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I am currently in the process of a medical dismissal for the Fall '06 semester. Consequently, I am not enrolled in any classes this semester and the college is asking me for my exit interview for my one Stafford and one Perkins loan. I know I have a 6 month grace period (so if I went back to school in the summer, I would go back into deferment) but what if I'm put on a medical hold and unable to go back to school for a long period of time? Will my loans still be deferred or will I enter repayment? If I enter repayment, when I do go back to school, I will enter deferment again, right? I'm really worried about this because I definitely can't start repaying right now. It seems a little unfair to have to start repaying when I'm not going to school because I can't, not because I don't want to. 
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Jan 23, 2007 06:24
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PhanTuhC, no. The Ginger Ninja, first off, I'm sorry to hear about your parents. Have you contacted any local banks to see if one of them would have anything for you? Have you spoken with the financial aid office at all about your situation, and asked them if there is anything at all they can offer you? Have you tried fastweb.com? I know that your GPA might be lower, but it's worth a shot, especially considering your circumstances. Let me know if any of those areas comes up with something. Let me know if you want me to try and check out the alternative loans offered. Unfortunately, they're all based on credit...I know that it might be rough, but if you have to have a co-signer, that person can be *anyone*. Friend or family member. Maybe you'll have a friend who you can swear your soul to to take the loan out with? There's not a single alt loan that comes to mind that won't use credit, but hopefully someone at the finaid office or a local bank might have something, anything. Lemme know. Haggins, I know that the check used to be something they only sent to people with underlying NTHEA loans. You'll need to call them to ask if they've now started offering that across the board, and how much the check will be should they send it. If they send it to you, it will be a physical check that you'll receive within a week or so after the consolidation completes and loads into their system. It is your money to do with as you please. Perfection Mekanik, there is no prepay penalty on student loans. Pay them off as fast as you can, it only benefits you in the end (you'll pay less interest over the life of the loans, plus you'll pay the loan itself for a shorter time). The only benefit I can think of for leaving it as-is is the tax write-off you'll get every year for the interest you've paid. But is that really worth it? No, I don't think so, but the ultimate decision is up to you. I always tell people to pay it off as early as possible. It only benefits you in the end. Besides, the sooner you pay it off, the less Sallie Mae will get! That's a double bonus as far as I'm concerned. Esther Gum, fear not, for although you may lose your grace period, there are deferments and forbearances available to you. The Economic Hardship Deferment will probably be your best bet. When you're within 1 month of the grace period expiring, give your lender a call, let them know your situation, and tell them that you'd like to hear your options. If they're worth anything, they should go over forbearances and deferments with you. DO NOT LET THEM APPLY A VERBAL FORBEARANCE BEFORE THEY'VE CHECKED YOUR ELIGIBILITY FOR THE DEFERMENT!!! That will hurt you later on, trust you me! You will need to reapply for the deferment/forbearance each year, and there is an absolute limit of 3 years on each kind (except the in-school deferment, of course). I'd be happy to help you out when you're closer to your deadline; don't hesitate to PM me, through my account here or through instant messaging. If you'd like my email, just ask and ye shall receive. That goes for anyone else. I can't promise that I'll have your answer for you, but I will sure try! As always, and questions/concerns/confusion, do not hesitate to ask! Also, by common sense and popular request, I'll be adding some consolidation information to the OP. Yey!
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Jan 23, 2007 06:54
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Took shorter than I thought. I'm lazy and just copy/pasted the information from this thread. Consolidation general information officially added. I'm also adding some handy dandy links to the OP...tomorrow, because I am tired. Sorry for the double post!
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Jan 23, 2007 07:06
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Perfection Mekanik posted:If I started to pay like $500 a month (or whatever I could afford that month) would there be some kind of a penalty for getting it paid off early? Would it be worth it? Would I be better off just continuing to pay the 120.78 a month? I can't speak for your place but I asked the same question to the place I went with. They told me that anything I pay over the monthly payment goes to the principal balance. So in your case if you paid $500 a month $120 would go to the interest and $380 would go to the $19649. At that rate you'd pay off your loans in 4 years and 3 months. That's just an estimate because I don't know how much of that $120 goes to your principal balance and I guess the interest goes down as your principal balance gets smaller.
