Grace periods...

[__________________________]

Hey y'all,

 

Wondering if anyone is going through a similar thought process to mine with regard to loans... I'm psyching myself up to go ahead and pull the trigger on making a final decision about what program I'm going to go ahead and start with, but the trouble is my grace period for my loans is about to end in mid-July and the program I'm 95% sure I'm going to be enrolling in doesn't officially start until late September (the school operates on the quarter system).  I can take a tuition-free intensive language course over the summer which would be enough of a time commitment to theoretically (if the time frame worked) re-up my grace period, but the trouble is the language course wouldn't start until five days after my grace period expires.

 

Ugh.  I'd really like to keep that grace period from running out completely so I can have a little cushion after leaving my PhD program, and I thought taking the language course would be ideal for that, so now I'm scrambling to figure out what I can do.  Should I just suck it up and try and find a summer job, or does anyone think I can find a way to work with the university on fudging the books a little so that I'm technically a student a few days before the "official" start date in the event I take a summer class?  Any thoughts?  I'm not trying to break the law, I'm just working with very limited financial resources for the time up until I start my program...

[iphi]

I think you may be able to ask them push the grace period back. There may be a form for it under your online login.

[Adelantero]

Give your loan bank a call. If this is a federal loan (subsidized or unsubsidized), you can also defer payment if you aren't making enough money. For recent grads, that's pretty much always the case. Basically unless you get an awesome job right out of school, you're probably not earning above that threshold, and they will let you continue to not pay. They may check in on you (this happened to me when I was deferring) and ask if you're trying to find full-time employment. They obviously want you to give them money, and they will suggest various places for you to look for jobs. Just tell them you are looking for employment, and they'll be happy. Then, when you get back into school, that deferment kicks in too. 

 

Short story, call them and tell them you're not making enough money to pay. They'll let you not pay.

[__________________________]

Thanks for the helpful responses, iphi and Adelantero!  I will definitely look into this.  When doing loan exit counseling,  I felt like this option was made to sound like doing so requires very dire and extreme circumstances, so it's nice to hear that there can be more flexibility. 

[Adelantero]

Looks like you can defer for up to 3 years just based on employment. So if you're not employed full time or are unemployed, no problem. If you are working full time all summer, you might still qualify for deferment for "economic hardship." https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/deferment-forbearance

[grad_wannabe]

Call and talk to them. I've found that the people I spoke with at my federal loan office were VERY helpful and supportive.