Student Loans

[ktmarvels]

Hello all.

I was lucky enough to get my undergrad degree without having to take out student loans, however I'll be starting pharmacy school in the next couple of weeks and loans will be inevitable. The problem is that I know nothing (well next to nothing) about student loans.

Right now the school is giving me $8,500 in subsidized loans and almost $17,000 in unsubsidized loans. I'm still holding out hope that I'll get some scholarships, but I don't know yet. I haven't been able to get anything concrete about the interest rate...just that it is adjustable and no higher than 8.5% (or was 8.25?).

Since I don't know anything I thought I'd ask everyone if there anything that I should be especially aware of? Or questions I should ask before hand.

Thanks!

[xdork4lifex]

Hey!

I really wish that I could give you more info about student loans, but I don't really know how things work in the States (I'm Canadian myself) but I just had to say hi since you are going to pharmacy school! I am going into my third year this year and it always pleases me to meet other future pharmacists!

At my school, tuition is ~11k and I usually get scholarships/bursuries for about half of that. The rest I pay myself or I beg my parents if I get really desperate. I also know that some of the people in my class have bank loans where they only pay the interest while they are in school, but since I live at home and manage to be pretty thrifty, I haven't had to do that just yet.

Perhaps you can contact the financial aid office at your school and get their input on the best way to do things? Good luck with the scholarships by the way and I hope you enjoy your first year!

[Saving in So Cal]

It has been more than a decade since I went to grad school, but I seem to recall getting a brochure about each type of loan in the financial aid package. The brochures detailed things like prepayment penalties, interest accrual/deferral, loan forgiveness, etc.

I also recall getting a "truth-in-lending" type financial disclosure similar to what you get when you buy a house. The disclosure had very clear information about the loan terms, including interest rate, payment start date, number of payments, total cost of the loan, etc.

Lastly, I recall being required to attend two financial aid seminars -- a pre-admission seminar and a pre-graduation seminar -- where I was given more information and an opportunity to question the financial aid counselors. I don't think my school was any more forward-thinking than any others in these respects. So, if you aren't getting this type of information, then it is perfectly appropriate to contact a financial aid counselor and ask all the questions you need to understand what you are getting yourself into.

Good luck with your schooling.

[Scanner]

Since I don't know anything I thought I'd ask everyone if there anything that I should be especially aware of?

IMO, and DisneySteve can chime in on this with regards to professional school. . .you would be better to keep your debt to a minimum with a part time job, get A's, B's, C's and an occasional D than to have maximum debt and graduate with an A average.

I graduated 28th out of 68, I think.

This is just my opinion but especially with a pharmacist, nobody asks what you got in Biochem II.

I speak as a chiropractor and I was an A, B, C, and an occasional D (curse that OB/GYN class - I ain't know nothign about birthing no babies!!!!) student and I am doing better than our valedictorian who was saddled with maximum debt. I worked about 10-15 hours/week through school and you should do the same.

My only regret was not working more.

[Scanner]

BTW, I know this advice goes against the grain of the "accelerated student" but I really beleive this. Good students work tend to work hard at studying place it high up on the priority list.

But your repayment schedule is the same if you graduate pharmacy school with $80,000 in debt and you got A's or you got D's all the way through.

The lenders don't care.

[Cashguy]

American Education Services (AES.com) is a great site to learn about government student loan rates, paying interest while in school, repayment options etc. The main thing is to keep your future debt LOW.

[Broken Arrow]

Student loans should be the option of last resort. Whenever possible, look for grants, paying co-ops, and separate part-time jobs. Please speak with your financial aid advisor for more details.

Take only what you need, not what is being offered.

Avoid unsubsidized whenever possible.

[InDebtInDC]

Student loans should be the option of last resort. Whenever possible, look for grants, paying co-ops, and separate part-time jobs. Please speak with your financial aid advisor for more details.

Take only what you need, not what is being offered.

Avoid unsubsidized whenever possible.

This is good advice. I did 6.5 semesters purely on loans and it's very difficult to pay them off after you graduate.

Avoid unsubsidized loans if possible. Try to get grants or at least subsidized loans.

The only thing I may reconsider though is the part time job. Depending on how rigorous your curriculum is, you're almost always better off graduating early if possible than if you took a part time job to help pay your way through. Your income after graduation will most likely be much higher than what you can make part-time.

Good luck.

The only thing I may reconsider though is the part time job. Depending on how rigorous your curriculum is, you're almost always better off graduating early if possible than if you took a part time job to help pay your way through. Your income after graduation will most likely be much higher than what you can make part-time.

I think a part-time job can be a good thing. It gives you valuable work experience, references for future jobs, a chance to learn how to budget with a real paycheck, and a good way to meet people.

[JasonEngler]

Take only what you need, not what is being offered.

Be prepared to see more then what you need being offered. I agree with Broken Arrow... stay away from anything above your actual needs.

Also, once you finish school...pay back your student loans using minimum payments and pay off any consumer debt you may have accumlated first, instead. If you have no consumer debt, congratulations! Feel free to start paying back those loans!

[neguy11]

Here are the current rates:

Stafford Loans AFTER 7/1/06 = 6.8% fixed rate
Stafford Loans BEFORE 7/1/06 = 6.62% in School/Grace/Deferment and 7.22% in Repayment/Forbearance, both variable rates adjusted every July 1

Unsubsidized loans always accrue interest. At least pay the interest that accrues on them. Subsidized only accrue interest in repayment and forbearance, so those are a great deal.

Perkins Loans are fixed at 5% rate and treated like a subsidized loan.

Take out your loans QUICK! Congress is most likely going to pass legislation that will increase costs for lenders and really thin the margins, so much so that it is unlikely most will be able to offer incentives like no origination fees and interest rate reductions.

I guess this is a move to bring it in line with the lovely Direct Loan program which offers no incentives except some strange rebate that doesn't make much sense to me.

[Homebody]

My daughter worked as a medical transcriptionist (and still is) during her ultrasound school and externship. She works weekends and Wednesdays (her externship is 4-10's). Of course I trained her! But you can work at home, I have been for 10 years now.

With your schooling, if you can type you may be able to pick it up quickly.

Check MT Jobs.

[InDebtInDC]

I think a part-time job can be a good thing. It gives you valuable work experience, references for future jobs, a chance to learn how to budget with a real paycheck, and a good way to meet people.

With all due respect, I think it depends on the person and the situation. If you're a liberal arts major, you need as much experience as you possibly can before you start working, whatever you end up doing.

If you major in something more technical like engineering or business, my sentiment has always been to graduate early and make more money earlier, especially if you come out of a competitive program.

I major'ed in all 3. If I had taken a part-time job it would have taken me 10 years.

[project15]

My sister is in her residencies of pharmacology. I don't think a part-time job, a.k.a. internship, will be an option since it is a requirement. She's been working part time at her internship during the school year and then full time during the summer. She's not working to pay off school since my parents are giving her a loan for it, she's working because she needs a certain amount of hours prior to taking her tests.