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    Wednesday, June 12, 2019

    Federal origination fees to (possibly) be removed Student Loans

    Federal origination fees to (possibly) be removed Student Loans


    Federal origination fees to (possibly) be removed

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 06:35 PM PDT

    From all loans disbursed on or after July 1st 2019

    The 'Student Loan Tax Elimination Act of 2019' Read more here

    Official Gov bill tracker

    submitted by /u/Swpalmer7
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    If I start chiseling away at my loans while I'm still in school, will that 6-month grace period go away? Or will it still be there?

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 10:54 AM PDT

    I'm a mechanical engineering master's student, still in school, will have around $10k in graduate school loans, no undergraduate loans. I'm wondering if I can start chipping away at those loans, little by little; or, that grace period goes away, and I'm screwed. I don't want to start making my mandatory monthly payments if I don't have to yet.

    Any advice will help, thank you.

    submitted by /u/HeheYoItsYaBoi
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    Should I go ahead and pay off interest?

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 04:38 PM PDT

    Hi! I'm currently half way through pharmacy school and have $42,000+ in debt. The interest on that currently is ~$3,000. I will have to take out about $65,000 more before I'm finished. I was wondering if I should go ahead and pay the $3000 interest because I'm unsure of how much it will benefit me. I technically have $3000 to pay it off but I could also use the money elsewhere. Worth noting my interest rates on my two loans so far are 6% and 6.7%.

    submitted by /u/kris0203
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    Contact your representatives with your ideas. Here are mine.

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 04:18 PM PDT

    Student loan debt is in the news and yet congress isn't doing anything. Instead of griping I've recently sent some ideas to congress that I think they should take up BEFORE 2020....let's clear the table of some of the problems. Here are some of the ideas I've come up with. Send them to your legislators. (Find them here: https://whoismyrepresentative.com/ ).

    Let's get some issues off the table before the next election. Some ideas both parties might agree to concerning student loan debt:
    1. Student loan debt cannot be discharged by bankruptcy. Also, any part of the loan forgiven through the Income Based Repayment program is TAXABLE income. What about a simple IRS rule change that forgiven student loan debt is NOT taxable?
    2. Interest not paid each year is capitalized. So graduate student loans and non-subsidized undergraduate loans end up paying interest on interest. Another slight rule change that interest is not capitalized each year would save thousands of dollars. Paying interest on interest smacks a little of double jeopardy, don't you think? This would certainly seem to be a fair approach considering these loans are not being subsidized - interest begins immediately upon loan issue, not when the student is finished with school (although that change would be welcome also, I bet).
    3.The best idea I think is to lower or have an interest rate moratorium on all student loans for the next 15 years or so. This would encourage people to pay off loans more quickly, I think.
    4. What I am hearing concerning student loan interest rates is that Big Banks are being charged almost nothing, but student loans are up to 7-8% and have been for years. This makes it look like Congress and Washington is more concerned about their Wall Street donors than about the people on the street. Please consider RETROACTIVELY changing interest rates, too.
    5.Finally, what about allowing EdVest funds to be used to pay student loans without creating a taxable event. (I am not sure if this is a state or federal issue).

    What are your ideas? What do you think of these?

    submitted by /u/RidersUp
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    How to prioritize existing student loans during PhD program?

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 02:15 PM PDT

    I just graduated with my masters and am starting my PhD in 2 months. I'll finish in about 4 years. I have 65K in loans (at 6-7.6%) and my income will only be an average of 26K during the PhD (higher first year, lower after; details below). I have very little savings (about 4500). I included more loan and income details at the bottom of the post.

    I could just fully defer my loans for the duration of my PhD, but interest will begin accumulating even in deferment so I feel like I need to start making some payments to cut down on the total I pay. Right now I'm thinking I will put all 3 loans into deferment, but start either paying a lump sum my 1st year, or paying a few hundred a month throughout my PhD. A few questions:

    1. Which loan(s) should I prioritize paying?

    2. Because my income will be much higher in Year 1, should I just drop a lump sum on one or two of my loans, and then live off a lower income but not worry about paying monthly payments? For example… I feel like I could just pay off Loan A (below) outright my 1st year so I'll just have 2 loans after graduation. But I know Loan B has a much higher rate so I'm not sure how to balance that.

