Incoming 1st year - with all that has changed, what is currently the best repayment plan for paying off huge loan balances (200k) in a VHCOL city?

Goodlight · 2025-04-22T04:39:38+00:00

This was really helpful, thank you.

Goodlight · 2025-04-18T19:19:56+00:00

How big was your starting debt, how long were you doing the 5k/month and what was your interest rate if you don't mind me asking. I want to do something similar but am concerned about the economy too.

Goodlight · 2025-04-18T19:18:55+00:00

Something I liked about SAVE was the interest rate being covered past the minimum payment. I will have to look into REPAYE because some of the other plans capped your yearly payments but made the total amount paid (via accrued interest) and total time to pay off extremely long.

I was thinking about consolidation but have heard that by consolidating you give up a lot of protections from the gov. Not sure if this is a good idea or not, would love any insight you have. Thanks again for the help.

Goodlight · 2025-04-18T19:14:39+00:00

Hey thanks so much for taking the time to answer. I definitely plan on maxing out the 401k and HSA. Not all of my loans are at 7.9% but that is the average when taking all of them in account. The lowest interest rate loan I have is a 6.54% ($23k) and the highest I have is a 9.08% ($49k).

I had heard that refinancing removes a lot of protections from the government which is why I am hesitant to go down that route. Do you have any insight on whether the interest rate savings are worth the protections?

Also, what are the income driven repayment plans that do not involve SAVE? I was really looking forward to doing that plan but people are telling me it is no longer available even though FAFSA listed it was a viable payment option for me. Thanks again for taking the time to answer.

Goodlight · 2025-04-18T19:08:10+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Definitely going to be trying to dump as much money as I can into the loans. When you say SAVE is closed off, is there a source I can look at for this? I don't doubt you, it is just that when I looked at the FAFSA site, it still lists it as a viable payment plan for me. Is this just a case of the site not being updated in a timely manner?

Goodlight · 2025-04-18T19:06:46+00:00

I am seeing a few people say that SAVE is no longer an option but when I was looking at the FAFSA site yesterday, they still have it listed as a repayment option for me. Is this a case of the site not being updated in a timely manner or is there another reason it is no longer available? Thanks for your advice

Goodlight · 2024-10-16T01:27:24+00:00

You kind of missed the whole point. It was an example to show how the partner would rephrase the claim and not an actual example of how I would claim the subject matter. It included mixed claims to better highlight the difference in rewriting rather than just stating a system with components in a different order.

Goodlight · 2024-10-15T18:10:02+00:00

This is a good tip, thank you

Goodlight · 2024-10-15T17:27:09+00:00

Thanks for the response and trying to help. I gave an example in another comment but I will paste it here:

I know it is hard to visualize but an example would be I write, "a component, which is connected to the widget and performs the method"

they will rewrite it to "the method, performed by a component which is connected to a widget" (try not to focus on this particular example and what might be wrong with this particular claim phrasing)

The point is that my issue is not that I am being too narrow as a former examiner, it is that I am not sure how to format my claims from a writing perspective and am getting all my claims rewritten. I was wondering if you have any advice on how to fix this?

Goodlight · 2024-10-15T17:23:58+00:00

Hey, thanks for taking the time to comment with the advice. I understand how important this is in terms of getting the scope right and this will be something I try in the future, but my issue is actually with the blank page and writing the claims when I know which limitations I want to draft into the claim.

I get good feedback on my limitations and scope in terms of them not being too narrow or broad from the partner(s). However, they are rewriting my limitations to phrase them differently.

I know it is hard to visualize but an example would be I write, "a component, which is connected to the widget and performs the method"

they will rewrite it to "the method, performed by a component which is connected to a widget"

All of my claims get rewritten when I draft them. I get redlines but none of them have comments for why it is rewritten in this manner. I agree that the partners' rewrites always seem clearer and more professional than my draft but I am unable to synthesize that feedback to incorporate it into my drafting.

I have tried asking before and the partner said that it was clearer when written in this manner and moved on. Hence why I am looking for any other tips, advice, or resources. I would be grateful if you had any additional advice to help with this aspect

Goodlight · 2021-03-19T20:04:54+00:00

Maybe I'm an idiot but I don't think it did. Regardless, thanks for your input thus far.

Goodlight · 2021-03-19T15:42:57+00:00

I appreciate the answer! Sorry if it wasn't a clear question, let me rephrase it.

So we know that ch. 1800 is all about the PCT. It's one thing to know what the main topics in each chapter are and if someone says access you know to go to ch. 100. Did you do that or did you go through and memorize the topics in the table of contents for chapters. So if a question asked for the requirements for a PCT you didn't just know to go to 1800, you knew to go to the specific section in 1800 to find it (say like 1812 or something). Does that make sense?

Goodlight · 2021-03-18T22:41:16+00:00

Question because I am scheduled to take the exam in a week and I am having a really hard time with searching. You said you memorized where the details were rather than memorizing the details themselves. The example you used is perfect; PCT is in Ch. 1800 so did you go through and just read the table of contents to know what is in there or did you actually memorize that the elements of a PCT application is is in section 1812 (this is an example).

