Should I pay off my loans before submitting finaid forms? Forum

[Marshmallow]

Not sure if this has been addressed elsewhere, but if it has, please feel free to just point me in that direction.

So, I'm about 3-4 years out of UG, and have between $15,000-$20,000 left to pay back on my loans. I am in a position to pay them off in full right now, and I would still have 5-10K in the bank. Would it be beneficial for me to pay them off/down prior to filling out FAFSA and Need Access? Does it even matter? My gut says no because finaid is negligible at all but HYS... Can anyone weigh in on this? FWIW, my parents don't have much in the way of money, so I'm not really worried about their EFC. Is there something else I should be considering? A huge part of me is like, just save your $ for COL. I just want to get some opinions on this since my head is too full and I can't think straight about it. Thanks for any help.

[anyriotgirl]

What sort of loans are they?

[Marshmallow]

What sort of loans are they?

I've got direct subsidized and unsubsidized stafford loans (mostly subsidized, not sure if it matters)

[anyriotgirl]

What sort of loans are they?

I've got direct subsidized and unsubsidized stafford loans (mostly subsidized, not sure if it matters)

I'm pretty sure that subsidized loans will stop accruing interest while you're in school, so if I were you I wouldn't touch those. Whatever law school loans you take out are going to accrue interest during school, so you're better off not taking the money out to begin with. Even with the unsubsidized, I'd be inclined to employ the same strategy unless they have a crazy interest rate, since with origination fees and everything, it probably makes more sense to leave them alone.

I am only a 0L, and my understanding of financial aid in law school is limited, but from what I understand it's pretty negligible. However, the interest on your that will accrue during law school is definitely not. FWIW this is the strategy that I am employing.

[Marshmallow]

What sort of loans are they?

I've got direct subsidized and unsubsidized stafford loans (mostly subsidized, not sure if it matters)

I'm pretty sure that subsidized loans will stop accruing interest while you're in school, so if I were you I wouldn't touch those. Whatever law school loans you take out are going to accrue interest during school, so you're better off not taking the money out to begin with. Even with the unsubsidized, I'd be inclined to employ the same strategy unless they have a crazy interest rate, since with origination fees and everything, it probably makes more sense to leave them alone.

I am only a 0L, and my understanding of financial aid in law school is limited, but from what I understand it's pretty negligible. However, the interest on your that will accrue during law school is definitely not. FWIW this is the strategy that I am employing.

thanks for the info! one more piece of the puzzle. i need to read up on this loan stuff more...

[anyriotgirl]

No problem! A lot of this loan stuff is pretty opaque, and it doesn't help that the policies/interest rates change a lot. Luckily (?), once you have your loan, you get to keep the terms you signed up with, but with each new year there are fresh interest rates/changes to parse.