Luke’s luck changed, and he was able to enroll full-time again. He has become employed full-time and earns $40 per hour. Becomin
g employed full-time will help him repay the $35,000 he borrowed in direct student loans at 4.66%. Because all students who borrow direct loans are placed into the standard repayment plan when entering repayment by the Department of Education, Luke looked into the details. He realized the cost benefit and chose to remain in this plan, it is the shortest in length and students pay the least amount of interest. After doing some calculations, he estimated his monthly payment will be $365, which includes principal and interest. In order for Luke to be able to afford his repayment under the Standard plan comfortably, he will need to allocate 12% of his paycheck.
If Luke’s monthly payment is $365.44 (principal and interest) and it takes 10 years to pay back the loan, what is the total cost of the loan?
