Loan Thread. How much did you borrow?

[steveysmith54]

How much loan did you accumulate? How much are you paying per month? What interest rate?

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[Its Z]

I borrowed $50,000 on the dot. My payments were $830 in the beginning. I had Sallie Mae Consolidation I think but Perkins were paid off sooner than other loans. Payments steadily declined...it seemed like the interest rates changed once in a while. I took 10 years to pay it off. Towards the end of the term, my payment was around $350.

 

[aboveliquidice]

I borrowed $50,000 on the dot. My payments were $830 in the beginning. I had Sallie Mae Consolidation I think but Perkins were paid off sooner than other loans. Payments steadily declined...it seemed like the interest rates changed once in a while. I took 10 years to pay it off. Towards the end of the term, my payment was around $350.

You might want to explain which decade you paid those loans in

 

[Its Z]

You might want to explain which decade you paid those loans in

My last payment I believe was in December of 2005. Not that long ago man..

 

[crazybob]

I expect to have about 80K - 100K in loans. I guess I might be paying up to $1,150 per month.

 

[aboveliquidice]

My last payment I believe was in December of 2005. Not that long ago man..

10 yrs ago is a lifetime for student loans. My brother has 250k @ 1.9%. That was before the hikes that occured in 05 or 06 (cannot remember). Stafford jumped to 6.8 and grad plus to 8.5%.

If it wasn't for everyones tax dollars (thanks all), I would be paying my loans for the rest of my life.

 

[steveysmith54]

10 yrs ago is a lifetime for student loans. My brother has 250k @ 1.9%. That was before the hikes that occured in 05 or 06 (cannot remember). Stafford jumped to 6.8 and grad plus to 8.5%.

If it wasn't for everyones tax dollars (thanks all), I would be paying my loans for the rest of my life.

I heard that too... I know a PharmD who graduated maybe 7 yrs ago and his loans are at around 2%...

The only thing that helps me is the fact that my entire 4 yrs of undergrad cost me <8K. 2 yrs of CC and 2 yrs of CSU. The cost of public education rocks compared to private for profit pharm schools.

 

[njac]

About $80K. In deferment, haven't thought about paying back yet!

 

[Its Z]

About $80K. In deferment, haven't thought about paying back yet!

You did good.

 

[aboveliquidice]

You did good.

Yes she did... she be all sorts of awesome though.

Public schools seem to be in the reasonable range. Private schools however, set a whole new standard in exorbitant cost. If you don't have a plan to pay off your student loans going in, you will likely struggle with it later on.

 

[steveysmith54]

Yes she did... she be all sorts of awesome though.

Public schools seem to be in the reasonable range. Private schools however, set a whole new standard in exorbitant cost. If you don't have a plan to pay off your student loans going in, you will likely struggle with it later on.

What kind of a plan can one have? Pass school, pass board exam, get job, pay it off.

 

[GamecockPharmD]

I borrowed $120K.

Just graduated in May.

 

[njac]

You did good.

Don't be too quick with the pats on the head. I couldve had much less debt if I weren't too proud to let my dad pay for it.

I'm sure I'll regret that more later, but what can you do about early 20s ego

 

[aboveliquidice]

What kind of a plan can one have? Pass school, pass board exam, get job, pay it off.

1. You can have someone else pay your loans for you.
2. You can be married to someone who makes a 100k/yr paycheck as well.
3. You can choose to go into ultra repayment / delay major life events and payoff your loans.

Take home is around 6-6.5k after taxes (varies by location). Add in loan repayment in the 1500 to 2000 range for 30 yrs.

You are left with decent pay, but not enough to own a home and raise two children comfortably. You absolutely have to have a plan to payoff those loans in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[Its Z]

Don't be too quick with the pats on the head. I couldve had much less debt if I weren't too proud to let my dad pay for it.

I'm sure I'll regret that more later, but what can you do about early 20s ego

What can you do? Live and Learn.

 

[aboveliquidice]

I borrowed $120K.

Just graduated in May.

FWIW - I borrowed 170k total for school / living expenses. I am having 160k repaid in exchange for federal service.

 

[GamecockPharmD]

FWIW - I borrowed 170k total for school / living expenses. I am having 160k repaid in exchange for federal service.

what kind of federal service are you doing if you don't mind me asking? btw i'm considering the navy in a year or 2 to try and pay mine down.

 

[steveysmith54]

1. You can have someone else pay your loans for you.
2. You can be married to someone who makes a 100k/yr paycheck as well.
3. You can choose to go into ultra repayment / delay major life events and payoff your loans.

