Hey, I have a fairly simple question for you guys that are in school right now. I'm in my second semester of law school and am considering purchasing a MacBook to take to class. I have a Sony VAIO notebook, but the thing has pretty much been a piece of crap from day one. Anyways, I am eligible to take out the full amount of Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford loans. I only took out the subsidized at the start of the year. I can take out part of the unsubsidized to purchase a new computer. Here is my question: how is the interest calculated? I know it's at a fixed 6.8% interest rate, but how is the interest compounded? For example, if I took out $1,000, how much would my interest payments be per year? At first, I thought it would be ~$68/year. The student financial aid lady at my school said, no, it would be more than that, but she didn't know how to calculate the interest that would accrue (WTF are they paying you for?). Do any of you guys know? I think the new MacBook would help me out with school, but I don't want to rack up a bunch of interest on a loan. Thanks for your help.
Here is some info from my daughter's student loan: Q: When does interest accrue on my loan? A: This depends on the type of loan that you have and the status of the loan. On unsubsidized student loans, PLUS loans, and on any unsubsidized portion of a Consolidation loan, interest accrues in any status (including deferment and forbearance) beginning from the day it is disbursed until the date it is paid in full. If you have subsidized loans, interest does not accrue while in school, during the grace period, or in a deferment period. As with an unsubsidized loan, interest will accrue during all periods of repayment and forbearance. [ Back to top ] Q: Why does the amount of interest I pay vary from month to month? A: Interest accrues on a daily basis, so depending on the number of days between your payments and the balance of your loan, the amount of interest accrued and paid each month will vary. [ Back to top ] You can see more at this link which I assume you can get to without having to log in. https://www.acs-education.com/CS/Jsp/infocenter/faq.jsp?NavBarId=sub29#F33
My parents took out a plus loan for me and I think the interest is compounded either daily or monthly. I can't remember which though.
