Can I return loans ..& bartending.

[sillyrabbit0207]

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Two different topics in this post.

long story short, I might have a couple thousand saved up by school and my flaky parents said the MIGHT help and I might be bartending during school, therefore I might not need like ~10k of my loans. However, as you can tell by the repetitive 'mights', its not for sure.

1. Can i take the loans and return it without paying interest if i end up having more money than expected. 2. how long do I have? They are all federal loans, no private.

3. Has anyone bartended during med school? How was it? I will be living in a big city

 

[ridethecliche]

I don't know if you're allowed to work during medical school and how that affects the financial aspects of things i.e. loans.

If you're working 'under the table' then that's different but would be difficult (and not really prudent).

 

[jsquared91]

When interest starts accruing depends on the type of loan. Usually your school's fin aid office can answer most of the q's about loan repayment specifics.

 

[cactus8910]

There might be a period of time after your loan is disbursed that you can return it without interest being charged (maybe 1-2 months - depends on the loan and the school), but keep in mind that they'll keep the disbursement fee (~1%). You can always repay the extra so it doesn't continue to accrue interest, but you're still losing money compared to if you took out less to start.

 

[brootas14]

Agree with above.

The other strategy I've heard a lot of students take is to keep the funds (to avoid losing the disbursement/paying interest), and adjust what they take in the future. Its effectively the same thing as giving it back, averaging a low and a high semester or year.

 

[sillyrabbit0207]

Agree with above.

The other strategy I've heard a lot of students take is to keep the funds (to avoid losing the disbursement/paying interest), and adjust what they take in the future. Its effectively the same thing as giving it back, averaging a low and a high semester or year.

Okay I dont fully understand this. So youre saying to take the extra 10k now and just take 10k less next year? But, for example, wouldnt that 1ok I take now start accruing interest beginning aug 2015 and by the time the next loan year comes i would have accrued one year worth of interest on that 10k that was just sitting in my account? rather than returning it and getting a fresh loan aug 2016? Wouldnt the cost in interest for one year be more than the disbursement fee that i'll be losing? Or do you mean keep it and just take less spring semester? can you adjust it semester by semester?

 

[Ismet]

Our financial aid office here suggested to figure out how much we'd need to cover a year of tuition + books + rent/utilities + food + incidentals (car, clothes, etc), then tack on an extra $1000 for emergency. You can always take out more at any time during the year if you find that you didn't budget enough, but you can't give it back at the end of the year when you realize you took out way too much.

 

[sillyrabbit0207]

Our financial aid office here suggested to figure out how much we'd need to cover a year of tuition + books + rent/utilities + food + incidentals (car, clothes, etc), then tack on an extra $1000 for emergency. You can always take out more at any time during the year if you find that you didn't budget enough, but you can't give it back at the end of the year when you realize you took out way too much.

Okay so to my understanding, I can accept all the aid and return some before it is dispersed/within a time frame OR I can borrow less and lets say deny my 15k grad plus, but it will still be 'reserved' for me for the year in case i unexpectedly need it?

 

[Ismet]

Okay so to my understanding, I can accept all the aid and return some before it is dispersed/within a time frame OR I can borrow less and lets say deny my 15k grad plus, but it will still be 'reserved' for me for the year in case i unexpectedly need it?

Check with your financial aid office because what I heard is 4 years out of date and there may be more to it. But yes, my understanding is that when you get your financial aid award letter, you can choose to accept a lower amount than the total COA, but you can always borrow UP TO the total COA at any time during the year.

 

[brootas14]

Okay I dont fully understand this. So youre saying to take the extra 10k now and just take 10k less next year? But, for example, wouldnt that 1ok I take now start accruing interest beginning aug 2015 and by the time the next loan year comes i would have accrued one year worth of interest on that 10k that was just sitting in my account? rather than returning it and getting a fresh loan aug 2016? Wouldnt the cost in interest for one year be more than the disbursement fee that i'll be losing? Or do you mean keep it and just take less spring semester? can you adjust it semester by semester?

To be fair, its the extra interest on that 10k for another year, minus the less interest on taking out fewer loans a semester later. Its a small amount. But if revisiting your financial aid later in the semester is an option without paying extra fees, that is the better option.

 

[DrShephardWannabe]

Two different topics in this post.

long story short, I might have a couple thousand saved up by school and my flaky parents said the MIGHT help and I might be bartending during school, therefore I might not need like ~10k of my loans. However, as you can tell by the repetitive 'mights', its not for sure.

1. Can i take the loans and return it without paying interest if i end up having more money than expected. 2. how long do I have? They are all federal loans, no private.

3. Has anyone bartended during med school? How was it? I will be living in a big city

I bartended throughout my first two years of undergrad. It pays well, but is very demanding. 6pm-2am shifts are your life. Clean the bar, don't leave until 2:30-3. From the usual metaphor of med school being like "18-20 hours of upper division sciences" bartending while in med school sounds impossible.