a bachelor’s degree and have an established income and strong credit.

(Note: borrowers are not required to have graduated from a Texas school in order to qualify).

Fixed APR Range: 4.90% to 6.99%*

Variable APR Range: 5.32% to 9.12%*

Loan Amounts: $10,000 to $400,000.

Minimum Credit Score: 720, or 690 with a qualified cosigner.

Best Features	Drawbacks
• Work with a non-profit, rather than a traditional lender • Competitive interest rates • Variety of repayment terms ranging from 5 to 20 years • Generous forbearance options	• Strict eligibility criteria • No cosigner release • No bi-weekly payment via autopay • Students cannot take over Parent PLUS loans that parents took out on their behalf

Best Features of Refinancing with Brazos

Work with a non-profit, rather than a traditional lender

As a non-profit student lender, Brazos has been helping Texas families finance the cost of their college education for over 40 years. Brazos is not affiliated with any school, and as a non-profit, its goal is to save you money by offering the most competitive rates possible. While Brazos doesn’t have the name recognition that some of the traditional banks and online lenders have, it offers low rates and personalized customer service.

Competitive interest rates

When looking to refinance your student loan, finding a low-interest rate is typically a top priority. If you qualify for student loan refinancing through Brazos, you will have access to competitive rates.

Fixed APR*	4.90% to 6.99%
Variable APR*	5.32% to 9.12%

Choose from a variety of repayment terms between 5 and 20 years

Brazos allows you to choose from a wide range of loan terms to make repayment as easy as possible. Often, choosing a shorter repayment term helps you qualify for a lower rate, and minimize your total interest charges. Stretching out repayment over a longer period of time can lower your monthly payment amount, but your total repayment costs may increase.

Offers up to 12 months of forbearance due to economic hardship, natural disaster, or military duty

If you experience economic hardship, a natural disaster, or are called up for active-duty military service, Brazos offers up generous forbearance options (a pause on your repayment due to financial hardship, unemployment, or a disability).

Brazos offers up to 12 months of forbearance, in three-month increments. While Brazos handles forbearance on a case-by-case basis, it can be a helpful safety net if you were to fall into financial hardship.

Drawbacks of Refinancing with Brazos

Strict eligibility criteria

In order to qualify for a student loan refinancing through Brazos, borrowers must meet the following criteria:

A U.S. citizen, permanent resident or, if applying with an eligible cosigner, a non-citizen with a work or student visa
Live in the State of Texas (students don’t need to attend college in Texas in order to qualify)
At least the 18 years old
Graduated with at least an undergraduate bachelor’s degree
Be employed or self-employed at the time of the application, or accepted an offer of employment with a start date within 60 days
Have a credit score of 720, or 690 if applying with a qualified cosigner
Have an annual income of $60,000, or $30,000 if applying with a qualified cosigner

Not a Texas resident? Complete the Sparrow form to see if you pre-qualify and at what rate with over 15 different lenders. It’s quick, easy, and does not impact your credit score.

No cosigner release

Given that young people generally have a limited credit history, a cosigner can help you qualify for better loan terms. Many private student lenders allow you to release your cosigner after a few years of timely payments (typically 1-2 years). This essentially means that the cosigner is no longer liable for repaying the loan in the event that you (the borrower) are unable to make payments.

While becoming a cosigner can be daunting, the cosigner release policy is meant to ease the burden and make it less risky. Unfortunately, Brazos does not offer any form of cosigner release. Instead, you will have to apply for a new refinance loan through Brazos to release your cosigner.

That said, 85% of Brazos refinance loans are not cosigned. So, a cosigner release policy may not be a concerning drawback if you opt for a non-cosigned refinance loan.

No biweekly payment via autopay

When you repay your student loan, your payments are due monthly by default. Instead, some borrowers choose to make biweekly payments via autopay — where you automatically pay half your monthly amount once every two weeks. Many borrowers use biweekly autopay in an effort to pay off their student debt faster and pay less in interest over the lifetime of the loan.

Unfortunately, when you borrow through Brazos, you don’t have the option to make biweekly payments via autopay.

You do, however, have the option to make greater-than-minimum payments via autopay. This means you have the option to pay more than your monthly balance in order to reduce the interest that accrues over time. With Brazos, you can set this up automatically so that the desired monthly payment is drawn from your bank account at the end of each month.

Students cannot take over parent PLUS loans that parents took out on their behalf

If your parent has taken out a Parent PLUS loan or a private student loan in their name, some lenders give your parent the option to transfer the loan to your name (so long as you are the primary applicant). Unfortunately, Brazos does not allow students to refinance parent PLUS loans in the student’s name.

If you are a parent who took out a parent PLUS loan, you can still refinance that loan through Brazos — it will just be in your name, not the student’s name.