Take home is around 6-6.5k after taxes (varies by location). Add in loan repayment in the 1500 to 2000 range for 30 yrs.

You are left with decent pay, but not enough to own a home and raise two children comfortably. You absolutely have to have a plan to payoff those loans in a reasonable amount of time.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a wonderful idea to have a plan. But, I don't think it's a possible for a lot of people. I will give you an example.

I would like to get into a residency, however there is a good chance I will not be able to get into one. I like in Los Angeles, but currently there is a virtually no jobs in Los Angeles. Will there be in 2 yrs? A lot of local grads have had to move somewhere to find jobs, which means additional living expenses.

my point is things change especially for those in early 20's. A lot of us don't know certain things that you bring up like being married to someone who makes 100K or having kids, which means it hard to plan for.

I have various scenarios that i think about, but do not have a definitive plan.

 

[tungsten87]

not to hijack the thread or anything but what is a good number to shoot for? my yearly tuition is ~17K and i'm giving myself about $850 a month for living expenses... total = ~108K if I do not earn a dime while in pharmacy school ( plan on getting a retail/hospital internship with an OOS industry position during one summer plus i already work in a lab in the SOP that has potential to be a paying position). thanks for the opinions.

 

[bear9288]

not to hijack the thread or anything but what is a good number to shoot for? my yearly tuition is ~17K and i'm giving myself about $850 a month for living expenses... total = ~108K if I do not earn a dime while in pharmacy school ( plan on getting a retail/hospital internship with an OOS industry position during one summer plus i already work in a lab in the SOP that has potential to be a paying position). thanks for the opinions.

i would also like to know. i have 30k undergrad and predict about 85k grad loans. how difficult is 115k (didnt factor in interest) to pay off? do i really need to hold off having a house/car/luxuries to pay it off?

 

[aboveliquidice]

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a wonderful idea to have a plan. But, I don't think it's a possible for a lot of people. I will give you an example.

I would like to get into a residency, however there is a good chance I will not be able to get into one. I like in Los Angeles, but currently there is a virtually no jobs in Los Angeles. Will there be in 2 yrs? A lot of local grads have had to move somewhere to find jobs, which means additional living expenses.

my point is things change especially for those in early 20's. A lot of us don't know certain things that you bring up like being married to someone who makes 100K or having kids, which means it hard to plan for.

I have various scenarios that i think about, but do not have a definitive plan.

If you plan to do residency x2 - you will not be looking for the same job as those without residency. Furthermore, you should absolutely expect to move if you want to do residency. I can count on one hand the amount of fellow RPhs that were able to secure a residency without moving.

Why would you invest 80k (on the low end) to 170k without having a well thought out plan?

 

[steveysmith54]

If you plan to do residency x2 - you will not be looking for the same job as those without residency. Furthermore, you should absolutely expect to move if you want to do residency. I can count on one hand the amount of fellow RPhs that were able to secure a residency without moving.

Why would you invest 80k (on the low end) to 170k without having a well thought out plan?

Like I said, there is a very BIG chance that I will not get into a residency. I have mediocre grades and not much school involvement. Very few people from my school get into a residency. My stats are way below theirs. Professors at our schools tell us to make other plans in case we don't match.

You don't need to have awell thought plan. Having a plan that I will come out making 6 figure salary and hopefully some sort of security for the rest of your life is enough. I don't need to have every penny and every single day of the remainder of my life planned out. I look at opportunities presented to me, if they are residencies, owning your own, working for a chain, etc and then make my decision.

 

[xiphoid2010]

not to hijack the thread or anything but what is a good number to shoot for? my yearly tuition is ~17K and i'm giving myself about $850 a month for living expenses... total = ~108K if I do not earn a dime while in pharmacy school ( plan on getting a retail/hospital internship with an OOS industry position during one summer plus i already work in a lab in the SOP that has potential to be a paying position). thanks for the opinions.

Rule of thumb is that your total loan should not exceed your 1 year gross income. Given the pharmacy low growth/stagnant job market, I say $100K total is a generally safe limit to use.

Unless you are in an expensive east/west coast city, you should be able to make enough $$$ for living expenses from internships during school.

I finished with $80K in loans and could have done it with $60k if I wasn't out-of-state during the first year.

 

[owlegrad]

Rule of thumb is that your total loan should not exceed your 1 year gross income. Given the pharmacy low growth/stagnant job market, I say $100K total is a generally safe limit to use.

Unless you are in an expensive east/west coast city, you should be able to make enough $$$ for living expenses from internships during school.

I finished with $80K in loans and could have done it with $60k if I wasn't out-of-state during the first year.

