So, I'm entering grad school this fall and taking out loans to do it -- I know big mistake. But hear me out first:
I finished undergrad with about $26k in debt. I'm going to grad school for public administration -- and I can't see myself working private sector until I do consulting work after years of experience in nonprofit/public sector jobs. With that being said, the public service forgiveness route could be a decent out for me. I estimate I'll take out about $40k in loans for grad school (spending half of that on school and the other half will be dropped into living expenses to open up my budget for more savings/investment). I have done the math, and if I had a $50k salary (doing about $40k now, and the raise associated with my MPA would be $10-20k annually at best in the public sector) for 10 years, I would only pay about $25k back in debt in the 10 years that are required for the PSF plan (payments are capped at 15% of my income).
So at this point, it seems like any loans I take out will be completely forgiveen if my career path stays on track. I would essentially get a free $45K in loans to use for living expenses, which in turn opens up savings for retirement. Am I missing something here? It feels too easy.