Top 5 Tips for Dealing With Your Law School Student Loans
You took out loans for law school knowing that they'd come due someday, but not anytime soon. Then you graduated, found a decent job, and suddenly your lenders came knocking. And if you maxed out on loans when studying the law, the amount you owe every month can be staggering, even if you're making a Cravath-level salary. For those of us making much less, even modest (by law school standards) student debt can seem completely insurmountable.
But there are ways to survive your student loans and even make payment tolerable. Here are our top tips for dealing with student debt, from the FindLaw archives.
1. Defaulting on a Student Loan Can Cost You Your Law License
Here's the first thing you should know about your student debt: you've got to pay it. Debt from federal student loans isn't dischargeable, barring a few rare exceptions, even if you go through bankruptcy. And if you just stop paying, you could lose your law license.
2. Student Loans 101: Consolidating Your Public, Private Loans
The first step towards getting a grip on your student loans is to get a handle of all of your different loans. Yeah, taking out student loans was easy, but you never expected to be met with bills from eight different lenders after graduation, did you? Consolidating your loans can help you bring all your debts together, making them easier to manage.
3. Student Loans 102: Making Monthly Payments Affordable (IBR, PAYE)
What can you do if you're barely eking out a middle class income and facing loan payments that take up half your monthly pay check? Thankfully, there are options available for you. You don't have to starve to pay back your creditors. Just sign up for income-driven repayment plans instead.
4. Student Loans 103: Prioritizing Payments (or Which to Pay First)
You somehow stumbled upon some surplus cash. (Congrats!) Now you want to pay down some of the principal on your student loans, to get that albatross off your neck, so to speak. But not all albatrosses are created equal, nor are all student loans. Here's how to decide which to pay off first.
5. Bankruptcy Judge Offers You Hope: Discharge Your Bar Study Loan
You may be stuck with your law school loans until you die, but at least those bar study loans can be discharged -- if you're unfortunate enough to go bankrupt, that is.
Related Resources:
- Law Student Loan Assistance Programs: There's Help If You Look for It (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
- 10 Ways to Get Rid of Your Student Loan Debt Faster (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)
- Law Grads Filing for Bankruptcy With $150,000 in Student Loans (FindLaw's Greedy Associates)