Graduation Debt

CollegeWeekLive Resources

Reyna — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:31:41 +0000

Thanks to everyone who attended my CollegeWeekLive Webchat yesterday. For additional information, please visit the articles and resources page for information on calculators, student money management offices and military education benefits.

Checkout these links, too.

Skip Scams, Find Legit Scholarships

Can Finishing School Slower Fast-Track Your Career? | MintLife …

The Benefits Of An Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree

Choosing a College? Consider Your Career Path

Could Your Student Loan Payment Be Zero?

For more on working while in school, follow this link to my November CollegeWeekLive broadcast.

Further questions? Contact me on twitter @reynagobel

Join Me for my Next Student Loan WebChat Today

Reyna — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:55:48 +0000

Want to ask me questions live about student loans, scholarships, college budgeting or internships? Attend my CollegeWeekLive webchat at 6p.

Could Your Student Loan Payment Be Zero?

Reyna — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:22:49 +0000

A federal student loan repayment plan based on income is attractive in a not-so-great economy. This is especially true if you are unemployed, or your income is less than in years past. The question is: How do you know if you qualify, and will your payment remain low?

Qualifying for Income-based Repayment

Everything you need to know about the formula for qualifying for income-based repayment (IBR) can be found on this income-based calculator. If your income level changes, or you experience a life change, such as marriage, divorce, or childbirth, you can recalculate your potential payment to see if you qualify for a reduction. Income-based payments change every year based on your current financial situation.

The income -based calculator is used to determine if you can afford to pay off your loans in 10-years. If you can’t afford to repay your student loans in 10 years, your loan payments may land anywhere between zero dollars to a little less than the 10-year payment. If you are on the plan and your income rises, your calculated income-based payment would be higher than the 10-year payment. Thus, you would revert to the 10-year payment plan for that year because your payment is never allowed to exceed the 10-year standard repayment amount. No matter what your payment is, in most circumstances anything you haven’t paid off in 25 years is forgiven. Additionally, individuals working in public service positions may qualify to have their loans forgiven after 120 payments.

Should You Consolidate Your Federal Student Loans?

Reyna — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:20:36 +0000

It’s indisputable that consolidating all your federal student loans into one loan paid off over an extended time frame eases the monthly burden of student debt payments. However, what if the interest rates of your individual loans vary by several percentage points? Should you avoid consolidating in order to concentrate on paying off the higher rate loans first?

How Consolidated Loan Interest Rates Work

When you consolidate your federal student loans into one loan, your interest rate is an average of all your federal student loans interest rates. For example, say you you earned your Bachelor’s degree in four years and graduated in 2011 . If you borrowed conservatively ($2,500 of subsidized federal Stafford loans per school year), your interest rates are as follows: 2010/11 at 4.5%; 2009/10 at 5.6%; 2008/09 at 6%; and 2007/08 at 6.8%.

Since you borrowed the same amount each year, each interest rate represents an equal amount of money, which is called a weighted average. Thus, you can divide the sum of all your loans by four to get your consolidated rate of 5.725%. If you had different amounts at each interest rate, your interest rate would be based on a fraction of your total new loan. For instance, if you borrowed $3,000 as a freshman at 4.5% and $2,000 as a senior, your consolidated interest rate would drop.

The End of Subsidized Grad School Loans

Reyna — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:18:10 +0000

Graduate students (or prospectives) beware: Beginning July 1, 2012, new federal graduate school loans will no longer be subsidized. But what does this mean for the price of your education — and how does the new regulation impact your wallet? It depends on whether you’ve graduated, are currently in graduate school, or plan on going to graduate school after 2012.

Subsidized Versus Unsubsidized Loans

Subsidized loans are interest-free while you are an in-school or otherwise have a deferment (authorized break from payments). As an example, let’s say you spent four continuous years in college, plus two years in graduate school. You have a subsidized loan from your first semester for $1,000 with a 5.3% interest rate. After completing your schooling, you would only owe the original $1,000, thanks to the subsidized nature of the loan. If your loan was unsubsidized, you’d owe your loan balance plus any interest occurred totaling $1,318.

Resources for College Week Live Webcasts

Reyna — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:58:41 +0000

Hello to everyone who attended my CollegeWeek Live chats, and thanks to my guests Ryan and Merideth.

Please visit the articles and resources page for information on calculators and student money management offices.

Checkout these links, too.

Skip Scams, Find Legit Scholarships

Can Finishing School Slower Fast-Track Your Career? | MintLife …

The Benefits Of An Accelerated Bachelor’s/Master’s Degree

Choosing a College? Consider Your Career Path

Feel free to tweet me questions anytime @graduationdebt.

Will Obama’s Executive Order on Student Loans Help You?

Reyna — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 05:01:07 +0000

It’s a tough year for college students – and student loan borrowers, in general: the unemployment rate is high, subsidized graduate school loans are slated for elimination next year, and tuition is rising. But there’s potential good news, in the form of a recent executive order issued by President Obama designed to help some borrowers repay their student loans. It’s been dubbed by some as a student loan bailout.

But how will the executive order help you – and can these changes be made without Congress?

Managing Your Grad School Expenses

Reyna — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:52:21 +0000

When you started college, calculating expenses was a bit different. You were likely fresh out of high school and moving into a dorm. Instead of calculating grocery expenses, you were determining which meal plan to buy and how much to spend on entertainment.

Now, you have rent, groceries, utilities, and so forth. You may be either working full-time while in grad school or going back to school after working a full time job. Your budget will be a compilation of your expenses.

Book Update #3:Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Reyna — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 17:12:07 +0000

Public Service Loan Forgiveness is an option for government and nonprofit employees to have part of their loan forgiven after 10 years of on-time payments and public service employment. While you can choose any payment plan if you consolidated or reconsolidate with Direct Loans, the payment must be made under the following plans/ repayment options to qualify for public service loan forgiveness: income-based, income-cingent, or standard to qualify for public service loan forgiveness. Talk to Direct Loans about your options, and use the income-based repayment calculator to calculate potention payments.

Andrew Asks: How Should I Pay for Grad School?

Reyna — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 04:17:10 +0000

Andrew emailed Mint asking how he should finance grad school. Are you considering graduate school? Checkout my answers.