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Aliquid posted:My parents are splitting up and both leaving town. I'm living with them while I get my MBA. Tuition and basic living expenses max out my Stafford loans, and it looks like my bills are going to get a whole lot higher for the 15 months left in my program. I'm in an area where I can't make more than minimum wage at the moment and working 40 hours a week would certainly affect my grades. I'm first in my cohort and have first pick of internships if I can maintain where I'm at. I don't want to gently caress up. What do I do? Can't you get GradPLUS loans since it's grad school? Or did you mean your Stafford loans are already up to your school's Cost of Attendance?
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Aug 13, 2015 12:55
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Tautologicus posted:Make a deal with the devil (private loans) Is there anything I need to know about private loans? Considering how awfully I ducked up getting my car loan, I feel like I should pay more attention this time to things. I'd have to start paying it back immediately, right? Whom should I ask about getting one? Especially since I'm now unemployed and living abroad.
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Aug 14, 2015 17:21
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Shadow0 posted:Is there anything I need to know about private loans? Considering how awfully I ducked up getting my car loan, I feel like I should pay more attention this time to things. I have no experience here but here's what I know. I thought this thread had tons of information about them, I was just saying that seems to be your only real option left. Yes you won't have to pay them back right away but interest starts accruing immediately and it's usually pretty high and it will follow you your whole life until you pay them off. So be real careful if you do it. Look into this company, keep in mind this is nowhere near a recommendation I have no experience in this, I got my undergrad financed with federal subsidized loans. https://www.sofi.com/ Then try Citizens Bank, Discover, and Wells Fargo. They seem to be the highest rated here: http://student-loans-review.toptenreviews.com/ Hopefully someone whos gotten a private loan with one of these guys can say more. I think Sallie Mae is to be avoided based on what I hear on here (Navient, their "loan management arm", is a real jerk about collection). But it looks like their credit cards are real good. https://www.salliemae.com/credit-cards/ Just remember that no student loans can be discharged in bankruptcy, and so private lenders are not that interested in working with you because they know they'll get their money eventually. I'll bet if you took out a 15k loan you could make it work over 15 months (or even 10k depending on where you're living). You'd accrue about 1500 in interest over the time you were still in school (at like 7% interest) and if you paid that off over 5 years you'd be paying about 330 a month, with 3000 interest more paid, for a total of 4500 interest on 15k. I'm also not sure if a 7% rate is possible but this was on the Wells Fargo site quote:Competitive Annual Percentage Rate (APR)4 so it looks possible. Ok that's all i got, hopefully someone else has more, good luck, don't dig a hole too big, hopefully your internship prospects are real and lead somewhere.
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Aug 15, 2015 10:57
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Shadow0 posted:Is there anything I need to know about private loans? Considering how awfully I ducked up getting my car loan, I feel like I should pay more attention this time to things. Have you asked the financial aid office of the school? "Deferment only" could mean a lot of things and you should be certain of options before you start seeling aid. Since it's international, even private loans can get incredibly tricky to take out.
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Aug 15, 2015 11:26
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Navient is really sapping all of my energy right now. I received ~$10,500 in Teacher Loan Forgiveness in 2013, back when they were still Sallie Mae. I was eligible for up to $17,500. I went back to school in 2014 and my last loan was dispersed in April of this year. The loans total ~$6,000. Navient thinks I need to complete an additional five years of service to get the rest of these loans forgiven. Unfortunately I no longer teach in an eligible school. I know you can't use the same years of service to qualify for two different kinds of loan forgiveness, but I can't find anything anywhere that says I can't use the same service to qualify for the rest of my TFL. The only caveat I could find was that your last loan had to be dispersed before the end of your five consecutive years. My last loan was dispersed in April and I stopped teaching at an eligible school in June. Sigh. I wouldn't have taken these loans out if I had known I would have to repay them. I have calls into both the Federal Student Aid ombudsman and the Navient customer advocate. I hope this can get resolved.  It's really bumming me out.
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Aug 22, 2015 19:08
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I have a quick question. My job offers me student loan evaluation services for $100 through this site (http://goslb.com/) My goal would be to see if I can optimize my repayment plans since my loans are already consolidated. And maybe I could get some other sort of exemptions or something? I don't think I would qualify for any income-based exemptions though. Would it be worth my $100?
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Aug 24, 2015 21:07
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StickFigs posted:I have a quick question.
