Is paying off your nursing student loan debt eating your paycheck?
You’ve graduated nursing school. Awesome! Nothing but patient care and advancing your career now, right? Well, except for those nursing school student loans that follow your healthcare journey like a ball and chain. Did you know there are other ways to reduce your student loan debt that do not involve working an extra 12 hour shift a week?
In partnership with the student loan experts at College Aid Direct, this post will provide education, resources and options for healthcare professionals who are looking to reduce their student loan debt as efficiently as possible.
Let’s face it. Nobody likes paying their nursing student loans. Taking out student loans is a fantastic way to get your dream education and land your dream career, but carrying the weight of the payments for years can be overwhelming. Luckily there are some things you can do to lighten the load.
And remember, it’s not just you. Eduction for healthcare professionals is just one contributor to the national student debt crisis.
First let’s take a look at student loan debt across the US with a couple of not-so-fun facts:
- There are more than $1.53 trillion (yikes that’s 12 zeros) dollars in outstanding student loans.
- There is more money in student loans than auto loans or credit cards.
- 1 in 4 Americans have student loan debt.
- The average loan amount more than $37,000 with an average monthly payment of $400.
How do you know if you should make changes to your nursing school loans?
Determine What Type of Nursing Student Loans You Have
The first step is to determine what type of student loans you have. Once you know what loans you have, you can assess your best options to lower your payments and find out how much faster you’ll be able to pay off your student debt.
Federal Student Loans
These are loans directly from the federal government. These loans have names like Stafford, Subsidized and Unsubsidized, Perkins, PLUS and Consolidation.
If you aren’t sure if you have these types of loans, the government has a site where you can check for free here.
Private Student Loans
These are student loans from banks, credit unions and some states. These loans are typically used after exhausting the federal loan limits. Most private student loans do not have an origination fee like the federal loans and may have a lower interest rate, dependent on the credit score and history of the applicants.
If you aren’t sure if you have these types of loans you can find out by checking your credit report for free here.
Should I consolidate my nursing student loans?
Consolidation is usually done with federal loans, not private loans. Consolidation is when you combine your nursing student loans into one new loan.
What are the benefits of consolidating nursing school loans?
What are the cons of consolidating nursing school loans?
Should I refinance my nursing school debt?
Refinancing is usually done with private loans, not federal loans. Refinancing is when you combine all of your loans at one private lender. Here you can potentially reduce your interest rate and payment amount with a new loan.
What are the benefits of refinancing nursing student loan debt?
What are the cons of refinancing nursing student loan debt?
Refinancing your nursing student loans can be scary. We would be remiss if we ignored the fact that there are some sketchy players out there who are ruining the reputation of the honest companies trying to do good.
Our friends at College Aid Direct