loan disbursement and Capitalization of Interest

[devolution]

Hi, I'm an incoming medical student and I'm trying to figure out how much loans to accept. I've tried calling the financial aid office several times and they won't pick up

My questions:
Is it possible to only take out the stafford loans only in the spring semester? I've read that loans get disbursed every semester with half coming in the Fall and the other half coming in the Spring. I have enough savings to get me through the first semester, but I'm going to need a small amount next semester. Since interest accumulates since day 1, I'd like to not take out a loan when I don't need it. So I want all of my loan money in the Spring, not now. Is that possible?

Everybody always says to not take out more money than you need - so what if I take the bare minimum I think I'll need, but it turns out to not be enough. Will I be able to take out more stafford loans in the middle of the year without any penalties even though I declined the full amount now? Or should I take out some loans with a buffer, and at the end of the year either use the left over money to pay back the loan/interest (or just keep the unused money and use it the following year)?

I'm also a little confused about this "interest accumulates since day one, but it doesn't capitalize until after your grace period". So if I take out 10K this year, at the end of the year, I"ll owe an additional $680. At the end of the second year, will that 10K again give me another $680, or will the interest be $726? (10,680*0.0680 = 726.24). I understand that once you graduate and the grace period ends, your interest will capitalize, but I am confused about what happens while in school

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[sam500]

If you take out less money this semester, you can come back later in the semester and get more without penalty as long as it's during term time (not out of school). You can borrow up to a maximum of the total estimated loan amount for the average student as determined by your school.

In your example, the $10,000 loan would accumulate $680 in interest for the first year. That interest would be held in a separate account. Next year you'd accrue an additional $680 which would be added to that separate account. The third year, you'd accrue an additional $680 that would be added to that separate account. The fourth year you'd accrue an additional $680 that would be added to that separate account. 6 month after you graduate, all that interest (in the separate account) would be added to the original $10,000. From that point on, all further interest would immediately be added to the total amount (capitalization).

It's my personal view that if you'll be accruing a lot of debt (more than $100,000) then you should take the full loan amount and invest it. Your loans will be forgiven after making minimal payments of up to 15% of your salary for 10 years regardless of loan amount (assuming they're all government loans). Just make sure you are use the income based repayment plan (IBR) and public service loan forgiveness (PSLF). Look them up here:
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IBRPlan.jsp
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/PSF.jsp

I am in your situation. I would advise against using any of your savings to pay for medical school. Because of IBR and PSLF, I am saving my savings for residency where I won't have loans to pay for things. Who knows, I may need liquid cash to put a downpayment on a house at that time.

Hi, I'm an incoming medical student and I'm trying to figure out how much loans to accept. I've tried calling the financial aid office several times and they won't pick up

My questions:
Is it possible to only take out the stafford loans only in the spring semester? I've read that loans get disbursed every semester with half coming in the Fall and the other half coming in the Spring. I have enough savings to get me through the first semester, but I'm going to need a small amount next semester. Since interest accumulates since day 1, I'd like to not take out a loan when I don't need it. So I want all of my loan money in the Spring, not now. Is that possible?

Everybody always says to not take out more money than you need - so what if I take the bare minimum I think I'll need, but it turns out to not be enough. Will I be able to take out more stafford loans in the middle of the year without any penalties even though I declined the full amount now? Or should I take out some loans with a buffer, and at the end of the year either use the left over money to pay back the loan/interest (or just keep the unused money and use it the following year)?

I'm also a little confused about this "interest accumulates since day one, but it doesn't capitalize until after your grace period". So if I take out 10K this year, at the end of the year, I"ll owe an additional $680. At the end of the second year, will that 10K again give me another $680, or will the interest be $726? (10,680*0.0680 = 726.24). I understand that once you graduate and the grace period ends, your interest will capitalize, but I am confused about what happens while in school