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Ugh I totally thought I had submitted my student loan payment just like I do every month. I logged in yesterday and saw my amount was for two months worth. Apparently I didn't submit and I don't have an email confirmation. I'm going to look at my bank statements. Is my credit score now rocked because I was 'delinquent' for 2 weeks?
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Mar 8, 2012 19:37
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Residency Evil, I honestly don't know. You will need to call and ask Direct since they're the only people who consolidate now. Captain Apollo, your credit should be fine (although you might have lost incentives, which you'll want to check out). If you want to double-check, go to annualcreditreport.com and pull your reports for free in about 2-3 months (to give it time to update). You can see any delinquency reporting on there.
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Mar 8, 2012 21:29
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Just as a heads up to anyone who has loans serviced by ACS (myedaccount.com), they seem to be losing a lot of loans lately and yours might be transferred to another servicer in the coming months, if they haven't already. I just loggged in and tried to make a payment and was informed they're paid in full. I know that's not true. Apparently my loans are now with Edfinancial. What? They're not even one of the four main servicers. I'm so confused.
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Mar 11, 2012 19:37
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Weird question. If I apply to a program that starts in the spring semester, but don't take fall or spring classes (Which would mean about 6 months no classes), would I still need to start paying loans?
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Mar 12, 2012 03:30
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Namirsolo, Edfinancial recently became one of Direct's servicing agencies, however not an origination agency, which means they can only service volume that's transferred to them. Supposedly the Department of Ed is working to make sure whole accounts get transferred and avoid split servicers. We shall see how well that turns out! Aerofallosov, the grace period for Staffords and GradPLUS loans is 6 months. If you start attending at least half-time before the six months is up, you will not have any payments start on your account. Even if the grace period expires, once you're at least half-time they'd go back onto a deferment.
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Mar 13, 2012 02:22
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Hello, I'm a community college student at my local community college. I'll have about 57 college credits. I won't have a completed 2 year degree because I would be missing one science and one other class but I plan to make that up at Western Virginia University or the University of Louisiana Lafayette where I want to earn a 4 year degree petroleum engineering. I do not know too much about petroleum engineering, petroleum or engineering but I believe energy will be the biggest issue in this century and I want to "throw my hat into the ring". At WVU I can expect to pay about 25,000 a year out of state (I don't know how to avoid this price). At ULL I can expect about 20,000 but they offer out of state scholarships will give me a chance to pay in state tuition which is like 4,000 (down from 11,000 I believe). I want to go to ULL but I'm compromising with my girl friend to go to WVU with her. So far I have avoided all debt in CC and managed to get about 1700 dollars in the bank from working at Walmart. I want to know where do I get student loans from, where can I get the best deal, and what's the best way to plan financially for my last two years of college?
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Mar 13, 2012 05:15
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Just a quick financial aid question, my wife just went back to school, she's got financial aid, now I want to go back, and will use it as well, both of us using it won't somehow effect our kids ability to get it will it? The oldest won't be out of high school for a few more years but we'll still be paying for the loans when they are going to be ready for college.
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Mar 15, 2012 13:17
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I just did the special consolidation with Great Lakes. They say I can get an additional 0.5% off my interest rate if I sign up for a monthly auto-pay. Right now, I'm paying weekly to keep my interest down. I'm still paying about the same as my monthly payment, I'm just dividing it by 4. I'm wondering which would be cheaper - my current method or the monthly payment with interest reduction. Does anybody know how I can figure this out, math-wise? I called Great Lakes to ask and the helpful person told me, "I don't know do the math."
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Mar 15, 2012 16:07
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I think you'll save money by going to the auto-pay. But you should do the math yourself, with your current rate and principal, etc. Try this page out: http://www.hughchou.org/calc/genloan.php
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Mar 15, 2012 22:35
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Guy Axlerod posted:I think you'll save money by going to the auto-pay. But you should do the math yourself, with your current rate and principal, etc. Thank you. I figured out that at least for my case, the auto-pay is cheaper. It's only a few cents per loan, but it adds up. It's easier too. Edit: VVVV Thank you for confirming. Shane-O-Mac fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Mar 16, 2012 |
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Mar 16, 2012 00:08
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Shane-O-Mac posted:I just did the special consolidation with Great Lakes. They say I can get an additional 0.5% off my interest rate if I sign up for a monthly auto-pay. Auto pay will always be cheaper, although it won't change your monthly payment. It will reduce the amount of money you pay back over the life of the loan.
