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Ask Me About Student Loans! Forums member Effexxor has graciously helped me maintain this thread, and is happy to take questions via PM. That makes two resources for you! Please don't hesitate to contact either one of us with your questions via PM! *This is long. Very long. You’ve been warned. **I won’t say which servicing agency I work for. It’s not Sallie Mae, and that’s all that matters. I am trying to not be biased toward or against any servicer...except Sallie Mae...so please don't ask me who I think is the best. Obviously, I think my own company is the best...and that's a bit biased. **Now featuring help for Canadian goons! Canada student loan info is at the bottom of this OP. Neato Links!!! These are useful links that have come up during this thread. Please browse them and read the last few pages of the thread for your answer before posting your question! I am not bothered if you don't want to read 60+ pages. A wonderful online database of general information about student loans (the difference between this site and my thread is that you can ask and receive an answer from me!): http://www.finaid.org/ A website to help you find the right private lender for you: http://www.simpletuition.com (Important note - this site does not list ALL private lenders and their benefits, but it's a drat fine starting point.) If you are not sure if your school is a Title 4 school, search for it here: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/FSLookupServlet International Accredited Schools: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/international/edlite-index.html If you are looking for scholarships/grants: http://www.fastweb.com The National Student Loan Database (The Dept of Ed, basically) - register an account here and behold the glory!!! The NSLDS is a wonderful, magical website which will tell you every single federal and Perkins loan you've ever had. The drawback is that it's updated (in terms of amounts and status) about every 2-3 months. So it won't be the most up-to-date when it comes to your loan status. The best way to find out is to contact your servicer and ask. http://nslds.ed.gov The Department of Education's Website (All FAFSA-related questions go HERE): http://www.ed.gov The FAFSA Online (Now available in Spanish!): http://www.fafsa.ed.gov Forgiveness Programs Available for Loans: http://www.finaid.org/loans/forgiveness.phtml (There are also state-specific programs available. Contact the state's Dept. of Education to see if there's anything for you.) If you have questions about consolidation, please refer to the bottom of this post. I work for a servicing agent which services for several federal education loan lenders. We are required to have extensive training and knowledge on the student loan process and general information, and knowing how many college students are out there, I’ve decided to start this thread. I figure it will help both ways: you guys get to have some more detailed knowledge about this program, and I get to keep my information honed - as well as learn new things! I will try to answer questions posed once a week in one post. Sorry, but I do have a job and attend school myself! There are other folks who regularly answer and help out in this thread as well, so don't be shy! Also, please PM me if you want a faster response. It doesn't bother me and you'll get your answer more quickly. This thread is intended to translate student loan processes, lingo, and rules into normal human being language, instead of Federal Guidelines. Ask here for all your Stafford, PLUS, and GradPlus loan questions and needs - from the servicer’s perspective. If it’s school-related, or something the Financial Aid Office of your school needs to answer, you must ask them. I can’t help ya, and neither can any other lender. All FAFSA-related questions should be directed to the Department of Ed’s website and their phone number, or, once again, your Financial Aid Office. I have worked in depth with FAFSAs for the past couple of years, so I can help with those questions now too! FAFSA is still the best person to ask but I'm pretty familiar with the whole process now. So what is this thread for? I can answer general student loan questions for you. I can answer consolidation need-to-knows for you. If you pose a question that I don’t know the answer to, I will not steer you wrong: I will either find the answer for you, or try to provide some other source for you. That being said, I’m going to outline some general information for you guys. If you don’t see your question already answered in this FAQ, feel no shame in posting. You wouldn’t believe the questions I hear on a daily basis. Stafford Loans There are two kinds: Subsidized and Unsubsidized. What this means to you, the normal human being, is: Subsidized loans do not accrue interest during any deferment or your grace period. Unsubsidized loans always accrue interest, from the 1st day they’re disbursed to the day you pay them off. There are no exceptions here, this is a federal rule. As of July 1st, 2012, graduate and professional students will no longer be able to get subsidized loans. At all. Ever. This was part of the first debt deal that was signed in 2011, and no one knew about it until the deal was signed. Awesome! If this pisses you off, please contact your Congressman and let them know. Stafford loans are in the student’s name only. Federal privacy laws don’t allow Mommy or Daddy to call in for info on these unless you’ve signed a nifty little release form with their names on it. Stop making them call for you, please. The interest rate for new federal loans after July 1st, 2012 is 6.8% on subsidized loans, 6.8% on unsubsidized loans. Servicers did not decide this; Uncle Sam did. If you would like to yell about it, call him. Most servicers can give you the number! The variable interest rate on older FFELP and Direct loans changes every single July 1st. Every one. This has been true for freakin’ ever, and isn’t bound the change anytime soon. What did recently change is that it’s now a fixed rate - your 6.8% is permanent, but older loans will have different rates. Get it? Consolidation For federal loans, Direct is the only company at the moment - that's the federal government, specifically. Go here and good luck! http://www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov/ Aggregate Limits Aggregate limit is a fancy way of saying “this is the total you can get, period.” This amount varies by grade level and graduate vs. undergraduate status. Medical students get the special exception of being able to have more debt in their name. I pity you guys. This is a list of the current aggregate limits. You cannot take out more Stafford loans, per year, than the amounts listed. The school determines the amount you will be given; there is no guarantee that you will receive the full amount listed. You may be *eligible,* but you still might not receive it. The servicer can do nothing, absolutely nothing, to change this. NOTE: Medical students have different limits. You'll have to contact your Financial Aid Office for those numbers. Year One: Subsidized - 3500.00 Unsubsidized - 6000.00 Total Eligibility: 9500.00 Year Two Sub - 4500.00 Unsub - 6000.00 Total: 10500.00 Year Three-Five Sub - 5500.00 Unsub - 7000.00 Total: 12500.00 Graduate & Professional Sub - 8500.00 (No longer available after July 1st, 2012!!!) Unsub - 12000.00 Total: 20500.00 Total Aggregate Limits for: Undergraduate Dependant Student - $31,000.00 (maximum of 23000 in subsidized) Undergraduate Independent Student: - $57,500.00 (maximum of 23000 in subsidized) Graduate/Professional Student: $138,500.00 (maximum of $65,500 in subsidized) When can I file my FAFSA as an independent (not have to include parent's income info), and therefore become eligible for more money? You are an independent student if: FAFSA answers