What was your household's income while you were in highschool?

My parents are divorced. My mom is an RN. My dad used to be in the Army, but now drives semi trucks (he doesn't support me at all, so I only claim my mom's income).

During high school my mom was making something like 36-45k I think, depending on how much overtime she worked.

$180,000-$200,000+

My mother is involved in a family business where she makes about $100,000-$150,000 a year.

My father is a Network Engineer who makes about $80,000-$90,000 a year.

My mom is also a nurse, but she hasn't worked on a hospital floor since before I was in school. She is a nursing supervisor/coordinator for a home care company now.

My dad had his own small sign company. He moved out when I was 16 and my parents separated (thank God). I have no idea how much he actually contributed to our income, but it wasn't much.

My parents divorced when I was a Junior in high school. So much for waiting until I graduated, Ma. My mom made a measly 25k as a secretary while my dad makes around 45k as a partial manager at a grocery store (I'm not sure what his title is exactly).

I think I'm going to have a tough time telling adcoms I'm not in it for the money given my family history.

100,000 - 150,000

My mom is an RN and makes the vast majority of that income - she's a supervisor at a local hospital on nights/weekends and 9-5, monday to friday, she works in a pulmonologist's office. she essentially works 8 days a week.

My dad works in a mailroom.

wickl087 said:

My parents divorced when I was a Junior in high school. So much for waiting until I graduated, Ma. My mom made a measly 25k as a secretary while my dad makes around 45k as a partial manager at a grocery store (I'm not sure what his title is exactly).

I think I'm going to have a tough time telling adcoms I'm not in it for the money given my family history.

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I'd actually find it harder to believe that someone who came from a rich family wasn't in it for the money. If you grew up with money, you probably want to continue a life of having money and thus will pursue a job where you'd make good money.

I see a lot of people from low income households who just do whatever low income job because that's what they're used to. I don't think you see a lot of poor people shoot for the moon.. it's too hard to get there when you have limited means.

So don't think you're going to have a big issue with that.

wickl087 said:

My parents divorced when I was a Junior in high school. So much for waiting until I graduated, Ma. My mom made a measly 25k as a secretary while my dad makes around 45k as a partial manager at a grocery store (I'm not sure what his title is exactly).

I think I'm going to have a tough time telling adcoms I'm not in it for the money given my family history.

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I really don't think coming from a poorer background makes you at a disadvantage. Med schools want a DIVERSE background.

I find it interesting that out of the first five replies, 3 involved an RN parent and/or divorce/separation. I know it doesn't say anything about anything, just interesting is all...

Less than 50k. Dad was in the military, mom was stay-at-home. Dad also paid child support for my half sister and extra to help put her through school. I have a younger sister, as well.

Oh, right - to add. I have two siblings. We all went to Catholic schools from elementary through high school, because our parents pretty much wanted to keep us out of the NYC public school system, which can be notoriously crappy.

100-200 (before taxes) range...

my dad is clergy and my mom is a pharmacist. The overwhelming majority of our income came from my mom. Three kids (including me). They paid for all our ways through HS (private schools) and undergraduate degrees/living costs.

I have awesome parents.

Hifey said:

100-200 (before taxes) range...

my dad is clergy and my mom is a pharmacist. The overwhelming majority of our income came from my mom. Three kids (including me). They paid for all our ways through HS (private schools) and undergraduate degrees/living costs.

I have awesome parents.

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Ditto - my mom is also funding our college educations. My parents didn't have a fair shot at higher education, so they feel really strongly about us going to the best possible schools, regardless of cost. Hence why my mom works so many hours (80+ a week)

My mom is a secretary and my dad is a salesman. Neither graduated high school. When I was in high school, they probably made about 70k combined (but there are 6 people in my family).

My parents had no high school education: Mom: purchasing agent, Dad: contractor.

My mom is unemployed now so like 50-80k

$50k total I think? Dad is a maintenance man in a factory, mom is a receptionist at a veterinary clinic. I have one sister.

I don't even feel like I was in the same boat as any of you guys.

My dad is a doctor, and my mom stayed at home. But they did divorce my freshman year in high school, my mom has gone back to school to be a nurse and recently just graduated. So in high school my dad pulled in ~$300,000 a year.

My dad is a paper salesman and my mom is a beautician...together they brought in about 40-45 k a year I believe! But there were only two of us kids so it wasn't too bad!

fluctuated year to year between $19-25k
My mom is a CNA, and my dad paid like 2.5k a year in child support starting in middle school. I have two siblings, but they weren't around that much during high school for various reasons.

Ranged from 70k to 90k, depending on how much overtime my dad worked.

Mom is a med tech, dad works at an oil refinery.

Mom is pharmacologist, dad is chemist - both work at the same company. Probably make between 130-150k total. However, they got a reallly late start so not much goes toward my education so I'm on my own there, but I'm OK with that.

Dad was a policy analyst, Mom stayed home to take care of my disabled brother (and me). Probably just over 100K.

dad: engineer
mom: cafeteria worker (was stay-at-home before sibling and I were in hs)

~20,000
Family of 8. Mom and step dad have no college education. Only step dad could work because mom had to take care of my sister who has had 3 heart transplants and a kidney transplant.