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Mar 16, 2012 02:26
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ocelot2, I honestly needed a couple of days to think of how to answer your questions. First of all, climate change is extremely interesting and a great field of study - but engineering is not for everyone, and is in fact a really really hard degree to pursue. I highly suggest you learn everything you can about engineering BEFORE entering into an engineering program. In my personal experience with engineers, you either are one or aren't, and if you aren't you will not do well in the field. As for costs, I have to wonder why there's any "compromise" having to do with your lady friend versus the cost you can expect to pay. Let's be frank - unless she's your fiance or wife, it does not make sense to wrack up $5000 more a year just to go to the same school as her. I would highly recommend against this. If anything goes wrong (and I hope it doesn't), you will end up resenting that choice AND having more debt because of it. Not a good combination. Go to the university you like and that is cheaper and do long-distance. My boyfriend lives in an entire other country and he's still there because college is cheaper. It's not fun, but it's doable and it's better for your future together to have less debt, not more. Sorry, end of rant. As for planning your finances, you're going to have to factor in debt above the federal loans because federal loans don't quite make the tuition you need. Apply for every scholarship you can at fastweb.com. Also, start shopping for private loan companies now, see if there's any you prefer, look for good benefits and get a cosigner lined up if you know you'll need one. To everyone who helped in the meantime with a question, thank you! I always appreciate the help!
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Mar 17, 2012 00:06
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I'm back again with some more focused questions regarding loan repayment. I'm a 4th year medical student, about to graduate, with a student loan debt of ~$260k. My current plan is to take advantage of the public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) program. I will be in residency for 7 years, all of which will count toward the 10 required years for the program. After that, I plan to work in a non-profit hospital for the remaining 3 years of the program. I have non-direct loans which are not eligible for the PSLF program, so I plan to consolidate them. Based on the online calculator I will have an interest rate of 7.0% after I consolidate. I am not eligible for the special consolidation. Since I am hoping to have my loans forgiven after 10 years, I don't plan on making any payments above the minimum for the next 10 years. Enrolling in IBR will give me the lowest minimum payments, so I will use that as my repayment method. My salary will be ~$55k for the 1st year and go up $2-3k each year after that for the 7 years of residency. If I've done the math correctly, during residency my minimum monthly payments should range from $490 at the beginning to $640 at the end. After residency my salary will go up significantly, at which point I will probably just have to do the standard repayment plan for the remaining 3 years. If I were to use the standard repayment plan right now, my minimum monthly payment would be ~$1750, but I'm not sure how much different it would be 7 years from now when my debt has changed. So I guess my question is - does this sound like a reasonable plan for dealing with my debt, or am I missing something that is going to end up costing me a lot of money? Additionally, I have read that this PSLF program is not guaranteed, and it might not even be around 10 years from now when I need to take advantage of it. Am I screwing myself over by making minimum payments for 10 years if this program disappears? I would take the extra money that would have gone toward making payments above the minimum and invest it into something with expected decent returns (I'm okay with taking some investing risks). Would the tax breaks from investments, employer contributions to a 401k/403b (not sure how much they match yet), and return on investments be enough to at least break even with my 7.0% student loan interest if the PSLF falls through after making minimum payments for 10 years?
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Mar 21, 2012 17:29
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You have a really good plan, and assuming the PSLF plan sticks around your plan will work perfectly. However, I am very suspicious of government forgiveness programs for student loans, mostly because all of the budget reduction plans hit education first, and hit it hard (graduate sub loans going away, for instance). So if you go through your ten years banking on the PSLF to come through, you're taking a gamble that it will stay around the entire time. Is it worth it? That's honestly up to you. If the PSLF goes away for some reason, what you'll gain is the interest that's accrued - but the IBR payment plan should still be around, and may save you in the long run. There are no discussions right now (that we know of) that suggest elimination of the PSLF program, and hopefully there never will be. I just recommend against banking on it, and working toward the hope that it will happen in ten years, but if not you've already got a plan B in place. And write to your Congressmen and urge them to stop cutting education please.
