Student loans are a valuable resource at all levels of higher education, including grad school. Your grad school loans can make your goal of earning a master’s or other high-level degree that much more attainable. However, you will also need to develop a plan for repaying those loans, whether you move into a career or pursue further education.
Addressing student loan debt, especially when you have loans to pay back for both your undergraduate and graduate-level education, can feel like a major obstacle to financial stability. Working with loan servicers, investigating different repayment options and understanding if you are eligible for deferments can all be worthwhile, but you need to know where to start when it comes to repaying your loans.
No matter your specific situation, building a budget that includes your monthly repayment obligation is a crucial part of better management for grad school loans. With a budget in hand, you can identify if there is extra room to start paying down your loan principal early. You may also realize you need to apply for an income-based or other type of repayment plan. Your budget offers key insight that allows you to make more effective decisions.
There are plenty of other best practices for repaying grad school loans to consider. Strategies like refinancing existing loans and finding other options for funding your education that don’t require repayment, like grants and fellowships, are definitely worth considering. Check out our infographic “Best Practices for Repaying Grad School Loans,” for more guidance that can support your efforts to pay back student loans effectively. And get in touch with Comerica Bank to learn about our useful school loan options, including benefits like no origination fee or prepayment penalty.
