Gap year and loans

[kfox926]

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I'm concerned about the gap year between undergrad and medical school. I'm going to graduate in December and I will be applying in the summer for the 2019 entering class. My current job as a pharmacy tech will not satisfy paying back student loans.
What happens to my loans for that year and a half? I know I get a deferment for 6 months after I graduate but can I defer again until I get an acceptance (fingers crossed) in the fall or winter? And if I do, does it hurt me or my credit in anyway?

Thank you!!!


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[Tannersousa]

I'm concerned about the gap year between undergrad and medical school. I'm going to graduate in December and I will be applying in the summer for the 2019 entering class. My current job as a pharmacy tech will not satisfy paying back student loans.
What happens to my loans for that year and a half? I know I get a deferment for 6 months after I graduate but can I defer again until I get an acceptance (fingers crossed) in the fall or winter? And if I do, does it hurt me or my credit in anyway?

Thank you!!!


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So I'll tell you MY experience with loan deferments. I have been deferring my student loans forrrrr aboutttttt 4 years lol. Basically the way I've found out it works is, everytime you defer, the next time will be a little less time than the last. I think my last deferment was 3 months and when I went to defer again last,I believe it was 45 days. Also it has not affected my credit positively or negatively.

 

[DrMidlife]

I'll assume you're talking about federal loans. If you're talking about private loans, you have to read your own fine print - private lenders don't cooperate with each other.

Deferments aren't free for the asking. You have to be in a deferrable state such as military, in-school, disabled etc.

If you use your grace now, you can't use it after med school. Fun fact: you'll want it after med school.

Assuming you're talking about federal loans, get up to speed on PAYE and REPAYE, which cap your monthly payments to your income. You can keep going on these plans during med school (on $0 income that's a breeze) or stop.

Start here: www.studentloans.gov

Best of luck to you.

 

[kfox926]

Yes, I only have federal loans for my undergraduate. I'm really just worried about now because I am approved for a scholarship in my home town when I get accepted into medical school they will pay a large portion of my tuition in exchange for my time working for them for X amount of years after residency. I will look into the programs you mentioned. Thank you!


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[AlbinoHawk DO]

If you are not earning enough money, you can apply for hardship deferment. I think a few other options exist. You need to contact the loan service and ask them directly for help. They rather you defer than default on payments.

 

[kraskadva]

Also look up "Income Based Repayment" plans, which will allow you to save the deferment for later (since there's usually a lifetime max on hardship or economic deferment time) and and make a payment that's doable on your current salary (often $0).

 

[meddesire]

Also look up "Income Based Repayment" plans, which will allow you to save the deferment for later (since there's usually a lifetime max on hardship or economic deferment time) and and make a payment that's doable on your current salary (often $0).

Hey, I wonder if there's interest accrued if you apply into "Income based repayment" and pay $0???

 

[chooks]

Hey, I wonder if there's interest accrued if you apply into "Income based repayment" and pay $0???

My understanding is that yes - there is interest accrual. I do believe though that if you are on an IBR or PAYE, one of the benefits is that some of the interest is covered by the government, up to a certain total amount (I think $5k).

I used financial hardship deferments for a brief period, but then did PAYE. With my income/dependents/etc... it was not a great amount (although we did not have much to work with) but it was a doable, albeit frugal existence. At some point you will be on the reverse side and wanting to pay as much as possible each month 🙂

- chooks

 

[wholeheartedly]

I'm using the income based repayment plan, it keeps things reasonale. otherwise i would't be able to afford rent

 

[meddesire]

I'm using the income based repayment plan, it keeps things reasonale. otherwise i would't be able to afford rent

But the total amount that you gotta pay at the end is a lot bigger

 

[DrMidlife]

IBR keeps payment down.
REPAYE has taxable forgiveness after 20+ yrs
PAYE has payment cap and taxable forgiveness after 20+ yrs
PSLF has untaxed forgiveness after 10 yrs.

Odds of there being more federal options in time to help us: incredibly low

What you should do if you don’t like what’s offered: run for office, quite frankly

Odds of these programs surviving the current administration unnoticed: pretty good, i think, not good for twitter bait

See whitecoatinvestor.com for full analysis of all options, public & private

Also: be cautious with advice. Somebody w/under $100k doesn’t have relevant perspective for somebody w/$250k+