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Aug 24, 2015 22:30
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StickFigs posted:I have a quick question. Probably can't do much that payoff.io can't already. Or you posting a thread.
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Aug 24, 2015 22:34
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Also you can just call or email the servicer directly for free. I'd say it's not worth it unless it involves the company pitching in to help pay them off.
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Aug 24, 2015 23:28
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Glad I asked first! Thanks for saving me $100!
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Aug 25, 2015 18:41
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Hey, so right now my student debt looks something like this: 70k @ 6% Parent PLUS 3500 @ 4.55% Stafford 1900 @ 0.07% Stafford All of these are through AES. I pay about 600 agains the PLUS loan monthly and 200 against the others. I'm in the position where I'd like to make a large payment against that PLUS loan but I want to make sure I do that in the most effective way I can. I'm already in paid-ahead status on that account from an earlier extra payment, but I've continued to make the same payments as before. Am I right in thinking there's no problem with this and/or should I be looking for a way to make sure this new payment goes direct to principal?
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Sep 2, 2015 16:57
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Question about IBR. I re-certify for IBR in August each year. Next year my IBR payments are going to be about 1000/month, since my income for 2015 and 2016 is going to be about 100k. There's a chance that I may do a 1 year fellowship in a high COL area from July 2017 - 2018 and my salary would drop to about 80k/year. When it comes time to recertify in 2017, will they go off of my tax return for 2016 or could I ask them to base my payments off of an income stub for that upcoming year?
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Sep 2, 2015 17:21
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Residency Evil posted:Question about IBR. I re-certify for IBR in August each year. Next year my IBR payments are going to be about 1000/month, since my income for 2015 and 2016 is going to be about 100k. There's a chance that I may do a 1 year fellowship in a high COL area from July 2017 - 2018 and my salary would drop to about 80k/year. When it comes time to recertify in 2017, will they go off of my tax return for 2016 or could I ask them to base my payments off of an income stub for that upcoming year? You can use pay stubs, I think they require two. But they would have to be pay stubs you've already received. You can always rectify early as soon as you're a month into that job, if you want to. There's a separate box for "my circumstances have changed".
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Sep 2, 2015 17:28
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Tyro posted:You can use pay stubs, I think they require two. But they would have to be pay stubs you've already received. You can always rectify early as soon as you're a month into that job, if you want to. There's a separate box for "my circumstances have changed". A month or two isn't a huge deal, but it'd be nice to save a bit/get another cheap year towards PSLF if I can. I just wasn't sure if IBR frowns on decreases in income like that.
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Sep 2, 2015 19:40
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Lamont Cranston posted:Hey, so right now my student debt looks something like this: I can't seem to pull up any useful details so I would recommend contacting your loan provider and confirming that payments will go to principal. If it's only pay ahead you might be able to reorganise the loan repayments. e: From what I've found you can change repayment plans which may help. Devian666 fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Sep 2, 2015 |
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Sep 2, 2015 20:26
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Anyone have any experience with https://www.meetearnest.com for refinance?
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Sep 3, 2015 20:50
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edit: nevermind.
BigBallChunkyTime fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Sep 5, 2015 |
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Sep 5, 2015 18:05
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I've consolidated my grad school loans once already, and have a stafford loan at a similar rate. I'm at 14k left and 6.5/6.8% interest on them. I'm way overpaying each month but it will still be a few years before its gone. Is it possible/worth it to lower those interest rates even further?
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Sep 12, 2015 00:26
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SOFI got me down to an adjustable 3% Given I only needed a 5 year time table I was happy to take the super low rate with the risk that it would adjust up. So that may be a good route to go if you qualify.
