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I have 3 private loans from Sallie Mae with wildly varying interest rates 1-01 $12,935.50 at 4.25% for $101.41/month 1-02 $4,426.45 at 9% ! for $46.15/month 1-03 $11,490.27 at 7.25% for $222.83/month In addition I have a federal loan in income contingent repayment $16,101.49 at 6.550% for $80.23/month It all adds up to about $450 a month. I am wondering if consolidation would be a good option in my scenario. My credit score looks like it is being hurt by having 6 accounts open (these 4 loans + 2 cards with balances payed in full every month), and consolidating the three private loans into one would bring that down to 4 open accounts. Firstly, because my average account age is only 1 Years, 11 Months and the private loans are some of my oldest accounts (2 are from 2009, one from 2008), would these accounts "close" from consolidation, thus drastically lowering my average account age and hurt my credit score more than the reduced number of accounts help it? And more generally, is loan consolidation a decent idea for someone who is just barely squeaking by paycheck to paycheck paying the $450 a month, considering I've only payed for about a year and have over $44,000 in principle left? If so, who is doing reasonable consolidations these days? Sallie Mae seems to have stopped, as did my go-to bank Chase. Is Wells Fargo really the ONLY game in town for private loan consolidation?
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Sep 20, 2011 07:37
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Is it worth it to try and start repaying your student loans before you get out of school? I was just looking at the interest I've already managed to accumulate on my fairly modestly sized loans, and it was kind of sobering, to say the least. (Sorry if this was answered somewhere earlier in the thread, still working my way through it!)
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Sep 20, 2011 15:18
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marsattacks posted:Is it worth it to try and start repaying your student loans before you get out of school? I was just looking at the interest I've already managed to accumulate on my fairly modestly sized loans, and it was kind of sobering, to say the least. You answered your own question.
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Sep 20, 2011 15:37
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Kneel Before Zog posted:I don't think I have deferment. My loan is unsubsidized stafford loan which means I take interest immediately. What's really annoying is I honestly only requested 3250. Say they up'ed my loan limit. I asked them why. They said because of my grades if I read the email right. They being my in state florida university. The thing is they not only raised the amount I can take out but had me take out more. Now I've taken out 3700 hundred instead of 3250 and I can swear I never changed the amount I had written in originally. Interest isn't deferred, but payments are.
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Sep 20, 2011 15:43
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marsattacks posted:Is it worth it to try and start repaying your student loans before you get out of school? I was just looking at the interest I've already managed to accumulate on my fairly modestly sized loans, and it was kind of sobering, to say the least. Are they private or federal? It is very worth it to repay private student loans ASAP, but for federal student loans I think you can wait until you build up some solid savings before paying them down. You will end up paying more interest, but I think that is worth it with Federal loans since a combination of savings and IBR will help immensely if you have trouble finding employment. With private student loans, you are horribly hosed if you can't pay them, so it is best to get them off your back right away if you can.
