Financial woes

[DVMDream]

What do you guys recommend, aside from the more obvious things like going in-state when possible, living frugally, applying for scholarships, etc.?

I've crunched the numbers a million times and played with the calculator on VIN using different scenarios. My husband's salary is solid, and he's looking at a considerable raise (*fingers crossed*), so the numbers aren't so terrifying as they would be otherwise, but it's still scary.

For me, a lot of it has to do with my undergrad but also going IS is a big thing I would change too. I didn't have an in-state though (AZ)...

Here is my "hindsight is 20/20" list:

1. I would go to a community college for undergrad instead of a university. Yes, the university experience was great, yes I made some good friends, no it was not worth the $50K. That is additional money from that schooling on top of the vet school loans. I should have done community college for at least 2 years and then transferred to a 4 year university.
2. I would have worked more during school. Yes, I worked some, but I could have tried to work more. I should have attempted to at least try to pay living expenses while in undergrad instead of relying on loans. This could have saved quite a bit of money. Also, staying at home, free living while doing the community college thing would have saved a ton as well.
3. I could have lived more frugally. Really could have. I would do this over again.
4. I would move to a state that has a vet school and tends to favor things that my application would offer so that I could gain residency. I was told during my last cycle by a couple schools that I would have probably been accepted had a been an IS student when I asked for file reviews. I would do this yesterday if I weren't already in vet school.
5. After gaining residency, I would apply to out of state schools as well (still) but to those that allow for a change in residency status after 1 year.

I was 18 when I started all of this and really had the eyes fixed on the one goal mindset. Also, I was the first member of my family to attend college, so there was no one else to be learning all this school loan information from. I was basically navigating all of this on my own, not even my parents knew how any of this worked out. I was young, naive and wasn't worried about debt as an 18 year old in undergrad, or even as a 20 year old. Hindsight is really 20/20 and you learn things as you make mistakes. For me, it is too late to change what I did, but maybe someone else can learn from it and do things differently. Hopefully my little sister will eventually listen to me about all of this before she continues to make the same mistakes I already did (she isn't wanting to do vet school, but some of the above apply to a lot of different things).

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[Gemgrrrl]

What do you guys recommend, aside from the more obvious things like going in-state when possible, living frugally, applying for scholarships, etc.?

There are a few things that I can think of:

1. Pay down your undergad debt before you matriculate. If you can wait a year to matriculate, you can make a big dent in that loan and save thousands in interest over the long term For example, I had $15K in student loan debt from undergrad. The "standard" repayment plan has me paying ~$150 a month, which will take me about 10 years. Over that 10 years I will pay a total of about ~$8600 in interest (at 7.5% interest). If I pay it off in a year, I'm only going to pay ~$650 in interest. Huge savings. Make a dent in those loans while you can - because they're just going to gather interest the whole four years your in vet school!

2. Make interest only payments while in vet school. If you can do this, you absolutely should. Because when you get out, all that interest that has been accruing while you're in school goes through a nasty, dirty thing called "capitalization". Which is, all the accrued interest is added to the principle when your loan goes into repayment, and then you get to pay interest on top of interest. So, if you can, make interest only payments while in school.

3. Principal only payments. Many people don't know this is an option, but you can (and should) direct additional payments to principal only. If you don't specify, then the bank considers it paying ahead. To give you an idea of how much you can save paying to principal, consider my same scenario of $15K at 7.5% interest on a 10 year plan. If I were to double my monthly payment to $300 per month, and designate that the extra $150 be applied to principal only, I will save a total of $3586 in interest, and pay off the loan 5.4 years earlier. (I used this calculator: https://www.calcxml.com/calculators/extra-payment-calculator)

4. Be smart about where you apply extra payments. This might seem like common sense, but a lot of people don't do it. Many people are tempted to pay off the smallest balance first, or to spread the extra payment out over all of their loans. If you are able to make extra payments, you should apply them towards the loan with the highest interest rate first, which will save you the most money in the long run.

You can save a ton of money just by being smart about how you make payments.

 

[twelvetigers]

How were you able to get subsidized loans, if you don't mind me asking? (Not to pry, just trying to be aware of my options)

And that sounds really good! A very best case scenario -except for being a Canadian citizen I suppose.-

It was for my fall 2011 semester. Then they got rid of that option for grad students. So it's just the max amount that would have been available to anyone for the one semester that they existed.