this question here: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/help/fftoc03k.htm To summarize! - you're 24 years old by the end of the school (aka award) year - you are married - you have legal dependents - you are an orphan or ward of the court - you are a veteran of the US armed forces - you are a graduate or professional student New qualifying criteria which you might not know about : - you are an emancipated minor - you have been or are in danger of homelessness as determined by your high school or shelter - you were in legal guardianship of someone What if my parents refuse to give me their tax info or aren't going to help me? The FAFSA now allows you to opt out of entering your parent's information. This will default the application to filing for unsubsidized loans only, instead of sub and unsub. Everything else is still determined the same. PLUS loans These are in your parent’s name. They are not cosigning for you, they are taking out a loan using their credit and only in their name. This does involve a credit check, which will show on your parent’s credit score. This loan can never be changed into your name. Make sure your parents understand this, please. Due to new federal policy, while you the student are attending classes at least half-time or more your parents are automatically eligible for a PLUS in-school deferment!!!. This works roughly the same way as your own in-school deferment. If you can provide the lender with a verification of enrollment showing your status, they can slap a deferment on your parent's account and pause the payments for you. The PLUS loan has also gained a grace period. Details of this are still being worked out, but it would mirror the Stafford 6-month grace period. The interest rate is currently 7.9%, fixed. If you’re shopping around for incentives with lenders, get an incentive on the interest rate itself, not principal rebates. Principal rebates save you less in the long run (unless the parent is going to payoff the loan within the next couple of years, I suppose). The PLUS loan can be used for personal expenses, but it is still sent to the school first. The school maintains controls over the amount disbursed. If they won't certify your 100,000 request, Direct can't send it. Your parent can have a co-borrower for a PLUS loan if they are not eligible based on their personal credit. The PLUS loan cannot be consolidated with the student's Stafford loans. GradPlus For graduate students only. This loan is based on credit, but the student takes it out in their own name, and it’s a much more lenient credit check because it’s for students, not parents. The interest rate is the same as the PLUS. Like the Staffords, this loan is deferred while the student is in school. NO PAYMENTS IN SCHOOL. But remember to keep yourself at least half time or more, or payments ahoy! The GradPlus loan can be used for personal expenses, but it is still sent to the school first. The school maintains controls over the amount disbursed. If they won't certify your 100,000 request, we can't send it. You can have a co-borrower for a GradPlus loan if you are not eligible based on your personal credit. The GradPlus loan can be consolidated with Stafford loans. If you have a co-borrower, and you consolidate the GradPlus, the loan is considered paid in full through the consolidation and the co-borrower is no longer tied to the account nor has access to your information. When are my loans deferred (no payments due)? You must be at least half time or more at a Title 4 school - that is, any school that is capable of participating in the federal loan program. It doesn’t have to actually participate, it just has to be eligible to. Several online colleges are also eligible. If you are not sure if your school is a Title 4 school, there's a handy search link up above for you to use! Even if your grace period has expired or you have a consolidation, you still are deferred while at least half time or more!!! Your status is determined by the school, not the servicer. If the school says you’re part time, or less than half time, you can’t have the in-school deferment on your account. I’m sorry! What is a grace period? A 6-month period without payments after dropping less than half time (graduation, taking a semester off) which only Stafford loans feature. If you enter your grace period, it is exactly 6 months long. If you are back in school at least half time or more even one day before the grace expires, it is returned to your account and you are placed back into the deferment. GradPlus and PLUS loans do NOT have a grace period, but servicers may put one on their if there are Staffords around. If you consolidate, you no longer have a grace period. Note - you don’t lose your deferment, just your grace period. But remember, these are federal loans. There always may be a deferment or forbearance available. What the hell is a deferment/forbearance? This is a fancy way of saying “pausing your payments.” The difference is that during a deferment, your subsidized loans do not accrue interest, whereas during a forbearance, everything does. Unpaid interest becomes part of your principal balance at the end of a deferment or forbearance. You’re not required to pay it while on either one, but it’s highly recommended that you do. PLUS and GradPlus loans are considered unsubsidized, and therefore always have interest accruing. There are several different kinds of deferments and forbearances. For the sake of length, I won’t go through them here unless a demand rises/people constantly ask. General Info If you are in school, and you still have your grace period, you cannot consolidate until you’re in grace or repayment. Your school determines the total amount of loans you’re eligible for, the amounts Direct will send, and the dates Direct can send it. If you have questions/issues with any of this, you must contact the school. If the amount you received from your school is not enough to cover tuition and living expenses, ask them if they have an appeals process. Otherwise, ask Mom and Dad if they would be willing to go the PLUS route. If both of those are bust, you're stuck with an alternative loan, or...well...the street corner, I guess. Repayment Please thank forums member Effexxor for the following information: quote:
As mentioned above, I will continue editing and adding to this thread as needed. I’m hoping it’ll become a resource for the many college kids/parents around here. You may also PM or IM me through AOL if you have a particularly embarrassing question; I won’t laugh. Private Loan Consolidation According to regulars in this very thread Wells Fargo is still offering private loan consolidation. If anyone knows of any other company please let me know and I'll include it here. Huge huge thank you to Kasiodiscorock for the following post/information: quote:I skimmed through the thread looking for info by searching the word "Canada" and found tidbits of information, but not a lot. I guess I can fill in and talk about how the Ontario government loans (aka OSAP) work, because I've got my own loans to pay back and have tried to get as much info about it as possible. I do not work for OSAP or the government in any way, I just like to know exactly what I'm getting into beforehand, and have helped a few friends figure out how this all works as well. Here is additional information from our fellow Canadian goon. Please contact him if you have any questions about Canadian student loan assistance! KasioDiscoRock posted:So I just found out that some of my OSAP information in the OP is out of date. Wiggy Marie fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Jul 12, 2013 |
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Dec 29, 2006 05:43
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Hi, I'll probably need to borrow about $250,000 for med school. How do I minimize the amount of rape I receive?
