Student Loans - Page 2

why are you making 4k a month after graduating law school

Thank you. no offense to the OP

Okay reading all this....

Only certain loans may apply to what Ben was saying about taxes, it was good advice, but reading your posts most are PRIVATE loans, which I don't *think* are applicable for tax breaks....but its worth talking to a CPA about like Ben suggested.

If you can save $125 a month on your ($820/$695) loan then its still $125 a month in your (no offense) small budget, I think its worth considering until you get a better paying job or cheaper rent, etc....

I wouldn't move in with the BF unless it was the right reasons like Ben also mentioned....watch yourself there, I moved in with my BF at a young age, living together makes breaking up HARDER and usually less likely to happen....just more messy if it goes sour....and can you trust him to pay rent...just approach that with caution....

What do you need your parents to co-sign for? you mentioned them co-signing for you? Are you having them co-sign your loans to reduce interest or something? If your credit score is 715...I wouldn't *think* that them co-signing would help much...

I have 247 000 in loans total and 50 000+26 000 of those are private. The private companies are evil. I hope you have some deferment options.

I've just become a doctor and acquired a substantial six figure salary, but that doesn't mean I'm not scared.

I know how limited options are with private loans, and generally consolidation is NOT a good idea with those because you usually have to consolidate at a higher interest rate, which doesn't make much sense to me.

I think this is a good thread for those in school right now, look at how much you plan on making when you graduate and consider your loan costs.....When I went to school I worked and paid for half my tuition and the rest went to loans. Why are you guys getting private loans if I may ask? Is it that the federal loans won't cover that much $?? I was lazy about applying for scholarships....maybe this thread will make some other students try harder for them...here's to hoping....

If I had $247,000 in loans even with a 6 figure salary I would be scared too....thats more than I plan on paying for a house with a 30 year mortgage

I had no choice but to take out private loans for undergrad and part of grad school because I was in the process of getting permanent residency.

My debt is average for my classmates. I had a 2/3 scholarship in undergraduate and a substantial scholarship during the last four years. THere was no option to help out by working---when I wasn't in labs or clinic I was trying to catch 4-5 hours of sleep.

Hey I live in Minnesota too!! And my Brother In Law works at a law firm down there right now, he just passed his bar in October....

Do you guys who insult her salary, realize that a newly graduated engineer only makes about the same as her?? Ben you should know that being a former engineer....Her salary isn't THAT low for her experience level.

^^I don't think they meant to insult you, I think a lot of people are mislead and think that just because you graduate from law school, you automatically make the six figure salary. In reality, only the top 1% of law grads are accepted into the big firms with the $140K starting salary. There are many attorneys who only make +/- $50K and still have to pay back over $100K in loans.

ditto - I didnt mean any insult. Its just I've only ever dealt with NY law school grads and they all make crazy money because they all go into corporate law for NYC firms...

4k sounds about right unless you are slaving away at a big law firm (2000+ billable hours, 70-80 hours work week).

4k after tax is about $60k-80K/year depending on which state you live. (48k net, tax 25-35%)

federal loans for law school are up to $18k/year x 3 = $56k
private loans = !?!?
plus i imagine you had prior loans from undergrad to owe $100k in federal loans.

You only have to consider that attending a private law school in the US cost +$30K in tuition alone.

It's 160K now, by the way.

I know there are attorneys who make 50K a year and have to pay their $150K in loans. The administrators and deans of those law schools who promise a lucrative biglaw job and that ranking doesn't matter, they swear, are evil evil people. Many people are locked out of biglaw forever based on that school they attended, and 150k loans accumulate interest against their 50k a year salary - they're doomed to a neverending cycle because they believed the TTT hype.

p.s. i'm applying to your ex-employer's school.

did you work at cls? or just the university?

A newly graduated engineer is 3 years younger than she is, at least.

i feel like with a credit score that high your debt to income ratio shouldn't matter that much. I am in the mortgage industry (for only 2 more weeks..yay) but anyway, when people have credit that high we can "state" their income to make it work. I'm surprised you can't do somethign like that.

Nextstudent is NOT interested in what's good for you. Trust me.