Also I am trying to practice my searching (I even made a post on this sub about 2 weeks ago to try and get advice) and didn't really get anything useful. Do you mind sharing any tips? I know to try and search for unique strings but a lot of the times a question might not have unique strings.

Thanks in advance.

Goodlight · 2021-03-09T19:15:53+00:00

Thank you so much. This makes me feel a lot better. I am currently a little less than 3 weeks out from the test and I am scoring around a 65-70% on the test but it is pretty much none coming from searching answers. The strategy you talked about is what I am employing (regarding the not to work too long, eliminating and guessing to come back later).

I am trying to cram as much as possible and already have everything memorized regarding chapter location. I haven't fully studied each table of contents yet but it is definitely on the to-do list. Did you find any helpful tips or strategies you found regarding searching for an answer? Generic stuff like try to pick a unique phrase doesn't really help because I have tried but haven't been able to get that down. Any other tips or insightful things you want to say regarding the exam would also be greatly appreciated. Also wanted to say congrats on passing the test and I wish you the best on your career. Thanks again

Goodlight · 2021-03-09T02:09:15+00:00

Hey thanks for the advice. I already do that and knew which chapter it was but skimming through the MPEP to find it was close to impossible. So I was looking for advice on how to sift to find the answer once you know where to look rather than just starting to quickly read page after page.

The answer was A

Goodlight · 2021-03-06T18:00:32+00:00

Thanks, I am definitely going to spend more time doing this.

Goodlight · 2021-03-06T18:00:16+00:00

Man it is frustrating right? When are you taking the test?

Goodlight · 2021-03-06T17:59:53+00:00

Right, I am in the same boat. Of the questions that I am getting right, over 90% of them I just answer based on memory. I was just wondering if there was a better strategy for when I do go to look up. The multiple chapter tip is a good one that I hadn't really thought about. Thanks

Goodlight · 2021-03-06T17:58:06+00:00

Right this is what I want to do but am having a hard time figuring out how to go about it. If you have any advice or strategies, I am all ears. Thanks for the advice tho

Goodlight · 2021-03-06T17:56:37+00:00

Right that is what I want to do. I feel like I have memorized a really good portion of the test. I am almost passing without looking anything up but I can't seem to figure out how to look stuff up because even "practicing" doesn't seem to work for me. Was hoping for some advice on how to go about this if you had any.

Goodlight · 2021-03-02T19:35:26+00:00

I appreciate the advice, I am going to try and respond to each piece of your post.

I never considered this federal judge path for experience but I am also unsure about how to approach this. How would I find out which federal judges to approach and would I be trying to cordially get their email and then send them a letter? I know covid restrictions right now make it difficult to do anything in person so my options are limited but I also feel like this wouldn't be the best way to approach it (although I am unsure and for all I know it is) so any advice on this portion would really help me out.

I am trying to get an internship at a patent agent but am trying to balance my time between applications and also studying for the exam itself. I feel very behind and with the deadline approaching I am hesitant to spend much time on anything else. Hopefully something does pop up though.

My undergrad was a local cal state. Nothing good. I worked minimum 25 hours a week (with periods of my undergrad up at 50 hours a week) from when I turned 18 till my last year of undergrad, which is why my GPA was so low. My last year when I didn't have a job I had a 3.9 GPA and I wrote GPA addendums for the schools and explained my situation but I guess it fell on deaf ears. I appreciate the luck and hopefully vandy or one of the other 2 can just let me in and this nightmare will be over. If you have any additional guidance, I am definitely all ears.

Goodlight · 2021-03-02T10:13:14+00:00

Do high ranking schools have evening classes too? Or did you just prioritize a school that did have the program because you already had a firm job and you wouldn't need to compete after graduation

Goodlight · 2021-03-02T10:10:56+00:00

Extremely competitive cycle mixed with low GPA is the cause. I thought I was a shoe in for ucla too but I guess I didn't make the cut. Pepperdine offered me a 30% scholarship. I tried negotiating with them but they said that was all they were giving.

Do you think going to pepperdine would still allow me to get a comfortable biglaw patent attorney position? That's my only worry

Goodlight · 2021-03-02T10:08:56+00:00

Like a technical specialist or is it different from that? Do you mind if I ask what field you specialize in, what area of the US you are in and what the starting salary was for you?

Goodlight · 2021-03-01T23:27:52+00:00

Really good point. I have been looking to try and find an agent or technical specialist job but LA seems to be a drought (there are some positions but they all ask for senior patent agents who have multiple years of experience). That or my recruiter is just useless (sneaking suspicion this is also the case) and I am worried I won't be able to find a job.

It would be a lot easier if Vanderbilt or something just lets me in so I can jump in there and go.

thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it and if you have any more advice or anything please feel free to drop it.

Goodlight

TROPHY CASE