simplethings

Thanks! All my loans will be federal, since it is now all consolidated. I agree, that I should not rely on IBR or loan forgiveness but ICR is similar and has been in place for some time now. I think my loan debt would be considerable enough that I will qualify. At least according to the calculators, granted the payment will be 1200-1300.

I anticipate on taking on a large amount of debt for my masters program 120-140k and wanted to know if any graduates could share their experiences under either the Income Based Repayment or Income Contingent Repayment plans. I have talked with Direct Loans Servicing AND loan exit counselors from the university but still feel slightly uneasy. The IBR plan almost seems too good to be true (really, Mr. Obama only 10-15% of my AGI) and am worried I am missing some fine print somewhere. Anyhow, do you find difficulty qualifying? Did the IBR calculators correctly reflect what you were expected to pay back? Was the loan consolidation process easy? Especially combining under grad and grad debt? Also, if you could relay any information on documentation you are using to keep track of work for the loan forgiveness program. I understand the basics of the program but with no formal "how-to" from the feds I want to know what folks are doing to prepare. Any information would be much appreciated!

Thanks! I appreciate the responses. I have yet to make a decision and have since spoken with a loan counselor. Coakleym, the income based repayment plan for student loans is actually quite generous. For example, the monthly payment on a 150k loan for someone making 57-60k out of grad school is in the range of 500 a month. This coupled with the new loan forgiveness plan (public service careers) makes a graduate education semi affordable. I am still grappling with the decision, but the last bit of info. is at the very least comforting

Hello folks, I was accepted into my dream program (Harris MPP), however was not awarded any financial assistance. This leaves me with the dilemma of taking on 100k+ in loans or deferring with hopes for qualifying for financial assistance next year. Thus, I would like to know a little bit more about the candidates that received significant awards (regardless on program), in order to understand whether deferring a year and taking courses/raising my GRE score will be enough to make me a candidate next year. Please provide the following: GRE Score GPA Work experience and/or anything that you think set you apart as a candidate Here is a little info. on me: GPA: 3.7 as my JR/SR GPA 6+ years as a project associate for an educational consulting firm - basically, immersed in quantitative/qualitative research and evaluation GRE score: 600s in verbal/math I appreciate any information!