<p>For subsidized loans, there is no interest running during deferral periods. I also think that there is some sort of grace period on the Stafford the 2nd time around – my son attended college for 2 years, then off 3 years, then back for another 2 years – and I remember him mentioning after he graduated that he planned to pay off the balance of the loans before the grace period expired. (By that time he also had an Americorps benefit that he could apply to the loans, so that was a very reasonable goal for him). I wasn’t directly involved in it… so I couldn’t give precise numbers – just that he had some sort of time before interest started running again.</p>