Smart cookie. I agree completely. I plan on having about 120k, but after working this summer I am seriously considering working during the year and trying to get that number down.

Actually I have a question for my fellow students: How do you know how much to borrow? I just took the full amount my school offered for the first year, but I ended up with about two thousand dollars left over at the end of the year (I am very frugal). Now I am not sure how much to take out this year. Seems like I could probably take less. Some upperclassman suggested to just take the full amount every year and just save the excess for rotations/licensure/finding a job. What do y'all think? I am kinda nervous that if I take less than the full amount that I will end up needing it but will not be able to get it. Any thoughts?

 

[crazybob]

Actually I have a question for my fellow students: How do you know how much to borrow? I just took the full amount my school offered for the first year, but I ended up with about two thousand dollars left over at the end of the year (I am very frugal). Now I am not sure how much to take out this year. Seems like I could probably take less. Some upperclassman suggested to just take the full amount every year and just save the excess for rotations/licensure/finding a job. What do y'all think? I am kinda nervous that if I take less than the full amount that I will end up needing it but will not be able to get it. Any thoughts?

I usually consider Tuition + Monthly expenses (including food, utilities, gas, etc) X number of months I expect to live at that specific place + $2,000 (in case of emergencies)

 

[crazybob]

Before I started pharmacy school, a girl from my undergrad who had started school said:

When you have some money left over from loans in the beginning of the year, take about $1,000 of that and put it away. You'll have expenses come up during the school year, and you'll need to use some of that $1,000 to pay it.

 

[owlegrad]

I usually consider Tuition + Monthly expenses (including food, utilities, gas, etc) X number of months I expect to live at that specific place + $2,000 (in case of emergencies)

Thanks Bob. Do you mind if I call you Bob? BTW, why do they say you're crazy?

I can make a basic budget, but then I get nervous about unexpected expenses or that I am not figuring something in. I just don't know. I will probably keep taking the max and I will just be glad they don't let me take more.

Maybe I will try and take 2k less than I did this year and see how that goes. But then I think is it even worth bothering for a messily 2k. At most that will save me 6k in the end (assuming no other changes). Seems insignificant compared to the other +120k.

 

[crazybob]

Thanks Bob. Do you mind if I call you Bob? BTW, why do they say you're crazy?

I can make a basic budget, but then I get nervous about unexpected expenses or that I am not figuring something in. I just don't know. I will probably keep taking the max and I will just be glad they don't let me take more.

Maybe I will try and take 2k less than I did this year and see how that goes. But then I think is it even worth bothering for a messily 2k. At most that will save me 6k in the end (assuming no other changes). Seems insignificant compared to the other +120k.

You can call me bob

People don't think I'm crazy unless I talk about my driving

 

[Vitamin K]

My loans total $156k and monthly payment is $1047. It sucks paying it and I plan to pay it off waaaaaay early, but even with the payment I'm much better off than before.

 

[RNtoPharmD]

My loans total $156k and monthly payment is $1047.

for $1047 for how long? 10-year plan?

 

[crazybob]

My loans total $156k and monthly payment is $1047. It sucks paying it and I plan to pay it off waaaaaay early, but even with the payment I'm much better off than before.

for $1047 for how long? 10-year plan?

Something like this I guess

 

[xiphoid2010]

Actually I have a question for my fellow students: How do you know how much to borrow? I just took the full amount my school offered for the first year, but I ended up with about two thousand dollars left over at the end of the year (I am very frugal). Now I am not sure how much to take out this year. Seems like I could probably take less. Some upperclassman suggested to just take the full amount every year and just save the excess for rotations/licensure/finding a job. What do y'all think? I am kinda nervous that if I take less than the full amount that I will end up needing it but will not be able to get it. Any thoughts?

You know the tuition & fees ahead of time. You also know most of the regular living expenses. Just don't forget to factor in the occasional items such as health/car insurance, etc. Give your self an extra 20% safety margin and you should be safe.

If it turns out that you take out more than you need, don't spend the left over $$$. Repay the loan right away with it. This is not ideal as I think that repayment goes towards interest first instead of the principle, and you have no real tax to deduct from.

Avoid taking out extra in the early years of pharmacy school, those money has more time to compound interest, so hit you harder in the end.

I found that working full time during the summer could save up about $4K. This allowed me to work 16-20 hours a week during school year and still enjoy life, although the real hard-core people would probably pay down their loans with it.

 

[aboveliquidice]

Something like this I guess

This is no longer accurate. Stafford loans (which are the mainstay of federal loans right now) have not been 5.x percent for the past 3 years... Now it is 5.6% for sub and unsub is still 6.8... If you exceed the yearly limit for sub + unsub, you are taking grad plus. Which is 8.5%.