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Sep 20, 2011 16:09
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Konstantin posted:Are they private or federal? It is very worth it to repay private student loans ASAP, but for federal student loans I think you can wait until you build up some solid savings before paying them down. You will end up paying more interest, but I think that is worth it with Federal loans since a combination of savings and IBR will help immensely if you have trouble finding employment. With private student loans, you are horribly hosed if you can't pay them, so it is best to get them off your back right away if you can. Part of this is correct, it is important to kill of private loans as much as possible because they will kill you if you don't pay them down in a timely manner. And even though I realize that 'Business, Finance and Careers' is very gung ho on savings, if you have to go onto IBR, there's a problem. Deferments are a far better option for something that is generally a short term problem, rather than to do IBR which is a long term solution and is something with so many loopholes that you can screw yourself over unless you are really that poor or badly off. Paying your loans down as much as possible in an in school deferment is going to save you a LOT of interest. I'd say it's very much worth it to put more into paying down your loan, as long as you have some money in savings. But then again, I'm posting in this thread on how to help people pay off their student loans in the best, most cost effective manner, I'm not looking at outside budgeting. Keep this in mind. Edit: Sorry, but I'm going to do a little bit of a rant here. It drives me nuts sometimes when every student coming out of college is wanting to get onto IBR. This is your loan, with money that you borrowed from the government. You have to pay it back. And yes, if you've exhausted your deferment options and there is no other option, get on the IBR plan instead of defaulting, please. But what I see too much and worry about are people who see that they can get the IBR plan and see $0 payments for the first few years that they're poor and just out of college and decide to borrow way more than they can afford. Student loans are like any other debt, you should only take out as much as you can afford to pay back. Kneel Before Zog posted:When I start repaying my loan will my payment go towards my uni or towards Stafford? If my loan is strictly between Stafford and myself and Stafford and if theres a chance for for some reason wasn't updated with this 450 dollar change from the original amount on my promissory note, I now owe the school the extra 450 dollars? Okay, I want to answer you. But I really don't understand you. Stafford is not a person, stafford is a type of federally subsidized loans. You need to talk to your school. Effexxor fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Sep 20, 2011 |
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Sep 20, 2011 22:17
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Has anyone gotten their pell grants for this school year? My entire school (Boston University) has yet to receive their Pell grants for the year and it's never taken this long for me to get them. What the hell is going on? Is it because of the possible government shutdown?
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Sep 29, 2011 01:04
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No it's not, and I can assure you other schools are getting theirs. Have you contacted the financial aid office to ask what's going on?
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Sep 29, 2011 01:31
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I have and they haven't told me anything except that the school as a whole hasn't received it yet. I confirmed with another student that it is still pending.
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Sep 29, 2011 01:33
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I have another question about the 10 year public services loan forgiveness. If I work in a private college library or city hospital library, would I still be eligible for the 10 year forgiveness?
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Sep 29, 2011 20:27
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Lee Harvey Oswald posted:I have another question about the 10 year public services loan forgiveness. If I work in a private college library or city hospital library, would I still be eligible for the 10 year forgiveness? Must be a 401(c)(3) not for profit organization or public organization. 10 years do not have to be contiguous. So, yes.
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Sep 30, 2011 17:49
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That's good. Thanks
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Sep 30, 2011 20:10
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Lee Harvey Oswald posted:I have another question about the 10 year public services loan forgiveness. If I work in a private college library or city hospital library, would I still be eligible for the 10 year forgiveness? Also, they have to be either direct loans (Direct Stafford Subsidized) or be consolidated through Direct Loans' consolidation department (Their number is 1-800-557-7392 and eerily enough I now know that number by heart) so that your loans are Direct.
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Oct 3, 2011 00:47
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Effexxor posted:Also, they have to be either direct loans (Direct Stafford Subsidized) or be consolidated through Direct Loans' consolidation department (Their number is 1-800-557-7392 and eerily enough I now know that number by heart) so that your loans are Direct. One more thing, you have to choose income based repayment.
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Oct 3, 2011 06:43
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Medikit posted:One more thing, you have to choose income based repayment. Well, you don't have to, but if you want the forgiveness to actually be worth something, then yes.
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Oct 3, 2011 19:45
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Hey, so I have 29k in all federal loans going into repayment on 11/2011. I have a decent job with some security and I was going to make real aggressive $1k a month payments to get out of it without paying too much interest. Unfortunately, this leaves me will very little money to put into savings or anywhere else(I already have a 6-month emergency fund). Well, I did some reading and realized I can get up to $2500 back from the government for interest paid on these loans throughout the year. Is there any reason NOT to make smaller payments so I can bank some cash and get my interest payments refunded by the government. I guess my real question is when does this deductible expire, so I don't wake up one January 1st wishing my principle was lower? I did a bit of looking at work today but found nothing about when/if it does. Anything else I'm missing or any other breaks I can get? It still leaves debt over my head for a longer period of time but at least I won't feel AS bad about having it there.
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Oct 3, 2011 22:05
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What program refunds the interest? Are you talking about deducting your student loan interest from your taxes?
