Is this a lot in student loans?

[Devin2019]

Hello,

 

I am going into my third year of undergrad. So far I owe $15,840 in loans. I do not plan on applying to PA school right after I finish undergrad. I plan on working as probably a Licensed Practical Nurse or a Phlebotomist for a few years then applying. I plan on paying off these loans monthly. Would this take a long time to pay back?

[PeteK777]

It pales in comparison to what you're going to rack up in grad school.

 

In the meantime you can calculate repayment yourself: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml

[Allegro]

^That calculator is a great tool.

 

In general, the total amount of debt is less important than knowing what your interest rate is (and whether it is fixed or variable), and what your monthly payments would look like in comparison to your monthly income. You would have to take a look at how much you'd be able to pay towards it each month (the minimum they are asking or more?) and how much would go towards interest as opposed to principle to determine how quickly you can pay off the loan. Also you can write off the interest on a student loan on your taxes, which is a nice bonus.

[pastudentw]

This doesn't completely relate but I think it could help in the future.

As you start to pay off your undergrad loans, try to focus your energy towards paying off any unsubsidized loans first if possible. This way if you can't pay down the entire amount, you won't have as many loans that will continue to accrue interest while in PA school. The subsidized loans will just be able to sit and be in deferment while you are in PA school.

The original post doesn't provide enough information to say if that will be a reasonable amount to pay off before you start PA school.  

I ended up with about 11k in undergrad student loan debt and I went to a smaller university. But I used tons of resources to get by with as little debt as I could and still ended up with that amount so I don't think your number is that far out.

[Jdabrowski]

Let me tell you that most of us WISH we could have that small of a loan amount. I graduated from a private college with about $50k. If you are diligent and live a more frugal lifestyle and watch your spending  you will be fine.

[AliB]

^That calculator is a great tool.

 

In general, the total amount of debt is less important than knowing what your interest rate is (and whether it is fixed or variable), and what your monthly payments would look like in comparison to your monthly income. You would have to take a look at how much you'd be able to pay towards it each month (the minimum they are asking or more?) and how much would go towards interest as opposed to principle to determine how quickly you can pay off the loan. Also you can write off the interest on a student loan on your taxes, which is a nice bonus.

 

 

You can write off your student loan interest ... IF you don't make too much money.  There is an AGI limitation.  In 2016, I believe it was $65K for single, head of household ($130K for married filing jointly).  Make more than that and the deduction goes to $0 very quickly.  

[Allegro]

You can write off your student loan interest ... IF you don't make too much money.  There is an AGI limitation.  In 2016, I believe it was $65K for single, head of household ($130K for married filing jointly).  Make more than that at the deduction goes to $0 very quickly.  

^Good point! Luckily (or unluckly, depending on how you see it) I was able to write mine off both my state and federal taxes for some time before I made too much money. By the time I could no longer write it off, I wasn't accumulating much interest anyway since I had paid off a good chunk of principle. Just another variable to consider when planning it out. If its all too confusing, it might be worthwhile to speak with a decent financial planner before making final decisions regarding debt.