Student loans and debt

[rlw237]

Hey guys I just got done crunching some numbers and figured out that my undergrad ran me about (85k)<~ great time, great parties, met my fiancé there but what a total waste of money haha. Grad school will hopefully only run me around 70k. So total will be about 145-150k.

With that being said I was wondering if it's not too personal of a question what some of your total debt looks like? What realistic salary will u be comfortable starting out with? What route will u take in paying off your student loans (asap, 5-10yrs, 10-15yrs, 15-20yrs, putting it on obamas shoulders to drop them after 20 haha)? Will u focus more on private or federal loans first?

Mine:
155,000 in debt (55private, 100federal)
70-80k = ideal starting out salary (I plan on picking up home health on the side if I can't make it all from one job)
5-10yr payoff plan
I'll focus more on private first tha federal due to the flexibilty and income based payments with federal+after 20 yrs it gets erased haha.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[jbizzle]

Hey guys I just got done crunching some numbers and figured out that my undergrad ran me about (85k)<~ great time, great parties, met my fiancé there but what a total waste of money haha. Grad school will hopefully only run me around 70k. So total will be about 145-150k.

With that being said I was wondering if it's not too personal of a question what some of your total debt looks like? What realistic salary will u be comfortable starting out with? What route will u take in paying off your student loans (asap, 5-10yrs, 10-15yrs, 15-20yrs, putting it on obamas shoulders to drop them after 20 haha)? Will u focus more on private or federal loans first?

Mine:
155,000 in debt (55private, 100federal)
70-80k = ideal starting out salary (I plan on picking up home health on the side if I can't make it all from one job)
5-10yr payoff plan
I'll focus more on private first tha federal due to the flexibilty and income based payments with federal+after 20 yrs it gets erased haha.

Well im still applying to get into PT school. I didn't have any loans from undergrad at Florida State so Ill start out at $0, and then see from wherever I get in...hopefully i get in.

And by the looks of it, my stats arent so great so Im applying to a lot of provate schools and out fo state schools, and they run around 150K total (tuition, books, cost of living). I keep telling myself that there will be hospitals or recruiters that will lure PT's to work for them by paying off loans but no one else seems to know about this or has posted on here about it. If you google PT loan forgiveness there is an article about it.

Maybe its just wishful thinking that after I get into a program, pass the program, pass the boards, a VA hospital will try to lure me to work for them with a loan repayment contract thing, maybe. But if worse comes to worse ill be in the same boat as everyone else.

Starting PT school with: $0 debt
After PT school (Please god help me get in): I wanna say max at $150
Ideal salary is about the same as yours
I dont really know what to pay first, ive never taken out a loan for school before.

 

[BumpTest]

I start PT school in 1 month exactly and I've had to spend the last week going through financial aid and setting my budget for the year. I start PT school with $0 of UG debt (I'm lucky!) but the looming cost of PT school makes me worried . I went through my budget and went down to the penny and didn't borrow anymore than I thought would be necessary to have.
Not sure if you know this but for professional students there is a $130,000 federal maximum to what you can borrow for graduate/professional school. If you end up borrowing $150,000 then $20k of that would have to come from private lenders. There do exist clinics that will pay a portion of your loans but from what I hear on the street(not the most accurate information) the amount tends to be closer to $20,000 for the duration you work for the company. Makes a difference on a $130k loan but still a lot of $$$ to account for. VA hospital might be a bit more generous.
My strategy for paying it off? In my ideal world I will try to work for a company maybe VA hospital that will pay a portion of it. However, from what I've read on this board, I think I will try to work a couple jobs out of school(which brings me back full circle to quality of life issues and why I didn't want to be doctor...oh well...) and on weekends to pay off that loan ideally within 5-7 years. In my finest moments of desperation, I have thought about hoping Obama's 20 year "loan eraser" kicks in and paying it off at a leisurely rate, but I'm too worried about the fine print.

 

[psu17]

when my older brother was done with undergrad my parents found him a deal where he was able to combine all his loans so that he only had one payment and he got a really good interest rate also - the down side was he had to give up his 6 month grace period..something to look for

I just graduated undergrad with about 55K in loans..ugh I don't even like to think about adding more on for grad school but I'm hoping it will all pay off in the end
My ideal starting salary would also be around 70K

 

[Lizarde]

I'm starting PT school in a few weeks and have finally come to peace with the amount of debt I will be in, but looking at at some of the higher numbers posted on this forum I'm doing quite well.

Undergrad - $0. Thanks to in-state tuition, pell grants, and scholarships
PT school -
~$45,000 from my in-laws at 0% interest and can pay off after other loans!
$25,500 of subsidized Staffords, so 6.8% starting after graduation
------------
$70,000 (or $61,500-$95,500 depending on circumstances below)

Caveat 1: another $25,500 in a state loan/scholarship that requires that I work in a State or County facility for each year I take out the $8,500 loan for it be forgiven. So a potential $25,500 in debt if I don't work in a qualified setting. I did a little research and the salary in these settings are comparable to and sometimes higher than private facilities so not too worried.

Caveat 2: I'm hoping to get a more scholarships for year 2 & 3 and since the subsidized stafford is interest free for now, I borrowed a few thousand more from the Stafford than I really think I need this year -- I will hopefully not need the 3rd year of Stafford saving me $8,500.

Salary: I'm not getting my hopes up for more than 55K but I plan to work weekends PRN or teaching Pilates to boost my salary until my loans are paid off.

 

[psu17]

this site is interesting you can type in any job and any city and it will tell you the average salary - it also has information on how salaries differ for different settings for PT

http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=physical+therapist&l1=


I live in a very small town and I'm pretty sure the number they gave was almost dead on for my hometown - I'm wondering if the other cities are as accurate

 

[HopetobePT]

.

 

[Litlwarrior08]

I believe the combined total of sub/unsub loans is 20,500 per year not 25,500. I guess they will all be called unsub very soon.

I finish up my BS May 2012 w/ $0 debt due to many scholarships. This year tuition has gone up so much I ended up paying $13 lol and covering for my own books. Previously I was able to stash some of the scholarship money after tuit / books into my savings.
I am anticipating $30,000 in tuition each year but tuit. is not fixed and subject to change. So I share the same worries as other posters. Hard to plan. Then there is the factor; if I am not commuting and sponging off my parents (who are glad to have me) how do I pay for living expenses? Thinking about maybe putting a downpayment on a cheap little house near acceptance school (still pending 2012) w/ parents co-signing, and renting to a roomy to help cover costs which would be less than renting an apt. My savings would last longer.
I am looking for places that offer student loan assistance in exchange for promised employment and loan forgiveness after graduating. There are a few out there. Some states are better at this then others with the allied health programs.

DOES ANYONE KNOW---
When does the student make the decision regarding how to pay back fed. loans? Does this happen when loans are accepted or after finishing the program?
How do we pay interest on loans while in school if we need money to live on......?
When does the new loan program start? (no more subsidized loans)


With the economy and health care issues -- wondering how many of us will do the 20 yr and out program. But I think we will end up paying in taxes on one end or the other so the Gov can cover the loans on those who defaulted.

Sorry for the random comments. Good luck to all.