 

[catnips]

Oh I see. This sucks. I am wanting to move somewhere and apply in-state instead of going to my super expensive OOS school but the truth is my stats are not that great, so that would be a HUGE risk. If I could be more confident in my stats, definitely would consider that. I would beat myself up forever if I turned down an acceptance and end up not getting in the year after, u know.

Thanks all for the advice, I'm hoping it'll at least help to be mindful of the financial burden that is awaiting us and start preparing accordingly. I am very, very scared.

 

[missdarjeeling]

There are a few things that I can think of:

1. Pay down your undergad debt before you matriculate. If you can wait a year to matriculate, you can make a big dent in that loan and save thousands in interest over the long term For example, I had $15K in student loan debt from undergrad. The "standard" repayment plan has me paying ~$150 a month, which will take me about 10 years. Over that 10 years I will pay a total of about ~$8600 in interest (at 7.5% interest). If I pay it off in a year, I'm only going to pay ~$650 in interest. Huge savings. Make a dent in those loans while you can - because they're just going to gather interest the whole four years your in vet school!

I don't have much undergrad debt (mostly paid for my post bac courses from my savings), and we were hoping to get rid of those first. This is great advice. I'm gently pushing my husband to pay down his, and he's already made a good dent.

2. Make interest only payments while in vet school. If you can do this, you absolutely should. Because when you get out, all that interest that has been accruing while you're in school goes through a nasty, dirty thing called "capitalization". Which is, all the accrued interest is added to the principle when your loan goes into repayment, and then you get to pay interest on top of interest. So, if you can, make interest only payments while in school.

I had read about capitalization a while back, but no one really seems to talk about it. When would you begin your interest-only payments? Are you able to do it on a monthly basis?

3. Principal only payments. Many people don't know this is an option, but you can (and should) direct additional payments to principal only. If you don't specify, then the bank considers it paying ahead. To give you an idea of how much you can save paying to principal, consider my same scenario of $15K at 7.5% interest on a 10 year plan. If I were to double my monthly payment to $300 per month, and designate that the extra $150 be applied to principal only, I will save a total of $3586 in interest, and pay off the loan 5.4 years earlier. (I used this calculator: https://www.calcxml.com/calculators/extra-payment-calculator)

Do you know whether it's difficult to get this done? My father tried doing this with his mortgage a few years ago, and his lender jerked him around for months. They'd repeatedly hold the extra amount and apply it to the following month's payment instead of applying it to the principal, right then and there. I don't know if he ever managed to get it straightened out in the end, but he had a really hard time with his lender.

4. Be smart about where you apply extra payments. This might seem like common sense, but a lot of people don't do it. Many people are tempted to pay off the smallest balance first, or to spread the extra payment out over all of their loans. If you are able to make extra payments, you should apply them towards the loan with the highest interest rate first, which will save you the most money in the long run.

You can save a ton of money just by being smart about how you make payments.

This is all extremely helpful. Thanks for all the advice!

Still holding out for my snowball's-chance-in-hell back-up plan of winning on Jeopardy.

 

[DVMDream]

2. Make interest only payments while in vet school. If you can do this, you absolutely should. Because when you get out, all that interest that has been accruing while you're in school goes through a nasty, dirty thing called "capitalization". Which is, all the accrued interest is added to the principle when your loan goes into repayment, and then you get to pay interest on top of interest. So, if you can, make interest only payments while in school.

Tried explaining this to parents. They don't believe me.. Here is their reaction: "No, that isn't true! They can't charge interest on interest, it is illegal!"

No, no it is not.

 

[catnips]

Tried explaining this to parents. They don't believe me.. Here is their reaction: "No, that isn't true! They can't charge interest on interest, it is illegal!"

No, no it is not.

I think this all sounds unbelievable to some parents. Mine (coming from a country with free college education) simply believe that I am exaggerating. "It's what governments are for..." (In the context of free education) they say...

Hey, even I couldn't believe it for a time. Charging interest while at school? Charging interest on interest? It all does sound like some sort of evil plot.

