Subsidized Loan

[kaige]

I have a question about the federal subsidized loan for which I couldn't find a clear answer.

I'm currently entering my junior year of undergrad as a transfer. I have the Post 9/11 GI Bill so my tuition is covered, and I'll receive a stipend to help for housing/living expenses. I'm considering taking out the subsidized loan(5,500) to give me cushion in terms of expenses; I'm already spending tons of money before the quarter has even started.

My question then is: will the loan continue to be subsidized through medical school or will the interest start accruing after my undergrad degree? I know there have been relatively recent changes regarding the discontinuing of subsidized loans specifically for medical school, but I don't know how that effects the subsidized loans taken in undergrad.

Finally, would this be a good decision? I don't know if I'm missing any key points here, but if I take out the loan and interest starts accruing for some reason, I could just pay off the balance without penalty as far as I know.

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[Zagaza]

All loans start accuring interest from day one of when you start borrowing.Be advised.

 

[RangerBob]

I believe subsidized loans will be subsidized (meaning the gov't pays the interest) as long as your loan is in "in school status." My one subsidized Stafford loan entered repayment because I took 2 years off between undergrad and medical school, and I believe when I went to medical school the gov't covered the interest again. But I'm not positive--I'm just basing that on the fact the loan seems to be approx the same size as when I started medical school.

I would recommend giving the Dept of Education a call and get a more accurate answer to make sure.