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Dec 29, 2006 05:46
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Once you've graduated, find and become employed by one of the many hospitals in the states that will make payments on your loans for you. Also, during your inevitable internship, there's a forbearance available just for you. Freakin' use it, and make payments toward your interest if you can.
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Dec 29, 2006 05:54
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I have 100K in private student loans that I need to consolidate, some through AES and some through Wells Fargo. The loan people there think I'm not worth their time, as real people seem to be a myth on their telephones. I am employed full time by a school as a teacher and I also have a side retail gig and possibly private voice lessons as well. Help??
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Dec 29, 2006 05:59
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dAPER posted:I have 100K in private student loans that I need to consolidate, some through AES and some through Wells Fargo. The loan people there think I'm not worth their time, as real people seem to be a myth on their telephones. I am employed full time by a school as a teacher and I also have a side retail gig and possibly private voice lessons as well. 1. AES? Oh God. I'm so sorry. I feel your pain, I really do. 2. I really hope you don't mean credit-based alternative loans. You can't consolidate those, period. You'll have to shop around with banks/etc. to see if someone would do it for you, but no federal loan lender could. 3. Are you teaching at a Title 1 school? If so, you may be eligible for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program after 5 years. Also, this would require the loans to be federal loans. If they're private loans, as in credit-based, I'm sorry bub, but I got nuthin'. All you can do in that case is call the servicing agent and beg, plead and whimper for a forbearance or deferment, and that's a very iffy prospect. If they're federal loans, do you know off the top of your head if you've used any of your def/forb time?
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Dec 29, 2006 06:05
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Wiggy Marie posted:1. AES? Oh God. I'm so sorry. I feel your pain, I really do. There are private consolidation programs available for me. Yes, I have credit-based loans, my parents made too much to go otherwise but not enough to pay for my schooling. It just seems that I can't get a HOLD of anyone. I know AES and Wells Fargo provide the service, it's jsut getting them on the phone. In all honesty, I'd rather sit down and talk with a person, as I have 7 years worth of loans to contend with. I really suck at paperwork.
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Dec 29, 2006 06:08
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I'm 37, and plan to be a nursing student (don't officially become one until junior year). As I was filling out my FAFSA, everything went peachy, until it got to some health professions loan, which apparently includes nurses. This asked for my parent's information, and if I read it right, it doesn't matter how old I am, I'll have to fill it out if I want one of those loans. That or I need something from my parents stating that they refuse to give me the info. My parents are not really thrilled with giving me that info. Will I be ineligible for the loans if they refuse to give me the information? Is there an advantage to this loan over other student loans? Will their info change anything? They have a home, cars, pensions, social security, investments, whereas I am pretty much a paycheck to paycheck sort of person, only starting to get ahead now, with three kids, including one on disability. This year I just decided not to apply for that loan since I'm not a junior yet. But the time will come and I'd like to know in advance what to do, what this loan is all about.
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Dec 29, 2006 06:14
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I know it's horribly frustrating. AES transfers people all over the place. But unfortunately, I'm not employed with either one, so I can't say what programs they might offer for private loans. We have none, and we're not given any information on them. If you'd like to, you can give me the information on the offers you've found, and I'd be happy to research them more for you, maybe find a human being. It's more of a consulting thing that I'd intended, but I enjoy the research.
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Dec 29, 2006 06:15
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Kibbles posted:I'm 37, and plan to be a nursing student (don't officially become one until junior year). You're considered an independant student at 24, and don't need to provide your parent's income information any longer. If you're doing the app online and it's not letting you bypass that option, call the Dept of Ed to find out why not, because if it's a type of federal loan (and not credit-based requiring a cosigner) they shouldn't require your parent's info. Do you have the exact name of the loan that came up? And the school you're applying for/state the school's in would help out, too. It's possible that it's state- or school-specific, which will require further digging by me.
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Dec 29, 2006 06:19
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If a person's gone to several schools, and had loans from several lenders, who've sold/transferred those loans to OTHER lenders, is there an easy way to find out exactly how much/who has your loans? I consolidated with some company and I'm still getting bills from motherfucking Sallie Mae. This is such a pain in the rear end.
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Dec 29, 2006 06:24
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Are there any consolidation options for private loans? I know Sallie Mae just started offering something, but it was only for if you graduated. What if you didnt?