    3. How should I prioritize paying back the loans vs saving for retirement (e.g., opening a Roth IRA or the like)? I'm 25 years old and expect to finish the PhD at 29, but I haven't started any kind of savings yet. How can/should I get started? Or should I just wait until after my PhD?

    This summer I'm doing a lot of reading and work on setting up a good budget (starting to use YNAB) and doing what I can to lower expenses (e.g., looking for roommates to keep rent as low as possible). I don't have any CC debt or a car payment. Any advice would be welcome!

    ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

    Current loan balances (all federal unsubsidized loans; fixed rates):

    • Loan A: 10,700 at 6%
    • Loan B: 33,500 at 7.6%
    • Loan C: 21,100 at 6.6%

    Total Loans: $65,300

    Current savings: About $4500 between basic Chase checking and savings accounts

    Income throughout the next 4 years:

    • Year 1 - 41,000
    • Year 2 - 23,700
    • Year 3 - 23,700
    • Year 4 - 18,700 Average: 26,800 per year

    (I know… it's weird that it varies widely by year, but the base stipend is only 18.7K and years 1-3 are higher due to various temporary fellowships. I'll continue to applying to more fellowships throughout but this is all I am guaranteed and I don't expect to make much if any more.)

    submitted by /u/clueless_student_55
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    My TPD Discharge was approved.

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 01:51 PM PDT

    I wasn't sure if I wanted to share this at first, but reassured myself that having mixed feelings was normal, and sharing my experiences might help someone else.

    While working a survival job after college, I was injured in a way that meant I could no longer perform that kind of work and it was the only viable employment available to me. A medical provider candidly suggested I look into any disability services that might be available.

    I didn't think I could qualify for Total and Permanent Disability at first, until I read into it. I ended up applying via physician's statement, and was eventually approved.

    The process was not quick, painless, nor easy. This was a process of last resort. And one of the ways my disability affects me is I truly wish I could work, not just to pay my loans but also move on with life.

    However, most importantly; the information on what could qualify and how to apply is available online, from official sources, for free: General forgiveness and cancellation information: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation Nelnet TPD Discharge website: https://disabilitydischarge.com/ (Nelnet has a separate department that services TPD applications.)

    Also, discharge doesn't mean I'm off the hook entirely. As explained upfront in the paperwork, there's a three-year monitoring period. Even if I wanted to (I don't), it's highly unlikely I'd ever get another student loan ever again. And the discharge is reported to the credit bureaus. Oh, and its unlikely I'll be able to work full-time again due to the nature of my disability.

    submitted by /u/RepayeUnicorn
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    anyone experience with paying off ecsi heartland?

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 02:38 PM PDT

    so I have a perkins loan I'm paying off through ecsi heartland and it's got like small amount of money left which I can pay off right away so I've canceled my auto-pay, clicked on "make payment", put in the bank information and got to the amount page and well, it doesn't show any option to just pay off my loan in full. I can just write down the amount myself but I feel like just paying off normally like that might end me up with some extra interest out of nowhere.

    How do I do this properly?

    submitted by /u/yjy3
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    Student loans EDRP

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 05:51 PM PDT

    Anyone familiar with the EDRP through the VA? Do refinanced loans qualify?

    submitted by /u/vle90
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    Can I just get some words of encouragement?

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 10:49 AM PDT

    My student loan debt is really weighing on me. I currently have around $52,000 to pay back, every penny of which was from my master's program.

    While I have what would be considered a solid entry level salary, I live in a HCOL area. My rent, after utilities and electric, is close to $1,800 a month.

    Anyone have some words of encouragement? I almost feel bad complaining knowing full well that many of you are in a deeper hole than I am.

    The most disheartening part is seeing how slowly the principal is going down. I'm spending hundreds of dollars every month that I'd much rather be saving so that I can get a new car (still driving my nearly 200k mile car that got me through college) or so that I can travel while I'm still in my 20's.

    Someone, help me leave this pity party that I'm throwing for myself.

    submitted by /u/protagonist3
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    Best place to apply for student loans

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 03:19 PM PDT

    I'm about to enter college this fall and my dad needs help applying for loans

    Only taking out $15K

    submitted by /u/vibewithmexoxo
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    $200k in Parent PLUS loans. Does my plan work?