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Mar 22, 2012 02:40
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I'm not sure if the IBR plan will save me if this falls through. The way I understand it, the IBR payment will be a percentage of my income above the poverty line up to a maximum of the standard 10 year plan minimum payment. I think my income will be high enough to put me at the level of the standard repayment, meaning I will be paying it off in less time than the 25 years required for forgiveness. So I will end up paying for all of the accrued interest. Is that correct? Maybe I'm just better off paying down my loans as quickly as possible. Any idea if it's possible to get the 0.25% interest reduction by auto-pay without consolidating (all my loans are FFEL or FDL, serviced through nelnet)? I might just take advantage of my grace period and try to pay off my highest interest rate loans first.
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Mar 22, 2012 04:09
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Actually, the IBR could even put you ABOVE standard repayment. I'm sorry, I didn't think that one through, but you're correct - if PSLF doesn't work out, IBR probably wouldn't do you any good if you have a high income. The .25% reduction should apply regardless of whether your loans are consolidated or not - providing you had a lender who originally offered it. We did and I know Direct used to, but there's been some...revocations of benefits with Direct lately. Older loans should still have them though. I would say contact your servicer and ask them if you have that .25% reduction available for autodraft. As for benefits: for new loans, Direct will no longer be rebating the origination fee on student loans, which means you will have 1% less to work with once your loan is disbursed. Depending on the amount of the loan, this can be a pretty significant chunk of change. I'm going to post a second time to make sure people see this change as well.
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Mar 25, 2012 17:02
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Just to make sure everyone notices this, there's another change students need to know about: For new loans, Direct will no longer be rebating the origination fee on student loans, which means you will have 1% less to work with once your loan is disbursed. Depending on the amount of the loan, this can be a pretty significant chunk of change. Example: $12000 unsubsidized loan. 1% origination fee = $120 So your school will get $120 less, which means if you need to go the private loan route you will need $120 more to cover tuition and fees (assuming your tuition is that high in the first place). Make sense?
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Mar 25, 2012 17:04
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I have some subsidized student loans from undergrad that are currently deferred while I am in a graduate program. Since the government is currently paying the interest on these loans while they are deferred, if I were to continue making payments on these loans would the payments be applied as principle only?
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Mar 27, 2012 00:53
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Yep!
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Mar 27, 2012 01:14
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Back from August:Wiggy Marie posted:Futanari Rastafari, yes it's worth the time because it in no way hurts you. Besides federal loans, the only other option are private loans (ugh, I know). This would require a cosigner. Once you can take out aid as an independent next year, maybe you could pay the private loan back ASAP. Me again but this time employed for about 2 1/2 months. It does look like a private loan is my only bet for paying off my Summer and Fall classes. I'm guesstimating the cost of both to be about $7,000 for tuition and books. Do you have any suggestions for a private loan place?
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Mar 28, 2012 22:44
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People in this thread have recommended Wells Fargo in the past, so they might be a good bet. You can also do some shopping on https://www.simpletuition.com to help you out.
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Mar 29, 2012 13:08
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Cross post from another thread. I graduated pharmacy school about 2 years ago. I currently owe approximately $120,000 in federal loans. I have a classmate that graduated in the same year with and we are pretty much in the same predicament. Anyways, since we both work for non-profit hospitals we both qualify for the PSLF program. However, she advised me to go use a consultant like she did (College Defaulted Student Loan, LLC), but I find this a little shady. She also said to use her name as a referral so I can get a discount on the sign up fee. I figure I could sign up for the PSLF program by myself. I'm not too savvy on how these consultants work or if they are even legit, but I'm very skeptical. We both owe roughly the same amount in student loans since we both put ourselves through school. I pay roughly $1000 back every month, but she says that since signed up through this consultant, she is only paying $400 back per month, and within 10 years her loans will have been forgiven. Can anyone shed any light on this?
