Asking for a friend as I have no experience here

[Anonymous]

My awesome and amazing friend went to law school, obtained her goal of being a lawyer and is now with a small firm. She has 24 student loans that have come out of deferment. She missed the first payment on each not realizing they were out already as she thought it was still a few months off creating 24 30 days lates. They also are heafty amounts. I am trying to come up with options that can help with those lates (GW letters I already spoke about if anyone has a fill in the blanl sample they want to post for me to pass along that has success) AND, most importantly, ways to help forgive/knock down what is a crazy large amount of money so in 20 years it still isn't being paid on. Help?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Here is the link for the GW letter examples.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Credit/GW-letter-Q-amp-A-Examples-and-GW-Success-Sto...

I think her best bet is to call the loaners and discuss a payment plan ASAP. She has to figure out what she can pay monthly and get serious about repayment. Most of my lawyer friends had over $250K in school loans and managed to pay it back in time by being responsible and having autopays lined up for each account.

I personally don't think now is the time for her to ask for forgiveness or loan reductions. She is already asking for leniency with the GW letters. She has just entered the work force and it will be an adjustment but she should be able to manage. That's just my opinion though, i'm sure others will chip in with theirs.

Best of luck to your awesome amazing friend!

[beutiful5678]

Are these private loans or federal loans?

[Anonymous]

Your friend can inquire about income based repayment options. Unfortunately a lot more students are in this position. Especially students with doctoral degrees. I have a large balance. My loans are set for 30yr repay but i pay enough extra so that they will be paid off in 10 yrs. I definitely still live on a very tight budget. Frugalness will be her friend during this long repayment period. She should not spend on extras right now. No new car, no purses, just keep paying down loans. Best for her to get ahead of it and figure out a plan. A budget and plan will help her realize that ot will be possible to pay it back.

[martinsoka17]

If they're federal loans, looking at the income based repayment program is the best option. It's a fantastic tool and it's very easy to enroll. 

Also, a great tool to have in the student loan repayment arsenal is this spreadsheet: https://www.vertex42.com/Calculators/debt-reduction-calculator.html. I've seen it floating around these forums for a while and I use it myself. It's a great way to view what and how your payments do to the overall balance over time.