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Oct 3, 2011 22:08
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Hmmm, I believe I'm dumb and thought it was tax credit. My grand scheme foiled...Is there still anything else to take advantage of government-wise as a graduated student paying back loans?
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Oct 3, 2011 22:16
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Crazyweasel posted:Hmmm, I believe I'm dumb and thought it was tax credit. My grand scheme foiled...Is there still anything else to take advantage of government-wise as a graduated student paying back loans? Aside from loan forgiveness programs (as mentioned a few posts above, lots of qualifying factors go into that) not really. If you're comfortable with your EF, and you have a retirement plan at work, then think about splitting your money between aggressive loan repayment and retirement investing.
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Oct 4, 2011 01:34
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Yea, the more I think about it the more I see we are in a bear market, which should mean time to cram money into the 401k. I'll have to do some math to figure out how much I wanna put each way. It just sucks knowing I'll be in debt for a while, but I guess that comes with the territory. Thanks!
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Oct 4, 2011 11:54
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Here's the deal: I need a new car really, really bad. Will getting an auto loan before I got to college impact the amount of money I'm eligible to receive from the government/FAFSA? Or would it be smarter to buy a car outright (and have no loans) before I apply?
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Oct 9, 2011 06:03
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Having a loan doesn't effect how much you get in federal loans. Now getting a loan without a credit history is another issue. Cash might be the only way to go.
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Oct 9, 2011 06:08
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Dang, I don't have a big credit history. Thanks for the info.
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Oct 9, 2011 07:36
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Thought I'd post my two cents on the way I eventually solved my tuition deficit, that some people might want to do in lieu of student loans. I did my homework on private loans, tried to find one with reasonable interest (ahahaha lol), tried to figure out how the hell I'd possibly budget it after I graduate... and finally just said gently caress it, they all suck. So I called up the credit union I bank with and asked if I could just get a straight-up loan on a ten-year repayment plan, backed against my father's savings, and they approved me on the spot. Since I'd been banking with them for so long (dad took me to get a supervised account when I was like fourteen, so nearly ten years), they didn't even bother to check my credit report, which I knew would be non-existent. So you may want to look into that route, if possible. There's many catches to this, of course. The most pressing on you yourself is that you have to pay it back immediately, cause it's not a student loan and isn't deferred, but I'm working part-time anyway and can cover the payments. Also, given that I'm borrowing against my father's savings, I can't exactly do this for next year since he sure as hell wouldn't agree do it for another, but your parental mileage may vary  (I'll finally have independent status next year, so as long as I stay poor and meet Pell Grant requirements, my school will foot the bill. Go Huskies. me finally making independent status was a big reason why my father agreed to the deal in the first place.)Given the deal I got, though -- fixed 3.25% APR, a ten-year repayment which puts my monthly bill at less than $50 and my eventual interest at less than $1000, and none of this with the need for an official cosigner besides my father approving the backing of his savings (so I can build up my credit history)... yeah, you can see why I decided to go this route instead of letting Sallie Mae or whomever rape me with a morning star. Ironically I forsee myself getting hosed over by the unsubsidized federal loans I had to take out.
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Oct 10, 2011 05:21
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Reverend Cheddar posted:Thought I'd post my two cents on the way I eventually solved my tuition deficit, that some people might want to do in lieu of student loans. If you can go this route, great. If you can skip a payment if you need to by having a relative bail you out, it's always better than having a loan that will accrue insane interest. That being said, I wouldn't really suggest going through outside banks unless your loan is small enough that you can easily afford paying out in 10 years or/and if you are sure you can find a way to make all of your payments. If you don't fit into that, it'll be a better idea to stick with the loans that are going to give you the most in terms of postponement.
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Oct 10, 2011 06:03
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So I got kind of stupid this year and didn't do my FAFSA like at all for this school year. I instead applied for a private loan from Wells Fargo and yada yada yada. The private loan covered my state school tuition + change leftover for rent/books whatever. Can I still put in a FAFSA for this school year (Fall 2011-Spring 2012) and receive a cash disbursement since the fees to the school are paid in full? I want to increase my class load from 4 to 7 and need the cash for supporting my ramen diet/Extended learning fees from classes I failed/the pile of books I will buy.
