Student loan payments: get advice and actual numbers here Forum

[Mr. Peanutbutter]

Not a dumb question. It's probably because the accrued interest was capitalized (added to the actual principal of the loan and will start accruing interest). This only happens when you enter repayment, student loans are not compounding, so if interest capitalization does affect your credit score, it won't happen again.

[Anonymous User]

I'm still a student and all of my loans are not under the repayment period, but all of them went up minimal amounts ($25, $44, etc.) so I can only imagine that it's interest. Unsure if I need to look into this further or not.

Edit: should add that I haven't tracked my credit score this closely in the past, but in the last ~year my score has only gone up (and my loans have definitely been accruing interest in that time), so this seems abnormal.

[Anonymous User]

$355,665.02 total student loan debt, as of yesterday (no, I am not joking).

I borrowed the maximum every semester through undergrad and law school and only made one or two interest payments. That total includes five years of Undergrad to get two degrees and two minors. The total also includes four years of the night program at my #1 choice for law school. I had no intention of being a broke student. So, I used the money for books, tuition, living expenses, etc. while I worked full-time during the day to live the lifestyle I was accustomed to. However, I did not work during the last two years of law school, at all.

Suffice to say, I was and still am living the dream! I also studied abroad, which allowed me to spend considerable time in Europe. I lived in three different countries during my "academic career" (the benefit of not working the last two years of law school).

Just graduated in May and loans were set to enter repayment November 13, 2016.

I was hired by a firm with a start date of August 1, 2016 (Monday after the Bar Exam). I get paid $20/hr as a law clerk awaiting Bar results. I applied for Income Based Repayment (IBR) and was able to use my 2015 tax return numbers for adjusted gross income. I also moved my loan repayment date to December, 2016.

Does it suck to owe so much money? Yes. Could I have survived on less? Yes. Could I have made the choice to not travel the world and study abroad? Yes.

Do I regret any of it? No.

I wanted to be a lawyer. I went to law school, got hired by a firm, and Bar results are about to post. When my results show "Passed" then I will automatically be moved up to First-Year Associate. I had a tough choice to make because I had this job offer and I also had an almost full-ride scholarship to get an LLM in a foreign country (International Business Law). I went with the job because it is a tough economy and my student loan debt is through the proverbial roof! I almost regret giving up the scholarship... But, it sure is nice to get a paycheck, finally...and it's a paycheck from working in a law firm.

I had a great life as a law student. Working full-time through most of my "academic career" allowed me to travel the world on Spring Breaks, during the summer, and while studying abroad. Student loans allowed me to attend school stress-free.

In the end you have to pay to play... Oh well... I played... Now I pay. But, no one can take away the memories and experiences that I had. It was all worth it!

Do I recommend this path for others? That's a question you will have to answer yourself.

Without IBR my payments would start in 11 days from now and be slightly over $4,100.00 per month. (no that is not a typo)

[zot1]

So your point is "yay me, I have debt but had great memories so don't regret it"?

[Nebby]

$355,665.02 total student loan debt, as of yesterday (no, I am not joking).

I borrowed the maximum every semester through undergrad and law school and only made one or two interest payments. That total includes five years of Undergrad to get two degrees and two minors. The total also includes four years of the night program at my #1 choice for law school. I had no intention of being a broke student. So, I used the money for books, tuition, living expenses, etc. while I worked full-time during the day to live the lifestyle I was accustomed to. However, I did not work during the last two years of law school, at all.

Suffice to say, I was and still am living the dream! I also studied abroad, which allowed me to spend considerable time in Europe. I lived in three different countries during my "academic career" (the benefit of not working the last two years of law school).

Just graduated in May and loans were set to enter repayment November 13, 2016.

I was hired by a firm with a start date of August 1, 2016 (Monday after the Bar Exam). I get paid $20/hr as a law clerk awaiting Bar results. I applied for Income Based Repayment (IBR) and was able to use my 2015 tax return numbers for adjusted gross income. I also moved my loan repayment date to December, 2016.

Does it suck to owe so much money? Yes. Could I have survived on less? Yes. Could I have made the choice to not travel the world and study abroad? Yes.

Do I regret any of it? No.

I wanted to be a lawyer. I went to law school, got hired by a firm, and Bar results are about to post. When my results show "Passed" then I will automatically be moved up to First-Year Associate. I had a tough choice to make because I had this job offer and I also had an almost full-ride scholarship to get an LLM in a foreign country (International Business Law). I went with the job because it is a tough economy and my student loan debt is through the proverbial roof! I almost regret giving up the scholarship... But, it sure is nice to get a paycheck, finally...and it's a paycheck from working in a law firm.

I had a great life as a law student. Working full-time through most of my "academic career" allowed me to travel the world on Spring Breaks, during the summer, and while studying abroad. Student loans allowed me to attend school stress-free.

