Refinancing during residency

Residency is when your income is lowest and your interest is highest. Resident refinance loans promise a tiny payment for those years. RAP offers something lenders can’t: the government waives the interest you can’t pay.

That difference decides the question for most residents. Here’s the math.

What refinancing costs you, in plain terms

Refinancing turns federal loans into private ones. For those loans you lose access to RAP, PSLF, federal forgiveness, and federal forbearance and deferment. You can’t switch back after residency if things change.

What RAP does during residency

RAP’s payment is a percentage of your total AGI: 1% at $10,001 to $20,000, rising a point per $10,000, up to 10% above $100,000. It’s divided by 12, minus $50 per dependent, with a $10 minimum.

For a resident, that’s small:

• First year of residency: your last tax return is usually from D4, with little income. The payment can be the $10 minimum.
• On a $65,000 stipend: 6% × $65,000 ÷ 12 = about $325 a month.

On $300,000 at 8.07%, interest runs about $2,020 a month. RAP waives whatever your payment doesn’t cover, every month. And if your payment cuts principal by less than $50, the government matches up to $50. So your balance falls slightly instead of growing.

Which lenders offer reduced resident payments

As of September 26, 2026, from each company’s own site:

Company	Resident option	What happens to unpaid interest
SoFi (direct lender)	Medical and dental resident refinance with a reduced payment during training	SoFi says unpaid interest is added to your principal when the residency period ends
Splash Financial (marketplace)	Lists a resident option with a reduced payment during training and for six months after	Its disclosure says the loan will likely cause negative amortization during residency; the fine print describes a SoFi resident loan
Earnest (direct lender)	Medical and dental residency refinance with a reduced payment during residency and for a period after; residency programs of seven years or less	Earnest says unpaid interest accrues but isn’t added to principal when full repayment begins
KeyBank, which absorbed Laurel Road (direct lender)	Resident refinance with reduced payments during training	KeyBank says accrued interest doesn’t compound while you train; its page speaks to medical residents and doesn’t name dental ones

We didn’t find a resident-specific program on the ELFI, LendKey, Credible or Juno pages we read.

Two details worth reading before you sign. Splash’s fine print says dental residents and fellows “are unable to receive additional tuition liabilities” during the residency period. Ask about this if your program charges tuition. And KeyBank notes residents with a signed contract to practice may qualify for its standard rates instead.

The trade-off, with numbers

Same dentist, same $300,000, same rate after residency. Stipend $65,000 a year, single, no dependents. These are examples, not offers.

Path 1: RAP in residency, refinance after. Pay $10 a month the first year and about $325 a month after that. Then refinance at 6.0% fixed APR for 10 years.

Path 2: resident refinance now. Example: 6.0% fixed APR, paying $100 a month during residency, then 10 years of full payments. Unpaid interest is added to the balance when residency ends.

Two-year residency:

Path	Paid in residency	Balance after	Then 10 years at 6.0% fixed	Total
RAP, then refinance	about $4,000	about $299,000	about $3,320/month	about $403,000
Resident refinance	about $2,400	about $333,600	about $3,700/month	about $447,000

Four-year residency:

Path	Paid in residency	Balance after	Then 10 years at 6.0% fixed	Total
RAP, then refinance	about $11,800	about $298,000	about $3,310/month	about $409,000
Resident refinance	about $4,800	about $367,200	about $4,080/month	about $494,000

Waiting saves about $44,000 on a two-year program and about $85,000 on a four-year one. Longer training makes refinancing early more expensive, not less.

The example uses simple interest during training, which matches KeyBank’s description. Path 1 assumes RAP payments start when residency starts; interest during the six-month grace period isn’t waived and would add about $12,000 at 8.07%. A lender that compounds would cost more. If your stipend is higher, your RAP payment rises, but unpaid interest is still waived each month.

Specialty residency: extra things to weigh

• PSLF may already be running. Is your residency full time at a government or 501(c)(3) hospital? Then those RAP payments may count toward PSLF (Federal Student Aid). Refinancing would throw that credit away. Check the hospital in the PSLF Help Tool.
• You may end up in academics or public service. Faculty jobs at public universities and roles at the VA or FQHCs can qualify for PSLF. Keep that door open until you sign a contract.
• Your future income is higher, but not yet real. An orthodontist’s or oral surgeon’s income can make refinancing attractive later. The same high income means the lender’s rate may improve once you have a contract.
• Private loans are different. If you already carry private loans, refinancing them doesn’t cost federal protections. A resident refinance of private debt alone can make sense if the rate is lower.

When a resident refinance can still make sense

• Your loans are mostly private already, at a high rate.
• You’ll work in private practice for certain and your residency is at a for-profit employer.
• You have a signed contract and can qualify for standard rates, which may beat the resident product. Compare both.

Even then, run the numbers. The interest you’d add during residency can wipe out a lower rate.

Questions to ask before you sign a resident refinance

If you still want a quote, get these answers in writing first:

1. Do dental residents qualify? Some pages speak only to medical residents.
2. How long does the reduced payment last? Ask whether it covers your whole program, including any fellowship.
3. Is interest simple or compounding during training? KeyBank says it doesn’t compound, and Earnest says it doesn’t add unpaid interest to principal; ask every lender.
4. When is unpaid interest added to principal? SoFi adds it when the residency period ends.
5. Is there a reduced-payment or grace period after training? Splash’s listing mentions six months after training; confirm with the lender.
6. What happens if you leave the program early? Your payment may jump right away.
7. What’s the death and disability policy? Private lenders set their own rules.

The first year after residency

Your first associate year is the natural time to decide. You’ll have a contract, a real salary and soon a tax return that shows it.

Because RAP is based on your last tax return, your payment may stay low until it’s recalculated from a return that shows your associate income. That’s a cheap window to build an emergency fund before you commit to a private payment.

What to do next

1. Enroll in RAP now if you have federal loans. See RAP for dentists.
2. Check PSLF for your residency employer: PSLF for dentists.
3. Compare your two paths in the refinance vs forgiveness tool. The full scenario is in Refinance vs PSLF vs RAP.
4. Plan to revisit refinancing in your first year as an associate, once your income is on a tax return. Start with Should you refinance?
5. If you do refinance in residency, get quotes from both resident and standard products, such as SoFi and offers on Splash. Ask how unpaid interest is handled, and whether dental residents qualify.