 

[Minnerbelle]

There are a few things that I can think of:

1. Pay down your undergad debt before you matriculate. If you can wait a year to matriculate, you can make a big dent in that loan and save thousands in interest over the long term For example, I had $15K in student loan debt from undergrad. The "standard" repayment plan has me paying ~$150 a month, which will take me about 10 years. Over that 10 years I will pay a total of about ~$8600 in interest (at 7.5% interest). If I pay it off in a year, I'm only going to pay ~$650 in interest. Huge savings. Make a dent in those loans while you can - because they're just going to gather interest the whole four years your in vet school!

2. Make interest only payments while in vet school. If you can do this, you absolutely should. Because when you get out, all that interest that has been accruing while you're in school goes through a nasty, dirty thing called "capitalization". Which is, all the accrued interest is added to the principle when your loan goes into repayment, and then you get to pay interest on top of interest. So, if you can, make interest only payments while in school.

3. Principal only payments. Many people don't know this is an option, but you can (and should) direct additional payments to principal only. If you don't specify, then the bank considers it paying ahead. To give you an idea of how much you can save paying to principal, consider my same scenario of $15K at 7.5% interest on a 10 year plan. If I were to double my monthly payment to $300 per month, and designate that the extra $150 be applied to principal only, I will save a total of $3586 in interest, and pay off the loan 5.4 years earlier. (I used this calculator: https://www.calcxml.com/calculators/extra-payment-calculator)

4. Be smart about where you apply extra payments. This might seem like common sense, but a lot of people don't do it. Many people are tempted to pay off the smallest balance first, or to spread the extra payment out over all of their loans. If you are able to make extra payments, you should apply them towards the loan with the highest interest rate first, which will save you the most money in the long run.

You can save a ton of money just by being smart about how you make payments.

I totally agree with #3&4. That is exactly what I do. My minimum payment per month is around $400, which all goes towards interest for each of my 4 loans. Then when I pay the extra $2100 per month, I specify that it will go towards the principal on my highest interest rate loan.

What I don't get is your advice number 2. I've heard it multiple times, but it didn't make sense to me. If you have some extra money during school, why is it more beneficial to pay off interest rather than taking out less principal?

I'm pretty sure that does you a disservice because your principal gains interest while you're in school. Your interest does not, even if it capitalizes once you go into repayment. So if you have $5000 extra lying around after your first year, I would argue that taking out $5000 less the next semester in principal means you won't accrue $1000 in interest (at 6.8%) by the time you enter repayment and interest capitalizes. So that's $6000 you've saved by the time interest capitalizes.

If on the other hand, you just pay off $5000 of interest, then you've only saved $5000.

Am I wrong about that?

 

[KCgophervet]

What I don't get is your advice number 2. I've heard it multiple times, but it didn't make sense to me. If you have some extra money during school, why is it more beneficial to pay off interest rather than taking out less principal?

I'm pretty sure that does you a disservice because your principal gains interest while you're in school. Your interest does not, even if it capitalizes once you go into repayment. So if you have $5000 extra lying around after your first year, I would argue that taking out $5000 less the next semester in principal means you won't accrue $1000 in interest (at 6.8%) by the time you enter repayment and interest capitalizes. So that's $6000 you've saved by the time interest capitalizes.

If on the other hand, you just pay off $5000 of interest, then you've only saved $5000.

Am I wrong about that?

This is exactly what I've always thought. Take out less loans > paying off interest while in school. Anyone know which is better or more financially sound? Or is it 6 to one and half dozen to the other?

 

[WildZoo]

I totally agree with #3&4. That is exactly what I do. My minimum payment per month is around $400, which all goes towards interest for each of my 4 loans. Then when I pay the extra $2100 per month, I specify that it will go towards the principal on my highest interest rate loan.

What I don't get is your advice number 2. I've heard it multiple times, but it didn't make sense to me. If you have some extra money during school, why is it more beneficial to pay off interest rather than taking out less principal?

I'm pretty sure that does you a disservice because your principal gains interest while you're in school. Your interest does not, even if it capitalizes once you go into repayment. So if you have $5000 extra lying around after your first year, I would argue that taking out $5000 less the next semester in principal means you won't accrue $1000 in interest (at 6.8%) by the time you enter repayment and interest capitalizes. So that's $6000 you've saved by the time interest capitalizes.

