By Jeff Parker, Florida Today

Let’s start with the basics: Which loans are available to graduate students, and how much you should expect to pay for them once you’ve finished school.

I’m not going to spend any time telling you how to get the loans. The Internet is overflowing with information on how to saddle yourself with student debt, so if you’re looking to learn how to apply, I suggest Googling it. Or contacting any number of student loan companies and institutions of higher learning. They will be more than happy to send you the application forms.

Instead, let’s focus on the aftermath: What these loans will do to your finances post-graduation.

My story goes like this: Because I was relatively broke before going to grad school, I qualified for enough loans and grants to finance my entire education, plus living expenses, less maybe $2,000 that I was expected to pay out of pocket. All things considered, the damage was about $80,000.

Eager as I was to escape my crappy job and set myself on a career path, I filled out my FAFSA and signed the promissory notes and went on my merry way, living for a year on Edfinancial Services’ dime and giving little thought to the financial morass into which I had willingly stepped.

My loans are a combination of subsidized Stafford, unsubsidized Stafford and Graduate PLUS loans. Perkins loans, which carry the lowest interest rates, are also available, but I did not qualify for them.

All of the above (except Perkins) are components of the Federal Family Education Loan Program, meaning the federal government guarantees them, sets their interest rates and decides how much of each you can receive per year and throughout your life.

More specifically:

• Stafford loans carry an interest rate of 6.8 percent, which the government subsidizes while you are in school. Translation: on these loans, interest does not accumulate while you are a full-time student. The maximum annual loan amount is $8,500 for graduate students, and you can get up to $65,500 during your lifetime.
• Unsubsidized Stafford loans also carry an interest of 6.8 percent, but interest starts accruing while you are a student. The maximum annual loan amount is $12,000; the maximum lifetime amount is $138,500. But that is for all Stafford loans - not just the unsubsidized ones. Meaning if you have $65,500 in subsidized loans, you can have $73,000 in unsubsidized loans. If you have no subsidized loans, you can have $138,500 in unsubsidized loans.
• Graduate PLUS loans charge 8.5 percent interest per year, and you can get as many of them as you need to cover the cost of your schooling - so long as the federal government determines you can’t afford to cover the costs yourself. The government does not subsidize the interest, which starts to accrue while you are in school.

So those are the federal options available for students who are needy but not impoverished. You can also get private loans, but I know nothing about those.

Once you’ve finished school, this is what will happen: Your federal loans will enter their grace periods, meaning you won’t have to pay them immediately after graduation. The grace periods for each loan are

• Six months for Stafford loans, be they subsidized or unsubsidized. For the subsidized variety, the government continues to pay your interest. For the your unsubsidized debt, interest accrues.
• For PLUS loans, there is no automatic grace period - these loans demand repayment right away. But you can get a six-month deferral if you so desire (and if your loan company deems you worthy. I’m not sure how they do this…). Just call your lender and ask politely.

Eventually, depressing though it may be, your student-loan lender will start sending you bills, and you will start sending them money. That’s where I’m at: the sending-them-money part.

You have a few options regarding repayment, and I’ll get into them in more detail in later posts. For now, what you should know is that when your loans enter repayment, your lender(s) will set you up on the shortest possible payment plan, which for federal loans is 10 years.

That means your loan payments will start at the highest level the law allows. This may cause you to freak the eff out, as I did last week. But rest assured, if you can’t afford the high payments heaped upon you at the onset of your repayment period, your loan company will likely amend your plan. Because after all, if you default, they don’t get paid. And they would prefer to get paid.

The total amount you will end up repaying depends on a lot of variables, most importantly how much money you borrowed and which repayment plan(s) you qualify for.

Again, more details will follow, but for now, know this: It’s not unlikely that you’ll end up repaying more than double what you took out, especially if you choose a low-paying career. So take that into consideration when deciding if grad school is for you. Debt can truly be crushing.

Also in this series:

• Dealing with student debt: Forbearance and deferment
• Dealing with student debt: Consolidation
• Student loans are ruining my finances

Further reading:

• Ed Financial Services: Federal student loan comparison chart
• GradLoans.com: Home page
• U.S. Department of Education: Student Aid on the Web
• The College Board: Student loan repayment calculator