I looked into private loan consolidation with every company available as well. In the end, after consulting a financial planner and our financial aid department (which is very good IMO) it was advised that I not consolidate them as any interest rate I would receive would be much higher than prime rate. The adviser basically indicated that any money I would save up front would be negated by the massive amount I would end up paying in the end. I don't know if this is true for you or not as I believe calculations are at least partly based on your credit rating and I don't know the specific number of mine right now. It's changed since I had to get a car this year when my ancient saturn tried to kill me.

I know how hard it can be while you're waiting for things to fall into place....I've spent the last few months waiting for boards results and licensure to come through-and had to live very cheaply. It is very hard to get through school these days if you don't have the resources---I borrowed money from just about everyone and my credit card company as well as the loan companies.

If you are absolutely desperate to reduce your monthly payments, private consolidation might be right for you....I would contact an independent financial planner though --in chicago they do their consultations for free.

Just a question, but as a lawyer, can you moonlight? Or does your job demand all of your time as it is? (It sounds like it does; I know nothing about being a lawyer outside of the movies). I do know picking up a few fill in hours here and there in my field is extremely lucrative, although I have to do it very far away from where I practice to avoid the non compete clause.

Please pm me if I can help--

I looked into private loan consolidation with every company available as well. In the end, after consulting a financial planner and our financial aid department (which is very good IMO) it was advised that I not consolidate them as any interest rate I would receive would be much higher than prime rate. The adviser basically indicated that any money I would save up front would be negated by the massive amount I would end up paying in the end. I don't know if this is true for you or not as I believe calculations are at least partly based on your credit rating and I don't know the specific number of mine right now. It's changed since I bought a car this year.

I know how hard it can be while you're waiting for things to fall into place....I've spent the last few months waiting for boards results and licensure to come through-and had to live very cheaply. It is very hard to get through school these days if you don't have the resources---I borrowed money from just about everyone and my credit card company as well as the loan companies.

If you are absolutely desperate to reduce your monthly payments, private consolidation might be right for you....I would contact an independent financial planner though --in chicago they do their consultations for free.

Just a question, but as a lawyer, can you moonlight? Or does your job demand all of your time as it is? (It sounds like it does; I know nothing about being a lawyer outside of the movies). I do know picking up a few fill in hours here and there in my field is extremely lucrative, although I have to do it very far away from where I practice to avoid the non compete clause.

Please pm me if I can help--

If you must go with private loan consolidation, I would choose a plan that has interest incentives... That's why my school chose our federal consolidators.

