[quote]PharmD Pete wrote:
Couple questions for those of you who have dealt with them.
1.) What is the most you’ve taken out for your education?
I owe about 89K b/w two separate loans, 84K is federal unsubsidized and subsidized.
2.) Did you have a difficult time getting a lender to give you more for your cost of tuition plus cost of living?
Never had a problem getting money. I would apply with the FAFSA each year and receive an award based on their calculation of what I needed to live.
3.) For those of you with big loans, what kind of monthly payments are you looking at now?
I went with a graduated plan which starts with lower payments and increases every 2 years. For example I pay about $250/mo now until 9/2009 and then it increases to like $300, etc.
4.) Are there better options for lenders other than federal loans or your typical bank student loan?
I would stick with federal as much as possible, especially if you can get the subsidized loans as they do not accrue interese while you are in school.
5.) If you did take out a sizeable chunk for living expenses while in school full time, did you take out everything you needed up front? Or did you borrow it one school year at a time?
As I mentioned above, I applied every year using the FAFSA.
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Do you really only pay 250 a month carrying an 89k loan? Unless you’re making 20k a year I can’t understand paying so little a month, you’ll be paying it off till you die. $50 increments every 2 years isn’t much either.