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Sep 12, 2015 00:54
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Defenestration posted:I've consolidated my grad school loans once already, and have a stafford loan at a similar rate. I'm at 14k left and 6.5/6.8% interest on them. I'm way overpaying each month but it will still be a few years before its gone. You would struggle to get a lower rate than what you have. If the loans are going to be gone in 2-3 years it's probably not worth worrying about it as the total interest paid will be low anyway. That and personal loans tend to go from 8-20%+ A $14k loan at 6.8% over 3 years with a monthly payment of $431 ends up with total interest of $1516. Which is an average of about $40 per month in interest costs. Given the interest cost you need to factor in any fees and costs if you find a lower rate and then the interest rate needs to save you enough to justify it. To me it seems like you've got pretty cheap use of the loan money. PyRosflam posted:SOFI got me down to an adjustable 3% Given I only needed a 5 year time table I was happy to take the super low rate with the risk that it would adjust up. A $14k loan at 3% over 3 years with a monthly payment of $407.13 ends up with total interest of $656.61. Which is an average of about $18.20 per month in interest costs. Seems good if you can get it. Devian666 fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Sep 12, 2015 |
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Sep 12, 2015 01:00
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Devian666 posted:You would struggle to get a lower rate than what you have. If the loans are going to be gone in 2-3 years it's probably not worth worrying about it as the total interest paid will be low anyway. That and personal loans tend to go from 8-20%+
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Sep 12, 2015 02:21
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Over 2 years you could save $550 total if you could score a 3% refinancing from sofi. That may be worth your while depending on effort and fees. You are in a good position to demolish your loan though.
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Sep 12, 2015 03:50
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I am looking for the best way to get rid of my student loans. My situation looks like this: ~30k @ 6.75% ~30k @ 3.25% (variable) I also get the .25% discount for autopay on both loans. I am currently paying close to $600 a month which is the minimum. I went to the SoFi website to see what they offer but was told I don't qualify. I also had a bankruptcy in 2014 due to medical bills so I imagine this hurts my refinancing opportunities. I have no other debt aside from a credit card that I pay off every month (I use it for purchases to get the rewards). Is refinancing going to help in my situation or am I better off just paying as much as I can afford towards them until they are gone?
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Sep 15, 2015 17:54
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You are just going to have to pay them as fast as you can. You can either take the highest or hit the variable but I would pick one method and throw all you can at it.
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Sep 15, 2015 18:31
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So I was investigating this (https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service#qualifying-payment) and I was hoping to get some more details from the thread. I've been working in Higher Ed at one institution or another since 2010 and I've been making my payments on and off over the course of that time. I didn't learn about this program until a couple of months ago. Is it possible for the payments I made while working at a Non-profit University to be retroactively counted towards the 120 payments? Do Universities that are tax-exempt count in this program? Thanks 
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Sep 17, 2015 15:26
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So this isn't a question I ever thought I was going to have to ask, and it also isn't exactly the thread, but I did the FAFSA a few months ago and am just realizing I probably did it wrong. Basically - I put myself as being homeless or at risk of being homeless, because up until when I joined this AmeriCorps program I am currently in [until August] I was living couch to couch at friends and cousin's places, for a few days at a time, after my mother disowned me completely, and told me she never wanted me in her life. However, I never actually went to a homeless shelter, and I've been out of highschool for multiple years (graduated 2013). I have 0 contact with my mother, and once I'm out of the program I will be without a home again... so is there some specific legal thing I need to do to legally be considered independent via homelessness? She doesn't make much money [she is on widow's benefits] but I obviously have no access to her tax information - and I would prefer to be legally independent and capable of getting the 'nicer' loans, rather than having to get the worse ones only and possibly getting my FAFSA hurt? I want to go to college, I want to get myself out of this situation, and I feel like I don't have half the information I wish I had.
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Sep 23, 2015 21:08
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KittyEmpress posted:So this isn't a question I ever thought I was going to have to ask, and it also isn't exactly the thread, but I did the FAFSA a few months ago and am just realizing I probably did it wrong. I would suggest contacting a school counselor if you're still in high school, or a financial aid counselor with the school(s) you're interested in. Here's what I've seen personally in an at-risk of homelessness situation: If selected for verification, the student had to supply a statement from a school counselor or (preferably) a social worker which "proves" the claim. The exact process was handled by the schools though, so that's all I know. However, the FAFSA itself should have information on what you should provide. On a personal note, that way super sucks and I'm sorry you're having to go through that
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Sep 23, 2015 22:01
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My student loans are through AES. One is unsubsidized for $6600, the other is subsidized for $16,300. I've been slowly whittling them down over the years, but I'd like to get rid of them sooner than the expected payoff date. I teach at a community college and I get one free class a semester so I have started taking two classes a semester because why not. This has put my loans in deferment. I have no issue still paying my loans, but I was wondering if I *should* take my loans out of deferment. My plan was to keep paying on my loans like normal and have the fact its in deferment chip away at my subsidized loan faster because the payment on that one would be all going to the principle. I shouldn't have any issues with the interest on the unsub one since I am still paying it and paying off the interest every month. Am I missing something with this train of thought?