If on the other hand, you just pay off $5000 of interest, then you've only saved $5000.

Am I wrong about that?

This is exactly what I've always thought. Take out less loans > paying off interest while in school. Anyone know which is better or more financially sound? Or is it 6 to one and half dozen to the other?

Yeah, for whatever reason the DOE advises that you should make interest payments, but really if you have the extra funds it is better to just take out less loans in the first place.
http://educatedrisk.org/analysis/should-i-make-interest-payments-while-school

 

[orca2011]

This is exactly what I've always thought. Take out less loans > paying off interest while in school. Anyone know which is better or more financially sound? Or is it 6 to one and half dozen to the other?

When I met with a financial advisor, he said don't bother paying it off while in school, or even smaller loans. He just said to take out less. Which I keep trying to do and still overestimate how much I end up needing.

 

[Gemgrrrl]

What I don't get is your advice number 2. I've heard it multiple times, but it didn't make sense to me. If you have some extra money during school, why is it more beneficial to pay off interest rather than taking out less principal?

I'm pretty sure that does you a disservice because your principal gains interest while you're in school. Your interest does not, even if it capitalizes once you go into repayment. So if you have $5000 extra lying around after your first year, I would argue that taking out $5000 less the next semester in principal means you won't accrue $1000 in interest (at 6.8%) by the time you enter repayment and interest capitalizes. So that's $6000 you've saved by the time interest capitalizes.

Your interest does gain interest once it goes into capitalization. That's what capitalization is - the accrued interest is added to the principle, and then the whole thing accrues interest until you pay it off.

But you made a good point, so I crunched the numbers (because I'm super nerdy like that). Most people won't be able to pay all of the interest that accrues while in vet school. So I looked at paying interest only on the undergrad loan. In this example, I am estimating $50K in student loan debt for undergrad, and borrowing an additional $100K for vet school, 7.5% APR, simple interest. I calculated accrued interest based on borrowing $12,500 (for scenario 1 & 2) or $10,625 (for scenario 3) every six months while in vet school, just to make the calculations easier. I used a 10-year repayment plan after graduation.

Scenario 1: I don't make any payments for the entire 4 years of vet school. My total cost will be $259,056.

Undergrad Loan
Principal borrowed: $50,000
Interest accrued over 4 years: $15,000
Principal after capitalization: $65,000
Total interest paid over 120 mos: $27,587
Total cost of loan: $92,587

Vet School Loan
Principal borrowed: $100,000
Interest accrued over 4 years: $16,868
Principal after capitalization: $116,868
Total interest paid over 120 mos: $49,601
Total cost of loan: $166,469

Scenario 2: I make $312.50 in principal only payments on my undergrad loan only while I'm in vet school. My total cost will be $237,690.

Undergrad Loan
Principal borrowed: $50,000
Interest accrued over 4 years: $0
Total interest paid over 120 mos: $21,221
Total cost of loan: $71,221

Vet School Loan
Principal borrowed: $100,000
Interest accrued over 4 years: $16,868
Principal after capitalization: $116,868
Total interest paid over 120 mos: $49,601
Total cost of loan: $166,469

Scenario 3: I make no interest payments, and just borrow $15K less while in vet school. My total cost will be $233,996.

Undergrad Loan
Principal borrowed: $50,000
Interest accrued over 4 years: $15,000
Principal after capitalization: $65,000
Total interest paid over 120 mos: $27,587
Total cost of loan: $92,587

Vet School Loan
Principal borrowed: $85,000
Interest accrued over 4 years: $14,275
Principal after capitalization: $99,275
Total interest paid over 120 mos: $42,134
Total cost of loan: $141,409

So @Minnerbelle is right, and you save more by borrowing less instead of paying to principle. I think there might be a break-even point somewhere, and a point where it might actually save you more to make interest only payments. But I am not super-nerdy enough to figure out where that is, lol.

 

[Gemgrrrl]

Do you know whether it's difficult to get this done? My father tried doing this with his mortgage a few years ago, and his lender jerked him around for months. They'd repeatedly hold the extra amount and apply it to the following month's payment instead of applying it to the principal, right then and there. I don't know if he ever managed to get it straightened out in the end, but he had a really hard time with his lender.

