Loan repayment

[Cosmo75]

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So I'll be finishing my internship at the end of June and starting a 2 year post doc in August. My loans will kick in around December 2009, just in time for the holidays

I'm about $120K in the hole. I know you can stretch loans over at least 20 years to reduce your monthly payment. I'm just curious what people are doing or plan on doing to repay their loans? I'm considering cutting some of this down through the loan forgiveness programs, but assuming that doesn't happen I'd like to hear what others are planning to do. I'm also not as up to speed on the current loan interest rates with all of this financial craziness.

I appreciate your thoughts!

 

[WannaBeDrMe]

Research your repayment rate NOW so you can negotiate your salary effectively ...


I had NO idea my repayment amount would be as much as it was... no idea at all... and hadn't thought to do the math... (my loans were about 36k)...

As such, I took a job that I thought was awesome starting pay... and I'm super duper incredibly poverty stricken now...

 

[PSYPAQ]

It's always good to plan ahead. The good news is that you can put your loans on deferment during your postdoc because a postdoc is viewed as continuing education. You won't have to pay anything until you finish your postdoc. As an intern, you could apply to the LRP for this cycle, but the deadline is Wed (January 2009 for your recommendations) so you probably don't have enough time to put together an application. I know some colleagues who applied as interns, but it is generally only an option when you know where you're going after internship.

I am currently submitting a renewal for the LRP. Although the LRP is competitive, the success rates for first time submissions are very good (~40%).

 

[Cosmo75]

Thanks!