Which type of repayment plan should I choose for my loans?

[Lord_Vader]

It's getting close to repayment time and I want to do one of the income driven repayment plans for my federal loans. The thing is there's like 4: Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE Plan), Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE Plan), Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan), and Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR Plan). I'm not sure which one to choose. REPAYE looks like it would be the best since it has the lowest monthly payment but other people I know are doing the IBR plan for some reason. I'm currently single and don't plan on getting married anytime soon so my income won't change drastically during residency. Also I plan on participating in the public service loan forgiveness program in 10 years (if it's still there that is) and consolidating my loans. Thanks.

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[NickNaylor]

There is a nearly identical thread on the front page about this question - I would suggest checking it out.

All of the different programs come with pros and cons. Obviously the pro of a program that results in a lower monthly payment is that the financial strain of your loan payments is reduced, but the con is that you will likely make very little if any progress on paying down principle. The opposite is true for programs with higher monthly payments.

The primary other difference between the programs is when your loans are forgiven. For most physicians, this is going to be a moot point, as unless you have an exceptionally high degree of debt and/or your attending salary is exceptionally low, your IBR/PAYE/REPAYE payments once you’re making an attending salary will likely be essentially equivalent to the 10-year repayment rate. Thus, it is unlikely that you will still have a loan balance of any significant degree at the time your loans become eligible for cancellation.

With respect to the PSLF program, for various reasons I would not bank on this program being available and would suggest that you plan as if the program will not be around. The most conservative move would likely to be have a plan A that consists of assuming PSLF will not be an option and keeping PSLF in your back pocket.

If you have further options, you should consider talking with your financial aid office at your school to get more information about the individual programs. Consider talking with a private financial counselor to get their input. Individual situations are different, and the option that will be “the best” for you is dependent on a variety of personal factors which only you know. In my opinion there is no clear “best” program. They are all essentially slight variations on the same theme.

 

[justkeepswimming]

It's getting close to repayment time and I want to do one of the income driven repayment plans for my federal loans. The thing is there's like 4: Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE Plan), Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE Plan), Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan), and Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR Plan). I'm not sure which one to choose. REPAYE looks like it would be the best since it has the lowest monthly payment but other people I know are doing the IBR plan for some reason. I'm currently single and don't plan on getting married anytime soon so my income won't change drastically during residency. Also I plan on participating in the public service loan forgiveness program in 10 years (if it's still there that is) and consolidating my loans. Thanks.

I've found Student Loan Hero to be pretty helpful in sorting out all of the options for reducing debt burden, particularly this article: https://studentloanhero.com/featured/ultimate-student-loan-repayment-guide-for-doctors/ . Another helpful feature of this site in particular is that it has a number of calculators to help you see what your payments and debt will look like under the different programs you listed in your post.
Don't forget that, depending on what specialty you're planning to do and/or where you plan to live, you may be eligible for state-based repayment options as well.