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Jan 23, 2007 07:44
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I'm going back to school for a semester against my wishes, and I just got the financial aid revision in the mail today, a day before I leave. I'm getting hit with another loan, a federal unsubsidized Stafford loan for $1312 through HESC. I currently have a $2678.89 subsidized Stafford loan through Sallie Mae at 7.14%. The likely scenario is that I'm going to end up accepting it to avoid drama and having to disown my family. That puts me at about $3990.89 in the hole. I'm not sure what I'm going to do next, but I want to get rid of that debt before going anywhere else. I was reading through the paperwork for the unsubsidized Stafford, and read this:quote:In addition, volunteers who complete service in an approved national or community service project can earn an educational award. The award can be used to repay a Federal Stafford Loan. If I receive an educational award, I am responsible for providing my lender with information and documentation regarding my term of service and the award. This sounds like Americorp., and looking through their site, they make it sound like it'll all last ten months, they'll provide enough to cover basic living expenses (so I wouldn't pick up debt while there in order to get by), and I'd walk out with $4725 written off of loans that I can claim within seven years if I did full time Americorp NCCC. I have experience in organizing disaster relief at both field and administrative levels, and I know that's something that I enjoy doing. Does this sound realistic, or is there something hidden? This sounds very good right now, since it'd take care of everything I have now, with a few hundred left over if I go back to school.
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Jan 26, 2007 21:00
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Americorps has a forbearance/forgiveness program setup for when you've graduated and are employed with them. Very cool. There's also other public programs available (Peace Corps, for instance): http://www.finaid.org/loans/forgiveness.phtml The Sallie Mae loan you mentioned is at the current federal rate. Although I hate SLMA, they're just doing their job in that case. Also, I'm curious about what sort of situation your family could put you into which would force you into a position between taking out federal debt in your name which you will have to pay back, or disowning your family...but I have a normal, nice family, I suppose...
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Jan 27, 2007 22:10
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Double post again! Sorry, just wanted to make sure people see this. I have updated the OP to include links that have come up in this thread. Yey for links! If you would like me to add a link, just let me know what it is and I shall do so.
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Jan 27, 2007 22:44
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Bump, to make sure there are no current questions. My OP is much too detailed to not be appreciated. Apologies to the mods if this is unforgivable.
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Feb 4, 2007 07:15
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Wiggy - What do you do in the private loan industry? I have some questions on that actually if you don't mind. I'm happy with my current job, but I have a lot of past financial aid experience and wouldn't mind getting back in the field at some point. Most FA counselors move into the private loan industry if they want to make more money, I'd like to explore my options some before I talk myself into law school.
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Feb 5, 2007 16:00
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I'm going to enter grad school in Fall of 2007, although I've yet to receive financial offers. I also haven't received my W2s yet ( Purdue ). Anyway, once I get them, can I apply for a Stafford loan regardless of whatever the univerisities offer? If I do this, would it be a good idea to put the money in an interest-yielding account or mutual fund and then pay it off and pocket the interest when it comes time to pay? Is this even possible, and if so, is it a horrible idea?
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Feb 6, 2007 23:55
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Raskolnikov2089, I work in the federal education-related loans industry, not private loans. I love love love my company and my job, but my alternative loan personal knowledge is very basic. We are in the process of developing an alternative loan segment, and talk has happened for creating an alternative loan call center to specialize in that area. Feel free to contact me by PM, or I'll give you my email, and I'll give you more detailed info on my company. What I'll say now is that we're in Knoxville, TN. Forrest, if you fill out the FAFSA, get your financial aid awards letter, and then file an appeal, that is the only process for a Stafford loan (the FAFSA *is* the application). As a grad student, even if the school doesn't offer you federal loans, you could still go for a gradplus loan. What you do with the funds once they're disbursed is up to you and a finance counselor's advice, which I cannot provide, because I'd hate to steer ya wrong. Keep in mind that all of these funds are sent to the school first, and then a PORTION is forwarded to you, the student, which means the lender will have something to pay on until they receive payment in full of the loans.
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Feb 7, 2007 03:30
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One final bump, to make sure this thread is as dead as it could be.
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Feb 15, 2007 17:03
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Actually, I'm considering trying to get a student loan to help pay for my living expenses while in school, but I have little actual knowledge of how to do so without getting financially raped. First of all, all my tuition, books, and other fees are already paid for. I need some extra cash to help pay for my living expenses. I'm 32, work part time, go to school full time, and I'm a full time dad. Things are tight. I'll have right at 90 hours at the end of this semester, so I'm really only looking at 2 more semesters. If you have any advice I'd truly appreciate it.
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Feb 21, 2007 17:29
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If you take out a federal loan, and are knowledgable and careful with it, you won't be raped. Of all loans, federal student loans are the nicest out there. Have you spoken with the financial aid office at all about your situation? Every school is different, and in the end, that office is who will decide if you even get a loan.