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Oct 10, 2011 08:14
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Reverend Cheddar, thanks for your two cents! I will also throw out that just because you take out federal loans with a deferment doesn't mean you can't make payments while in school, so this is also an option for those who need to go the federal route. ONEMANWOLFPACK, most likely yes, and you may be refunded the amount that you've paid. You will need to go ahead and submit the FAFSA, then contact your financial aid office to confirm there are no processing hitches.
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Oct 10, 2011 23:31
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Would you be able to take out more Federal Direct loans if you pay down the ones you've already taken out? Or does the maximum limit not work like that? I highly doubt I'll hit the limit, but this thought occurred to me.
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Oct 11, 2011 10:45
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Draconi Ann posted:Here's the deal: I need a new car really, really bad. Will getting an auto loan before I got to college impact the amount of money I'm eligible to receive from the government/FAFSA? Or would it be smarter to buy a car outright (and have no loans) before I apply? If you can swing having no payments on anything other than your student loans do it. It sucks already taking out student loans plus it's good financial practice.
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Oct 11, 2011 12:23
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samizdat posted:Would you be able to take out more Federal Direct loans if you pay down the ones you've already taken out? Or does the maximum limit not work like that? I highly doubt I'll hit the limit, but this thought occurred to me. You're right, the limit is based on what you've received, not what you currently have. You can take out loans and pay them all back, but you wouldn't be eligible for those same amounts again in the same year (such as going back for a second degree).
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Oct 11, 2011 17:45
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I logged into my Fed loans account this morning, and it said I was past due! However, I use the auto-payment system they provide, and see a debit from my checking account for the last payment. I've been trying to call, but can't seem to get through. Is there a best time to call? Or is there a better way to get in touch with them? Edit: Finally got in on the phone. Turns out their new website isn't fully integrated yet. Previous payments aren't showing, so I guess everyone will get a status of past due. Guy Axlerod fucked around with this message at 15:07 on Oct 12, 2011 |
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Oct 12, 2011 14:14
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Guy Axlerod posted:Is there a best time to call? 2 est on a Thursday, at least for us, because almost everyone no matter what shift they work is on the phones.
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Oct 13, 2011 00:09
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I'm in a bind and I need help. My payment is due on the 21st ($1035.35) and I can't afford it. I make about $775 every 2 weeks after taxes and I have other bills and rent to pay. I don't know what payment plan would work for me and I don't know if consolidation is right for me as well. I feel like I've screwed myself in a corner. I don't know where to begin, or what information you need, but can you help?
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Oct 13, 2011 00:59
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I'm not even close to being a guru about this stuff so I really hope somebody more qualified answers, but I think there are hardship forbearance and deferment things you can work out. They buy you time but don't make the problem go away per se (you might have no or lower payments for a few months, but it's just adding months onto the back end of the loan so to speak). From what I've read, your situation sounds like you should be on an IBR (income-based repayment) or similar plan because ~64.5% of your income going to debt service is clearly unsustainable. Definitely call about this (probably your lender, maybe your institution's financial aid office for other advice?) now rather than later because it's much harder to unscrew money things after a due date than before in my general experience. Good luck. Possibly relevant links: "Postponing Repayment If you have trouble making your education loan payments, contact immediately the organization that services your loan." and further info on all this: http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/difficulty.jsp Types of Repayment Plans and calculators for them: http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/OtherFormsOfRepay.jsp (The nuances of how all that general info would apply to this or that type of loan is where my understanding ends.)
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Oct 13, 2011 02:57
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Guy Axlerod posted:I logged into my Fed loans account this morning, and it said I was past due! However, I use the auto-payment system they provide, and see a debit from my checking account for the last payment. The new website has been a pain in the rear end for days now. I hope they get it worked out; I need to make a payment.