Federal law states that you cannot consolidate your loans for less than the minimum interest rate - thus you wont be rocking something lower than the previously stated.

None of the recent grads had any pharmacy school loans in the less than 6.8% era (which began in 2006).

 

[PumpkinSmasher]

for $1047 for how long? 10-year plan?

It is simple math, just plug the numbers into an interest equation and out pops the term of the loan.

 

[owlegrad]

You know the tuition & fees ahead of time. You also know most of the regular living expenses. Just don't forget to factor in the occasional items such as health/car insurance, etc. Give your self an extra 20% safety margin and you should be safe.

If it turns out that you take out more than you need, don't spend the left over $$$. Repay the loan right away with it. This is not ideal as I think that repayment goes towards interest first instead of the principle, and you have no real tax to deduct from.

Avoid taking out extra in the early years of pharmacy school, those money has more time to compound interest, so hit you harder in the end.

I found that working full time during the summer could save up about $4K. This allowed me to work 16-20 hours a week during school year and still enjoy life, although the real hard-core people would probably pay down their loans with it.

I pay the interest on my student loans (every six months they send me a "bill" for the interest that I can ether pay then or that amount will be added to my loan - aren't all student loans like this?) so it does not compound. Thanks for the tip though.

So you think 20% is a good safety margin? I am tired right now but I will play with that in the morning and see what I come up with. Thanks!

 

[xiphoid2010]

I pay the interest on my student loans (every six months they send me a "bill" for the interest that I can ether pay then or that amount will be added to my loan - aren't all student loans like this?) so it does not compound. Thanks for the tip though.

So you think 20% is a good safety margin? I am tired right now but I will play with that in the morning and see what I come up with. Thanks!

It's my understanding that any payment to direct loans goes first to any interest accrued before towards the principle. That's how most loans are structured.

But if I also vaguely remember a clause that if you return (repay) money within a certain days of its disbursement, then that amount is deducted from the amount of disbursement rather than going towards interest.

Don't quote me on that since it's been a while since I looked the loan terms.

 

[SomeGuy]

I would like to get into a residency, however there is a good chance I will not be able to get into one. I like in Los Angeles, but currently there is a virtually no jobs in Los Angeles. Will there be in 2 yrs? A lot of local grads have had to move somewhere to find jobs, which means additional living expenses.

This must be the new LA math I've been hearing about.

Moving out of California means REDUCED living expenses, well, as long as you move out for at least a week to cover the moving expenses.

Downtown Cleveland sure is cheap!

Where did you think there'd be jobs if there aren't any in LA? NYC? ha.

 

[crazybob]

This must be the new LA math I've been hearing about.

Moving out of California means REDUCED living expenses, well, as long as you move out for at least a week to cover the moving expenses.

Downtown Cleveland sure is cheap!

Where did you think there'd be jobs if there aren't any in LA? NYC? ha.

In my state, there are some for graduates. But there are usually 100 ~ 110 new pharmacists per year for the entire state.

 

[pezdispenser]

Borrowed $51,035. $288/month. Average interest rate 4.125% is ok so I'm in no hurry to pay it off, and the monthly payment is barely significant.

I lived very cheaply through school and worked part-time to keep my loans down.

Student loans are getting expensive now at 6.8% interest. People accumulating $200k+ are crazy. And the job market is getting tight. A bunch of my coworkers got cut to 30 hours per week. The pharmacy gravy train has left the station...

 

[fattunesy]

Borrowed ~120K. At 6.8% (recent grad) on the 30 year repayment plan it works out to $890 per month. I also have 6K in perkins loans at ~$65 per month. I was in state, public school, but living in a major city.

Even though you end up paying A LOT more over time I went with the 30 year plan for a few reasons:
1.) I had credit card debt built up from earlier that I wanted to get paid off first.
2.) Student loan interest is tax deductable (to a point)
3.) Getting married this year and needed cash on hand
4.) Once my immediate cash crunch is done I will go back to paying as though I was on the 10 year plan. You can always pay extra.

If you have the discipline to overpay whenever you have the abilioty to do so a long term repayment plan is the way to go.

 

[Pancakesteve]

Borrowed ~120K. At 6.8% (recent grad) on the 30 year repayment plan it works out to $890 per month. I also have 6K in perkins loans at ~$65 per month. I was in state, public school, but living in a major city.

Even though you end up paying A LOT more over time I went with the 30 year plan for a few reasons:
1.) I had credit card debt built up from earlier that I wanted to get paid off first.
2.) Student loan interest is tax deductable (to a point)
3.) Getting married this year and needed cash on hand
4.) Once my immediate cash crunch is done I will go back to paying as though I was on the 10 year plan. You can always pay extra.