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Dec 29, 2006 06:24
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mrbucket posted:Are there any consolidation options for private loans? I know Sallie Mae just started offering something, but it was only for if you graduated. What if you didnt? Not with a lot of federal lenders, but yes, they're out there. Just google "private loans consolidation" and it'll pull up several options. We don't do it, so I don't personally know any methods available/how it works. But if the demand becomes large enough, I'll do some searching for general info and add it to my OP.
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Dec 29, 2006 06:27
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Are there any tax breaks associated with paying back student loans? If so, do they require that you itemize?
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Dec 29, 2006 08:13
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I am 24 years old and starting up school again in January. I am currently employed part-time and have support from my family for the next year. I am fairly certain that it will take about 2 1/2-3 years total to finish up my college degree. After the 1 year mark I do not think it is safe to assume I will have any monetary support job wise or family wise. At this point I think I will need to loan out everything including paying for my rent and car insurance and living expenses. How hard is it to pull off something like this? We are talking about 2 years fully funded by loans... maybe 50-60k? Because I do not know the requirements of loans, what type would I look at for something like this?
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Dec 29, 2006 13:19
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Wiggy Marie posted:You're considered an independant student at 24, and don't need to provide your parent's income information any longer. If you're doing the app online and it's not letting you bypass that option, call the Dept of Ed to find out why not, because if it's a type of federal loan (and not credit-based requiring a cosigner) they shouldn't require your parent's info. It mentions the parental info there, too. That's not the school I am going to, but I was told nursing is one of the professions/majors that is eligible for that loan. So the big thing is, but I don't know where to look (and financial aid is closed now, I guess I'll check there too), how would I be penalized if my parents wont give me the info?
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Dec 29, 2006 13:22
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I've been out of school for a semester through a suspension, and plan to re-enroll in the same University next fall. The University considers me withdrawn because of this, and I have already recieved my first billing for previous loans. Would it be reasonable to ask for a deferment or forbearance for one more semester? I'm working two jobs and trying to get back on my feet for next school year... am I hosed?
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Dec 29, 2006 13:45
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What do most MBA students do? I'm thinking of working for 2-3 years after I finish my MS next December so I can get into a top tier program. I probably won't be in a job position where the (undoubtedly a tech) company would see any benefit to having me do an MBA unless of course they want to move me to a management position.
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Dec 29, 2006 14:04
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Rekinom posted:Are there any tax breaks associated with paying back student loans? If so, do they require that you itemize? Yes. The interest that you pay on during the year is claimable on your taxes. You don't need to itemize. The lender will automatically send this info to you after December 31st; you should also be able to call in and get the total. This also applies to PLUS and GradPlus loans. And even if you're not in repayment, if you have an unsubsidized loan you're paying interest on, you can claim that interest. http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc456.html For federal lingo on the topic. Epic Proportions, your situation is a hard one. It's possible, but you're most likely going to have to take out some alternative loans along with the federal loans. You do have the benefit of being old enough to file as an independant on the FAFSA and possibly get the full amounts, but let's be honest - student loans rarely cover all of your expenses. Totals haven't been modified since the 60s, yey government! I would start hard-core researching grants and loans. Go to http://www.fastweb.com if you haven't already, register an account, and start applying for scholarships you might be eligible for. Every little bit helps, right? Then start researching alternative loans offered through the school. They should be able to provide you with a list of loans. Call all of them, research them into the ground. If you give me the name of your school, I might be able to pull up some info on your behalf. We have representatives set up for different schools, so they might have some inside info that could help you. Never be afraid to call a lender and ask them questions. If they're not willing to answer your questions, they aren't a lender worthy of you. Kibbles, I will check that out and get back to ya on it. It seems fishy that parental info is required no matter what, but hey, schools can be weird. Tehfox0r, you should call your servicing agent and ask for either an Economic Hardship Deferment or a Temporary Hardship Forbearance. You might not be eligible for the deferment, but make them do the math for you. If not, the THF can be done over the phone with most lenders. Just mind that interest. If you're eligible for the deferment, I can help you with the form. Qlat, the GradPlus loan would probably help you out. Also, try to find a company that will help pay for your degree. A lot of companies require it to be business-oriented, but some don't (like mine). Until you're closer to actually starting working at it, though, it's hard to say. Policies change, and the annual aggregate limits are FINALLY about to change...next year! But not the total agg limit. Yes that's right, you can have more debt per year, but will need to stop going to school earlier because you've already reached your limit! Yey government!
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Dec 29, 2006 14:25
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I'm studying abroad with no connection to an American uni, and I'm about to move to a university in a much more expensive city to get a Master's. There is no tuition, just insane housing/food costs. Do I have to go to a private lender for this?
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Dec 29, 2006 15:09
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I've run out of money for tuition/living expenses (my $3500 stafford is eaten up by tuition) and need to get my parents to do the PLUS Loan route for one semester or so, which of the following options is the best? I know very little about this besides the basics. All this loan stuff is too confusing for me and I don't want to pick an option that will rape me in the future. Help!  Quote header is Lender/Servicer. BankofAmerica/SallieMae posted:# Payments can be deferred for a maximum of 48 months while student is enrolled at least half time. Citibank/Citibank posted:# .50% interest rate reduction with automatic debit (E-Z Pay) (Local Credit Union)/SallieMae posted:# Credit Union Membership required Edamerica/EdfinancialServices posted:# Save up to 16% of total loan cost through an immediate 1% interest rate reduction for all borrowers. This interest rate reduction is maintained during periods of deferment or forbearance. NationalEducation/EdfinancialServices posted:SAVE OVER 12% with National Education's Parent and Graduate PLUS Loans. We automatically REBATE 1% of the loan to you at repayment. SunTrust/ACS posted:# 2% Principal Reduction of the original loan amount after the borrower makes their first payment. Wachovia/ACS posted:Save 7.25% with Wachovia off your original loan amount with Triple Payback awards , when applying rebates to your principal balance. Sorry for such a long post.