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Oct 13, 2011 03:07
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So my girlfriends been out of school for about a year and a half now, before deciding on a degree in nursing she had switched schools like 3 times. She's been paying on her loans through AES since graduating but today got a call from a debt collection agency regarding a Perkins loan she had at the first school like 5-6 years ago. She had NEVER recieved any information about repaying this loan, no letters, no calls, before getting the call from the collection agency. When she asked the collections agency I think they were sending everything to the wrong address. So is she going to be screwed because of this and have to pay all the back interest or is this the school's fault for not getting her the information? She's going in to talk to the school tomorrow but she's pretty livid right now.
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Oct 13, 2011 03:47
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Walk Away posted:The new website has been a pain in the rear end for days now. I hope they get it worked out; I need to make a payment.
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Oct 13, 2011 20:20
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Mary loving Poppins posted:I have a payment due today and somehow my bank account for my automatic monthly payments was removed and the system wouldn't let me re-enter it last night. And now the website is down and their phone lines are not accepting calls. Does anybody have an email account I can report my issue to? There isn't one listed on the website, but I want to have my issue recorded so that I don't get penalized for a late payment. If they're anything like us, they're probably going to be very busy for a very long time. If you're that worried you can always send in a payment by check just in case, but generally you get a window of 15 days to make a payment without late fees or calls, so I'd wait till they're not getting swarmed with people who are upset about the website. cnmns posted:I'm in a bind and I need help. My payment is due on the 21st ($1035.35) and I can't afford it. I make about $775 every 2 weeks after taxes and I have other bills and rent to pay. I don't know what payment plan would work for me and I don't know if consolidation is right for me as well. I feel like I've screwed myself in a corner. I don't know where to begin, or what information you need, but can you help? Do the Income Based Repayment plan. For the first 3 years the government will pay the interest like it's a deferment and if you have $0 payments, you can pay whatever you want. The IBR is always better than being late or being in a forbearance, if you need to do it, just sign up for it. Mr Tweeze posted:So my girlfriends been out of school for about a year and a half now, before deciding on a degree in nursing she had switched schools like 3 times. She's been paying on her loans through AES since graduating but today got a call from a debt collection agency regarding a Perkins loan she had at the first school like 5-6 years ago. She had NEVER recieved any information about repaying this loan, no letters, no calls, before getting the call from the collection agency. When she asked the collections agency I think they were sending everything to the wrong address. So is she going to be screwed because of this and have to pay all the back interest or is this the school's fault for not getting her the information? She's going in to talk to the school tomorrow but she's pretty livid right now. Sorry to tell you this, but on most loan promissary notes you have to agree to keep your lender informed on any address and phone changes. You even agree that will you pay the loan when it is due, regardless of whether you've received statements. The school most likely hird a SKIP tracer to try and find her and they probably did send several letters and calls to where they thought that she lived, because if not they can get slammed by the federal government for not doing due dilligence. It's not the school's fault, it's probably hers. I'd also highly suggest her going int to talk to the school because I have heard of schemes where a collection agency calls, says that they have your Perkin's loans and set up a payment plan, all without any of your money going to the school. In other words, if any collection agency calls you about your loan, make sure they actually have it.
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Oct 13, 2011 22:33
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For anyone with Fedloans, I wanted to let you know that their system has been down for 3 weeks. It's quite the mess, I only learned about it today. It's not every servicer, but Fedloans is down.
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Oct 15, 2011 00:13
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How long does it take to get accepted into the IBR program anyway? I submitted an application with paystub and tax info at the end of August, got a reply from Direct Loans stating my payments under IBR would be $0 (weird) in the middle of September, and yet the website states that I have a bill for $1,000 due at the end of the month. What gives? edit: Finally was able to get through on the phone. They stated shifting to a new website caused a great deal of backlog and my request wasn't processed in time, but they'd be able to grant me a 60 day deferment, which should give them enough time. So I guess that works. Electric Crayon fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Oct 17, 2011 |
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Oct 17, 2011 17:06
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