If you have the discipline to overpay whenever you have the abilioty to do so a long term repayment plan is the way to go.

I agree with the above. As long as there are no extra fees incurred with doing so, you should always take the longest repayment plan available, and simply pay it off as though it were a much shorter repayment plan. This way, if you NEED that money one month or two out of the year, you can shift the funds around and you wont be hurt too much by it.

To the Residents who took out more than ~75K a year, what did you do with your loans when you went into your Residency? Did you simply defer them? Or did you attempt to pay them?

 

[genesis09]

I borrowed about $40k between perkins and stafford.
My perkins monthly payment is $40 and my Stafford is $276. I normally pay more than the minimum. With stafford, I have it automatically debited from my checking account, so that decreases my interest rate by 0.25%. My Stafford loans were of the supposedly fixed 6.8% variety, but I consolidated at 5.5%. The key is to consolidate right before the grace period ends.

 

[crazybob]

I borrowed about $40k between perkins and stafford.
My perkins monthly payment is $40 and my Stafford is $276. I normally pay more than the minimum. With stafford, I have it automatically debited from my checking account, so that decreases my interest rate by 0.25%. My Stafford loans were of the supposedly fixed 6.8% variety, but I consolidated at 5.5%. The key is to consolidate right before the grace period ends.

Only 40K? Dang. If I lived at home for all four years, I'd still have about 65K.

 

[genesis09]

Only 40K? Dang. If I lived at home for all four years, I'd still have about 65K.

I went to an in-state public school and did it in 6 years. My tuition/fees were paid with a combination of my own private savings, parental contribution, loans, and a college fund started by my grandmother before she died. My grandmother's small contribution when I was little, paid for about a quarter of my expenses. Important lesson here, start saving for college when one is 3 years old.

 

[Vitamin K]

for $1047 for how long? 10-year plan?

30 year term but NOT taking 30 years to pay it! We're debt snowballing Dave Ramsey style so this will be our last debt to attack. Already paid off credit cards and working on paying off the car. When that's all done, those loans are toast.

 

[rxlynn]

1. You can have someone else pay your loans for you.
2. You can be married to someone who makes a 100k/yr paycheck as well.
3. You can choose to go into ultra repayment / delay major life events and payoff your loans.

Take home is around 6-6.5k after taxes (varies by location). Add in loan repayment in the 1500 to 2000 range for 30 yrs.

You are left with decent pay, but not enough to own a home and raise two children comfortably. You absolutely have to have a plan to payoff those loans in a reasonable amount of time.

Fortunately for me, I have option #2

We made the decision that we were just going to
keep our living expenses low, we were not paying a lot in mortgage before I went back to school, and my husband got a couple of very timely bonuses. So, I ended up with a bit over 21K total.

 

[PharMed2016]

I will have about $26,400 in stafford subsidized loans when I'm finished. However, I'll owe my parents (interest free) an additional $48,000. Call it $74,400 as the butchers bill for the PharmD with living expenses picked up from working during school.

Anyone rich wanna marry me so you can pay off my loans?

 

[sakigt]

Borrowed ~120K. At 6.8% (recent grad) on the 30 year repayment plan it works out to $890 per month. I also have 6K in perkins loans at ~$65 per month. I was in state, public school, but living in a major city.

Even though you end up paying A LOT more over time I went with the 30 year plan for a few reasons:
1.) I had credit card debt built up from earlier that I wanted to get paid off first.
2.) Student loan interest is tax deductable (to a point)
3.) Getting married this year and needed cash on hand
4.) Once my immediate cash crunch is done I will go back to paying as though I was on the 10 year plan. You can always pay extra.

If you have the discipline to overpay whenever you have the abilioty to do so a long term repayment plan is the way to go.

What will be your 10 year payment?

Just wondering. I did some rough math and figure I can have my 120k out of the way at $2k a month for 6-7 years.

 

[sakigt]

30 year term but NOT taking 30 years to pay it! We're debt snowballing Dave Ramsey style so this will be our last debt to attack. Already paid off credit cards and working on paying off the car. When that's all done, those loans are toast.

Hellz yea.

 

[Momus]

Call it $74,400 as the butchers bill for the PharmD with living expenses picked up from working during school.

Anyone rich wanna marry me so you can pay off my loans?

Only $74,000 and you are complaining? I am single and I saved $100k in 1 year...

If your future plans are to buy a Porsche and ***** a bunch of Louis Vuitton man purses (like some of the idiots here), I see how you can't handle this loan...