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Dec 29, 2006 15:26
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Due to circumstances I won't go into, I will be graduating and becoming a teacher next year, but I'll have about $80,000 in student loans. I figure this isn't a huge deal if I have 20 years to pay it off, but the company I'm borrowing from (US bank GOAL loans) stipulates that they expect it to be paid in 10-15 years. Will they be lenient if I'm making regular payments that are increasing in size as I get raises, or should I consolidate with another lender who will allow the longer period of time to pay it off? Also, any other information I should know or things I should be prepared for?
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Dec 29, 2006 18:35
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I have $16k in student loans all through Wells Fargo. I called them the other day about consolidating with a fixed rate, but the current fixed rate is higher than my variable. Now she said I had until like July to lock in at that fixed rate. Should I wait or can anyone else recommend a company that I can consolidate with?
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Dec 29, 2006 20:18
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I graduated January, 2005, with roughly $44,000 in student loans. During my six month grace period I thought I consolidated all of my loans through Sallie Mae. In reality, as I later came to realize, I had only consolidated two and now have 7 loans generating interest through Sallie Mae, and only the two that were consolidated from another loaner are locked in at a decent interest rate (2.95 %). The other five have rates from 7.75% to 9.25%, and with my current plan I'll end up paying over $70,000 thanks to interest before I'm done. Now, here's the problem. Initially I handled this with the "fine I'll just pay for the rest of my life, who needs disposable income anyway" mindset, then Sallie Mae tried to raise my payments to over $600 a month. This kicked me into action, and I resolved that to a more reasonable (based on my salary) $315 per month (still no disposable income though). Doing so was extremely difficult, as it seems that Sallie Mae has outsourced her help lines and most of the people I delt with seemed to be working from a manual rather then having any sort of real understanding of student loans(they also denied they had sent me letters raising my payments...). So, at this point, here are the actual questions: Is there anything I can do about the loans with the higher interest rates to lock them in, reduce the rates? Is there anyway I can transfer the loans from Sallie Mae to a diferent lender with better customer service for a financial idiot like myself? What would you do if you were me in general (aside from smack yourself in the head a lot)? Secret Message for the Kids! If your parents want you to take out loans for college, don't just blindly sign whatever they put in front of you, figure out as much as you can about what's going on! My mother to this day refuses to believe that I have this much college debt and insists that she contributed much more to my education. Rain Brain fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Dec 29, 2006 |
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Dec 29, 2006 20:44
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I realize that this kind of overlaps with other replies, but I know virtually nothing about this stuff, so maybe a personalized response would be nice  I'm a first year grad student (phd program ~5-6 years) with a decent TA/fellowship. Enough to live off of and make interest payments... not so sure about actually paying back principal though. I've got about $15,000 in stafford loans, mostly unsubsidized (2 are subsidized totalling to about $2000) through sallie mae, and have racked up about $1500 in interest so far. Strangely, even though I graduated from undergrad in May, I have yet to hear anything about going into repayment... Anyways, I'm just wondering what in the world should I do? I figure, ignoring it until I start getting bills is a bad idea... especially with the interest adding up on the unsubsidized loans as we speak. How do I know how much interest I'm accruing so I can at least pay that off? Are there any tricks to the trade I should be aware of to improve my situation even more?
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Dec 30, 2006 00:30
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Long post ahoy! Groda, if you are abroad, not at a US-affiliated university, then you have to go to the financial aid office of your school and ask what sort of local program they might have. Most likely you’ll be stuck with an alternative loan; US loans can only be lent to US citizen students on the mainland or abroad who are attending a Dept of Ed certified school (sorry foreign exchange kids!). Punch McRockGroin, the best options are generall the ones that offer interest rate reductions. Here’s why I say so: Interest accrues daily on these loans, therefore an interest rate reduction will save you much more than any principal rebate ever could. But here’s a breakdown of what each offer is telling you. BOA/SLMA - You can use a forbearance to pause the payments for up to 4 years. Remember that accruing interest!!! Once you are in repayment, we will pay down your principal. After 1 year of repayment, you get a 1% principal reduction. After two years, you get another 1%. After three years, you get another 1%. So here’s a cool little chart! I’m assuming they mean rebates off the original balance here. Principal: 1000 Principal after 1 year of on-time payments: 990 After 2 years: 980 After 3 years: 970 You can have .25% off your interest rate while in repayment with automatic debit. This would leave the interest at 8.25%. Citibank - You can use a forbearance to pause the payments for up to 4 years. Remember that accruing interest!!! Once you are in repayment, we will take down your principal by 50% (are you sure about that number? drat!) 1000 = 500 If you use autodebit, your interest rate will be 8%. We will pay the final 6 payments on your loan. I would call Citibank to double-check on that principal rebate number, but hey, if it’s real... Local Credit Union - You must sell your soul to Sallie Mae. I’m not biased, really. I just freakin’ hate Sallie Mae. Ok, maybe I lied about the biased part. Edamerica - You can use a forbearance to pause the payments for up to 4 years. Remember that accruing interest!!! Your interest rate will be immediately reduced by 1%, which leaves you at 7.5% from the disbursement of your loans (remember, they accrue interest from the very first day). Once you are in repayment, we will reduce this by an additional .25% for using autodebit. Keep your payments