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Feb 23, 2007 04:45
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I'm graduating a year earlier from college than I expected to, BUT I'm continuing my education (post-baccalaureate) to prepare for medical school (since I'll be getting my bachelor's degree in a non-science major, I have to get some more science classes in). I borrowed some private student loans this semester and one of the companies has contacted me stating that I need to start repayment this November (about 6 months after I graduate), BUT since I'm continuing my education (post-bacc through medical school) can I just have my university contact the company in order to defer my payments even more even if they've set a tentative date already for me to pay them back? What do I need to do in order to continue deferring these payments? This isn't the only loan I have too, I have to defer my government loans, etc. I know I should probably have more information on this, but I don't want to do something wrong to screw up my credit. What do I need to do exactly in order to continue the deferral period? Would it be better to contact you through PM?
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Mar 6, 2007 16:02
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Okay so I just finished college (not fully, dropped out due to getting a job in my field) and it's going to be time to start paying this off in 6 months. These are all private loans  Original principal balance: $22,316.00 Outstanding principal balance: $21,465.23 Accrued interest: $3,171.93 Total amount outstanding: $24,637.16 Any advise on how I should go about getting a good % rate when I consolidate the loans? For reference I'm 21 years old and my credit rating isn't that good anymore thanks to a pay cut when I started this job a year ago. Edit: nevermind, more reading shows what i need to do Sepist fucked around with this message at 13:46 on Mar 7, 2007 |
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Mar 6, 2007 18:03
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This thread should be goldmined when it's done.
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Mar 7, 2007 09:52
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LetTheSunShineIn posted:What do I need to do exactly in order to continue the deferral period? Would it be better to contact you through PM? Contact your lender. Private loans aren't like fed loans in that in-school deferment is a given. You'll need to talk to them to find out what you need to do to stay in deferral status. Generally it's not much more then getting an "in school deferment" form verifying you are enrolled, but it's going to vary lender to lender.
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Mar 7, 2007 22:22
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Lewisje, welcome back! I've missed you like the desert misses the rain! Honest I have. Also I'm not sure this will be goldmined ever, but in a beautiful world I'd actually like to keep the thread alive as long as possible. There are always questions, after all. (Gonna kick you out and?) LetTheSunShineIn, exactly what Raskol said. Private loans are like little bundles of unpredictable joy; some of them have deferments, some of them don't, some of them have conditional deferments, etc. etc. I couldn't even begin to say what to do with your particular one. The federal loans, however, I'm great at! When you contact your lender, ask them to send you an In School Deferment Request Form. This is a form you'll take to the registrar's office to have the in-school deferment applied. Theoretically the lender can check the National Student Clearinghouse for registration information, but a lot of schools are slow about updating that system, so it's better to just go for the form and kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Sepist, good luck with that. I hope you brought some lube 
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Mar 7, 2007 23:29
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I'm currently getting more in Federal aid (scholarships, grants, and loans combined) than my tuition (and 'cost of education' figure). That would completely disqualify me from any further federal loans, right? I'm interested in getting an approx $10k loan for the final three years of my schooling for living expenses, etc, but it seems that I can't get any more loan money from most places. The only thing I've found so far is from Wells Fargo, an educational loan that doesn't seem to check my total aid amount with my university, so I'd be able to get funds. Would you recommend something like that, or can you recommend anything else?
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Mar 7, 2007 23:35
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me in reverse posted:I'm currently getting more in Federal aid (scholarships, grants, and loans combined) than my tuition (and 'cost of education' figure). That would completely disqualify me from any further federal loans, right? I'm interested in getting an approx $10k loan for the final three years of my schooling for living expenses, etc, but it seems that I can't get any more loan money from most places. Long answer: Get a job, and if you're also getting work-study, get an off-campus job too. Seriously, private education loans are dangerous and should only be handled when necessary, like when you don't get enough in Federal, state, and institutional aid to cover your cost of education. Oh yeah, in case you are asking about whether your total aid amount this year precludes you from Federal loan eligibility next year, basically there are annual limits and aggregate limits, and you probably won't be able to reach the undergrad aggregate limit for Stafford loans until your fourth year.
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Mar 8, 2007 00:08
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I'm graduating this spring with a loan debt of about 14K, all subsidized (11k Stafford, 3k Perkins). The company that is hiring me is giving me a relocation bonus of 4k. However, they are located in my hometown (and only about 120 miles from where I go to school) so I am not going to need the vast majority of this relocation money. My plan is to use this bonus to knock out the Perkins loan right away. Is there any reason at all this would not be a good idea? I assume it would be the smart thing to do, but I figure there is no harm in asking. Note: I'm not planning on taking out any other loans in the near future, so it's basically I use the money for this, use it cut the Stafford down to about 8k, or put it into an investment of some kind. Also my parents are buying new appliences in the near future, so if I decide to move into a house rather than an apartment they're planning on giving me their old ones, so I know for sure that this money will available to me.