Collegiate Funding Services (CFS) $7,500 minimum. $125,000 maximum. Up to 30-year term. No prepayment penalty. Variable rate loan. Best variable rate is Prime + 1%. Guarantee fee of 1% to 3% (added to principal). EduCap Inc. Loan to Learn Private Consolidation Loan $10,000 minimum. $250,000 maximum. 20-year term for loans less than $40,000. Up to 25-year loan term for higher amounts. Variable rate loan. Interest rates range from Prime + 0.0% to Prime + 4%, but may be higher based on changes in the Margin Adjustment Index. Fees of 0% to 4%. Education Finance Partners $7,500 minimum. Up to 30-year term. No prepayment penalty. 0.25% interest rate reduction for making monthly payments via EFT. Choice of variable or fixed interest rate. Best variable rate is 3-month LIBOR + 1.80%. Fixed rate is 2.01% higher. No fees. Key Education Consolidation Loan $7,500 mimimum. $75,000 maximum for non-Key debt; no maximum for Key education debt. Choice of 10, 15 or 30 year repayment term. Variable rate loan, with rates pegged to repayment term: 3-month LIBOR + 3.75% (10 years), 3-month LIBOR + 4.25% (15 years), and 3-month LIBOR + 5.00% (30 years). No prepayment penalty. No fees. MELA Private Consolidation Loan $10,000 minimum. No aggregate loan limit for MELA loans. $125,000 aggregate loan limit for non-MELA loans. Variable interest rate updated annually based on the MELA tax-exempt bond auction rate plus a spread of 3.5%. The 2007-08 MELA auction rate was 3.85%, yielding a consolidation interest rate of 7.35%. The same interest rate is provided to all borrowers, regardless of credit. The fees vary based on credit score, with 1% for excellent credit, 3% for good credit, and 6% for fair credit. The repayment term is 15-30 years, depending on the amount owed. 0.25% interest rate reduction for auto debit. Borrowers must be a Maine resident, existing MELA borrower or a student who attended a Maine college. There must be a Maine affiliation to apply for this loan. Nelnet Private Consolidation Loan $5,000 minimum. $100,000 maximum for non-Nelnet debt; no maximum for Nelnet education debt. Variable interest rate. Best variable rate of Prime + 4.75%. 0.5% interest rate reduction after making 48 initial on-time monthly payments. Co-signer release option after 48 initial on-time monthly payments. NextStudent Private Consolidation Loan $7,500 minimum. $125,000 maximum. Up to 30-year term. No prepayment penalties. Variable rate loan. Best rate of 3-month LIBOR + 4.45% to 3-month LIBOR + 4.95%. Origination fees of 0% to 7%. Sallie Mae Private Consolidation Loan $5,000 minimum. $275,000 maximum. Up to 30-year term. No prepayment penalties. Variable rate loan. Interest rates vary from Prime + 0.0% to Prime + 6.0%, depending on credit history. Origination fee of 2% to 5%. Co-signer release after 24 on-time payments. Student Loan Network $10,000 minimum. $250,000 maximum. 20-year term for loans less than $40,000. Up to 25-year loan term for higher amounts. Variable rate loan. Interest rates range from Prime + 0.0% to Prime + 9.90%, but may be higher based on changes in the Margin Adjustment Index. Origination fee of 0% to 10% (added to principal). StudentLoans.com Private Consolidation Loan
(A Brazos company.) $10,000 minimum, $250,000 maximum. Up to 25 year term. (20-year term for loans of less than $40,000.) Variable rate loan. Interest rates range from PRIME + 0.0% to PRIME + 4.0%, but may be higher based on changes in the Margin Adjustment Index. Fees of 0% to 4%. No pre-payment penalty. 0.25% interest rate reduction for automatic withdrawal from savings or checking account and 0.50% interest rate reduction after making the first 48 consecutive months of payments by the due date. Co-signer release after 48 months of on-time payments. SunTrust eCon Loan $5,000 minimum. $100,000 maximum. No prepayment penalties. Variable rate loan. Interest rates range from Prime + 0.25% to Prime + 7.0%. No origination fees. 0.25% interest rate reduction for making monthly payments via EFT. 0.5% interest rate reduction after making 48 initial on-time monthly payments. Co-signer release option after 24 initial on-time monthly payments. Wells Fargo Private Consolidation Loan $5,000 minimum. $100,000 maximum. Up to 15-year term. Variable rate loan. Interest ranges from Prime + 0.0% to Prime + 6.75%. No origination fees. Up to 0.50% interest rate reduction for making monthly payments by EFT. 0.5% interest rate reduction after making 48 initial on-time monthly payments. Co-signer release option after 24 initial on-time monthly payments.

Have you spoken to a CPA yet? Given the amount of interest that you're paying every month there should be a way to get more money out of your paycheck because you can deduct student loan interest. I'd be SHOCKED if you couldn't deduct interest payments on private loans so long as they were for education...

^^really? I guess it wouldn't surprise me at all if she couldn't deduct private loan interest....even if it was for education....but yeah she should go talk to a CPA asap....

Ugh... OT, but my pet peeve is when people assume that, when you're a lawyer, you're making a six-figure salary. Consider the starting salary for an assistant D.A. or a public defender (both positions that are very difficult to obtain) - in Boston it's $35K per year. If you're at a mid-size law firm (whether it is in Boston, NYC, or wherever), you're averaging about $60K to $80K.

And then my second pet peeve is the people who assume that the only way to practice law is in a big firm. You might make the big bucks, but you'll be sleeping in the office every night.

Mello - move to the city so you can walk to work, get rid of the car, and get roommates to offset the higher rent. You might be out of luck as far as tax credit goes if you make too much (I think there's a cap) but it's certainly worth looking into.