on time the entire life of the loan, and you will stay at 7.25%. (Don’t believe that 14 day grace period, trust me. It’s gotta be on time or nothing.) We will never sell your loans. This may not seem that important, but it’s actually pretty neat. It means you’ll always be dealing with the same people, same company, and will never have your principal balance change because your loan has changed hands. This situation happens a LOT with Wachovia. Don’t use Wachovia. You can chat with us online and email us too. Yey aren’t we cool?! I’d think that Sallie Mae had something like this too, being that they’re huge. National Education - After 2 years, you will get a 1% interest rate reduction. After another 2 years, you’ll get a 1% reduction. These payments must be on-time every time. So after 2 years, your interest rate will be 7.5%, and then after 4 years, it will be 6.5%. If you use autodebit, you get .25% reduced. So eventually, you could have as low as 6.25%, but it does NOT start at the rate. I don’t like ACS. Once again, I’m biased. Don’t touch Wachovia; they sells loans all over the place. For fairness and comparison, I’ll break down Suntrust. SunTrust - You can use a forbearance to pause the payments for up to 4 years. Remember that accruing interest!!! After you make your first payment, we’ll take 2% of your original principal balance off your total. So: 1000 = 980. .25% interest rate reduction for autodebit, so you’ll have 8.25%. After 2 years, you get a 1% *original* principal reduction. After another two years, you get another 1% original principal reduction. This means that if your balance was originally 1000, and you’ve paid it down to 950, you get 1% of the original 1000 off of the 950. So: 1000 - paid down to 950 = 940. If after another two years it’s paid down to 850, it’ll be 840 after the rebate. Get it? Their last two incentives are offered for every PLUS and GradPlus loan in existence. Ignore that. And the final decision comes down to: call each and every servicer. These are the people your parents, and probably you, will have to deal with. Make sure they treat you well, are polite, and preferably are American. I can tell you now that SLMA already lost that battle. I hope this helps!!! If you have any other questions or need further clarification... GenoCanSing, you are going to consolidate with North Texas Higher Education Authority. Don’t question it, just do it. This goes for anyone else looking to consolidate their loans. Why? Because they freakin’ rock, they’re friendly, and they have gigantic principal rebates. I don’t work for them, but I wish I did. This is a company who cares about the people they have in their system. How much do they care, Wig? Well, last year they had a surplus in earnings. So what did they do? Did they buy themselves a new pool, give their employees bonuses, renovate their building? No. They went through their system and forgave loans from the bottom up. That’s right, they forgave people’s loans. The only “penalty” was that you had to claim it as income. But when you’ve just lost 2500 bucks plus interest, I’d say it was a fair trade. They rock and I love them. Orinth, that goes for you too. What I’m telling people to do now is wait until late May or June, when the buzz will start about the new rates. If the rates are going down on your variable loans (any loans NOT taken out after July 1st this year), consolidate after July 1st. If they’re going up, try to slap your loans on a deferment and consolidate at the deferment rate, or just consolidate before July 1st to keep the lower rate. You could always wait a couple more years to see if the rates go back down again, too. This is a gamble, so you have to ask yourself if it’s worth the lower rate, and more importantly, if you can afford the payments in the meantime. RainBrain, do you have old loans with higher rates, OR are they within the past 4 years or so? If so, it sounds like the loans with higher rates are alternative loans. Google private loan consolidation and find yourself a buyer. Get away from SLMA, get away as soon as you can. Also, a law was just released that kinda says you can consolidate wherever the hell you want, even if you’ve already consolidated. See my above NTHEA paragraph. Call them and see if they can help you at all. They might not be able to, but it’s worth a shot, to get away from SLMA. Juneau, setup your online account with SLMA right now and make sure you’re not delinquent on any payments. Or call them and ask what the hell the payment information is. Make sure they have your correct contact info. If you are a grad student studying at least half time or more, you’re probably back on a in-school deferment. Remember, this is on your account whenever you’re ½ time or more, regardless of your level. I’m hoping this is the situation. Pay as much as you can toward your interest. If you can pay more than the interest, do that. You’ll start hitting that principal balance, and that can only benefit you in the end. I’m going to do some extremely rough calculations here, so bear with me: Assuming you have around 13000 in unsubsidized, at the deferred interest rate of 6.54%, your interest is accruing at approximately 70.00 per every 30 days. Try to pay down the interest you have accrued now, and then try to make a payment of around 70 bucks every month to keep the interest covered. Don’t get upset if you see that your payments start hitting some principal; that means you’ve caught up to your own interest. Once you’ve graduated and are in repayment (assuming you’re not already in repayment, man I hope not), you know who to consolidate with. If you don’t reread this post!!! WHEW! Sorry for the delay in responses guys; as always, if you have questions or need further clarification, don’t be shy! This is GREAT for keeping me in practice.
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Dec 30, 2006 03:40
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Wiggy Marie posted:Punch McRockGroin drat, this helps a lot. Thanks a ton! Based on your description of the benefits I think I'll have to go with one of these two. I double checked the page I copied the text from to make sure that number was copied correctly, and it was. Then I went to the https://www.studentloan.com website it mentioned and it said this instead. quote:* 8.50% fixed interest rate I also noticed this though... quote:Repayment Terms: With regards to the Edamerica one, does that interest rate reduction happen immediately even while in deferrment? Thanks again, you've been a big help.
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Dec 30, 2006 09:17
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Thanks! I have an online account, and I noticed I have in school deferment until 12/08 (where they came up with that date, I have no idea, but whatever), phew!
