when to consolidate my loans and when to apply for PSLF?

[letsgomedical]

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Hi
I graduated from med school in May 2015.
I am planning to do public service loan forgiveness, and from my understanding in order to apply to PSLF I need to consolidate my loans and then apply for IBR.
I have 6 months of grace period after graduation to repay my loans, so I guess I have November until my grace period ends.
I was told that PSLF application can take months to get approved..
When is the best time to consolidate my loans?
I was looking at the application and it said once I consolidate, i have to start repaying the loans or I can delay processing until my grace period ends.
I am a little confused about this.. does this mean if I consolidate my loans now I'd have to start paying back next month, even before I PSLF application gets approved?
I would really appreciate any advice.
Thank you!

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Hi
I graduated from med school in May 2015.
I am planning to do public service loan forgiveness, and from my understanding in order to apply to PSLF I need to consolidate my loans and then apply for IBR.
I have 6 months of grace period after graduation to repay my loans, so I guess I have November until my grace period ends.
I was told that PSLF application can take months to get approved..
When is the best time to consolidate my loans?
I was looking at the application and it said once I consolidate, i have to start repaying the loans or I can delay processing until my grace period ends.
I am a little confused about this.. does this mean if I consolidate my loans now I'd have to start paying back next month, even before I PSLF application gets approved?
I would really appreciate any advice.
Thank you!

You might want to check out the financial aid forum (or have this thread moved there). I did this years ago, so I don't have current personal experience. I remember waiting until the fall for the reasons you mentioned, namely not wanting to lose the grace period. The consolidation process for me was pretty quick as was applying for PSLF. Maybe start in September? Or check in with your peers to see how long it's taking for them. Either way, it's super easy to get a forbearance for federal loans -- residency is an automatic qualifier -- so if you mistime it a little, the consequences are pretty small.

 

[drcrispmd]

Consolidate with IRB as your payment plan. You apply for PSLF once you have made the 120 payments while working at state organization or non profit. For IRB your payment is based of the previous year tax return so likely your payment will be 0 unless you have worked while in school.

 

[the argus]

The above poster if correct in that you don't actually apply for PSLF until you have made the 120 required payments. They have a form you can fill out that tracks your progress (i.e. every year send them the form that states you made 12 qualifying payments over the past year, signed by people from your residency program/hospitals, etc) and makes it easier once you actually apply, but you don't actually apply until you've done your 120 payments.

The above poster is incorrect though about how they calculate your required payments now. They switched it in the last couple years to where they can use either 1. previous year tax return, or 2. current salary at the time you apply (i.e. after 6 month grace period, when most people will be in middle of intern year). They did this specifically to eliminate the 1st year of $0 payments and 2nd year based on half salary. If you search the forums (and internet) you will find that there are inconsistencies in how this new rule is applied between loan providers and even within loan providers. Some people state they have been required to pay based on their current salary, while some still benefited from the $0 first year payments. It seems to be kind of luck of the draw at this point, but you should be prepared to start making payments based at your current salary at the end of your 6 month grace period.