Law School COA Calculator and Comparison Spreadsheet - USE!! Forum

[cotiger]

I dig it. My only comment would be that the Stafford interest rates are low. If they were set right now, it'd be at 6.3%. Not going to get down to 5.4% any time soon. Also, since GradPLUS is Stafford+1%, you could link those two.

Thanks for this!

I didn't know that about GradPLUS. So they would be 7.3% at the moment? And they now fluctuate w/ the 10 year t-note as well?

Yep.

Okay, next question. What you would assume as far as appreciation on the rate? I don't really see it decreasing in the current environment, but I'm not sure what to factor in. Right now I have it set to appreciate 5% YOY. Obviously if we knew for sure we would be bond traders and not future lawyers, but your thoughts are always welcome.

Lol no clue. Buuut here's historical data: http://www.multpl.com/interest-rate/table

It seems like it would be a good bet to assume it'll be somewhere between 3-5%. Considering it's better to end up with less debt than expected than more, I'd say go with something at least like 2.8>3.3>3.8

It's based on the yield on July 1.

[lawschool22]

Lol no clue. Buuut here's historical data: http://www.multpl.com/interest-rate/table

It seems like it would be a good bet to assume it'll be somewhere between 3-5%. Considering it's better to end up with less debt than expected than more, I'd say go with something at least like 2.8>3.3>3.8

It's based on the yield on July 1.

Okay, updated. I also fixed some formulas. They were all pulling the rate from year 1 instead of 1-3. So this may increase things slightly for people (sorry)

[lawschool22]

I think this has the potential to freak some people out, but this is good. Better to be freaked out now than three years from now when it's real.

[jenesaislaw]

Where'd you get that grad plus loan fee from? I thought it was 4.228%.

Glad to see you've put in this work, though. I know you're one of the people who will participate in the LST Beta. An email is coming very soon (tonight), and we have a feature that's very similar to this. I just tested with NYU, but we seem to be getting pretty similar numbers. The main difference I see so far is that we're using a different grad plus loan fee; the spreadsheet does not treat disbursements by semester (I think, I wasn't too careful in concluding that); and the interest rates within a year are not tied to one another like they should be.

[lawschool22]

Where'd you get that grad plus loan fee from? I thought it was 4.228%.

Glad to see you've put in this work, though. I know you're one of the people who will participate in the LST Beta. An email is coming very soon (tonight), and we have a feature that's very similar to this. I just tested with NYU, but we seem to be getting pretty similar numbers. The main difference I see so far is that we're using a different grad plus loan fee; the spreadsheet does not treat disbursements by semester (I think, I wasn't too careful in concluding that); and the interest rates within a year are not tied to one another like they should be.

Fixed the GradPlus rate (I think it was a typo). And no mine doesn't treat it by semester. I was too lazy to do that . Could you elaborate on the interest rate comment? I'd like to fix it if necessary.

[jenesaislaw]

Stafford loans are fixed rate loans provided by the federal government to students attending graduate school at least half-time. Currently, only unsubsidized Stafford loans are available for graduate students, who may borrow up to $20,500 a year at a rate equal to the 10-year Treasury yield plus 3.6% (capped at 9.5%). The rate for the 2013-2014 academic year is 5.41%, with a 1.0% loan origination fee. Interest accrues from the time the loan is disbursed until the time the loan is repaid in full, but no payments are required until six months after graduation. There are no interest subsidies.

GradPLUS loans are fixed rate loans provided by the federal government to students attending graduate school at least half-time. Unlike Stafford loans, these loans have no limits and students may borrow up to the COA less any other financial aid they have secured at a rate equal to the 10-year Treasury yield plus 4.6% (capped at 10.5%). The rate for the 2013-2014 academic year is 6.41%, with a 4.228% loan origination fee for the 2013-2014 school year. Interest accrues from the time the loan is disbursed until the time the loan is repaid in full, but no payments are required until six months after graduation. There are no interest subsidies.

[jenesaislaw]

I just copy and pasted that from the new LST site.

[scootsy]

Thanks for this. Quite useful.

Can anyone comment on the accuracy of school's other expense estimates such as R&B and transportation?

