<p>Sadly since I did graduate a semester early, there was a 9 month period before I started grad school, so all of my loans did go into repayment and I did have that darned disbursement fee (it was applied only when I started paying, and not when the loan was given, so I think it had a different name, but I can’t remember it). So I have paid off about three months worth of my loans plus the one I paid down completely, so the amount remaining after fees is approximately equal to what I started with. I guess I can just view the interest I earn in a year or two as paying off the fees.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure exactly what you’re asking. I’m still a student, so loans are in deferment, not forbearance, and since I’m on a fellowship there’s no FAFSA or such.</p>
Biomedical sciences stipends are high by the standards of most graduate programs. Most engineering stipends are probably lower, except possibly in biomedical engineering programs which may receive NIH funding.</p>
<p>Someone stated this before, but they said given a stipend, you make X amount per month, then you account for rent, utilities, food, etc. but they also mentioned student loans. I thought if you were a full time graduate student you get your loan deferred until you are finished with your graduate program. My loans were Federal Stafford Loans (the one where the govt pays the interest). Do I have to pay them off while I go to grad school?</p>
<p>Stafford loan deferments in school are dependent on the type of loan. Subsidized loans are fully deferred if you are at least a 1/2 time student, but for unsubsidized loans only the capital is defered - you still pay the interest even while in school. The only way around this is to ask for a hardship deferral, which may be easy to get depending on the relatioship between the interest payment and your income (probably a miniscule graduate stipend).</p>
<p>To clarify, if you choose to defer your student loans when you are in graduate school, and they are unsubsidized, then the interest continues to accrue, but you do not have to make payments while in graduate school. If you can find any way to avoid an extra six years of interest accruing, do it. That would account for an incredible increase in the cost of your undergraduate education.</p>
<p>I had a question related to paying for student loans while in graduate school, specifically if they are all subsidized federal loans. We don’t have to pay any interest on these while deferred in school right? So, if we do choose to pay, it will be contributed to actual loans. Is this true? </p>
<p>Yes, that is true - with subsidized loans, all the interest is paid while you are in school, so any payments you DO make go directly against the capital. With unsubsidized loans it is the same, but your interest is constantly getting rolled into the capital, so payments are going against the combination of capital and accrued interest.</p>
<p>As long as it’s subsidized and you’re enrolled as a student, you don’t need to pay anything on your loan, interest or principal. There’s no real reason to pay off the principal while in school since you could instead just throw the money into a savings account/CD and, as long as there’s no deflation, you’ll essentially be getting free money to pay off your loans when you graduate.</p>