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Mar 8, 2007 20:55
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Meinreverse, I'm unclear about your question. As Lewis mentioned, there's an annual and a total aggregate limit. If you haven't reached your annual limit, you'll need to hit up the financial aid office for additional funding, and then move to grants, scholarships, a job, and if needed, an alternative loan. For you and for everyone else reading or keeping up with this thread, this might help clear up a lot of these questions: the only non credit-based loans you will ever find, as a student, are the federal loans. Everything else is credit based. There's no mystical magical loan that will materialize out of nowhere to help satisfy your remaining costs. There's a reason so many college students are in so much debt with alt loans, and are tired beyond normal working one to even three jobs while attending school. If you can't get a scholarship or loan, the answer will always be the same: get an alternative loan if you can and MUST, or get a job. It sucks and I hate it, but that is the truth. Thoguh, it's never a bad idea to pay off your loans when you can. Why? Well because it's paid off, obviously, but mostly because you won't have to pay all that interest over the life of the loan, plus you'll show that you've paid off a loan on your credit report, which when it comes to federal loans is very good. Plus your college will appreciate it, as they're the ones handling the Perkins loan. Congrats on that opportunity, by the way! You sound like a smart investor; keep that quality around.
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Mar 11, 2007 07:12
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I've got a $24,000 teri loan through Bank of America. I opted for full deferment and at the end of 20 years, I'd have paid about $60k. Payment doesnt start until 8-09, so I've got over 2 years of interest building up. Should/can I change that to start payment now? Is the $60k a hard number or will it fluxuate if I do start now?
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Mar 12, 2007 19:04
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I'm currently in need of a loan to survive the spring semester. I'm an undergraduate with not good credit. My mom is jobless and recently homeless with really really bad credit, she's currently not paying the one PLUS loan someone was stupid enough to give her. My dad's credit is just as bad and he has no job as he's currently going back to school. My financial aid office told me to try for a private loan. Is it possible for my dad to apply for a second PLUS loan for me? If not, do you know of any private loans that he may qualify for? We tried Sallie Mae and were denied, so I don't have much hope, but its worth a try.
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Mar 12, 2007 19:34
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sych0, there shouldn't be a problem starting payments now, and yes, it will make that 60000 figure lower. Educational alternative loans (that I've dealt with) have simple interest, just like Staffords. We deal in Teris where I work, and I've never seen one with a prepayment penalty. As far as I'm aware, no educational loan, be it federal or alternative, has a prepayment penalty. And a lot of these companies don't want you to know that, as you'll pay less interest, which is less in the bank for them. Buahaha. Chouzan, are you already maxed out on Staffords for the year? If not, a PLUS loan denial will actually get you additional Stafford funding. If yes...your co-signer for an alternative loan doesn't HAVE to be a parent, they can be *anyone* who is credit-worthy. What school are you at? I can try to find some alt loan information for ya.
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Mar 13, 2007 03:55
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I apologize if similar questions have been asked. I graduated in May of 2006 with 17K in student loans (Federal Subsidized Stafford) through ACS. I've been paying it steadily with an interest rate of 7.14% Now I've got about 15K left. My grace period is over, and I've been paying for almost a year now, is it too late to consolidate with North Texas Higher Education Authority? I don't really understand the concept of consolidation and I was wondering if I'm still eligible to. Thanks!
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Mar 13, 2007 06:18
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Wiggy Marie posted:Chouzan, are you already maxed out on Staffords for the year? If not, a PLUS loan denial will actually get you additional Stafford funding. If yes...your co-signer for an alternative loan doesn't HAVE to be a parent, they can be *anyone* who is credit-worthy. What school are you at? I can try to find some alt loan information for ya. I have the subsidized (I think) stafford, but my mom already has a PLUS loan out for this school year, it just wasn't enough to cover other stuff like rent and food. I don't have any other family, and no credit-worthy friends. My school is a tiny liberal arts college, Albertson College of Idaho.
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Mar 13, 2007 08:00
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Jasen, until you've actually consolidated and have no additional debt to add, you can consolidate your loans. That being said, I would highly suggest waiting until closer to July 1st and hearing what the rates will change to. God willing they'll be dropping, and you'll be able to fix at a lower rate then. Right now you'd fix at somewhere around 7.25%. Yikes!!! Chouzan, if she still qualifies for a PLUS, your mom can take out a new one to cover additional expenses. It will be separate from the previous loan, but she can always consolidate later if needed.