In the end you have to pay to play... Oh well... I played... Now I pay. But, no one can take away the memories and experiences that I had. It was all worth it!

Do I recommend this path for others? That's a question you will have to answer yourself.

Without IBR my payments would start in 11 days from now and be slightly over $4,100.00 per month. (no that is not a typo)

What was the point of this?

[Danger Zone]

Convincing themselves that they didn't make horrible choices

[bk1]

What was the point of this?

Student loan payments: Actual numbers

I agree that it comes off as very naive.

[Anonymous User]

This may have been addressed earlier in the thread, but I'm not sure precisely how to find it.

My question is regarding PSLF. I work for a qualifying employer, and am wondering if I should apply for an IDR plan now through my servicer, Great Lakes, or wait until I submit my employer certification form. I understand that once I submit the ECF form, my loans will be transferred to FedLoan servicing, so I'm wondering if it doesn't make sense to apply for IDR if my loans are going to be transferred anyway. Any advice?

[JenDarby]

What was the point of this?

Student loan payments: Actual numbers

I agree that it comes off as very naive.

yea that post was the actual point of this thread, albeit with some colorful details

if he can truck on with that attitude, who am I to judge. it's no/not much worse than tons of others on the PAYE/IBR train but at least it sounds like he optimized life experiences and had fun running the tab

[zot1]

What was the point of this?

Student loan payments: Actual numbers

I agree that it comes off as very naive.

yea that post was the actual point of this thread, albeit with some colorful details

if he can truck on with that attitude, who am I to judge. it's no/not much worse than tons of others on the PAYE/IBR train but at least it sounds like he optimized life experiences and had fun running the tab

This could have been said in so many less words.

[zot1]

This as in what he meant, not what you said, JD.

[favabeansoup]

What was the point of this?

Student loan payments: Actual numbers

I agree that it comes off as very naive.

yea that post was the actual point of this thread, albeit with some colorful details

if he can truck on with that attitude, who am I to judge. it's no/not much worse than tons of others on the PAYE/IBR train but at least it sounds like he optimized life experiences and had fun running the tab

Pretty easy for people to say "it was totally worth" when you are young, just out of law school, your IBR payment is barely anything, and you don't have a lot of other life worries.

There are a lot of "memories" in one's life. Saying "it was worth it" now might change as your experiences change. If you ever want to buy a home, alter your career paths, start a family, etc, you'll start to realize how much of a drag that massive amount of money is, even if your monthly payments aren't that high through IBR. Also the fun IBR fact that you get hit with a massive, massive tax bill most likely after 25 years. Hope he/she is planning for that.

[Nebby]

This may have been addressed earlier in the thread, but I'm not sure precisely how to find it.

My question is regarding PSLF. I work for a qualifying employer, and am wondering if I should apply for an IDR plan now through my servicer, Great Lakes, or wait until I submit my employer certification form. I understand that once I submit the ECF form, my loans will be transferred to FedLoan servicing, so I'm wondering if it doesn't make sense to apply for IDR if my loans are going to be transferred anyway. Any advice?

I applied for PAYE and will be submitting my employer certification at the end of the year. I don't think there's a "right" answer, but maybe I don't understand the question.

[JenDarby]

As someone who refinanced, I would still bet they really ease the burden of any tax bomb. That's not exactly a "fun fact" when I'd guess nearly every law student is well aware.

His debt situation truly isn't all that different than a ton of law grads that didn't travel or work during law school. Of course life can get more complicated down the road, perhaps he's already 40+ has 5 kids now, you don't fucking know. 250k? 350? If you're riding the PAYE/IBR train may as well ride business.

I refinanced and make large debt payments every month since I started with relatively less debt. I could still become deathly ill and unable to work and pay my loans tomorrow, and be more fucked than this guy with 355k of federally protected debt.

Who cares if he's positive about it now. I love how much effort is put into the on topics shaming people for not being depressed about their outcomes sometimes.

[swampthang]

Dumb question warning. Current student and my credit score just dropped ~15-20 points and the only change was that all my loans increased due to interest. Is this going to be a continuing thing once I'm on a repayment plan? Is the only way around it to consolidate? Can you consolidate and stay on PAYE/REPAYE?

my interest goes up every month and my credit does not go down. are you sure its from the student loans rather than a credit pull or some other activity?

yes you can also consolidate and remain on PAYE/REPAYE

Yes you can consolidate federal loans under the federal loan consolidation program, but it'll leave you with a blended rate equal to what your pre-consolidated loan's blended rate was so there's no savings gained from consolidation.

Basically, I haven't found a benefit for federal consolidation other than the tiniest bit of convenience (which is only a convenience in a limited number of circumstances). I think it's not worth it, since without consolidation you could choose to pay down higher interest loans more quickly, or be more flexible in which you pay down, etc.

