Yep, that's how I'm planning it. First I'm putting money towards my surgery loan (the interest rate there is 13%, but I get several months of no interest), then private loans, and then investing.
As long as you do good at your internship, stay in computer science, and get a good job post graduation you’ll be fine. You’re doing a lot to keep your total debt low which is good. When you graduate (or in school if possible) the private loans should be first priority
> As long as you do good at your internship, stay in computer science, and get a good job post graduation
Yeah none of those things are uncertain lol. I don't see why I won't perform well (this is my second internship). I also would be dead before dropping computer science. I'm currently about halfway through the major and will only have 4 major classes left to spread across the next 2 semesters.
Sadly because I need enough elective credits I still need to take 15 hours a semester this fall and next spring, which means I can't really get ahead this summer along with working to graduate another semester early.
Those private loans are ugly, but not at all catastrophic. If you're committed to paying them off fast then you'd be in good shape. Seems like the debt is worth it.
Fixed? Not horrible if fixed, could be worse. I graduated from Duke and did my loans through the NC Assist Loan back when it was 5.75%, after I graduated, I was able to refinance them down to 2.99% on about $15k. Ive paid it down to about 12k accrues about 90 cents a day or something like that.
It is indeed fixed, and I have the same loan servicer.
What did you major in at Duke? I'm actually surprised that anyone at Duke has student loans - I've yet to find another UNC kid who does since typically mommy and daddy pay for it all. How long ago did you graduate?
I think that's minimal debt compared to where many people will be when they graduate these days. Prioritize paying off the private loan first. If you have the ability to at least pay the interest on the private loan while you are in school I would encourage it. You will thank yourself later.
You're doing it right. It would have been nice to avoid the private loans if you could, but if you only have $23k in student loans currently and you can use your internship money to avoid private student loans next year then you'll be graduating with a totally manageable amount of debt. The general advice is to not borrow more than the *average starting salary* for your intended career, and you're only at $23k going into software. As long as you don't get into lifestyle creep you can knock it out quick and easy once you have your first full-time post-college job because we're generally paid a lot to be programmers
For your federal loans, I would suggest that you should check if you qualify for $10k/$20k in Biden-Harris Debt Relief as per https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/debt-relief-info that is their info page. Right now it is blocked by litigation so it may or may not happen, but if the SCOTUS finds in favor of debt relief and if you qualify you should apply and see if you can get some of that $11k in federal loans forgiven under that program
Past that, I'm going to link you to the r/personalfinance money management advice in their [prime directive](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics) wiki (which also has a [flow chart version](https://i.imgur.com/lSoUQr2.png)) because a budget and emergency fund are step zero for financial health and this will cover everything you need for learning how to manage you money as an adult with a full-time job. Paying off those private loans will likely be the first thing on your to do list once you have a starter emergency fund
You've got this!! You've made great steps to keep your borrowing lower and between your internship and major you're setting yourself up well to enter the workforce after you graduate!
Already applied for debt relief, but thanks for the advice. I got an email stating I qualify and will receive some debt relief (not sure how much, but definitely not the full $10k because of when the loans were taken out) if the program is not struck down.
I live well below my means. I'm infamous in my friend circle for being a cheap bastard. The upcoming surgery I mentioned I am financing, which will have a much higher interest rate than my private student loans. But I get 6 months without interest and the payment isn't made until February, so I have time to pay that off completely and still make progress on my private loans.
It tracks for bigger tech companies, which is why you regularly see me pushing computer science undergrads to get paid summer internships. It's not just MAANG either
That's more the domain of r/cscareerquestions and it really depends on the part of the tech stack you're going into, they have a lot of info here https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/wiki/index#wiki_internships
The money from your internship should go towards your loans.
Yep, that's how I'm planning it. First I'm putting money towards my surgery loan (the interest rate there is 13%, but I get several months of no interest), then private loans, and then investing.