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Mar 14, 2007 04:56
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What happens to loans if you happen to fall into a coma or die before paying them off? Do they magically disappear? This is a serious question. I have always wondered.
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Mar 15, 2007 05:27
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I have about 50k in private loans through AES. There are actually 3 loans with rates between 7.75-8.25%. Basically, rear end raping fun. I'm poised to sink 20k into them really soon but with the remaining 30k is there anything I can do? Any place I can consolidate and get a better rate? I also have about 30k in stafford loans, but they have a low-rear end interest rate locked in, something like 2% so I'm not worried about them. Small payments, and not the big fish to worry about.
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Mar 15, 2007 07:06
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Idiot Worm, if a borrower of federal loans is permanently disabled and can prove as much with documentation from the doctor (this would have to be done by family members if the borrower is unconcious, and yes I've spoken to a Dad with his son in a coma before ), then the loans are forgiven. If a person dies, the lender only needs a notarized copy of the original death certificate, and once again the loans are forgiven. They don't pass into anyone else's name, they're simply written off. These forgiveness programs apply for PLUS loans too. So if the parent OR student the loan was intended for is permanently disabled (which was that Dad's case) or dies, PLUS loans are forgiven as well. Also, if a student is Active Duty (army, military, etc.), their student loans or the PLUS loans intended for the student have both a forbearance and deferment available to use. Direw0lf, the only thing I can suggest is for you to google "private loan consolidation" and see what comes up. If you decide to consolidate, try your damndest to find a company that will fix your interest rate. Otherwise, you'll still be raped.
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Mar 15, 2007 16:28
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I've got somewhere around 25k in student loans from Sallie Mae. I missed several payments because of severe financial difficulties(I got a large pay cut, then I lost my job, then went into the hospital for emergency surgery and was unable to work for nearly a year while I was rehabbing). They gave me a one-year deferment and after that they put me on a one-year forbearance. My forbearance is up in May, but I won't feel financially comfortable making payments until July. I was thinking about consolidating my loans with one of the companies in the OP, but the other day I got an automated email from Sallie Mae saying that if I consolidate with them before my forbearance is up, I "will be eligible for an extended forbearance option." Is this a smart idea? Those other companies sound good, but extending the forbearance is very tempting.
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Mar 16, 2007 19:22
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Ah Sallie Mae, offering standard procedure as incentives since forever. That's like saying they'll fix your rate when you consolidate with them, omg isn't that cool?! Sallie Mae does what every other lender would: renews your THF time upon consolidation. So no matter where you go, you'll have that fresh and new 3 years of forbearance time to use as you see fit. Run away! Run away!
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Mar 17, 2007 19:09
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"The maximum in-school period is five years after the first disbursement for 4+-year schools or two years after the first disbursement for all other schools, whichever comes first." This is on the website for the Wells Fargo loan I was considering applying for. The problem is that I plan to go to school much longer than 5 years, as I should have 4 years of undergrad and then 4-5 more of med or grad school. Would this mean that I would have to make payments 5 years from now regardless of still being in school?
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Mar 21, 2007 20:45
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Alternative loans or fed loans? If it's Stafford, don't worry about it, they can be deferred for grad school, even if consolidated. Alt loans? up to the lender, but they're usually pretty understanding (its in their best...interest for repayment to take a long time. Did you catch the pun?)
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Mar 22, 2007 00:44
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Is there a lender that will give me a loan without a cosigner? And preferably something that doesn't pay only to the school - I want to live off-campus, so I want the loan to cover the apartment that I want to rent. I have a credit score of like 690.
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Mar 22, 2007 22:32
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anusaurus_rex, don't worry, just like Raskol said they can be deferred. Anytime you're at least half-time or more at a title 4 school, your loans will be deferred. If you have no idea what that means, please read the OP!  TOMSOVERBAGHDAD, maybe. The only way to find out is to apply. If at all possible, I'd apply for the Teri educational loan. But if you want something coming straight to you, you'll need to try for a private loan through a local bank. Huzzah! Sometimes an alternative loan will send information straight to the student per the school's request, but it's not guaranteed that this could happen. Yey, aren't you totally excited?!
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Mar 24, 2007 00:28
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I wouldn't mind if the money got sent to the school - I just would want the school to not edit the loan. Would the school edit the loan if I requested a certain amount of money from a private lender?
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Mar 24, 2007 03:26
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Not if all of your tuition/fees were already satisfied. But yes, the school does still maintain the ability to change the amount actually disbursed. I'd suggest you call the private loan company and ask them if there's a method to have the funds sent directly to you, without the school's involvement.
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Mar 24, 2007 13:02
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