samcar Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Hello forum,I was fortunate to get through my undergrad degree with out needing to take a loan to pay for school. I recently got into grad school and it looks like I will be needing to take a loan to pay for school.What should I be looking for (the GOOD)?andWhat should a stay away from (the Bad)?Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 (edited) How much do you need? You can get Stafford graduate loans of roughly $20k/yr. I am married with decent joint income and the federal gov't was throwing money at me over the past four years due to their goofy EIC calculation. Most of my loans are even subsidized. http://www.staffordloan.com/stafford-loan-info/graduate-stafford-loan.php Edited November 11, 2009 by jq26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaLawyer Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 More importantly, what job are you going to school for? That can be the real deciding factor in where you go. Regardless, if your grades are decent always apply to the Ivy League. They give a lot of grants and make it really affordable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busyBear Posted December 9, 2009 Report Share Posted December 9, 2009 I would suggest getting an assistantship or fellowship before resorting to loans. Some schools offer very healthy stipends for their graduate student researchers/assistants/fellows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain man Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 How much do you need? You can get Stafford graduate loans of roughly $20k/yr. I am married with decent joint income and the federal gov't was throwing money at me over the past four years due to their goofy EIC calculation. Most of my loans are even subsidized. Man, do I wish I could get by for $20K a year. I'm gonna hit near a quarter million by the end of next year for my graduate degree. How much do you think that loan payment will be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwoodystyl Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Man, do I wish I could get by for $20K a year. I'm gonna hit near a quarter million by the end of next year for my graduate degree. How much do you think that loan payment will be?$1800 monthly for 240 months, give or take a hundred in either direction, depending on APR.If it takes you that long to pay it off, you'll pay roughly $200,000 in finance charges alone.For someone who took on that much debt, yet can't calculate the monthly payments, I have no choice but to question your quantitative competency (and subsequently whether or not you got your money's worth for your education). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaLawyer Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Lawyers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain man Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 $1800 monthly for 240 months, give or take a hundred in either direction, depending on APR.If it takes you that long to pay it off, you'll pay roughly $200,000 in finance charges alone.For someone who took on that much debt, yet can't calculate the monthly payments, I have no choice but to question your quantitative competency (and subsequently whether or not you got your money's worth for your education).Sorry Bigwoodystyl, It was meant as a rhetorical question. Trust me, I'm very well aware. Add to that I'll be plunking down a much bigger chunk of change to buy a private practice in a year and I'm looking at enough monthly payments to fund a small country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain man Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be LawyersPretty interesting article. When I was having my first interview with the student lenders I was told that they hate making student loans to law students because they have the highest default rate of the professional degrees. She said the best returns came from my field, which is understandable because it has a very high income potential compared to law. That paper showed "top of the heap" degrees as having $107K mid career salaries. According to the BLS (Bur. of Labor & Stats) the mid career salary in my field is around $178K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaLawyer Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Pretty interesting article. When I was having my first interview with the student lenders I was told that they hate making student loans to law students because they have the highest default rate of the professional degrees. She said the best returns came from my field, which is understandable because it has a very high income potential compared to law. That paper showed "top of the heap" degrees as having $107K mid career salaries. According to the BLS (Bur. of Labor & Stats) the mid career salary in my field is around $178KDon't believe it. If you are talking medicine -- good luck. A number of specialties would consider $107K a great year. They lump all lawyers together, but place physicians into specialties. So the $35K public interest guys are a real drag. They need to break law into specialties to allow for a real comparison.I come from a family of surgeons. They did not recommend medical school. They are both bad investment decisions if you are looking to make bank. All the rich physicians I knew were born rich or invested their GI bill money from the Korean War into businesses. All I get from the younger docs is phone calls seeking more patients.In short, if you want to make money start a hedge fund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain man Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 (edited) Don't believe it. If you are talking medicine -- good luck. A number of specialties would consider $107K a great year. They lump all lawyers together, but place physicians into specialties. So the $35K public interest guys are a real drag. They need to break law into specialties to allow for a real comparison.I come from a family of surgeons. They did not recommend medical school. They are both bad investment decisions if you are looking to make bank. All the rich physicians I knew were born rich or invested their GI bill money from the Korean War into businesses. All I get from the younger docs is phone calls seeking more patients.In short, if you want to make money start a hedge fund.Definitely not medicine. I had a lot of friends that went into medicine right after undergrad and all of them told me not to follow their footsteps when I decided to go back to get my DMD. Yup, a dentist. All of my friends from college that went into dentistry are doing very well, as are many of my friends that have been out just since 2007. My two closest friends graduated in '07, one grosses $3000/month working only 2.5 days per month.** The other works full time at a practice he purchased last year and is grossing about $260K. That is his personal income gross, not the business gross. Not bad for a guy who is a little under three years out.It would be outstanding to be as successful as they are in such short periods. I don't expect the same, but I certainly will do what I can to make a decent income. It's not all about money for me, but it doesn't hurt What I would really like is to become FlaDentist, but I hear the board exam for Florida is a bear. My parents live in Naples for 1/2 the year, so I figure if I want to be close to them I might as well be in the sunshine!**He's working those days doing oral surgery procedures at a National Guard base while he is in 3rd year of med school. Edited December 18, 2009 by Rain man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain man Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 In short, if you want to make money start a hedge fund.P.S., any tips on how to get that done and I'm on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaLawyer Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Dentistry is good. Was saved by the cosmetic movement. I had looked into it while in college. Just don't go gassing yourself. Florida boards are tough on everything. Its not that they are hard, just protected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jq26 Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 (edited) I agree. Dentistry is a great way to go. I know my dentist well since I've been with him for 20 years. He does quite well. Constantly working but enjoys it though. Also had a friend in college who did the same. Doing well financially. This guy wanted to be a dentist since he was a small child. Go figure. I would urge you not to get into dentistry or medicine because of the compensation. You may find yourself driving a Porsche ten years from now but quite miserable.It seems dentistry is one of those areas where fees are what they are. Whatever the insurance doesn't pick up becomes the responsibility of the patient. There is no comparable managed care squeeze on the dentists. My dentist charges me roughly $200 per check up for each family member. That is $1200 per year (3 members x twice per year), assuming no one needs anything. Fortunately my insurance picks up the entire tab (less $7 since Aetna Dental doesn't think Fluoride treatments are necessary), but if they didn't, you know who would write a check. You gotta have teeth. Edited December 19, 2009 by jq26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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