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Sep 25, 2015 17:28
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Has anyone gone through litigation with Navient? I'm 30 and they want me to pay $718 a month over a 30 year period. The other option is not paying and going through litigation. What's the worse they can do?
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Sep 30, 2015 19:14
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Garnish up to 15% of your post tax pay e: probably other stuff too The Slack Lagoon fucked around with this message at 20:22 on Sep 30, 2015 |
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Sep 30, 2015 20:17
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My son just entered high school this year. Neither my wife nor i finished college. Id like to guide him as best i can to as close to a full ride through college as possible. Meaning not taking loans. Over the years i taught him enough math were halfway through calc 1. He does 2 hours of extra study a night based on whatever were working on. Last year it was java programming. This year i started him with sat act prep. Because my wife and i work he takes care of his sister in the evenings so were not around to do much of extra curricular activities. He wont be an athletic super star full ride. Well do some community service stuff and hell probably play basketball through high school. Hes white so no help there. But he will be first in our family to finish college(ive read that opens some opportunities. Does it matter i did some college?) Hell have straight As through high school and take AP classes. That about covers the circumstances i could think off. How do people get full ride scholarship? What should I be doing with him to achieve that? Is sat or act the better option? I was thinking to have him start a club(like chess club) at school but focused on developing an app for phones. Maybe a game. Maybe incorporate into a business. Not sure on the logistics. The legality of the cross over from school club to corporation. But whatever they manage to put together sounds like something that would sound good on college app What colleges give full rides to what kind of non athlete students? logosanatic fucked around with this message at 23:46 on Sep 30, 2015 |
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Sep 30, 2015 23:35
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logosanatic posted:My son just entered high school this year. Neither my wife nor i finished college. Id like to guide him as best i can to as close to a full ride through college as possible. Meaning not taking loans. Over the years i taught him enough math were halfway through calc 1. He does 2 hours of extra study a night based on whatever were working on. Last year it was java programming. This year i started him with sat act prep. You have a lot of questions. If you haven't already, start looking at your state universities' programs and scholarships on the website. Some states have special grant programs for in state students who meet certain requirements. High school counselors can help too. Like all public employees, some of them will be worthless but there's usually always at least one at a school who is a scholarship whiz and is happy to help kids stack up scholarship applications. Getting a start on freshman year will help prove that you're serious.
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Oct 1, 2015 00:28
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logosanatic, first of all that is SO exciting! I can only imagine how that must feel  As for programs, those are going to be extremely school-specific, but here's a few things you could start working on now: https://www.fastweb.com - Scholarship applications that he can check into. It lets you personalize results so you won't have to sift through as many that don't apply. At my school there's a federal program called the Educational Advancement Program that is specific to low-income student, 1st college attendees, etc. Definitely check if this program is available at any school you check out! Also, have him check into the option of doing his gen ed courses at a community college (cheaper), then transferring into a university. This is extremely common these days, saves thousands in tuition, and a lot of schools already have agreements/understandings in place with local CCs. AP will also help with this - have him take all of the AP tests, a score of 3 and up can transfer college credits and test him out of entire years. I didn't have to take any language courses because of my AP score. Finally, contact both the financial aid department AND the specific college he would be applying to for scholarship possibilities. He will still need to file a FAFSA, as he might be eligible for Pell grants and those are based on FAFSA, plus any state programs will run off of that application too. So plan to file a FAFSA for him as well. Good luck! Wiggy Marie fucked around with this message at 00:33 on Oct 1, 2015 |
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Oct 1, 2015 00:31
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Does it make sense to start applying in his freshman year? The scholarships will still be good 4 years from now or they expire?
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Oct 1, 2015 21:14
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logosanatic posted:Does it make sense to start applying in his freshman year? The scholarships will still be good 4 years from now or they expire? What you can do is look at the requirements/qualifications now, figure out what programs are out there, etc. Basically start laying groundwork for when it's time to start applying. Also, check into local internships/other programs he could look into during summer break.