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 08:18 AM PDT

    So I got flamed pretty bad at /r/PersonalFinance for this, but perhaps you guys will have some insight given that this is a student-loan specific question:

    Background

    Growing up, we weren't wealthy, but we had a good middle class life. When it came time for college, our father told us that they had saved up money for a while, and we also had money from family to pay for our college. We trusted him, and went to college without thinking much.

    But...

    The "family money" he was referring to was the inheritance that he was expecting to get..... which turned out to be little to nothing. So six years after college, he told us that he owes $200,000 in Parent PLUS loans, and that he needed to pay for it. He told us that he pretended to have money by taking out the PLUS loans.

    Our current situation

    My father (65) currently makes $12,000/year and mother (64) currently makes $60,000/year. They are both expecting to stop working next year and start taking social security / pension.

    My father expects to receive about $20,000/year in social security, and my mother expects to receive about $45,000/year in her pension.

    Plus, they have told us that they have no retirement savings and that their house of 30 years have no equity as they have been paying interest only.

    All PLUS loans (which have been consolidated) are in my father's name.

    Our plan

    1. We plan on having them file their taxes married filing separately so that ICR payment on the consolidated loan can be based on his sole income
    2. Given their lack of savings, we will subsidize them during their retirement, or have them move in with us to save on housing costs.
    3. ICR's 25 year clock comes to end when my father will turn 90. At that point, my understanding is that all of the loan that's forgiven will generate tax liability, but there is a limit to how much IRS can collect on a 90 year old man, with no assets, just collecting social security. (Insolvency exemption / IRS garnishment limited to 15% of retirement income, etc)
    submitted by /u/stuckwithgiantloan
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    Refinancing a Direct PLUS Loan from parent to student.

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 07:59 PM PDT

    I took out a direct plus loan (total about $23,000) under my mom, to help finance my undergraduate degree (just graduated). She is now trying to get a private loan for a house, but unable to due to this loan.

    Is there a way to put the loan under my name? So she could take out the house loan. Thank you for your time.

    submitted by /u/alexkam123
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    Will returning unused loan money or using it to pay down interest on my existing loans have a bigger financial impact?

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 01:08 PM PDT

    Hi all! I have about $3,000 that will be excess for this semester and can return within 120 days without penalty. Alternatively, I could use it to pay down interest on a horde of loan interest ($18,000) that has accrued while I've been in school. Any insight you can offer is appreciated!

    submitted by /u/bootsncatsnsiri
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    PSLF question

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 05:48 AM PDT

    Hi everyone. Ive worked in a non profit for 8 yrs, and have been making on time payments for the last 3. If i were to apply for PLSF is there a way to petition for the last 3 yrs of payments to be counted towards the 10 yrs?

    submitted by /u/toyhuy99
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    Should i consolidate?

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 01:37 PM PDT

    Hi guys- i have been working for a non profit for the past 8 yrs. Im considering applying for PSLF. I learned from feedback on an earlier post that i could potentially apply 3 yrs worth of payments towards the 120 months towards forgiveness (THANK YOU GUYS BTW). All together i owe about 75K . Of the 75k, only about 30k are direct loans. The remainder are FFEL. If i were to consolidate then the 3 yrs worth of potential retro payments would not apply. Whay makes more sense..apply for PLSLF for direct loans only or consolidate? Thank you all in advance. This is an incredible community.

    submitted by /u/toyhuy99
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    Grad Plus Loan Question

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 01:03 PM PDT

    Hi /r/studentloans,

    I had a question concerning the Grad PLUS loan. I'm an incoming student for graduate school and i've been running some budgeting scenarios on what I need to borrow to make my M.A. program work. I've come up with some estimates of how much I would need to take out as a PLUS loan on top of my Direct Unsubsidized Loan and i'm wondering how the process works for taking out more.

    Lets say my "best case scenario" based on work-study, scholarships, and fellowships says I need an additional $5,000 and lets say my "worst case scenario" says I need an additional $10,000 in loans. If I apply for a PLUS loan for $5,000, get approved, and take it out but end up in a situation where I need to borrow more, do I have to repeat the process or is there a way to increase the amount taken out as part of the initial loan? If I have to repeat the process, is there a deadline to apply during the 2019-2020 school year for another one?

    submitted by /u/Valerion
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    Question about FAFSA and stepparents

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 09:06 AM PDT

    I've been thinking about this more and more lately and wondering if there is some important information I don't know about or if I really did just get fucked over.