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Dec 30, 2006 09:24
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Great to hear, Juneau! They got that date from the school. The school probably updates to the National Student Clearinghouse, which is where lenders get enrollment info from. Monitor that account closely. And Punch, Citibank is talking about the *other* deferments and forbearances available on student loans. These are standard, and will come with any lender, because this is a federal program. What differs are the incentives and the specific forbearance based on you, the student's, enrollment. Citibank doesn't have that, it seems. When you call them, ask to be sure. The interest rate reduction with Edamerica is immediate upon disbursement. Remember to keep it on time; I can tell you right now that they won't reinstate it on the account unless it's their error. And to finally get back to you, Kibbles, I emailed the financial aid office for further information. Based on the reply they gave, I can honestly say I'm sorry you have to deal with them. Student workers ahoy! Here's the email I got back: Email as posted:From: Manning, Cory S [If you would like the email, I can give it to you, but I just used their regular email listed on the website] Grammar massacre aside, from this email, the only conclusion I can draw is that this is an alternative loan based on the FAFSA form. That makes no sense because alternative loans aren't based on the FAFSA. Ever. They're based on credit. So in conclusion, I can give you what I *think* this loan is, you can take from that what you will: I think it's a type of Perkins loan offered through the school (the big clue here is the school as the lender - this is a giant Perkins feature). No mention of whether that's a fixed interest rate of 5% (another Perkins feature), and I honestly don't want to email this person again. Because it's a Perkins, the school does have the right to demand certain info, so for this loan, unfortunately, parent info is required. I hope this helps at least a little. I tried for ya. C'mon, surely there's more questions!!! Wiggy Marie fucked around with this message at 11:04 on Dec 30, 2006 |
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Dec 30, 2006 10:57
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Oh, interesting about the Health Professions loan. I think I'll just try to avoid it if I can, seems like a big huge headache. Makes no sense, if you ask me. But then neither does them bickering about my 20 year old transcript, and the school is doing a FINE job of that, too. Oh I love being an adult student! Thanks!
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Dec 30, 2006 13:06
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Wiggy Marie posted:And Punch, Citibank is talking about the *other* deferments and forbearances available on student loans. These are standard, and will come with any lender, because this is a federal program. What differs are the incentives and the specific forbearance based on you, the student's, enrollment. Citibank doesn't have that, it seems. When you call them, ask to be sure. Awesome, thanks again! Got another question for you, but I don't know if it's in your field. I know that you/your parents can't put down credit card debt on the FAFSA papers, but what about consolidated debt that includes credit card debt, would that count? It would be nice to get some better loan offers if they see how in debt my family really is.
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Dec 30, 2006 16:49
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Maybe. Honestly, I'd email the Dept of Ed or give them a call to check. Since it's consolidated, they might be able to make an exception. Worth a shot, for sure!
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Dec 30, 2006 19:34
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This is probably a stupid question. For the past two years, I've been going to a local community college with an affordable tuition. I get tuition reimbursement through my job, though it's only $3500 per year. That covered one full semester and half the next. I was recently accepted into the school I am graduating from and the tuition is doubled. I have pretty poor credit, and my parents don't have the best of credit either. I live on my own, am turning 24 in two months, and can't afford the tuition on my own. While I was at the community college, I was denied any sort of financial aid due to my grades, which have improved dramatically, but still, without going to the financial aid office at my old school and appealing, which I never did, I was not able to fix that situation and get aid. If I fill out the FAFSA now that I'm going to a different school, will I still run into problems with being denied? Also, how difficult is it to get a student loan with poor credit? In order to actually be enrolled full time at this school, I'll definitely need a loan.
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Dec 30, 2006 20:55
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How common is it for people to try to get out of repaying their student loans? I mean, I don't think I'll end up in that situation, because I have only a $5500 unsubsidized Stafford, but I've heard that the default rates are high and I wonder what your experience is with this. Also, Juneau, I'm sorry that you had the experience that you did; I got a letter informing me that my grace period was about to end and that I could call some number (Sallie Mae) to ask for a deferment/forbearance request form, and then I called it, and when I went off to grad school I filled it out, and after checking my credit report yesterday on an unrelated matter I found out that the deferment was approved. Oh yeah, I should mention that you should definitely check out http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ to check up on all of your credit-related matters (like auto loans, student loans, credit cards, and medical debts); you can get a free credit report from each of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) once per year, and you can space them out however you like (e.g., all at once to compare them, or cycling through them 4 months at a time to keep closer tabs on your credit). It's also kinda nice, if you can afford the  , to buy something like your FICO score from one of the agencies (by the way, the inquiry itself is a very small negative factor toward your score), or one of those alert systems that tells you right away when something major gets added to your credit file.Also, don't try to get your free annual credit report from any other site, like that God-awful FreeCreditReport.com site that you hear about on television advertisements; the free annual credit report thing was brought to you by a recent Federal law, and http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ is the only site that the three agencies use to offer your free annual credit report. Finally, if you see something fishy, don't be afraid to dispute it: It's up to them to verify it, and disputing everything is actually a good tactic to use in a plan to emerge from bad credit, or so I've heard in another thread. Okay, that's enough derailing. I've also heard a couple of people claim that they'll try to take out student loans for obviously non-educational purposes; is this common? Is it legal? Would someone who tried to do that probably get called on it?
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Dec 30, 2006 21:07
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Wiggy Marie posted:Groda, if you are abroad, not at a US-affiliated university, then you have to go to the financial aid office of your school and ask what sort of local program they might have. Most likely you�ll be stuck with an alternative loan; US loans can only be lent to US citizen students on the mainland or abroad who are attending a Dept of Ed certified school (sorry foreign exchange kids!). Do any of you guys have recommendations for private student loan alternatives?
