When you enroll in grad school at least half-time, your existing federal student loans generally qualify for in-school deferment, allowing you to temporarily pause payments. While payments stop, interest often continues to accrue (especially on unsubsidized loans), which increases your total loan balance.
You may be researching how to pay for tuition and other expenses. You have another decision to make as well – what to do about any undergraduate student loan debt you may have. If you attend graduate school at least half-time, your loans can be deferred. That means you don't have to make payments.
The "7-year rule" for student loans generally refers to when negative marks, like defaults, are removed from your credit report (around 7 years after the first missed payment or default date for federal loans, 7.5 years for private loans), but the debt itself doesn't disappear and must be paid off; it's also a benchmark in bankruptcy proceedings where federal loans can become dischargeable after 7 years from when payments were due, though proving "undue hardship" is required and difficult.
When Postgraduate Loans get written off. If you're a student from England or Wales, your Postgraduate Loan will be written off 30 years after the April you were first due to repay. If you're a postgraduate student from Northern Ireland, you're on Plan 1. If you're a postgraduate student from Scotland, you're on Plan 4.
If your student loan burden is small and can be paid off in a short timeframe, it could make sense to wait to attend grad school. In other cases, it might make more sense to attend grad school while also still paying off your undergraduate loans.
You may decide you want to put off paying back your undergrad loans until after grad school. If that's the case, full-time grad students may be able to defer repayment. To qualify for deferment, you must apply while you're enrolled in an approved graduate program.
One important thing to remember is that student loans are written off after a certain period. For most plans, this happens after 30 years, although there are exceptions. For example, Plan 1 loans are written off when you turn 65 or after 25 years, depending on when your loan was paid.
Elimination of the Graduate PLUS Loan Program: Beginning July 1, 2026, the Federal Graduate PLUS Loan program will be discontinued for new borrowers.
The best way to pay off student loans involves a combination of strategies: pay more than the minimum, use the avalanche method (highest interest first) for savings or snowball method (smallest balance first) for motivation, automate payments to save on interest, consider refinancing for lower rates (federal loans lose benefits), and explore federal income-driven plans (IDRs) or Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) if eligible. Budgeting, increasing income, and tackling extra payments with bonuses or refunds also significantly speed up repayment.
Here are some of the programs with the most student debt based on 2022 median debt:
You can get up to: £12,858 if your course starts on or after 1 August 2025. £12,471 if your course started between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025.
The "7-year rule" for student loans generally refers to when negative marks, like defaults, are removed from your credit report (around 7 years after the first missed payment or default date for federal loans, 7.5 years for private loans), but the debt itself doesn't disappear and must be paid off; it's also a benchmark in bankruptcy proceedings where federal loans can become dischargeable after 7 years from when payments were due, though proving "undue hardship" is required and difficult.
Can private student loans take your house? Until you default on private student loans, your house is safe. Private lenders must sue the borrower and get a judgment before putting a lien on a home or taking money from a bank account.
50% of your budget goes to necessities: rent, utilities, transportation, insurance, groceries, etc. 30% goes to wants: dining out, shopping, gym membership, entertainment, etc. 20% goes towards savings and debt repayment: student loans, auto loans, credit cards, emergency savings, etc.
One rule to live by is to try to limit your total amount of student loans to a small percentage of what your expected annual salary may be from the first job you get after college. For example, you could decide that your monthly loan payment should be no more than 10 percent of your gross income.