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Mar 30, 2012 20:03
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ice_berg_slim posted:Cross post from another thread. You didn't say whether your loans are consolidated in the Direct loan program. PSLF is only available for Direct Federal Loans or student loans consolidated through the Direct program. Since you graduated 2 years ago, you most likely have FFEL loans that will need consolidated before you can make PSLF payments. I can't speak about how shady that consultant is, but if they legitimately helped your friend sign up for IBR/PSLF and lowered her payments then I would say they were well worth it. It is a bit tricky to sign up for IBR and ensure that your loans are covered under PSLF. The law says they are supposed to base your payments on the AGI listed on your taxes, but my experience has been that they make you pay a higher rate based on your GROSS income. That is, unless you threaten to contact the Dept of Ed ombudsman. The consultants most likely helped your friend consolidate with Direct Loans, apply for IBR repayment, had her payments lowered to the correct amount, and ensure she is set up with PSLF. These are all things you can do yourself if you know the proper forms to send in. GamingOdor fucked around with this message at 22:37 on Mar 30, 2012 |
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Mar 30, 2012 22:28
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blar posted:You didn't say whether your loans are consolidated in the Direct loan program. PSLF is only available for Direct Federal Loans or student loans consolidated through the Direct program. Since you graduated 2 years ago, you most likely have FFEL loans that will need consolidated before you can make PSLF payments. Thanks for the input! It's something that I just started to look into this week to be perfectly honest. I hope it doesn't take too long to consolidate and hopefully get a reduction in my monthly payment. $1,000 a month really hurts when you're just getting out of school.
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Mar 31, 2012 08:01
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There is absolutely no need to go through a consultant. Those programs are federal programs and the servicer can walk you through how to apply. The applications are right on the websites for goodness' sake. Please don't waste your money; call your servicer and ask them how to get on the programs.
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Apr 1, 2012 02:09
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I'm currently in repayment on a mixture of unsubsidized and subsidized Federal student loans, which since I'm in repayment, are basically one in the same. I'm making good progress on repayment, but I am wondering if I should ever choose to go back to school (or heaven forbid need a forbearance), would the interest on subsidized loans go back to being subsidized? Or is it once you enter repayment, interest accrues until you repay the balance whether it is subsidized or not? Thanks!
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Apr 3, 2012 20:04
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The Agent posted:I'm currently in repayment on a mixture of unsubsidized and subsidized Federal student loans, which since I'm in repayment, are basically one in the same. I'm making good progress on repayment, but I am wondering if I should ever choose to go back to school (or heaven forbid need a forbearance), would the interest on subsidized loans go back to being subsidized? Or is it once you enter repayment, interest accrues until you repay the balance whether it is subsidized or not? Thanks! Subsidized loans always have their interest paid by the government while they are in a deferment. So yes, they would not accrue interest while you are in school. This works the same way for other deferments. If you ever go on an unemployment deferment, for instance, they wouldn't accrue interest.
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Apr 4, 2012 01:42
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What he said! Thanks for the help  Just to be clear though, that only applies during deferment, not during forbearance. Be careful about that!
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Apr 5, 2012 00:24
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My parents have some money in a 529 college savings plan that they want to use to pay some of my Unsubsidized Stafford loans. They said that last time they paid some college costs with 529 savings, there was a huge tax hassle because they withdrew the money, then used the money they withdrew to pay the college. This caused the IRS to ask them to pay taxes on the money they withdrew (even though it was going to education) and lots of paperwork and phone calls occurred. They would like to avoid this hassle this time paying the Stafford loan. I called MyFedLoan, but the guy didn't know what to do with a 529 college savings plan. What's the best way to get money from a 529 to a Stafford loan that will keep the IRS informed and results in the least paperwork/annoyance?
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Apr 6, 2012 20:14
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Honestly, that's going to be a question for the administrator of the 529 plan. Servicers (like us) don't handle how 529 plans work, we just accept payments from them. I am not familiar with their rules so have them contact who it is through for further assistance.
