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Law School is a sham

look at montel williams, my bald brother from another mother. would DEFINITELY borrow money from that trustworthy face.
 
timthedeac said:
is there a grace period for MDs while they are in residencies and making 40-50k? or does the repayment period start as soon as you're out and you just have to build up 3-8 years of interest until you're making real doctor money?
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It used to be that everyone received a deferment during residency, but I think now there are more strict requirements and not everyone qualifies for deferment.
 
Rafi said:
It used to be that everyone received a deferment during residency, but I think now there are more strict requirements and not everyone qualifies for deferment.
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The rules on residency deferment have changed since I was coming along. I got three years of deferment. But for the last three years of residency ( I did six years) I went into forbearance because based on my income (not even close to 50k) I couldn't afford the payment. Interest just kept on running. Once I got out I had like 90 days to start paying.

I've heard the 3 years of deferment are gone now and people either pay or go into forbearance. With the high interest rates of today it can become serious money fast if you do 5-7+ years of residency. I've got friends that came out with 200,000 plus in debt. 4-7% interest on that for a few years is some serious coin. It's one of the reasons docs go into higher paying fields. You have to make decent coin to pay that back.
 
BacktoBack said:
The rules on residency deferment have changed since I was coming along. I got three years of deferment. But for the last three years of residency ( I did six years) I went into forbearance because based on my income (not even close to 50k) I couldn't afford the payment. Interest just kept on running. Once I got out I had like 90 days to start paying.

I've heard the 3 years of deferment are gone now and people either pay or go into forbearance. With the high interest rates of today it can become serious money fast if you do 5-7+ years of residency. I've got friends that came out with 200,000 plus in debt. 4-7% interest on that for a few years is some serious coin. It's one of the reasons docs go into higher paying fields. You have to make decent coin to pay that back.
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Yep, when I did it I was in deferment for my entire residency and fellowship (6 years), but over the past 5-6 years the rules have changed.
 
Fishbelt Deac said:
Student loan interest rates vary greatly depending on when you entered school. Some people got crazy low while only a few years earlier rates were closer to 7%.
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Mine are at 0.1% (yes, 0.1% - not a typo, after some kind of reduction for automatic withdrawal and consecutive months of on time payment). I could write a check and pay them off tomorrow, but at that rate, I'll let them sit as long as possible. I make more interest than that on a freaking money market account.
 
Yea my loans are between 6.55 and 8.25% interest. It was scary to see how much interest accrued just during law school. Luckily I've been very aggressive and should be done in about 2.5 years for a total repayment of 3.5 years. I didn't have 120k in loans though.
 
Fishbelt Deac said:
Wait, what? 0.1%, what company if I may ask? Sweet deal on your part!
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They are all Stafford Loans, so the company is irrelevant (but, for the record, it was Sallie Mae and then transferred to some other servicing company - AES Education Services). When I started law school, the interest rate on Stafford Loans was variable based upon the 91-day T-bill (I think they went to fixed rates in the summer of 2006, right after I graduated). 3L year and at graduation, consolidation and locking in an interest rate (at the time, something like 2.5-3.0%, I think) was the thing to do. I was a lazy ass and never did it, but rates did nothing but drop (and particularly dramatically in 2009). So, the moral of the story is that sometimes, being a lazy ass pays off.

ETA: The rate is still variable and if it does go back up at any point, I'll just write that check, but for now, I'll take my 0.1% to the bank :)
 
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I say cut bait.....then again, I don't know shit about shit....
 
Graduated l school with 105k in debt. Took some interesting career turns but paid my loans down to the last one which is only 10k at 1.5% interest. Been making minimums on it and will do so until my new practice has a bit more age on it. Student loans suck.
 
stevewhite14 said:
Graduated l school with 105k in debt. Took some interesting career turns but paid my loans down to the last one which is only 10k at 1.5% interest. Been making minimums on it and will do so until my new practice has a bit more age on it. Student loans suck.
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How long did it take you?
 
Wakelaw2006 said:
Mine are at 0.1% (yes, 0.1% - not a typo, after some kind of reduction for automatic withdrawal and consecutive months of on time payment). I could write a check and pay them off tomorrow, but at that rate, I'll let them sit as long as possible. I make more interest than that on a freaking money market account.
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:umkc:
 
Manifest Destiny said:
How long did it take you?
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About 5 years. We paid roughly 20k a year on loans to get 105k down to about 10k (interest added another 5k onto principle).

Couple of things about tax treatment here--- you can deduct up to $2500 a year in paid student loan interest (just like a mortgage) if your married filing jointly income does not exceed 120k, at which point is phases out till entirely phased out at 150k.

Your unsubsidized student loans have their interest recapitalized as principle during school. What that means is that the last few thousand of any payments you make on a given loan are likely to be interest only. So if you are sitting there with an unsubsidized loan with a remaining balance of 2 or 3k that had an original balance of 10k or more and your married filing jointly income is below 120k, you might consider paying that loan off at the end of the year to get the most tax deduction.

Also, at least for me, I could pick and chose which loans I paid extra on, so I paid all of my high interest rate loans off. For those of you that consolidated, well you fucked up there. I dumped all my 6.8 and 8.4 rate loans early on and then had just the 2% stuff left thereafter.
 
stevewhite14 said:
About 5 years. We paid roughly 20k a year on loans to get 105k down to about 10k (interest added another 5k onto principle).

Couple of things about tax treatment here--- you can deduct up to $2500 a year in paid student loan interest (just like a mortgage) if your married filing jointly income does not exceed 120k, at which point is phases out till entirely phased out at 150k.

Your unsubsidized student loans have their interest recapitalized as principle during school. What that means is that the last few thousand of any payments you make on a given loan are likely to be interest only. So if you are sitting there with an unsubsidized loan with a remaining balance of 2 or 3k that had an original balance of 10k or more and your married filing jointly income is below 120k, you might consider paying that loan off at the end of the year to get the most tax deduction.

Also, at least for me, I could pick and chose which loans I paid extra on, so I paid all of my high interest rate loans off. For those of you that consolidated, well you fucked up there. I dumped all my 6.8 and 8.4 rate loans early on and then had just the 2% stuff left thereafter.
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That presupposes quite a few things.
 
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