Green and soon to be college graduate. Need a manifesto or advice.

I am not sure they are unsubsidized stafford loans.

Get a mint.com account or something similar. Continue to live the college lifestyle for as long as you can after you graduate. Don't buy rounds of shots at the bar. Pay off your student debt as quickly as you can.

I am now over 2 years out of LSU. I also have an engineering degree and I left school with nearly 40k debt. Here's what I've done with my finances since leaving school.

1. Created a spreadsheet wiht all expenses and debts (budget)
2. Consolidated loans through Sallie Mae
3. Built emergency fund
4. Raised 401k contribution to 10%
5. Refinanced student loans through SoFi (Will save 10k over life of the loan)
5. Saved for a down payment on a house (Did a 5% conventional loan and rented out 2 bedrooms to roommates)
6. After I had a little cash flow I opened a Roth IRA and began contributing


I'm not saying that's the exact way you should do things, but that was my path I took as I learned more about personal finance. Hope it helps and good luck

ETA: One huge thing that helped me save was setting up an account with Capital One 360 and automating my saving to withdraw a certain amount each pay period.

From your very first paycheck set your savings plans and don't deviate. Its 100X easier to start saving right away then to take that income out later.

Duplicate What Dustin has done if you can
Seriously. He's got things figured out.

What was their rationale?
Which bank? BAC or Citi?

Interest rates on unsubsidized federal loans run in the 6.8% range so they should be paid off rather aggressively.

OP - do you have an internship this summer?

As no one else has seemed to mention. Try having some fun, these are some of the best years of your life. But I agree with whoever said automate your savings as much as possible. Then ball out on what's left.

Of course, writing out a budget is the place to start. Figure out how much you spend in each category (food, rent, fun, savings); track your spending & refigure your budget after a few months' experience.
--if you need wheels, resist the temptation to buy a new car; find a decent used one (CPO or something with a warranty) instead
--think of your student loan as the entry-level luxury car you're not driving; strive to pay it off at the same rate you'd pay off a car...ie, 36-48 months. if you can manage a car note in this time frame, you can retire those loans at a similar rate.
--start saving a set amount each month: divide savings into IRA contribution and into emergency fund. doesn't matter if it's $50 divided; what is important is the habit of saving, the peace of mind having a cushion will bring, and the long-term benefits of compound interest in the retirement realm.
--as your salary increases, increase your savings.
--learn to be thrifty, not cheap. Cheap is buying terrible things that break because you can't stand to spend money; thrifty considers how long you'll own something, whether or not you'll use it regularly, whether it represents a good value/quality for the money, etc. (Like a cheap suit vs. something better quality that will last longer, stand up to dry cleaning, look better, not go shiny in the elbows, etc)
--don't freak out when sh*t happens. cause it will; you will manage to get three flat tires in three successive months, you will get sick out of town and have to pay for overpriced urgent care, you will break something expensive that you just bought (or borrowed from your friend & thus must replace). don't let a few bad things derail you from your overall good habits.

Travel, thriftily. Forget the need for higher end hotels, learn to like camping, or hostels, or cheap pensione. Get a passport and use your vacation time to see the world up close & personal...find some like-minded friends to stretch your funds. You never know what life will bring, so don't wait around for "more money" or a "better time"....figure out how to do/see the things you want, in a manner you can afford.