Loans

[futureDPT]

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I was calculating my loans, and I realized that it is going to cost more than I expected due to the loan interest that is going to be charged each month. I was just wandering do the take interest each month or each year? and if you guys don't mind, could you please list how much loans you'll be taking for PT school. Thanks

 

[futureDPT]

Let me be the first to start. I will be taking about 120,000 in loans with out the interest rate. I think with the interest rate, it will end up being around 176,000 which is a lot. What about you? Is there any scholarships out there that could help?

 

[UCLAbruin08]

Chapman is a little over 28k a year and they stated that it would raise 2-3% each year, so I'm expecting a loan amount somewhere in the high 80k. I've been searching for scholarships, but many of them are geared towards undergraduate students coming out of high school. Any info on graduate scholarships would be greatly appreciated.

 

[xMerryx]

Ok, I'm super confused with Loans!!! I have always applied and received financial aid, however, they were all grants, so I know NOTHING about loans. I applied and I, of course, plan to accept all the Loans that will be offered to me. HOWEVER, I am worried that they might not be enough. I know we can't receive grants for summer but does anybody know about Loans? The thing is I'm in FL and we have to apply through federal aid (FAFSA) and then the school lets you know what were you qualified for. I was always offered grants and loans but for undergrad I was ok with just grants. Now, I will need loans for tuition and rent plus living expenses. What would be my options now that Loans are not really being offered that much (my school adopted this new program that you won't need a bank anymore) and does anybody know if I will receive loan offers for the summer???????

 

[MIDPT2012]

does anybody know if I will receive loan offers for the summer???????

Sounds like the Direct Loans are what you are describing - they come from the federal government and can be either subsidized or unsubsidized.

My program starts in September, at orientation last week they described that we will have up to $20,500 per year in Direct loans, of which 8500 can be subsidized based on financial need. That's the federal government maximum for graduate school. Then, once we use that up, there is something called the direct PLUS loan, that is based upon your credit rating, that will cover any additional costs between the $20,500 and what your school determines it's cost of attendance per year is. At my school they figure it to be around $31K per year including room/board/books/transportation. That means I then received the ability to pull the other 10K from the PLUS loan if I want to.

The interest rates are fixed for these:
subsidized interest free until graduation then 6%
unsubsidized interest accrues on day one at 6.8%
Direct PLUS loan starts accruing on day one at 7.8%

You have the ability to defer paying these until after graduation, however the interest will start compounding on the unsubsidized and PLUS loans.

Contact your schools financial aid office for info about this summer. The FAFSA you fill out is for the 2009/2010 school year whcih includes summer 2010.

good website:
https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/BorrowerWelcomePage.jsp

 

[xMerryx]

Thank you, I contacted my school's financial aid office but they just told me they do not know if I will be offered any loans for the summer semester. I believe they relese this information next month.

 

[kurtin2kiter]

Do all of these loans need cosigners? I have not gotten in or even applied to PT school yet, but looking ahead I will need to take out over 100k for certain schools. I'm not sure how I will get a cosigner for this amount. Has anyone taken out PT school loans without a cosigner?? Thanks

 

[callmecrazy]

I know we can't receive grants for summer but does anybody know about Loans? The thing is I'm in FL and we have to apply through federal aid (FAFSA) and then the school lets you know what were you qualified for. [...] What would be my options now that Loans are not really being offered that much (my school adopted this new program that you won't need a bank anymore) and does anybody know if I will receive loan offers for the summer???????

You are able to borrow up to $20500 in Stafford loans each academic year (fall/spring/summer) as a graduate student. If you have any of this "left" by summer, then you have it to use. This is why the school doesn't know if any would be offered, for the Stafford at least, because they don't know if you would have availability left by summer. Some schools require you to make an official request for loans for the summer term via the finaid office If that is not enough, you have the option of utilizing the Grad Plus loans, or private education loans. All of these are just as available for the summer as they would be for Fall or Spring as far as I am aware.

As for cosignors, you should not need one for Stafford of Grad Plus loans. If you need to take out private loans to cover the difference, you may or may not need a cosignor based on your lender, employment, credit history/score, etc. Because of the availability of Stafford/Plus loans though, you would not need private loans to cover the full amount of attendance.

