<prompt> Human: As the title says, Ill be getting back about a 1,000 student refund check from my loans this upcoming semester. I was thinking about using it to open up a Roth IRA using one of Vanguards Target Retirement Funds. Would this be a good idea, just for the sake of having the account to contribute to it, or should I use the refund to apply towards principle on the loan?If its important, the loan is a fixed 5.5 interest rate.EDIT: Seems that the majority consensus is to apply it towards the loan, which is what Ill do.  <response>: 5.5 risk free, guaranteed return on your student loan is something you wont find in the larger marketplace. Id pay down the loan. 