Defferment of loans while in dental residency

[1-16-17-32]

From what I have heard, while doing some dental residencies we are eligable to defer our loans. Does any residency qualify, or are there certain restrictions?

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[ItsGavinC]

Any residency that is recognized by the ADA should qualify, to my knowledge.

 

[tx oms]

Your loans, by law, can be deferred. However, medical residents can only put their loans in forebearance (not deferment). Most banks/loan agents are unaware of the distinction and their computer systems are set-up to reject your request for deferment. The customer support people on the phone and their supervisors are also unaware that the law makes a distinction. Therefore, you will face great frustration in trying to get your loans deferred rather than forbearred. I finally involved the ombudsmen from the US Dept of Education and was able to enter deferrment.

 

[texas_dds]

Your loans, by law, can be deferred. However, medical residents can only put their loans in forebearance (not deferment). Most banks/loan agents are unaware of the distinction and their computer systems are set-up to reject your request for deferment. The customer support people on the phone and their supervisors are also unaware that the law makes a distinction. Therefore, you will face great frustration in trying to get your loans deferred rather than forbearred. I finally involved the ombudsmen from the US Dept of Education and was able to enter deferrment.

my financial aid person told me its easier to get deferment if you can show you are paying tuition to a grad program and are not getting a stipend or an employee of the hospital the way medical residents are. such as: ortho. i hope so anyways cause otherwise i'm getting tanked by the whole loan thing

 

[DcS]

Weird timing...we just had a harvard MBA come talk w/ our school about loans and this came up. From what he said...

If you are doing a residency associated with a school or a hospital associated with a school, you can get an educational deferment of your loans.

If, on the other hand, you are doing it at a private hospital, he told us that you have to claim Economic Hardship. Unfortunately, not everyone qualifies. It's a sliding scale based on your stipend and debt to determine if you qualify. I took down some specifics but they are not in reach. For example, if you are making 45K in stipend you must have over 135K in loans to qualify. A good way to tweak this is maybe pump some of your stipend into a 401K or IRA to lower your taxable income.

 

[DcS]

Also for those who have graduated or have undergrad loans, consolidate NOW. The T-Bill which is currently at an all time low is expected to significantly raise when it's auctioned in late may. The new loan rate that will be set this summer will be significantly higher. Unfortunately for us 2006s we get screwed by a year.

 

[1-16-17-32]

Yeah, my plan was to consolidate all my unsubsidized loans, but to defer any subsidized loans I have because I am doing a hospital based dental residency. This way I am getting the best rates I can on some of my loans, while not having to start paying interested on my subsidized loans (which I would have to if I was consolidating them).

Does this sound logical? Or maybe it pays to consolidate all loans so that I can get good rates on my subsidized loans as well, though I will have to start paying them back and paying interest?

 

[DcS]

If you are done this year and consolidate them all do it now. It is a huge difference...on 120 grand of debt consolidating now w/ the low interest rate versus 2006 when it will shoot up will be a 36grand difference in interest. Also it was my understanding that even if you consolidate unsubsidized loans you can still defer them while in residency. All consolidation does is lock in a rate and a time period.

 

[adamlc18]

Yeah, my plan was to consolidate all my unsubsidized loans, but to defer any subsidized loans I have because I am doing a hospital based dental residency. This way I am getting the best rates I can on some of my loans, while not having to start paying interested on my subsidized loans (which I would have to if I was consolidating them).

Does this sound logical? Or maybe it pays to consolidate all loans so that I can get good rates on my subsidized loans as well, though I will have to start paying them back and paying interest?

I was wondering if you would share what program you are doing and where. Thanks.

 

[Jediwendell]

Just so you OMS guys know, you can defer as a full time student (just like in dental school) while you are in medical school.

 

[groundhog]

Also for those who have graduated or have undergrad loans, consolidate NOW. The T-Bill which is currently at an all time low is expected to significantly raise when it's auctioned in late may. The new loan rate that will be set this summer will be significantly higher. Unfortunately for us 2006s we get screwed by a year.

You don't get hosed by a year. You get tubed by the white house yahoos who are running a huge federal budget deficit in order to goose the domestic economy and sustain a foreign war at the same time. Johnson and Nixon did the same thing...."guns and butter" brings on inflation and high interest rates every time.

 

[DcS]

You don't get hosed by a year. You get tubed by the white house yahoos who are running a huge federal budget deficit in order to goose the domestic economy and sustain a foreign war at the same time. Johnson and Nixon did the same thing...."guns and butter" brings on inflation and high interest rates every time.

Regardless of the current state of this country, did you really expect interest rates to sit at 2.8%?? That's an all-time low, the rise is inevitable.

 

[texas_dds]

we had this same harvard mba student come to speak to us tonight: probably one of the more important lectures ive ever been to. in a nut shell, consolidating is GOOD but you have to know what you are doing. basically these mba students are doing something really great: they have a free service to graduate students (us!) that will walk you through the loan consolidation process that is best for you depending on what kinds of loans you have, and represent other similar students as a group (high loan balance, low default rate - basically valuable loan customers) - they have used this as bargaining leverage against lenders to obtain the most student friendly consolidation terms available anywhere. 2005 grads, this is ESPECIALLY important for you to know right now and do things right.
anyways - i highly reccommend everyone check out

www. graduateleverage.com

 

[DcS]

we had this same harvard mba student come to speak to us tonight: probably one of the more important lectures ive ever been to. in a nut shell, consolidating is GOOD but you have to know what you are doing. basically these mba students are doing something really great: they have a free service to graduate students (us!) that will walk you through the loan consolidation process that is best for you depending on what kinds of loans you have, and represent other similar students as a group (high loan balance, low default rate - basically valuable loan customers) - they have used this as bargaining leverage against lenders to obtain the most student friendly consolidation terms available anywhere. 2005 grads, this is ESPECIALLY important for you to know right now and do things right.
anyways - i highly reccommend everyone check out

www. graduateleverage.com

Yeah that was the one. One of the most coherent lectures I've ever been to. I try to keep knowledgeable about the loan stuff and know more than the avg student but that presentation blew me away. In hindsight I wish I had taped it for reference later, hopefully he will come back next year.