Brazos Student Loans Review: Pros, Cons, And Alternatives

Who Qualifies To Apply With Brazos?

Brazos is a student loan company that specializes in refinancing loans for “established” residents of Texas. To qualify you need a good credit score of at least 720 and an income of at least $60,000. They also offer private student loans to Texas residents and those attending college in Texas (even if you live in other states like California).

If you don’t have the necessary credit score or income, you’ll need a cosigner. Soft credit checks are available.

On top of that, you can only refinance your loans with Brazos if you have a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from an accredited university. And, again, you must be a resident of Texas.

Brazos allows qualifying individuals to refinance loans of $10,000 to $250,000 for undergraduate loans and up to $400,000 for medical, graduate, or professional school loans.

Brazos Student Loan Refinancing

Brazos has been offering student loan products for over 40 years. So far it has funded more than 2 million students and provided over $30 billion of financing. Here's a closer look at what you get with Brazos student loan refinancing.

Rates And Terms

Parent Refinancing

In addition to student borrowers, parents who took out loans to pay for their child's education can refinance with Brazos as well. Direct PLUS loans made to parents and Parent PLUS loans made under the FFELP program, as well as private parent loans may be refinanced with a Brazos Refinance Loan.

Unfortunately, though, Brazos doesn't allow parents to transfer Parent PLUS Loans into a child's name alone. It can only be refinanced in the parent's name.

Cosigner Release Program

Brazos does offer a cosigner release program. A borrower may request to have the cosigner released after making twelve consecutive on-time payments or prepaying an amount equal to twelve months of principal and interest by the due date just prior to the request.

Additionally, the borrower will have to pass a credit check and qualify with at least the same pricing tier as the cosigner on the loan at the time of the application.

How Does Brazos Student Loan Refinancing Compare

Brazos' interest rates are always very competitive. But, unfortunately, it doesn't lend to residents outside of Texas and also doesn't offer a cosigner release program. Here's a quick look at how Brazos compares.

Brazos Private Student Loans

In addition to offering student loan refinancing, Brazos also offers a wide variety of private student loans. These private student loans are available to both Texas residents and those attending college in Texas (even if you originally are located in another state).

However, they cannot to lend to residents of the states of Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Puerto Rico, and South Dakota.

Here's a quick list of its upcoming menu of loans:

• Undergraduate Loan
• Graduate Loan
• MBA Loan
• Law Loan
• Medical Loan
• Dental Loan
• Veterinary Loan
• Health Professions
• Doctoral Loan

There are three in-school repayment options: full repayment, interest-only, or full deferment. If you choose immediate repayment, Brazos says that you'll qualify for a lower interest rate.

They have exceptionally competitive private student loan rates. The Brazos Private student loan rates are currently:

• Variable Rate: 3.60% to 6.89% APR
• Fixed Rate: 2.49% to 7.68% APR

Get a quote on a Brazos Private Student Loan here >>

Parent Loans

Brazos also offer parents a private loan option that serves as an alternative to parent PLUS loans. These loans come with rock-bottom interest rates for fixed terms.

Right now, their Parent Loan Rates are:

• Variable Rate: 3.59% to 6.79% APR
• Fixed Rate: 2.70% to 6.99% APR

Read our full guide to parent student loans here.

See how they compare for private loans on Credible.

Brazos student loans offer great rates and charges no origination fees, but the company isn’t perfect. Here are a few features that may mean you should look elsewhere to refinance.

What Borrower Protections Are Available?

One concerning feature of Brazos (and one shared by most private lenders) is the limited options for forbearance. Brazos offers up to 12 months of forbearance for economic hardship, but does not offer income-driven repayment plans.

To be completely honest, Brazos forbearance are as generous or more so than most other private lenders. But it's far less so than the policies in place for federal borrowers. Borrowers who have income risk, or may need income-driven repayment plans in the future, should probably avoid refinancing their federal loans.

Are There Any Fees?

Brazos does not charge origination fees and they don’t charge prepayment fees either. There is a fee for late payment though. You'll pay the greater of 5% of the monthly payment or $7.50 up to a maximum fee of $35.

Contact

It's important to understand that Brazos doesn't self-service its loans. Instead, it uses Campus Door for all loan origination and American Education Services (AES) for servicing. So if you need help with billing or account questions, that's who you'll need to reach out to.

You can contact Brazos Education Lending for customer support at 800-453-0841, Monday through Friday, 8:30AM – 5PM (CT). Their email address is [email protected]

Why Should You Trust Us

I am America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™ and have been actively writing about and covering student loans since 2009. Myself and the team here at The College Investor have been actively tracking student loan providers since 2015 and have reviewed, tested, and followed almost every provider and lender in the space.

Furthermore, our compliance team reviews the rates and terms on these listing every weekday to ensure they are accurate. That way you can be sure you're looking at an accurate and up-to-date rate when you're comparison shopping. 

Who Is This For And Is It Worth It?

Common Questions

Let's answer a few of the most common questions we receive about Brazos.

Where is Brazos located?

Brazos is headquartered in Waco, Texas and only lends to Texas residents.

Who services Brazos student loans?

All new student loans disbursed by Brazos are serviced by American Education Services (AES). Other third-party servicers of Brazos student loans include AES-PHEAA, Navient/SLMA, and Nelnet.

Can Brazos borrowers have their student loans forgiven?

Like all private lenders, Brazos does not offer any student loan forgiveness programs. It does provide death discharge. If you die, the loan is forgiven as to all parties on the loan, including the cosigner. If the cosigner dies, the cosigner is removed from the loan, and you will be solely responsible for repayment of the loan for the remainder of the repayment term. Brazos does not accelerate debt upon death of any party to the loan and will not pursue the estate of a deceased individual.

Does Brazos have any bonus offers or incentives?

Brazos doesn't directly offer any bonuses but refinance borrowers can receive up to a $1,000 gift card by applying through Credible.

Is there a Brazos referral program?

Yes, you'll receive $200 each time a friend or family member takes out a loan with Brazos using your link.

Features