Undergraduate Student Loan Advice

[SusGob711]

Unfortunately I was forced to use private loans during the first two years of undergrad. I called today and the lady told me that I will enter repayment the same year I start medical school. It's impossible to work during medical school and surely I have to pay them back somehow. Anyone else been in this situation or have any helpful advice? Thanks

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[medschoolfamily]

Unfortunately I was forced to use private loans during the first two years of undergrad. I called today and the lady told me that I will enter repayment the same year I start medical school. It's impossible to work during medical school and surely I have to pay them back somehow. Anyone else been in this situation or have any helpful advice? Thanks

I'm currently in the same situation. I have a ton of loans (both private and federal) from undergrad and had a year off b/w undergrad and med school so I had to start repayment already. Once you begin med school though you should be eligible for "in school deferment." I can't imagine any lender making you pay back loans when you're in school. If that's the case, I feel very sorry for you and wish you the best of luck.

 

[searun]

OP, your loans will be deferred as soon as you begin med school. You will not have to repay college loans while you are in med school, assuming that you are not in default and are in good standing.

I am editing my comments. I just realized that all of my loans from undergrad were federal loans. My comments were based upon my personal experience. Frankly, I am not sure what the rules are regarding private loans. Have you been accepted to med school yet? If so, call the financial aid office and get an opinion. Also, the financial aid office at your undergrad would probably know.

It definitely would suck if you have to repay undergrad private loans while you are in med school because very few med students work, you just do not have time. Hopefully, you will be able to get a deferment.

Good luck with this.

 

[GoBeers]

or try to defer your acceptance to medical school and work your tail off to pay back those loans in your gap year?

just a guess

 

[CalBear2009]

I am in the exact same s****y situation and I know how much it sucks. I don't know what company you did your private loans with, but mine will do a max 5.5 year education deferment from the day that you took out the loan. So I have decided I have three options:

1) This might be hard, but we might be able to find a company that allows for loan reconsolidation and deferment. Because you are re-doing the loan, there are new terms, and deferment might be a possibility.

2) Ask for the max living expenses during med school. Work real hard to live dirt cheap, and use the money you save to make payments.

3) Calculate the amount minimum payments would be during medschool and save all of this money now, and don't touch it until you pay off those loans. I mean you do have one last summer, so you can work your butt off for three months then to get extra money then too.

I feel your pain, and hopefully we can both make it work. Feel free to PM me, and I will do the same if I find any bank that reconsolidates and defers.

To all you undergrad people out there AVOID PRIVATE LOANS LIKE THE PLAUGE!

 

[SusGob711]

I am in the exact same s****y situation and I know how much it sucks. I don't know what company you did your private loans with, but mine will do a max 5.5 year education deferment from the day that you took out the loan. So I have decided I have three options:

1) This might be hard, but we might be able to find a company that allows for loan reconsolidation and deferment. Because you are re-doing the loan, there are new terms, and deferment might be a possibility.

2) Ask for the max living expenses during med school. Work real hard to live dirt cheap, and use the money you save to make payments.

3) Calculate the amount minimum payments would be during medschool and save all of this money now, and don't touch it until you pay off those loans. I mean you do have one last summer, so you can work your butt off for three months then to get extra money then too.

I feel your pain, and hopefully we can both make it work. Feel free to PM me, and I will do the same if I find any bank that reconsolidates and defers.

To all you undergrad people out there AVOID PRIVATE LOANS LIKE THE PLAUGE!

Thanks for the advice. I'm hoping to save as much as possible but unfortunately the money I'm making now goes to pay for tuition this year But those are good ideas...I will hopefully save like crazy over the next two summers and see what happens. Good luck to you though.

 

[softmed]

What company did you guys use for your loans? I used Citi, so fortunately they have a 10 year deferment period so I won't have to worry about those loans until I enter residency. Then I'll probably just pay back them exclusively.

 

[SusGob711]

What company did you guys use for your loans? I used Citi, so fortunately they have a 10 year deferment period so I won't have to worry about those loans until I enter residency. Then I'll probably just pay back them exclusively.

Ironically I used Citi as well. When I called she said that as long as you are half time you can defer and she did mention ten years. But then she also "looked me up" and told me I only have 3.5 years of deferment remaining. I graduated high school in 2007 so obviously it hasn't been ten years. I'm not sure what she meant :/

 

[KG216]

Unfortunately I was forced to use private loans during the first two years of undergrad. I called today and the lady told me that I will enter repayment the same year I start medical school. It's impossible to work during medical school and surely I have to pay them back somehow. Anyone else been in this situation or have any helpful advice? Thanks

I was in the same situation as you. I have federal loans that have always been covered by in-school deferment, but I also had a bunch of private loans that are serviced by AES. I graduated a semester early from undergrad and didn't start grad school until the fall. My loans went into repayment and I was told my only options were to take a year of forbearance -which is the maximum allowed (which would take me into my 2nd year of grad school, which is where I am at now) or repay immediately. I took the year of forebearance and began paying a few months ago.

I was told that private loans can vary widely on policies- it depends on who the guarantor (spelling?) is and what their individual terms are. When I entered repayment, my specific loans qualified for NOTHING! No in-school deferment, no economic hardship...nothing. So I went on a modified graduated repayment schedule and have been paying for about 5 months.

A few weeks ago I was notified that the terms of my loans changed and they now allow in school deferment, so I am covered now and throughout med school which starts in the fall for me. I am extremely lucky, but it could happen to you- I was told 2 years ago that I had no options, and finally my loan terms changed due to the economy.

My advice would be to call and ask about repayment plans if you absolutely have to pay now, sometimes it can make it manageable. Most people I know said they are on a graduated repayment plan and use loan money to help make payments, which sounds counterintuitive but its more common than you think. Also, as someone else mentioned, I was informed by someone at AES a long time ago that it is possible to locate other companies to buy out your loans- they will have their own policies for deferment which may help you out (but I think this is easier said than done).

I hope some good luck comes your way as well!