How do student loans work for grad school?

[Poop-Loops]

I got a federal subsidized loan and had to take out extra via Sallie Mae. Ummm... how does that work with grad school? I admit I was dumb enough not to ask when I was applying, but they said you have 10 years to repay, so I thought you wouldn't start repaying until you were completely out of school. I got a statement today saying that basically I have 6 months after undergrad to start repaying.

From what I know, grad school tuition should be waived + stipend because of TA/RA position and fellowships, correct? But is that enough to start making small payments, or how did you go about it? Sorry if this was posted before (especially in ZZ's blog. I read most of that, and it didn't come up I don't think...)

 

[JasonRox]

I would guess you have enough to make small payments.

I would look into it. Call schools and find out how much you would get paid.

 

[Cyrus]

Pay for grad school? They should pay you for grad school!

 

[Poop-Loops]

Let me rephrase my question:

I am taking out loans for Undergrad. They expect me to start paying them back 6 months after I get my BS.

What do I do about those loans in grad school? Start paying them off, or does it still somehow get postponed until I'm totally done with school?

I know they should be paying me for grad school. ;)

 

[Norman]

The loans are deferred until you are no longer a student (whether it is a grad student or whatever). You might have to have the school where you attend for grad make sure they don't start expecting you to pay- but I have only found a few people who got jerked around by this.

I wouldn't start paying the loans until you must, especially if they are at a low interest rate. Typically, you don't get a lot of money from a TA position, enough to eat and pay rent and maybe go out to lunch once a week. This, of course depends on the school and the cost of living near the school. My guess is that you will not have enough to start making payments. Or maybe you live more frugally than others.

So, do not worry about that part of grad school I say. Worry about passing the qualifier!

Cheers,
Ryan