<prompt> Human: Hello all,I am 21 and currently attending college. I am majoring in chemical engineering minor in astrophysics and plan on graduating in December of 2016. I work a part time job making about 6-7k a year, most of which is spent on food, gas, bars, entertainment, etc. Im fortunate enough to have a family that is helping me out with tuition housing, for now. I am personally borrowing 27k in the form of a Federal Unsubsidized Loan 4.29 interest I believe it accrues at around 1 until 6 months after I graduate. In the past, my parents have set up a mutual fund for me which grew to 18k. They have since taken that money out of the mutual fund where it sits in a savings account. My main question is: should I save the 18k to pay off the majority of my loans upon graduating, or should I invest it? I was personally thinking of putting 10k into VTSAX and keeping the remaining 8k as an emergency fund. The only problem with that, is if I have a hard time getting a job upon graduating and am in need of that money, I could easily take a hit on it. Current assets: 18k savings, 1.8-2k checkings, car worth 6k 90,000 miles. With the current job market for chemical engineers, Im not too hopeful in finding a job right out of school. If I am able to find a solid engineering job, I could probably pay 475-700 a month toward student loans, if not, I could only do 290-360 a month. Is paying 10-15 of income the way to go about that? Also, I know this is kind of along the guide lines of the I have X ... What Do I Do With It?! but I know I am going to do 1 of 2 things with my money, Im just not sure which, mathematically, is the better option. Any and all advice is welcomed. Thanks in advance!  <response>: I would keep most of it in an emergency fund until you have a job. Out of school and unemployed is what most people would be calling an emergency, during which that they would be living off that fund. Give yourself plenty of comfortable runway until you have an income. If youre lucky, youll have a job within a few months. The risk isnt worth the extra couple months of what could be little to no interest.Once you have a job, evaluate how much it is and where you stand then and come back to this question. 