Student loans for living expenses...

[SpookyPistolero]

Howdy folks-

I'm slowly coming to terms to the fact that I just won't be able to make ends meet by trying to work my way through a professional post-grad program. The work load is simply not forgiving towards those with after-hours jobs. So, I've decided I need to start looking at student loans for living expenses. My monthly income will be just shy of 1/3 of my total expenses, so I think I'm looking at somewhere between $8,000-$10,000 per year in loans (on top of the federal loans to pay for tuition).

Did anyone here have to take out loans like this for school? I'm wondering what experiences people have had with various lenders, regrets about sums borrowed, what payment plan you preferred, etc.

Any thoughts would be very appreciated!

[280plus]

Don't take a loan just because it's labeled a "student loan" unless the terms are reasonable. Shop around for the best rates. I BELIEVE the only advantage to a student loan is they will defer payment until some period of time after you finish or stop going to school, but MEANWHILE the interest is still accruing. In other words that $10,000 loan could turn into a $15,000 balance before you ever start making any payments on it. I'm just using rough numbers for an example though.

[Phantom Warrior]

I hate to be a wet blanet, but what are your living expenses?  How much is your tuition?  And how much do you expect to be making after you graduate?  Oh, and how many years is your program?

Ten thousand dollars a year is a lot of money.  And then tutition is on top of that?  That sounds like it will quickly be adding up to somewhere north of $30,000.  I'm viewing this from the perspective of an undergrad who was able to graduate debt free (for various reasons).  So I'll admit I'm biased towards that.  Can you cut your expenses at all?  Have you looked at jobs where you can sit and study?  Hotel clerk, late shifts, a lot of on campus jobs let you do that.  I donated plasma.  That lets you earn $50/week and all you have to do is sit there with a needle in your arm.  A great time to study.  You could join the National Guard or look for more scholarships.

I guess the bottom line is you have to decide.  But I've been extremely happy graduating debt free and I'd hate to have to think about tens of thousands of dollars of debt now that I'm out of school.

[SpookyPistolero]

This is a pharmacy program and I will be making enough to pay off the loans without too much trouble (six figures out the door, without 'extra' shifts). I'm already taking out government loans for the tuition, since it's to the tune of around $14,000 a year. Some of this gov't money is subsidized and some isn't, so only a chunk will be accruing interest right now. From talking with some other students and reading some student forums, most are out the door with a good bit over $100,000 in debt (gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling, eh?).

I live very, very modestly and rarely go out or make purchases that surpass peanut butter in audacity. Living expenses are pretty much just what they are going to be. People that I know to be disciplined students have commented that working two nights during the work week was often too much for them, so it's hard to gauge what my available time will be.

My concerns were more about what specific lenders folks had been to or if they took a 10 or 30 year payment option, why, etc...

[Chris]

When I went trhough law school, it was common practice to bump up the amount of loans to cover some (or all) living expenses.  Heck, I knew people who took out student loans to buy cars.  Me, I took out enough so that I would have $800 a month for living, which included rent ($390), utilities (around $50), gas ($20-$30...the good old days), and the remaining $300 or so went to food and living expenses.  I lived cheap, meaning a lot of pasta, peanut butter, and a lot of .22 shooting vs. centerfire ammo.  Monthly, we would spend $5 to get into the Bill Goodman's Gun and Knife show and shop for cheap ammo.  Some of us worked part time jobs.  Mine was the Army Reserves and a lifeguarding job at a community pool in the sumer months.  My car was a 12 year old beater, but I had purchased it with cash, so no loan payments, and insurance was much cheaper.

Just be sure to minimize the amount of loans you take out.  Even if you're making a six figure income right out of school, you'll do better banking the money than paying off loans so you could have a higher living experience during school.

[SpookyPistolero]

My expenses are very similar to that, though my rent is a good chunk higher. Yeah, just because I could technically get away with more loans now, I'm not exactly into the notion of owing someone six digits. Minimizing the amount will be key. I'm waiting to see how much I'm getting back after tuition payment, then I will subtract that from yearly expenses, after what I expect to make from work.

I don't want to 'live it up' right now, but I'm also not going back to living like a pauper for no good reason. Getting sick on a monthly basis from having nothing but ramen and pb&j just isn't worth it.

[Bogie]

I'd go guard or reserves... You'll automatically be a REMF, probably an officer, and basic is EASY for the medical folks... May seem like a lot of hassle, but it's rewarding in its own way, it pays okay for a part-time gig, and we need good people in there.
 
Yeah, you might get activated. Think of it as something far more honorable than jury duty.
 
And you'll become part of a very large fraternity which will stay with you for the rest of your life.

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

I want to encourage you to exercise self-discipline now, and ONLY take those loans that you KNOW you need.

It is very tempting, bird in the hand and all, but it's been 20+ years and that's the ONLY thing I've not completely paid off.  Besides the student loans, I'm debt free, but it's been such a pain with the student loans.

Your cash later is worth much more than your credit now.

[cfabe]

I was in the same boat as you in school. I had planned to pay for the entire cost of my education out of co-op wages and my parent's college savings. About the end of my junior year I realized it wasn't going to happen, and I had to take loans for my senior year of about $11k. Not bad in the grand scheme, but because of my family's income, I only qualified for a small subsidized loan and had to take the majority of the 11k in an unsubsidized loan. If I had planned better I could have taken smaller subsidized loans each year to cover the necessary ammount. You're probably past that point, but from where you are now, take out the minimum ammount you need, live like a pauper, and as soon as you land a job after graduation, continue to live poor and pay the loan off immeadiately. Here is a tip though: In your 6-month grace period, you are allowed to direct payments to an invididual loan, so in that period pay only on the higher interest unsubsidized loan, once the grace period is up they allocate the payments between all the loans automatically.