If you CAN PAY - see how easy it can be.
You'd want to start making payments immediately. As soon as you stop going to school (or drop below half-time status) the next 6 months are your grace period. For 6 months you don't have to make any payments on your student loans.
But, the sooner you get started paying, the sooner you're out of debt. YAY! No debt.
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If you have a subsidized loan, making a payment in "grace" will benefit you BECAUSE, on a subsidized loan the government pays the interest during your grace period and any payments you make will be applied directly to the principal balance of your student loan. This lowers the total amount of interest you'll have to pay over the life of the loan.
If your loan is unsubsidized, it will continue to accrue interest during your grace period. If you make payments while in "grace" you reduce or eliminate interest capitalized (added to your principal), reducing the total amount of interest paid over the life of the loan.
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See how much you can save with the Grace Period Calculator.
Before you pay anything you should probably figure out what your Repayment Options are. They're really pretty flexible. Some you pay more now, some you pay more later. Not bad.
Next: Repayment Options
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