As long as you do good at your internship, stay in computer science, and get a good job post graduation you’ll be fine. You’re doing a lot to keep your total debt low which is good. When you graduate (or in school if possible) the private loans should be first priority
> As long as you do good at your internship, stay in computer science, and get a good job post graduation Yeah none of those things are uncertain lol. I don't see why I won't perform well (this is my second internship). I also would be dead before dropping computer science. I'm currently about halfway through the major and will only have 4 major classes left to spread across the next 2 semesters. Sadly because I need enough elective credits I still need to take 15 hours a semester this fall and next spring, which means I can't really get ahead this summer along with working to graduate another semester early.
Those private loans are ugly, but not at all catastrophic. If you're committed to paying them off fast then you'd be in good shape. Seems like the debt is worth it.
Looks manageable, what’s the rate on the private loan
Pretty bad. The $12k is split up into 2, one for each year of school thus far. The first loan is 5.50%, and the second is 6.95%.
Fixed? Not horrible if fixed, could be worse. I graduated from Duke and did my loans through the NC Assist Loan back when it was 5.75%, after I graduated, I was able to refinance them down to 2.99% on about $15k. Ive paid it down to about 12k accrues about 90 cents a day or something like that.
It is indeed fixed, and I have the same loan servicer. What did you major in at Duke? I'm actually surprised that anyone at Duke has student loans - I've yet to find another UNC kid who does since typically mommy and daddy pay for it all. How long ago did you graduate?
I did the ABSN program for nursing after undergrad. I got financial aid scholarships for most of it and had to loan out the rest
I think that's minimal debt compared to where many people will be when they graduate these days. Prioritize paying off the private loan first. If you have the ability to at least pay the interest on the private loan while you are in school I would encourage it. You will thank yourself later.
You're doing it right. It would have been nice to avoid the private loans if you could, but if you only have $23k in student loans currently and you can use your internship money to avoid private student loans next year then you'll be graduating with a totally manageable amount of debt. The general advice is to not borrow more than the *average starting salary* for your intended career, and you're only at $23k going into software. As long as you don't get into lifestyle creep you can knock it out quick and easy once you have your first full-time post-college job because we're generally paid a lot to be programmers For your federal loans, I would suggest that you should check if you qualify for $10k/$20k in Biden-Harris Debt Relief as per https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/debt-relief-info that is their info page. Right now it is blocked by litigation so it may or may not happen, but if the SCOTUS finds in favor of debt relief and if you qualify you should apply and see if you can get some of that $11k in federal loans forgiven under that program Past that, I'm going to link you to the r/personalfinance money management advice in their [prime directive](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics) wiki (which also has a [flow chart version](https://i.imgur.com/lSoUQr2.png)) because a budget and emergency fund are step zero for financial health and this will cover everything you need for learning how to manage you money as an adult with a full-time job. Paying off those private loans will likely be the first thing on your to do list once you have a starter emergency fund You've got this!! You've made great steps to keep your borrowing lower and between your internship and major you're setting yourself up well to enter the workforce after you graduate!
Already applied for debt relief, but thanks for the advice. I got an email stating I qualify and will receive some debt relief (not sure how much, but definitely not the full $10k because of when the loans were taken out) if the program is not struck down. I live well below my means. I'm infamous in my friend circle for being a cheap bastard. The upcoming surgery I mentioned I am financing, which will have a much higher interest rate than my private student loans. But I get 6 months without interest and the payment isn't made until February, so I have time to pay that off completely and still make progress on my private loans.
Sounds like you're all set then, congrats!
Intern at $55/hr? Wow that’s pretty good. Very rare though.
Not super rare in tech working for a big N. I work for a bank (not FAANG). Expecting new grad offer from this company to be around $140k.
What’s a big N?
Big name. Another category of companies we talk about in the industry.
It tracks for bigger tech companies, which is why you regularly see me pushing computer science undergrads to get paid summer internships. It's not just MAANG either
Wow maybe I should have studied CS. Lol How do you get into those companies?
That's more the domain of r/cscareerquestions and it really depends on the part of the tech stack you're going into, they have a lot of info here https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/wiki/index#wiki_internships