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I am a recent college graduate, having completed my degree a year ago. I currently hold $43,000 in private student loans, with varying APRs: $11,000 at 11.5%, $22,000 at 13.5%, and $8,000 at 7.75%. I am seeking advice on consolidating these loans to secure a better interest rate. I have explored options with Earnest and received an estimated rate of 6% over five years. Notably, their application indicates no prepayment fees, which aligns with my goal of paying more than the minimum monthly payment. Specifically, I intend to allocate $1,200 per month towards these payments, exceeding the minimum requirement of $880, to expedite repayment and minimize total costs.

Additionally, I am planning to buy a car which will require financing through some auto loan. The car I am considering is priced at $23,000, and I am contemplating a down payment of $5,000 to $10,000.

I seek guidance on the optimal sequence of actions regarding these financial decisions. Should I prioritize consolidating my student loans before financing the car, or vice versa? I am concerned about the impact on my credit score, as both actions will affect it. Is it advisable to do both within the same month so that the previous loan doesn't get reported on my credit report?

For context, my current credit score is approximately 733.

Thanks!

I’m going a new graduate starting an internship. It’s imperative that I do well to receive a return offer. In job search, I’ve built projects with Chat GPTs help. I didn’t tell gpt to just build me a project and I copy and paste but I genuinely use it as a “Jarvis” like Tony stark. That said, is there any stigma with using ChatGPT in the workplace? I don’t like to use gpt to code for me. I like to use gpt as an imaginary person who collaborates on projects. For example, I ask questions like, “I want to implement feature x. It should be used like this… my plan to implement this is to do a, b, and c. Is my structure a good and professional solution to this implementation?”

Usually, I get a really helpful and insightful response that optimizes my design. Sometimes I come up with a solution that might work, but gpt helps me come up with a better solution. This ends up teaching me so much because I actually absorb the information. Moreover, it helps me debug too. I find it as a shortcut to debugging. I see it as, I can spend 2-3 hours googling stuff, or I can spend about 45 minutes talking to gpt to pin point the bug and come up with a viable solution. All that said, what are your thoughts? Am I too reliant on it? Is this a “healthy” relationship with AI? I want to be a strong engineer. I don’t want to pick up sloppy habits and become a poor engineer. My perception of gpt is it’s a new resource to take advantage of. I need some input. What are your thoughts? Thanks!

I'm a new graduate with a CS degree. I've had two internship experiences and consistently work on side projects.

I apply to jobs every day, practice leetcode, and cold email recruiters. All this and to no avail. Not a single interview and a rare coding assessment -- usually provoking -- my "imposter syndrome."

That all said, what should I do? I get others are in the same boat, but I also hear about many of my peers getting job offers left and right. I attempted to implement what worked for them, but still nothing to show for it.

What am I doing wrong? What should I be doing?