Yes, they definitely make it a pain in the a$$ to do. It costs them money, so they would rather you didn't. The FedLoan site doesn't even have anything about it at all. They just say that paying more is considered paying ahead. So I called and asked them, and they said you have to send a letter with the additional payment designating it as a principal only payment. I did, and I wrote "credit to principal only" in the memo on the check as well, and I still had to call them and have them fix it. So, yeah, they make it a pain, but it's worth it in the long run.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Your interest does gain interest once it goes into capitalization. That's what capitalization is - the accrued interest is added to the principle, and then the whole thing accrues interest until you pay it off.

No **** Sherlock... I'm not ******ed. Sheesh! (Sorry I just woke up from a 4 hr nap and am super grumpy).

I was talking about while you are in vet school, and I was only talking about vet school debt. So no, you don't accrue interest on your interest while in school. By lowering your principal during vet school rather than paying interest if you have extra cash on hand, you are delaying accruing interest on that amount UNTIL repayment (6 mos to 3.5 years later, however long you have until repayment).

 

[Minnerbelle]

It's actually not that hard to pay extra exactly the way you want, you just need to get to know your loan servicer's website. If you autopay the minimal amount, you can even cut down 0.25% on your interest. This is what the website looks like when I choose my payments.

It automatically puts in the amount necessary for the minimal payment for PAYE for each of my loan groups, and I can adjust as I see fit so that any amount over the interest I put in goes towards the principal for the loan group I want.

 

[Felixor90]

There are a few things that I can think of:

1. Pay down your undergad debt before you matriculate. If you can wait a year to matriculate, you can make a big dent in that loan and save thousands in interest over the long term For example, I had $15K in student loan debt from undergrad. The "standard" repayment plan has me paying ~$150 a month, which will take me about 10 years. Over that 10 years I will pay a total of about ~$8600 in interest (at 7.5% interest). If I pay it off in a year, I'm only going to pay ~$650 in interest. Huge savings. Make a dent in those loans while you can - because they're just going to gather interest the whole four years your in vet school!

2. Make interest only payments while in vet school. If you can do this, you absolutely should. Because when you get out, all that interest that has been accruing while you're in school goes through a nasty, dirty thing called "capitalization". Which is, all the accrued interest is added to the principle when your loan goes into repayment, and then you get to pay interest on top of interest. So, if you can, make interest only payments while in school.

3. Principal only payments. Many people don't know this is an option, but you can (and should) direct additional payments to principal only. If you don't specify, then the bank considers it paying ahead. To give you an idea of how much you can save paying to principal, consider my same scenario of $15K at 7.5% interest on a 10 year plan. If I were to double my monthly payment to $300 per month, and designate that the extra $150 be applied to principal only, I will save a total of $3586 in interest, and pay off the loan 5.4 years earlier. (I used this calculator: https://www.calcxml.com/calculators/extra-payment-calculator)

4. Be smart about where you apply extra payments. This might seem like common sense, but a lot of people don't do it. Many people are tempted to pay off the smallest balance first, or to spread the extra payment out over all of their loans. If you are able to make extra payments, you should apply them towards the loan with the highest interest rate first, which will save you the most money in the long run.

You can save a ton of money just by being smart about how you make payments.

You rock! Saving your post.

 

[Gemgrrrl]

It's a lot harder to do principal only payments on mine. I guess they're all different, but mine doesn't automatically apply extra payments to principal. You have to send it separate and then make sure they apply it properly.

 

[Gemgrrrl]

No **** Sherlock... I'm not ******ed. Sheesh! (Sorry I just woke up from a 4 hr nap and am super grumpy)

<---- see GIF

 

[Minnerbelle]

It's a lot harder to do principal only payments on mine. I guess they're all different, but mine doesn't automatically apply extra payments to principal. You have to send it separate and then make sure they apply it properly.

View attachment 190621

Are you sure that if you just replaced that $38.10 in the box with $500, the principal for that loan won't go down by $461.90 for that group?

 

[Gemgrrrl]

At the risk of you swearing and saying you're not ******ed again...