This. All else equal, you ALWAYS want to pay down the highest interest rate loan first. So consolidating gives you no real benefits (other than one monthly payment, whoopdy doo, you should be on auto-pay anyway, so it hardly matters whether you have 1 or 100 loan servicers) while eliminating that option. Hard pressed to see a scenario where consolidation actually makes sense.

[Anonymous User]

2014 Grad with approximately $160,000 in remaining debt. Married with 3 kids. Wife's income is minimal from home business.

Initially on IBR then first year of re certification was delayed due to processing errors on income (income was variable including income from a post grad fellowship, then a temp job, 2 months of unemployment and finally a full time job, including self employment income from wife's business). After several failed attempts at sending in all relevant information I was put on standard repayment plan and interest was capitalized.

Finally I used my tax returns to certify, that took approximately 4 months but I was able to get on PAYE. Payments based on last years tax return are $0.

Making approximately $60 k at job and have been making payments on high interest loan.

After having paid about $13,000 and not making any progress on total debt due to continued interest. I am ready to give up and make the minimum payment ($0) until I re certify.

Any advice from those in a similar situation would be appreciated.

[A. Nony Mouse]

This may have been addressed earlier in the thread, but I'm not sure precisely how to find it.

My question is regarding PSLF. I work for a qualifying employer, and am wondering if I should apply for an IDR plan now through my servicer, Great Lakes, or wait until I submit my employer certification form. I understand that once I submit the ECF form, my loans will be transferred to FedLoan servicing, so I'm wondering if it doesn't make sense to apply for IDR if my loans are going to be transferred anyway. Any advice?

If I understand this correctly - get on an income-based plan as soon as possible, to minimize what you'll pay overall. But that is totally separate from certifying your employment and you don't have to certify until you want to get everything forgiven. Lots of people do certify their employment earlier, but you don't strictly need to prove your eligible employment until you've finished the 120 payments. But you definitely want to get on an income-based plan as soon as possible (probably PAYE or REPAYE because they have the lowest caps).

[grand inquisitor]

wait i'm confused and feel dumb. i'm on ibr right now, which has you pay 15% of disc income, but paye and repaye only make you pay 10%. why on earth am i on ibr? was i just dumb when i applied?

[A. Nony Mouse]

Repaye didn't start until December of last year and you may not have been eligible for paye?

[lawhoo16]

This may have been addressed earlier in the thread, but I'm not sure precisely how to find it.

My question is regarding PSLF. I work for a qualifying employer, and am wondering if I should apply for an IDR plan now through my servicer, Great Lakes, or wait until I submit my employer certification form. I understand that once I submit the ECF form, my loans will be transferred to FedLoan servicing, so I'm wondering if it doesn't make sense to apply for IDR if my loans are going to be transferred anyway. Any advice?

I applied for PAYE and will be submitting my employer certification at the end of the year. I don't think there's a "right" answer, but maybe I don't understand the question.

Definitely wait until the end of the year to submit your ECF, but switch to IBR plan asap. The ECF works retroactively. I started a clerkship in september and submitted the form in October. I got a letter saying (1) my providers was changing to FedLoan and (2) any payments I'd made between starting my clerkship and submitting the form would be credited. Since I hadn't made any payments, it does nothing. I have to wait until next year to get PSLF credit for payments made during my clerkship year.

[grand inquisitor]

Repaye didn't start until December of last year and you may not have been eligible for paye?

ok i requested to switch and i guess they automatically put you on a one-month deferment where you only pay $5. chances they get sloppy and count that as one of my qualifying PSLF payments?

[Pomeranian]

Thoughts on what a Trump Presidency and a Republican controlled House/Senate will mean for federal loan assistance programs?

[bk1]

Thoughts on what a Trump Presidency and a Republican controlled House/Senate will mean for federal loan assistance programs?

Nobody knows. I suspect nothing will change.

[beach_terror]

Debt: 175k
Payments: 1k minimum (lowest available), additional 3-3.5k/mo for now to the highest interest loan, pay it off, rinse and repeat
Income: over $100k
Plan: 25 year fixed (hope to be done in 4-5 years)
Note: living at home to knock off as much principal as possible until after New Years

About 3 years from my original post now. This spiked up to ~$181k before I started repayment and I'm currently sitting at $101k. After bonus this year, I'm hoping to be around $85k, but we'll see. My loans were between 6 and 8% and I'm down to around 4% after two refis. Not fun.

[bk1]

Debt: 175k
Payments: 1k minimum (lowest available), additional 3-3.5k/mo for now to the highest interest loan, pay it off, rinse and repeat
Income: over $100k
Plan: 25 year fixed (hope to be done in 4-5 years)
Note: living at home to knock off as much principal as possible until after New Years

About 3 years from my original post now. This spiked up to ~$181k before I started repayment and I'm currently sitting at $101k. After bonus this year, I'm hoping to be around $85k, but we'll see. My loans were between 6 and 8% and I'm down to around 4% after two refis. Not fun.

Congrats on getting to 5 figures!