For most of my childhood, for a standard nuclear family of 4, my dad earned about 35K serving in the US Navy. My mom was a stay at home housewife. My dad retired after 20 years and spent a few years working odd jobs and looking for steady gainful employment. During this period my mom worked at a cabinet making factory. My dad finally found employment at the end of my junior year in HS working as a phlebotomist for the state hospital.
I was always was a little bitter about the timing of his regaining employment since his new income coupled with my mom’s pushed us out of the range for need based scholarships and grants…could have attended an Ivy if he had waited 6 months. Instead I got the benefit of being raised in a lower income childhood without the benefit of using that entire economic disadvantage when it came to looking for financial assistance. Oh well, the dude abides.

ARK013 said:

My dad is a paper salesman and my mom is a beautician...together they brought in about 40-45 k a year I believe! But there were only two of us kids so it wasn't too bad!

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Please tell me your pops is Dwight Schrute.

In high school my mom was the only source of income making a little under 50k, She was a project manager in NYC, drove everyday for a minimum of 2 hours, i commend her, she is always pushing me with school.

surftheiop said:

I think this thread is somewhat self selecting, I doubt many of the people from families like yours are going to post. If SDN is anything like the general premed population there should be alot more people with physician parents than the thread has shown so far.

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Not showing what you were expecting, huh?

500K+

Dad-famous actor.

Mom-models sometimes.

Me- premed, kind of the family weirdo. I am the only child.

VTBuc said:

Please tell me your pops is Dwight Schrute.

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Haha no, however I did show him the office and told him that his workplace really needs to be like that.....but he didn't even think it was funny :\

HAROLDGOODLOOKI said:

500K+

Dad-famous actor.

Mom-models sometimes.

Me- premed, kind of the family weirdo. I am the only child.

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Whos your dad?

Roughly 50k a year. Dad dropped out of high school in the 10th grade, he is now a house painter. Mom dropped out of college, she is a teacher's aid at an elementary school. One brother, one sister. Dad also has never been able to pay his (family's) taxes, so the IRS has been severely garnishing his wages for 15+ years now. A ~$1000 per month IRS payment lowers that 50k quite a bit further too (money is so incredibly tight, just a slight hit in income is very noticeable).

Relied entirely on loans for undergrad since financial aid has never taken into account my parents IRS issues. ~30k in the hole so far, graduating in a couple weeks.

I wish there were more ranges. I'd have to say under 50,000 for a family of four. Mom is an assistant at a personal care home; dad works on an assembly line.

Bacchus said:

I wish there were more ranges. I'd have to say under 50,000 for a family of four. Mom is an assistant at a personal care home; dad works on an assembly line.

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Yeah, same. Sometimes my parents make a bit over 50k (couple thousand), so I included it in the 50k-100k range. However, that's not an accurate representation because let me assure you; if my folks were making 100k a year, our lives would be significantly different.

70ish K? both social workers

My dad is a mechanical engineer. 6 people in the family. What I have been really curious about is the income ranges of students in top ten schools. I feel like these schools are loaded with wealthy students. I also wonder how the average indebtedness at schools are so low. I wish my parents contributed more to my college, but I have two more brothers. In undergrad, I received a complete merit scholarship with housing and tuition paid for with a book stipend.

The most my family made was 35K with many years being below that.

I am surprised we don't see more physician parents.

Dad's a gastroenterologist, mom's an internal medicine doc. 500k+. Divorced now.

Yes, I do fit the bill for the stereotype of the doctor parents.

My parents are divorced as well. My father is a politician overseas and my mother owns her own company that deals with the medical field she also owns a medical building with offices that she rents out to docs. $500k+ between the two. Just for kicks and giggles, my grandma flips properties overseas for a very reasonable amount of money as well.

Dad is a neonatalogist; mom used to be a piano teacher but is now a housewife. Dad made 500k+ during his best years but like 200-300k now.

Interesting poll topic. I like it. More people need to post.

My mom was originally a nurse and later added on an associate's in computer science to go on and work as principal systems analyst at a hospital (computer programming basically).

My stepfather was a coalminer his whole life.

Interesting combo, eh?

There's a high representation of nurse moms on here... maybe that means something.

rcheech7 said:

I don't even feel like I was in the same boat as any of you guys.

My dad is a doctor, and my mom stayed at home. But they did divorce my freshman year in high school, my mom has gone back to school to be a nurse and recently just graduated. So in high school my dad pulled in ~$300,000 a year.

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The lack of a bell curve in the poll lends me to believe that the results are skewed for some reason.

Don't let the whole obama "struggle of the proletarian" craze color your view of income. My parents worked very hard to make it from a sales floor worker at J.C. Penny and a jail clerk (half of that job paid for a babysitter) to retiring with a phat house on the golf course and a lot of cruise destinations.

But I would still wager it is just as hard to maintain wealth from an early age as it is to build it (trust funds probably less so). Your dad worked harder than even mine and had the brain power to make real cash. Don't ever feel guilty about that when speaking to anyone.

schrizto said:

There's a high representation of nurse moms on here... maybe that means something.

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I probably would have joined the military if I hadn't been exposed to medicine through my mom's experience as a nurse. It was definitely a big part of me pursuing medicine

Dad was president of a local cable company, mom stayed at home. I am not sure about income but I know it was 300k+. Both were college educated.

schrizto said:

There's a high representation of nurse moms on here... maybe that means something.

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Yeah, a whole lot of moms telling kids that want to go into healthcare NOT to go into nursing. Just my experience.

Geekchick921 said:

Yeah, a whole lot of moms telling kids that want to go into healthcare NOT to go into nursing. Just my experience.

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My mom told me not to stay at home. It's funny how moms influence us!