Since I have already paid all of the accrued interest on that loan, if I paid $500 today my principal would go down $492.48. This is because I have $7.52 in unpaid interest on that specific loan. But that is only because I have paid all of the accrued interest and have no outstanding fees. If that wasn't the case, then my $500 would be applied first to fees, then to unpaid interest, then to principal. If someone is on an income-based repayment plan, or they have thousands in accrued interest from deferment or forbearance, their monthly payment might not pay all of the accrued interest. In which case extra payments will go toward the unpaid interest before it goes to principal unless it is specified otherwise. And that is only if the specific loan allows principal only payments, which some don't.

Every situation is different, and my recommendations were meant as an "in-general" things people can do to save money.

 

[primatevetjess]

If I'm making only the minimum payment, can I ask that it go toward the principle? Or can I only do that with extra payments that are above the minimum?

 

[Minnerbelle]

If I'm making only the minimum payment, can I ask that it go toward the principle? Or can I only do that with extra payments that are above the minimum?

For federal direct loans at least for graduate school loans, I'm pretty sure you can't apply payment towards principal at all until you've paid off the interest for that particular loan.

So if you're on IBR/PAYE and your minimum payment is less than the interest accrued, you will only be allowed to pay the interest every month. You have to pay the minimum payment for each of the loans, so if you're only paying the minimum amount due, you can't alter where they're going to go without incurring a penalty.

Even if you pay extra (and even if you specify that you are paying extra for this payment, and not as an early payment for next month) it will go towards the interest until that is paid off.

The way you can get around all of this to a degree and pay down some principal before all interest has been paid off is to pick and choose where your extra payment will go. So if you have 4-6 loans and a few of them are your $8500 subsidized loans, the interest that accrues on those are pretty little per month even though they are still at the 6.8% interest rate. So if you apply all extra payments to one of these, you can start paying the principal on it even if you have thousands of dollars of interest left on another one of your loans.

For vet school loans, I think you kinda fall into 2 camps. One made up of people with low enough debt and high enough earnings that it makes more sense to pay off the loans ASAP by making whatever extra payments necessary. The other made up of people with high enough debt and low enough earnings that it makes more sense to pay the minimum possible on IBR/PAYE and rather than pay any extras, save any extra money you have for yourself (particularly if PSLF might come true for you), or for the tax at the end when you reach forgiveness.

 

[awood6816]

What is the max in loans than can be taken out per year? I was told $40,500, but my UTK onestop says $20,500 which doesn't even cover tuition.

 

[DVMDream]

What is the max in loans than can be taken out per year? I was told $40,500, but my UTK onestop says $20,500 which doesn't even cover tuition.

It is $20,500 for graduate stafford loans. You can get up to the cost of attendance in other loans... such as health professions student loan (you have to enter parent tax info for this. It is need based and most likely you will only get a small amount) or Grad PLUS loans (no limit on these).

 

[epivetlove]

What is the max in loans than can be taken out per year? I was told $40,500, but my UTK onestop says $20,500 which doesn't even cover tuition.

It should be $40,500 per annum in Federal Direct Unsub loans. That's the limit we have here at A&M, so I don't see why it would be different for other US schools. I actually can't receive more than ~$37,000 because that's the COA, as an ISer, for A&M. You should be able to get the $40,500 in Unsub, then whatever else remains with Grad PLUS.

 

[awood6816]

It should be $40,500 per annum in Federal Direct Unsub loans. That's the limit we have here at A&M, so I don't see why it would be different for other US schools. I actually can't receive more than ~$37,000 because that's the COA, as an ISer, for A&M. You should be able to get the $40,500 in Unsub, then whatever else remains with Grad PLUS.

Thank you! I will call UTK tomorrow and see what's going on.

 

[epivetlove]

Thank you! I will call UTK tomorrow and see what's going on.

Yeah, no problem! We aren't counted as graduate students here, but professional/health students, so I'm not sure if that makes a difference. For graduate students here it's $20,500/annum. I couldn't find anything about professional students specifically on UTK's finaid site. :\ The office should be able to set you straight, though!

