Pre-existing student loans

[kshepherd]

Hey there everyone, I paid for my undergrad with loans in my own name, some of which are private and non-deferrable, even if I am in full-time grad school (i should have looked more closely at the deferment policies--once I was out of school 6 months, I could no longer defer them for ANY reason even peace corps, etc).

all told i have about $125k in loans currently.

thats before postbacc, med school, residency, etc.

am i totally cutting off my own foot financially? or do you think i will be able to pay it back reasonably once im practicing? (im going for OB...currently an L&D RN about to start midwifery school who decided she wants to do C-sections after all...)

will i be able to have a life or am i destined to poverty and paying back $4k a month post-med school just to pay off my loans? im married, my hubby's about to enter law school...i feel like we have the potential to make a good financial recovery if we are smart with our money.

is anyone else in this boat? did any of you take out all your undergrad tuition with loans in your name? id love it if i only had to pay for med school...seems CHEAP now to just pay for one and not both. anyone know any physicians in this boat and how they are doing??

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

I've similar loans, whose name (other than mine or my spouse's) would any loans be under? I'd think most students would have loans under their names rather than their parents or others. When I have run the figures (as a finance MBA), the return in a financial sense is definitely there, in the sense that you'll be able to pay off the med school loans and have quite a comfortable standard of living afterward. Last I checked, typical OB/GYN salary 3+ years out is in the 200-250K range; say 40% combined fed & state taxes & you're at 135K. Presuming you're paying interest on your current undergrad loans, they'd stay at around the current balance of 125K (payment at 7.5%, 30 year term which I'd pursue if the lender will allow) would be 874 per month. Add in 200K loans for med school stuff, and you're at 325K loans after training. At 7.5%, again at a 30 year payment cycle, and the payments would be 2,270 or so. If your income is 135K per year (net) or 11,250 per month net and your loan payment is 2,270, after tax income is still 9,000 per month - keep in mind that AVERAGE household income in the US is around 4,000 PRETAX. Add in your spouse's salary and you're in not bad shape.

Keep in mind that, after finishing, if you have children you're looking at around-the-clock nanny service - my sibling is an MD in a field similar to the one you're looking at and it's a necessity unless your spouse has short hours. Nannies are not inexpensive.

Biggest concern is how to pay 874 per month while in med school, this may be a dealbreaker unless you can find lenders to cover this payment somehow, I'd speak to the financial aid office at med schools.

Not to cause marital strife, but many, many lawyers go to law school and ultimately change to another field after amassing the school debt. It'd be a thought to take a look at % of attorneys who leave the practice of law versus physicians who leave medicine; if a med student or a law student were to consider the value of their education, in my experience the med student would get much more value for their investment. Some couples go to grad school in a "staggered" fashion to mitigate financial stress. Best of luck!

[Vith]

OP: I guess it's feasible to pay the non-deferrable student loans with other student loans while in med school, and borrow more appropriately.
As far as paying for it at the end of the road, you could consider the NHS or military. I'm going to be in a similar boat as you when I finish my undergrad so I'll be looking up those alleys when the time comes.

[yadayadadude]

I think the answer here depends on what fraction of the $125K is private. If you'll need to be making payments on, say, $100K's worth of private loans throughout medical school, while your husband is also a fulltime student, that might prove, frankly, impossible. In years past, there were private loans available to medical students above the "cost of attendance" set by schools, but those loans basically aren't available anymore and it's anyone's guess if they're coming back. If at all possible, you should do your best to a) pay cash for your post-bac and b) pay off the private loans before entering medical school.

[jeaneous]

What if you took a couple years off of school and worked like a dog to pay the loans off? You're looking at a half million easy between your schooling and your husband's schooling. If you can't defer the bulk of the loan, it's going to be really hard if not impossible. Then when you get out of school, you'll both be paying back the loan into your golden years.

[dragonfly99]

kshepard
we need more good OB's (and/or nurse midwives)!
I am more worried about your undergrad loans than any loans you'd get from med school...the med school loans you'd be able to defer most of them due to "economic hardship" during your residency, since they will be Stafford loans (hopefully all, or at least most).
Thoughts on saving money:
1) If you are already a nurse, try and make as much $ as you can in the next year or so, to pay down your student loan debts.
2) Just go to the cheapest med school you can get in to (i.e. state med school if you can). There's really no difference in the education vs. a private school, in the vast majority of cases, and it's not worth the extra $ to pay for private med school unless you have a specific reason to go there (i.e. want to do basic science research as a career, and work w/particular people there, etc.).
3) Do you really need to do a postbac? Those cost a lot of money. What is the reason? Is your GPA low for a med school applicant?