[lawschool22]

One thing I was thinking about, this may be slightly overestimating interest amounts. Does anyone know how the interest on federal loans compounds? Does it just accrue until 6 months after graduation, at which point it is then capitalized? If that's the case I will need to tweak the calc a bit (although I doubt it will have a major effect on the final number).

[jenesaislaw]

One thing I was thinking about, this may be slightly overestimating interest amounts. Does anyone know how the interest on federal loans compounds? Does it just accrue until 6 months after graduation, at which point it is then capitalized? If that's the case I will need to tweak the calc a bit (although I doubt it will have a major effect on the final number).

Interest accrues on each loan's disbursement amount (by semester) until 6 months after graduation and then it capitalizes. Then interest starts accruing on each loan's new balance.

Why do you think you're overestimating?

[lawschool22]

One thing I was thinking about, this may be slightly overestimating interest amounts. Does anyone know how the interest on federal loans compounds? Does it just accrue until 6 months after graduation, at which point it is then capitalized? If that's the case I will need to tweak the calc a bit (although I doubt it will have a major effect on the final number).

Interest accrues on each loan's disbursement amount (by semester) until 6 months after graduation and then it capitalizes. Then interest starts accruing on each loan's new balance.

Why do you think you're overestimating?

My calc is compounding interest annually, so it is charging interest on interest.

[cotiger]

Where'd you get that grad plus loan fee from? I thought it was 4.228%.

Glad to see you've put in this work, though. I know you're one of the people who will participate in the LST Beta. An email is coming very soon (tonight), and we have a feature that's very similar to this. I just tested with NYU, but we seem to be getting pretty similar numbers. The main difference I see so far is that we're using a different grad plus loan fee; the spreadsheet does not treat disbursements by semester (I think, I wasn't too careful in concluding that); and the interest rates within a year are not tied to one another like they should be.

Fixed the GradPlus rate (I think it was a typo). And no mine doesn't treat it by semester. I was too lazy to do that . Could you elaborate on the interest rate comment? I'd like to fix it if necessary.

You had it right the first time. Gradplus loan fee is 4.288%

http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/plus

[jenesaislaw]

Where'd you get that grad plus loan fee from? I thought it was 4.228%.

Glad to see you've put in this work, though. I know you're one of the people who will participate in the LST Beta. An email is coming very soon (tonight), and we have a feature that's very similar to this. I just tested with NYU, but we seem to be getting pretty similar numbers. The main difference I see so far is that we're using a different grad plus loan fee; the spreadsheet does not treat disbursements by semester (I think, I wasn't too careful in concluding that); and the interest rates within a year are not tied to one another like they should be.

Fixed the GradPlus rate (I think it was a typo). And no mine doesn't treat it by semester. I was too lazy to do that . Could you elaborate on the interest rate comment? I'd like to fix it if necessary.

You had it right the first time. Gradplus loan fee is 4.288%

http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/plus

Good find, it's been updated since I last checked.

[barrelofmonkeys]

thanks ls22

[cron1834]

This is a great effort and a great idea.

[lawschool22]

You're all very welcome. There may be a few more tweaks here and there. I'll post anytime there is an update.

[lawschool22]

thanks ls22

Where have you been all day?

[lawschool22]

New version (1.4) with updated calculations (more accurate) and instructions. I will now track this by version so you can see if you have the latest update.

This will probably show you around $6k or so less repayment at graduation.

Also added a feature where you can enter in your expected grace period (0-6 months) to estimate what it will be when you actually start repayment.

[barrelofmonkeys]

thanks ls22

Where have you been all day?

so busy

[bombaysippin]

This totally awesome. Thanks LS22!

[cotiger]

Bump

Also, LS22, I have another suggestion. Tuition+fees and COL increase at different rates. Tuition+fees at about 4.5%, and COL at about 2%. Maybe separate that out instead of giving everything the same rate of increase?

[iskim88]

Tagging. Thanks!

[cotiger]

bump

[lawschool22]

bump

Added in separate COL and Tuition increase factors per your request.

[cotiger]

Other things.. in the monthly payment calculations, you used the third year Stafford interest rate on all of them (including for GradPLUS) instead of the individual years for Stafford/GP.

Also, when calculating the accumulated interest, accounting for the fact that loans are disbursed semesterly would increase accuracy.

I would just upload these edits myself, but I don't know how to save over the posted file or if that's even possible.