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Dec 31, 2006 00:15
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I am obtaining a private loan through a bank for full defferal and was wondering if I would be able to consolidate that with my previous loans that were through the College Foundation? Or will I just pay that off seperately after I graduate?
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Dec 31, 2006 03:07
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This is my third year and my first receiving a loan. Luckily, the loan is subsidized and only 5,500 for the year. I guess I am a lot more fortunate than others. However, it looks like I will also have to take summer classes this year that will cost around $2000 in total. I have no way of affording this and would like to know how easy it is to obtain a loan for summer classes. Surely, I can not receive a subsidized loan, but are there any decent options?
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Dec 31, 2006 03:22
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Wiggy Marie posted:North Texas Higher Education Authority. Also, the NTHEA website says that their Income Sensitive Repayment is only available for five years. I was under the impression that ISR is always available depending on income, and that any unpaid balance after 25 years is forgiven. Does this only apply to non-consolidated loans?
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Dec 31, 2006 04:46
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Artie Ar Ar posted:This is my third year and my first receiving a loan. Luckily, the loan is subsidized and only 5,500 for the year. I guess I am a lot more fortunate than others.
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Dec 31, 2006 04:46
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Stabbity, it depends on your credit history. These loans aren’t entirely based on credit like an alternative, but if there’s something really bad on there, Uncle Sam gets antsy. That being said, I’ve spoken with people who had lovely credit and still got loans. Your school is the key. If they say they’ll find you eligible, you’re pretty much good to go. Lewisje, I love your “avatar.” It makes me chuckle with glee. And seriously, thanks for helping!!! As for people trying to not pay, you’d be, quite frankly, amazed at the methods people use to try not to pay their loans. The sad part is that most of the people I get who’ve defaulted had every single deferment and forbearance available - if they’d called 270 or so days earlier, we could’ve helped them and prevented credit massacre. The default rates are high depending on the area. Ours aren’t bad at all, if you look at the number of people we have in our system, but it’s still depressing when you get those calls and have to tell someone that this isn’t leaving the credit report for a while. On my own derail, stop asking if we can remove your credit reporting once you’ve been reported. No, we can’t. Legally, if you were delinquent at the time and we reported you, we can’t touch the reporting. Start calling the credit bureaus to dispute it and stop giving us supe calls because you can’t pay 50.00 a month with 3500 monthly gross!!! I’ve had several people ask if they could use these loans to buy a new car/payoff credit debt/etc. I mean, they can sure try to. The lender sends ALL funds to the school, and then the school sends PART to the borrower. If they want to use their portion to buy hookers, I guess we can’t stop them. But they still owe it. And some schools have gotten smart - they put the funds in the student’s school-specific debit account, or something similar, so that they can’t touch it without a school-related expense. Groda, what school are you attending? Mexi, no government lender can consolidate federal loans with anything but other federal loans. Private loans, boo. But there may be an independent company that could do it. Google private loan consolidation and see if anything promising shows up. Mind that interest rate. Artie Ar Ar, file your FAFSA, or ask the school if they can use the same info for this summer. Yes, you can have federal loans for summer school. Try it and see what you get; if you’re not eligible, or you don’t get enough, first try appealing if you can, and then go the alternative loan route. Lewisje is correct for subsidized funds, but you can also get up to 5000 in unsubsidized. Your total eligibility for 3rd year is 10500. Good luck!!! 10-8, they used to. June of this year a great law was passed, and they opened their doors for everyone. I made my brother (who had all Sallie Mae loans) consolidate with them instead. Rock! Income sensitive is limited to 5 years to prevent abuse. Plus you’re basically paying interest only, and that sucks for the borrower too. Your principal balance would stay almost exactly the same. There are also two other programs: graduated repayment (interest only for 2 year, then it increases, then after another 2 years increases again, etc.), and extended repayment, which depending on your principal you can get for up to 25 years. Those are unconsolidated loan options; once you’ve consolidated, there’s a different program available. The only unpaid balance that is forgiven is when you’ve died or become permanently disabled. Federal loans are not forgiven due to bankruptcy, extreme debt, or length of having them. I’ve had people who filed for bankruptcy back in ‘75, not realizing that Uncle Sam still had their loans. Once you have these loans, assuming you are gonna be healthy and fit, you’re keepin’ them until they are paid. That being said, NTHEA forgives the final 599.00 balance on your account. It may not sound like much, but as my brother says, it’s free money. Sorry for the delay, guys! I have some sort of cold going on (not consistently sick, just consistently annoying). Hope this info helps! Wiggy Marie fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Dec 31, 2006 |
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Dec 31, 2006 16:47
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Wiggy Marie posted:Income sensitive is limited to 5 years to prevent abuse. Plus you�re basically paying interest only, and that sucks for the borrower too. Your principal balance would stay almost exactly the same. There are also two other programs: graduated repayment (interest only for 2 year, then it increases, then after another 2 years increases again, etc.), and extended repayment, which depending on your principal you can get for up to 25 years. Those are unconsolidated loan options; once you�ve consolidated, there�s a different program available. quote:The Income Contingent Repayment Plan: Your monthly payment is based on your yearly income, family size, interest rate, and loan amount. As your income rises or falls, so do your payments. After 25 years, any remaining balance on the loan will be forgiven, but you�ll have to pay taxes on the amount forgiven. I'm confused. How does this reconcile with what you're saying? (I have Direct Loans, not FFEL.) 10-8 fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Dec 31, 2006 |
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Dec 31, 2006 19:04
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