Is anyone else freaking out about debt?

Here some info on the nuts and bolts of getting loans:
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Federal Loans

Federal Direct Loans
US citizens and US permanent residents may obtain funding for their education through the Federal Direct Loan Program – up to $20,500 annually may be borrowed (minus a 3% origination fee). Students who demonstrate financial need, assessed through the FAFSA process, may borrow up to $8,500 in a subsidized loan (no interest is charged while the student is in school) and the remaining amount in an unsubsidized loan (interest is charged while the student is in school). Those who do not demonstrate financial need can borrow the full $20,500 in an unsubsidized loan.

Interest is fixed at 6.8% for the life of the loan. Repayment begins after the grace period of six months following graduation or dropping below half-time enrollment. Repayment is made over a 10- to 25-year term, with no prepayment penalty. Further details are available with your online Direct Loan Master Promissory Note and online Entrance Loan Counseling.

Federal Perkins Loans
Federal Perkins Loans are awarded, as funding permits, to entering nonresident graduate students with exceptional financial need. You must be a US citizen or US permanent resident. The Perkins Loan is interest-free while you are a student. Repayment begins and interest accrues at 5% annually nine months after graduating or after dropping below six units. If you are a Perkins borrower, your loan servicer is Campus Partners (1-800-334-8609).

Supplemental Loan Options

As mentioned previously, the maximum Direct Loan available to business students is $20,500. Thus many students require supplemental educational loans to help cover tuition and other expenses related to the cost of attendance. Funds from the supplemental loan programs may be used to meet the budgeted cost of attendance, less any other financial aid received.

There are two types of supplemental loans available to students:

Federal Grad PLUS Loan
The Federal Grad PLUS is from the Direct Loan program and has a fixed interest rate of 7.9%, an origination fee of 2.5%, and no annual or aggregate borrowing limits (other than the cost of attendance less other financial aid received). A credit check is required for the Grad PLUS Loan, however, the credit criteria are much less stringent than those associated with traditional private student loans. Furthermore, if you do not meet the credit requirements for a Grad PLUS Loan, you may still obtain the loan with an endorser who does meet the credit requirements.

Unlike the Direct Subsidized & Unsubsidized Loans, the Grad PLUS Loan has no grace period, and enters into repayment after the loan has been fully disbursed. However, students can obtain an in-school deferment to postpone repayment until after graduation (or dropping below half-time status).

Private Educational Loans
There are three private supplemental loan options available at the Haas School. All three are credit- based and have variable interest rates, which are adjusted monthly or quarterly—depending on the lender. The interest rate structure and any fees are based on borrower credit; using a co-signer could result in a better interest rate structure and reduced, or no, fees. Read the list of lenders and the terms of the loans.

All supplemental loans are disbursed in two equal amounts: one-half in the fall semester and the remaining one-half in the spring semester.

If you borrow money for living expenses through one of the Supplemental Loan Programs, it’s possible that you will not have access to those funds until the first or second week of September. Please be sure to budget accordingly, and ensure that you have enough funds to get you through the first month of the Fall semester, without needing to rely on the money from the loan disbursement.

Loan disbursements are made once per semester. If you are borrowing funds for living expenses, we recommend opening a separate savings account for these funds. One suggestion is to open an online savings account. Most of the online accounts have higher interest rates than standard “brick & mortarâ€