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Oct 2, 2015 02:12
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Hello, I got married last year and would like to pay down my wife's student loans as fast as possible. They are just shy of 50k. However, they are all over the place and I don't know the best way to proceed. My first instinct is to consolidate them all so I can at least manage one payment instead of multiple sites. Is that the best course of action? Here is all the information I know about the loans. 1) National Education Student Loan Stafford - Subsidized $1,541.46 Stafford - Unsubsidized $1,316.54 Stafford - Unsubsidized $1,610.24 Total balance for all loans: $4,468.24 All Interest Rate: 2.070% 2) Navient Student Loan Direct Loan - Sub 1-01 $1,401.34 6.8% Direct Loan - Sub 1-02 $1,402.53 6.8% Direct Loan - Sub 1-03 $2,403.34 6.8% Direct Loan - Sub 1-04 $4,749.85 6% Direct Loan - Sub 1-05 $5,767.25 5.6% Direct Loan - Sub 1-06 $2,832.40 4.5% Direct Loan- Unsub 1-07 $2,854.81 6.8% Direct Loan- Unsub 1-08 $2,681.59 6.8% Stafford 1-01 œ“ $949.76 6.8% Payoff Amount as of 10/19/15: $25,042.87 3) Direct Parent Plus Loan As of 10/18, there are 2 loans at: Direct Parent PLUS 1-05 $6,119.72 7.9% Direct Parent PLUS 1-03 $12,137.61 7.9% Now as far as I understand, the parent plus are in her moms name and probably can't be consolidated. However she had agreed to pay them herself so I wan't to tackle them as fast as possible too. They seem to just get higher and higher. I'm looking for some general advice or a place to start. Do I consolidate everything except the parent plus loans? Do I pay them off first? In terms of income, she doesn't have one yet, but I make $125k/year. I will have an estimated $30k in side income this winter, and I can probably scrape together another $20k the year after. Should I take the 30 and pay down the parent plus, and put the rest towards the consolidated loans? Pay the minimums and hope for a massive loan reform? Take out a 401k loan for 20 right now and pay that back this year (currently maxing it out)? Help!
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Oct 20, 2015 03:15
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Loan consolidation depends on what interest rate you can get. Sometimes you can end up with a higher interest rate. It's worth investigating though as your income is high enough. If you can consolidate the loans at a reasonable interest rate then put the extra money towards the parent plus. The 2.07% loans I'd leave alone as you'll struggle to get a better rate than the existing. In the event the consolidation is not worthwhile or possible then I would target loans based on paperwork and administration involved. If managing all the tiny loans is a huge hassle I would pay off the smallest loans first. That would reduce administration and eliminate a lot of minimum payments, which would make your cash flow more flexible. If the small loans aren't a problem them eliminate the parent plus first then move onto the next highest interest rates. Given you have a decent income do not take out a 401k loan. You would be making GBS threads on your future self. The loan sells a portion of your fund and you lose out on a lot of future earnings, more than the interest you will pay on loans and tax payments to deal with. You would only ever get a 401k loan in a very serious emergency and this is not an emergency. Also keep maxing out your 401k. Your student loans are effectively leverage on all the money you'll be making in the future. If I was in your position I would target the highest interest loans first. Set the 2.07% loan on a ten year repayment and invest as much as possible once the other loans are paid off.
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Oct 20, 2015 04:25
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e: Nevermind, misunderstood something. Look away!
Cockblocktopus fucked around with this message at 13:33 on Oct 20, 2015 |
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Oct 20, 2015 13:05
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Anyone refinanced with DRB? I have about 30k in outstanding unsub at 6.8% and have only paid less than a year out of 10 years. I'm looking at a 5 year 3.5-5% rate and I can easily handle the extra $150 a month. They have claimed to be student loans and also eligible for the interest tax credit. https://student.drbank.com/ I make about 60k a year and have an excellent credit score so I'm thinking of biting on this in the new year. Everything looks really great after reading the fine print, but want to make sure before I say bye to the government. cheese eats mouse fucked around with this message at 20:59 on Oct 20, 2015 |
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Oct 20, 2015 20:40
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Anyone ever have to deal with a false late payment report to the credit bureaus on Dept. Ed. loans that were sold off to Nelnet? All of my loans are on IBR, my payments are $0, and yet a random one of the individual loans was reported as past due 180 days. And now my credit score is shot. I downloaded a current statement from Nelnet showing a past due amount of $0.00 and sent it to Experian when disputing the report, and got a letter from them saying the documentation I provided wasn't enough to remove it from my credit report. When I contacted Nelnet I got a dipshit who kept repeating something she was obviously reading about them looking into it.
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Oct 23, 2015 04:25
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