Student loans are one of the few constants in the world. Unlike credit card payments, which can be forgiven if you declare bankruptcy, student loans are not excused except in the event of your death, in which case they become someone else’s problem.
Half of Fairfield students have taken out loans to pay for college. After a six month grace period following graduation, students have to start repaying federal loans that can total anywhere from $3,000 to $100,000.
“I’m definitely worried about paying back my loans,” said Karen Seavers ’05. “I haven’t been able to have a job on campus, and I don’t have any money to pay with after I graduate.”
In the 2003 graduating class, 49 percent of students borrowed some type of loan and the average indebtedness of those students was $25,194.
Fairfield is not the lender when it comes to student loans, rather they ensure that students are eligible for loans by evaluating the FAFSA form that all students fill out to receive financial aid. The forms are then sent to Sallie Mae, the nation’s leading company in education finance who then distribute the loans.
Payments for loans start six months after graduation and are paid off in monthly increments.
“The grace period is for graduates to get their feet on the ground, get employed and then enter repayment,” said Senior Associate Director of Financial Aid Erin Chiaro.
If a graduate falls into economic hardship then the loan can be deferred for a time or if a student goes into graduate school or medical school, but the loans will eventually have to be paid back.
“I plan on deferring my loans for medical school if I can get in,” said Rob Keder ’04.
“They’ll be put off for four years and compiled with the student loans I take out for med school, and then I’ll pay it back the same way all doctors do, by taking forever,” Keder said.
If you do not go to graduate school and the government does not consider you to be in economic hardship, then you have to find some other way of making those payments. The Sallie Mae Web site offered a few tips:
Make a budget- a budget that includes paying the monthly fee on your loans.
Consolidate your loans- this will give you a lower interest rate
Pay on time- if payments are late then this can result in bad credit
Stay in contact with Sallie Mae- if you even think that you are going to be late on a payment, call Sallie Mae. They are flexible with payments as long as they are aware of the situation.
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