 

[kurtin2kiter]

As for cosignors, you should not need one for Stafford of Grad Plus loans. If you need to take out private loans to cover the difference, you may or may not need a cosignor based on your lender, employment, credit history/score, etc. Because of the availability of Stafford/Plus loans though, you would not need private loans to cover the full amount of attendance.[/QUOTE]

Wow, thank you! Is this the experience others have had as well? No need for a cosigner for Stafford or Grad Plus loans??

Thanks so much

 

[UCLAbruin08]

Just wondering.. how long does it take to pay off a 100k loan? or are there any new grads who can tell me how long they're scheduled to pay off their debt?

 

[callmecrazy]

Just wondering.. how long does it take to pay off a 100k loan? or are there any new grads who can tell me how long they're scheduled to pay off their debt?

Most student loans, with the exception of private loans are on a ten year repayment plan. So it's not really a question of how long it takes to pay, but more likely how much you will be paying each month for the next ten years. Though for some loans you can appeal for a longer payment plan if you have unusually high loan debt or you are having trouble paying the full amount.

To get an idea though, this is a loan repayment calculator from AES:
http://www.aessuccess.org/tools/repayment_calc.html

 

[Elbrus]

I took out only Stafford loans (20.5K) for my three years of school, no private loans, and I was automatically offered different repayment terms. I selected the 30 year repayment because my consolidated interest rate is 1.5%.

A 10 year maximum repayment term does not sound correct to me unless things have drastically changed over the last 5 years.

 

[callmecrazy]

I took out only Stafford loans (20.5K) for my three years of school, no private loans, and I was automatically offered different repayment terms. I selected the 30 year repayment because my consolidated interest rate is 1.5%.

A 10 year maximum repayment term does not sound correct to me unless things have drastically changed over the last 5 years.

Having consolidated is what gives you the extended repayment option.
There is more info about repayment plans here:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/RepayCalc/dlindex2.html

 

[PharmDan2]

screw that noise, im doing the 5 year plan. Pay off big before I hit 28 and ill be free for the rest of my life!

 

[xMerryx]

screw that noise, im doing the 5 year plan. Pay off big before I hit 28 and ill be free for the rest of my life!

I agree, Is going to be tough, but I'll prefer to get it over with fast!

 

[Cyres]

Dan & Merry,

Any other debt and I would agree, but I highly recommend taking your time paying off your student loans. Consolidate your debt, get a low interest rate and a much lower monthly payment on it. First, you'll be able to live with some measure of comfort instead devoting "everything" to pay it off as quickly as possible. Second, you'll be able to start investing for retirement earlier. The single most important factor for making your savings grow is time -- smaller investments over a longer period of time will produce a greater nest egg than larger investments over a shorter period. Google the rule of 72 or the rule of 7 and start playing around with numbers, you'll see what I'm talking about very quickly.

 

[_FNG_]

Dan & Merry,

Any other debt and I would agree, but I highly recommend taking your time paying off your student loans. Consolidate your debt, get a low interest rate and a much lower monthly payment on it. First, you'll be able to live with some measure of comfort instead devoting "everything" to pay it off as quickly as possible. Second, you'll be able to start investing for retirement earlier. The single most important factor for making your savings grow is time -- smaller investments over a longer period of time will produce a greater nest egg than larger investments over a shorter period. Google the rule of 72 or the rule of 7 and start playing around with numbers, you'll see what I'm talking about very quickly.

In addition to the investment aspect of not devoting you money all to your student loans, many employers offer tuition assistance of some sort e.g. Vet Affairs hospitals pay around 50k, i believe, for a given period.
http://www.va.gov/jobs/job_benefits/continue_edu.asp
60k I'm sorry

 

[xMerryx]

ok, I was offered my award package, finally! I was offered a grant, unsub, sub loans, and a PLUS loans...which has a total of $30266, for the whole year, I think is good but, I'm worried about summer (they stimated the $30266 for disbursement for fall and spring) I'm just worried that I don't know much about private loans, and I will like to, just in case I need them