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Apr 7, 2012 00:12
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I currently have about 37k in Sallie Mae Signature loans, 5k in another, and about 50k in federal loans. I have a couple years left on my graduate program, and I have never consolidated. I make only 40K gross annually, and I get about 2050/month after health insurance and 401k. When my loans all come together and I'm paying on the plans they want me to pay on, I'm looking at around 700/month for the next 12 years and then 250-300/month for the 12 years after that. What are my options for putting myself in a situation where I can both pay my loans and afford to pay rent? I am not paying rent currently because I have a prime mooching opportunity, but my fiancee and I would like our own place at some point.
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Apr 7, 2012 18:10
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How much is your health insurance/401k contributions? You should be getting like 7-8k more removing 401k contributions and assuming your healthcare isn't crazy expensive.
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Apr 8, 2012 00:02
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I currently deposit 15% into my 401k, my health insurance is like 40/month
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Apr 8, 2012 00:36
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signalnoise posted:I currently deposit 15% into my 401k, my health insurance is like 40/month It sounds like you have your answer on how to pay rent.
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Apr 8, 2012 02:33
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signalnoise posted:I currently deposit 15% into my 401k, my health insurance is like 40/month Welcome to post-grad life. You are going to need to lower your retirement saving so you can cut Sallie Mae a check for the next 25 years. Are your Sallie Mae loans private loans? If so, you should cut your retirment saving and put all that money towards paying off your private loans. Put your federal loans on the IBR plan if you're thinking of paying for 20 years.
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Apr 8, 2012 13:10
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blar posted:Welcome to post-grad life. You are going to need to lower your retirement saving so you can cut Sallie Mae a check for the next 25 years. Are your Sallie Mae loans private loans? If so, you should cut your retirment saving and put all that money towards paying off your private loans. Put your federal loans on the IBR plan if you're thinking of paying for 20 years. My employer matches the first 2% of my paycheck that I put toward my 401K. Would it be smarter in this case to cut back to 2% or 0%?
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Apr 8, 2012 15:20
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signalnoise posted:My employer matches the first 2% of my paycheck that I put toward my 401K. Would it be smarter in this case to cut back to 2% or 0%? I'd say moving down to 2% should be your maximum cut so you don't miss out on your employer match (free money). Just cut down as much as you need to afford rent and live relatively comfortably.
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Apr 8, 2012 15:23
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I agree. Absolutely do not stop contributing, retirement is important. But you should cut down as much as you need to in order to afford your payments. I would say cut down to exactly what you need to afford the loan payments and no more - you're already used to not having that amount, so don't go all the way down to 2% if that kind of cut would be way over what you NEED to cut to make your payments.
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Apr 9, 2012 01:39
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Wiggy Marie posted:I agree. Absolutely do not stop contributing, retirement is important. But you should cut down as much as you need to in order to afford your payments. I would say cut down to exactly what you need to afford the loan payments and no more - you're already used to not having that amount, so don't go all the way down to 2% if that kind of cut would be way over what you NEED to cut to make your payments. He'd probably be better off dropping it to 2% and putting as much as he can into the student loans.
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Apr 9, 2012 01:56
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Hey, I need some advice.  I'm going to be finishing grad school in just a few weeks, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle my repayment. Here's how things stand: STAFFORD UNDERGRAD UNSUBSIDIZED 13180.77 4.48% (Mixed) PRIVATE UNDERGRAD 8927.10 4.00% STAFFORD GRADUATE SUBSIDIZED 13000.00 6.80% I was hoping to consolidate my Stafford loans, and get on a 15-year repayment plan. But, according to studentloans.gov, you have to have a total of $30,000 or higher in in FFEL loans for extended plans, and I'm $4,000 short. What are my options, then? I'm a licensed social worker, so I'm never going to be making that much. As it stands, I'll be paying $350-$400 per month if I don't figure something out. discoukulele fucked around with this message at 02:10 on Apr 9, 2012 |
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Apr 9, 2012 02:08
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