<prompt> Human: Recent medical school grad looking for some advice on how to approach my loan situation. I will be out of residency in 4 years and can reasonably expect to make 200-250k pretax at that time real-life permitting. Salary: 64000Take home after taxes: 3500Budget: 2500 Rent, utilities, car, food, entertainment etc including 200 to savings every month until emergency fund is complete then shift to hospital matching 401kContribute 1000 to student loans per monthLoans:Graduate plus loan - Principal 8310.79 8.5Stafford loan - Principal 44,944.00 6.8Graduate plus loan - Principal 39,011.00 7.9Stafford loan - Principal 151,702.72 6.8Total Principal 230,773.00All with the same lender Great LakesMy main questions is should I consolidate these at 6.5 and then pay them off using the Pay-as you-earn-plan PAYE or not consolidate them, pay the loans with the PAYE plan and presumably follow the AvalancheSnowball method. The PAYE online calculators tell me that my payments will be 390 a month but I plan on paying at least double that every month. I looked through old posts and really couldnt find the information im looking for.Thanks for your help!  <response>: Generally when you consolidate federal loans, the consolidation amount is the average of your interest rates, so I expect itll be closer to 7.5 rather than 6.5. That being said, if you can consolidate at 6.5 you do it.Otherwise, I would avoid consolidation, as it would eliminate the opportunity for you to do a debt avalanche which will save you a significant amount of money on this much in loans.Pay as you earn is definitely good until you finish your residency and your salary bumps up. Sounds like you know this, but when you pay at least double, put the extra towards your highest interest PLUS loan.And just as a final word of advice, Id highly recommend you try to maintain your current lifestyle for a year or two after you finish your residency. It will allow you to make a massive dent in your loans. A quarter of a million in loans is a huge burden, and making this sacrifice for a couple extra years is worthwhile. Dont splurge as soon as you get your first big paycheck :And good luck! 