Student Loan deferment during medical fellowship.?

I had about $160k in debt from college and medical school. I did a federal loan consolidation when I started my 4 year residency and chose the 4 year interest only repayment plan. Now I would like to further specialize in my field of medicine by going into fellowship training. Is there a way to continue to defer the payment of principle or do some other kind of minimum payment until I finish fellowship in another 3 years?

Hi tthere Kit t,

What happens alot of the time is when consolidating the lender does not consolidate all of your loans..

If this happened to you then you will actually be in luck,...

If you have one outstanding loan, my compnay can then consolidate you again by consolidating what ever samll loans you still ahve out there into your large consoliodated loan..

The reason this will benefit you is because we will offer you up to 3 years of forebarence at that point..

Meaning, you wont have to worry about making a payment to prioncipal or oibnterest for 3 years.. You can choose to send interest payments if you choose, but you will not be obligated..

This is what ido for alot of students that are looking to go back to school.. It can give you a little more breathing room until you are working full time makin genough moneY..

Give me a call when you have a moment.. I would =eb happy to pull up yopur loans on the NSLDS (national student loan database system) This will tell us if we can re-consolidate you or not..

Also feel free tio check us out online.. Here is a link to my yahoo 360 profile which has links to our website as well..

http://360.yahoo.com/profile-HlUDUhMib7M9Wlj6o6L2SfGcEYtkt9xsaQ--?cq=1

Look forward to hearing from you!

Jason Fry

Student Aid Lending

1-800-964-0642 ext 114

jasonf@studentaidlending.com

Have a look at the articles on debt consolidation and debt relief at http://www.hammocksurvivalguide.com/

There's a load of great advice there that you might find very useful. I'm not sure if that is what you were asking but you're quite likely to find some answers there.

Since a fellowship is continuing your education, it should fall into the area of deferment.

You should be able to defer during your fellowship. Your best bet is to call your lender and confirm, and/or ask them what your options are. DO NOT consolidate with another lender until you know what your current options are. Most of the smaller consolidation lenders out there specialize in undergrad loans and don't know the special circumstances of med school - including residency and fellowships.

The AAMC also offers a lot of information on consolidated medical loans http://www.aamc.org/students/medloans/loanconsolidation/primer.htm

Lastly, if there's any way you can continue to make some payment (even just the interest) it can make a huge difference. The interest keeps accruing, even when you're in deferment.