    My parents divorced when I was a baby and my mom raised me in a household with two other children. She made less than $30k/year basically my whole life and we were always pretty poor. My dad didn't have to pay much in child support.

    When I was 16 my mom married this guy who makes like ~$75k/year. Two years later, I move out and go to college. Have to take out almost all private loans because the gov counted my stepdad's income on my FAFSA. Mind you he lived in my house for TWO YEARS before I moved out, and has not ever paid to support me. Not groceries, not school, not anything.

    I'm now a year off from graduation and will have about $52k in student loan debt (four of those private loans have an interest rate of 9-11%), and I'm getting downright salty about the fact that I didn't qualify for low-interest government loans because my mom married into "wealth" when I was 16. Am I missing something here???

    submitted by /u/cloudytuesday
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    I have about $900k in student loans. Need help.

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 10:21 PM PDT

    I took out about 900k to go to a private arts school in Boston to study French Sucre Cu Crum mythology. I graduated and now work as a cashier at Ace Hardware store for 12 dollars an hour. I feel betrayed by the system and angry at these predatory student loan companies taking advantage of these students.

    I need a plan to help pay off this debt. Any advice is much appreciated.

    Thanks.

    submitted by /u/Love_CS
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    Question-co-signing and credit pull

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 11:56 AM PDT

    My husband and I are shopping around to refi his private student loans. I will need to co-sign his loans, and so far I have allowed one hard credit pull to see what rate he was offered through Sofi. I want to check other rates, but wondering how negatively The hard credit pulls will affect my credit... anyone have experience with this?

    I'm also thinking of refinancing a couple thousand dollars I have in private loans as well, but not sure if I want the additional ding to my credit.

    submitted by /u/ALadySquirrel
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    Student loan suggestion

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 09:42 AM PDT

    Hello everyone! recently stumbled on Reddit was seeing if you guys could offer some suggestions.

    Situation: Owe 263k in Government loans (247 in graduate school and 17k in undergrad)

    Income is currently around 90-100k a year, but a caveat is I plan on returning to pursue a residency after working this year, thus dropping my pay to 45-50k with a jump to 100-150k the following year.

    I believe my best option will be a IBR with REPAYE.

    But a few specific questions I have;

    1.) Consolidating, should I combine my undergraduate and graduate loans. My graduate grace period ends in December but my undergrad loans are due in July due to taking a year off after undergrad. If I consolidate would this start my payments immediately? Or am I better off paying the $200 a month I owe in undergrad loans for a few months until I am fully licensed and working?

    2.) Under REPAYE and income-based payment I likely won't be paying enough to cover the interest, would you suggest that I pay enough to cover the interest? Or should I continue to pay as little as possible and prepare for the tax bomb at the end?

    Any other suggestions or tips?

    Thanks, everyone!

    submitted by /u/schan18
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    The community college I'm attending is offering very limited federal financial aid options because I already have a bachelor's degree. Can they prevent me from enrolling in an associate's transfer degree to avoid giving me aid?

    Posted: 11 Jun 2019 01:01 AM PDT

    I'm starting prerequisite coursework at my local community college in two weeks working toward my goal of getting a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. I already have a bachelor's degree (social science) and am struggling to find federal aid that I qualify for. Since I am only completing prerequisites right now, my school told me that I can only apply for a "Prerequisite Loan" that, at a max, will cover one calendar year and two academic years of non-degree seeking coursework. This means that at my school I would max out at $16,530 and living near Seattle, this will not get you very far. I asked if I could do a Stafford loan and they said that this would only apply if I were seeking a degree. So I asked if it would apply if I enrolled in their engineering transfer degree program (Associate's) and they said yes, but that I would not be allowed to do this. Reason being, that because I have a bachelor's degree, I can't seek a "lesser degree". I'm skeptical and wondering if it is actually possible and they are trying to avoid offering a Stafford loan, or if there is a legitimate reason for this. Does anyone know why I would get that feedback? I'm really trying to keep my debt consolidated and avoid taking out private loans.

    submitted by /u/nousernameformoi
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