 

[DVMDream]

It should be $40,500 per annum in Federal Direct Unsub loans. That's the limit we have here at A&M, so I don't see why it would be different for other US schools. I actually can't receive more than ~$37,000 because that's the COA, as an ISer, for A&M. You should be able to get the $40,500 in Unsub, then whatever else remains with Grad PLUS.

Yeah, the 40,500 is right. For some reason the FAFSA site has up 20,500/year for grad and professional students. But I just checked my loan amounts and it is $40,500 per year for unsub loans then you can get any additional needed up to cost of attendance in the other loan types.

 

[awood6816]

Yeah, the 40,500 is right. For some reason the FAFSA site has up 20,500/year for grad and professional students. But I just checked my loan amounts and it is $40,500 per year for unsub loans then you can get any additional needed up to cost of attendance in the other loan types.

Oh ok. For some reason my Onestop says that I only have $20,500 available in I subsidized. I'm sure it's just something they need to fix in the system.

 

[DVMDream]

Oh ok. For some reason my Onestop says that I only have $20,500 available in I subsidized. I'm sure it's just something they need to fix in the system.

Yeah, just give them a call. It is still early to be honest. Sometimes it takes a while for the government/school to communicate and figure out you are part of the vet school and not the undergrad/grad school. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[RS1]

Oh ok. For some reason my Onestop says that I only have $20,500 available in I subsidized. I'm sure it's just something they need to fix in the system.

Had the same issue. I emailed OneStop, and they replied with "ok, now we changed it to $40,500. If you need more, apply for grad plus." No huge discussion and no explanation, and now my OneStop says $40,500...

 

[deleted498041]

such as health professions student loan (you have to enter parent tax info for this. It is need based and most likely you will only get a small amount)

Times like this are when it sucks that your parents own their own business. I don't understand why my parents' financial information should affect the amount of money I get when they don't help me pay for school.

 

[Skimble]

Times like this are when it sucks that your parents own their own business. I don't understand why my parents' financial information should affect the amount of money I get when they don't help me pay for school.

Try being 36 with a child of your own and having to ask your parents for info for student loans. It's kind of ridiculous!

 

[sheltermed]

Reviving a slightly old thread...

I have a bit of a weird financial situation. I haven't had to take out loans for undergrad because my school covers my tuition in grants. Thus, the money my mom saved up for my tuition goes towards my living expenses. My now ex-boyfriend was living with me for a year, so we got to split the rent. About 3 months ago, he left without notice while I was out of town. I [my mom/my college account] have been left to pay the entirety of the rent. Now he wants back in.

Regardless of whether I want him here, having him here will mean $7,000 left-over after undergrad (to go towards vet school/cost of living). Without him coming back, I will be left with $5,000.

Is it worth the $2,000 in the long run? I feel like it's an additional 2k that I will not have to pay interest on later on. I've seen some folks say that every penny matters. Does 2k out of 150-200k matter? Should I suck it up and have him back here so I can save that money? If it matters, I don't think having him live here would be that big of a deal, we are civil enough and can work it out. I'd rather him not be here after what he pulled, but I also need to know if it's financially worth it to have him back.

Any opinions? Similar experiences? How much does a couple thousand matter?

 

[TrashPanda]

Reviving a slightly old thread...

I have a bit of a weird financial situation. I haven't had to take out loans for undergrad because my school covers my tuition in grants. Thus, the money my mom saved up for my tuition goes towards my living expenses. My now ex-boyfriend was living with me for a year, so we got to split the rent. About 3 months ago, he left without notice while I was out of town. I [my mom/my college account] have been left to pay the entirety of the rent. Now he wants back in.

Regardless of whether I want him here, having him here will mean $7,000 left-over after undergrad (to go towards vet school/cost of living). Without him coming back, I will be left with $5,000.

Is it worth the $2,000 in the long run? I feel like it's an additional 2k that I will not have to pay interest on later on. I've seen some folks say that every penny matters. Does 2k out of 150-200k matter? Should I suck it up and have him back here so I can save that money? If it matters, I don't think having him live here would be that big of a deal, we are civil enough and can work it out. I'd rather him not be here after what he pulled, but I also need to know if it's financially worth it to have him back.

Any opinions? Similar experiences? How much does a couple thousand matter?

Were you both on the lease? Him not paying rent anymore seems like more of a legal issue than a strictly financial one.