If you’re looking for a lender that does allow you to transfer parent PLUS loans to the student, you may want to consider SoFi.

Brazos: The Nuts and Bolts

Interest Rates, Fees, and Terms

Fixed APR Range	4.90% to 6.99%
Variable APR Range	5.32% to 9.12%
Loan Terms	5, 7, 10, 15 or 20 years
Loan Amounts	$10,000 to $400,000, depending on the degree earned.
Ability to transfer a parent loan to the student	No.
Application or Origination Fee	No.
Prepayment Penalty	No.
Late Fees	Yes, 5% of the monthly payment or $7.50, whichever is greater. Maximum fee is $35.

Eligibility Requirements – Financial

Minimum Credit Score	720 or 690 with a qualified cosigner.
Minimum Income	$60,000 or $30,000 if applying with a cosigner.
Typical Credit Score of Approved Borrowers or Cosigners	Did not disclose.
Typical Income of Approved Borrower	$172,579
Maximum Debt-to-Income Ratio	40% (this means that the total monthly debt payments must not exceed 40% of monthly income).
Ability to qualify if you’ve filed for bankruptcy	Must not have had a bankruptcy within the past 7 years.

Eligibility Requirements – Personal

Citizenship	Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. If applying with an eligible cosigner, a non-citizen with a work or student visa can qualify.
Location	Borrowers must be a Texas resident.
Must have graduated	Yes, an undergraduate degree is required.
Must have attended a school authorized to receive federal aid	Yes.
Percentage of borrowers who have a cosigner	13.2%

Repayment Options

In-school Deferment	No.
Military Deferment	Yes for up to 36 months.
Disability Deferment	Yes, but only if there is no cosigner. If the primary borrower dies, the cosigner is still responsible for paying the loan.
Forbearance	Yes, borrowers are eligible for 12 months of economic hardship forbearance and natural disaster forbearance, in three-month increments, over the life of the loan.
Cosigner Release	No. Applicants may reapply individually to release cosigner.
Death or Disability Discharge	Yes, but only if there is no cosigner. If the primary borrower dies, the cosigner is still responsible for paying the loan.
Loan discharge if cosigner dies or becomes disabled	No.
Autopay	Allows for surplus payments via autopay: Yes. Allows for biweekly payments via autopay: No

Customer Service

Loan Servicer	Firstmark.
In-house Customer Service Team	Only for application process.
Process for Escalating Concerns	Yes, through Firstmark.
Borrowers get assigned a personal customer service representative	No.
Average time from approval to payoff	N/A.

Before you take out a loan from Brazos…

Complete the Sparrow form to compare real, pre-qualified rates from more than 15 different lenders to make sure you’re getting the best rate possible.

See real rates, not rate ranges or estimates: Sparrow’s rates mimic those of our lenders so you know what rate you’re getting from each lender.

No impact on your credit score: Checking your rates on Sparrow won’t impact your credit score.

Data Privacy: Sparrow doesn’t sell your information, so don’t worry about getting calls from that random number that won’t leave you alone.

FAQ

Is Brazos a legitimate lender?

Yes, Brazos is a legitimate lender. The lender is part of the nation’s largest group of nonprofit student loan organizations and has been an integral part of financing more than 2 million student loans.

Is Brazos available in all 50 states?

Brazos is only available for Texas residents. If you’re a Texas resident, you do not need to go to school in Texas in order to borrow from Brazos.

How long does it take to get a Brazos student loan?

Submitting an application through Brazos takes a few minutes. Once you’ve submitted your loan application, Brazos will instantaneously return a decision about your eligibility. If you qualify, you will be asked to upload documents to verify your income and residence to determine your rate and terms.

Brazos estimates that the entire process will take a few weeks. You can speed up the process by requesting debt payoff letters from your existing lenders and loan servicers.

What happens if I don’t qualify for a Brazos student loan?

If you don’t qualify for a Brazos student loan, the company will inform you why. Depending on the reason, you may consider applying with a qualified cosigner or trying with a different lender. To check your rates across multiple lenders at once, try using Sparrow’s free search engine. In just two minutes, you can receive real, personalized offers from over 15 different lenders ready to help you. And best of all, it won’t impact your credit score.

Are Brazos student loans federal or private?

Brazos’ student loans are private. Before you take out a private student loan, we recommend that you exhaust your federal funding options, including grants and scholarships.

Does applying for a loan through Brazos hurt my credit score?

Yes. If you decide to apply for a Brazos loan, the company will conduct a hard credit check to verify your information. A hard credit check may temporarily impact your credit score. We recommend submitting the Sparrow form prior to submitting a formal loan application with Brazos. The Sparrow form will allow you to see what rate you’d qualify for with Brazos without hurting your credit score.