Beyond updating their addresses, the best advice to graduating seniors with loan debt is to "come up with a payment plan and stick to it religiously," according to Karen Freeman, a spokesperson for the Department of Education's Office of Student Financial Assistance, which handles federal loans.
Both Irons and Freeman said that if certain circumstances--including disability, unemployment, full-time volunteer work or enrollment in graduate school--precluded graduates from paying their loans, they should contact loan officers at Harvard to re-tailor their payment plan.
Only a small number of Harvard students have significant problems with their loans, according to Irons. The exit interviews are part of the Financial Aid Office's attempt to reduce those numbers further through education.
"We hope people along the way have been thinking about it in terms of budgeting," says Irons. However, "this is everyone's most boring topic until they have to pay back [the loans.]"