 

[Skimble]

Reviving a slightly old thread...

I have a bit of a weird financial situation. I haven't had to take out loans for undergrad because my school covers my tuition in grants. Thus, the money my mom saved up for my tuition goes towards my living expenses. My now ex-boyfriend was living with me for a year, so we got to split the rent. About 3 months ago, he left without notice while I was out of town. I [my mom/my college account] have been left to pay the entirety of the rent. Now he wants back in.

Regardless of whether I want him here, having him here will mean $7,000 left-over after undergrad (to go towards vet school/cost of living). Without him coming back, I will be left with $5,000.

Is it worth the $2,000 in the long run? I feel like it's an additional 2k that I will not have to pay interest on later on. I've seen some folks say that every penny matters. Does 2k out of 150-200k matter? Should I suck it up and have him back here so I can save that money? If it matters, I don't think having him live here would be that big of a deal, we are civil enough and can work it out. I'd rather him not be here after what he pulled, but I also need to know if it's financially worth it to have him back.

Any opinions? Similar experiences? How much does a couple thousand matter?

Him living with you doesn't sound like it's worth it. Find some other way to reduce your costs by 2000 over the next 4 years.

 

[sheltermed]

Were you both on the lease? Him not paying rent anymore seems like more of a legal issue than a strictly financial one.

We are both on the lease. However, my landlady says that if we didn't specifically state on the lease how rent would be paid (50/50 in this case), it would be hard to legally force him to pay his half. Not sure about how true this is, but at the time of him leaving I definitely didn't feel like putting myself through something like that. It might be too late to pursue it, not that I really want to anyway.

Him living with you doesn't sound like it's worth it. Find some other way to reduce your costs by 2000 over the next 4 years.

I agree with you, I just wanted to try and hear from current vet students/graduates on how they felt about it since they've experienced taking out loans/repayment.

 

[twelvetigers]

Tell him to go find some other place for his dumb ass to live. Consider getting a roommate. Try and save money other ways that don't involve living with ex boyfriends.

 

[TrashPanda]

We are both on the lease. However, my landlady says that if we didn't specifically state on the lease how rent would be paid (50/50 in this case), it would be hard to legally force him to pay his half. Not sure about how true this is, but at the time of him leaving I definitely didn't feel like putting myself through something like that. It might be too late to pursue it, not that I really want to anyway.



I agree with you, I just wanted to try and hear from current vet students/graduates on how they felt about it since they've experienced taking out loans/repayment.

You would probably have to go through small claims court, which might not be worth it. But mentioning small claims court to him may be enough to get him to pay up.

In addition to everything @twelvetigers said, I wouldn't trust someone who left you paying the rest of the lease yourself. Besides the whole ex-boyfriend potential drama, I wouldn't trust him to be financially responsible or trustworthy.

If you can't get a roommate, you may want to look into moving even if it means breaking your lease. In many places, your landlord can't just make you pay out the rest of the lease. They usually have to make a serious effort to find a new tenant, or you may be able to sublet.

I know your question is more "how much does $2,000 matter in the grand scheme of things?" than about your specific situation, but I think it's relevant. If your question were "I want to save money for vet school but there's a $2,000 designer handbag I really, really want to buy," my answer would be totally different.

 

[sheltermed]

You would probably have to go through small claims court, which might not be worth it. But mentioning small claims court to him may be enough to get him to pay up.

In addition to everything @twelvetigers said, I wouldn't trust someone who left you paying the rest of the lease yourself. Besides the whole ex-boyfriend potential drama, I wouldn't trust him to be financially responsible or trustworthy.

If you can't get a roommate, you may want to look into moving even if it means breaking your lease. In many places, your landlord can't just make you pay out the rest of the lease. They usually have to make a serious effort to find a new tenant, or you may be able to sublet.

I know your question is more "how much does $2,000 matter in the grand scheme of things?" than about your specific situation, but I think it's relevant. If your question were "I want to save money for vet school but there's a $2,000 designer handbag I really, really want to buy," my answer would be totally different.

I totally agree with everyone about the ex-boyfriend thing. Was just thinking about it financially, and don't think it's worth it. Gonna tell him to stick it where the sun don't shine .