Refinancing a private student loan generally means that a private lender will pay off your current federal student loan balance and then provide you with a new loan, often with a lower interest rate and therefore a lower monthly payment.
This does depend on a variety of factors, however, such as your credit score, income, debt, and employment, and approval criteria for refinancing can vary from lender to lender. Some benefits on top of a lower interest rate could include combining your debt if you have more than one private loan which will, in turn, allow you to have one monthly payment to manage.
Refinancing may also allow you to stretch out the repayment term of your loan which could drive down your monthly payments. If you do qualify for loan refinancing, there are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a lender and your loan terms. A fixed interest rate for example will allow you to maintain one interest rate and monthly payment over the life of your loan while a variable interest rate may offer a lower initial interest rate than a fixed rate.