How common is it for parents to foot 100% of the cost of medical school?

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I'm at an Ivy League medical school and a few of my friends have revealed to me that they won't have loans when they graduate, or have lavish spending habbits (think designer clothes, luxury automobiles, etc) that I assume their parents are giving them lost of money.

I've heard that the "average indebtness at graduation" figure can be misleading because many families take out loans strategically, with the intention of paying back with parental money. For one thing, prior to the federal budget overhaul, some federal loans were 0% interest while the student was in medical school.

Do you have friends in medical schools whose parents pay for 100% of the cost of medical school? What's the impression that you get of these people? What do their parents do for their living?

About 1/4 to 1/3 of our class has it being paid for by family of some sort (parents, grandparents, trust fund, etc.).

Most are doctors kids.

What do you think their parents do for a living?

In my class, the ones that have all of their medical education paid for by parents are doctor kids, lawyer kids, and children of people who are just rich.

Originally Posted by ckdgusdl88

I'm at an Ivy League medical school and a few of my friends have revealed to me that they won't have loans when they graduate, or have lavish spending habbits (think designer clothes, luxury automobiles, etc) that I assume their parents are giving them lost of money.

I've heard that the "average indebtness at graduation" figure can be misleading because many families take out loans strategically, with the intention of paying back with parental money. For one thing, prior to the federal budget overhaul, some federal loans were 0% interest while the student was in medical school.

Do you have friends in medical schools whose parents pay for 100% of the cost of medical school? What's the impression that you get of these people? What do their parents do for their living?

Strategic loaning is very smart and everyone should do it if possible. You can get a loan with 0% interest in medical school and have your parents pay it off for you after you graduate. My parents will just over half the cost of my fees if i go to medical school and we will likely strategically use the loans we can get to minimize our interest rates.

The stats that I have seen from the AAMC indicate that about 20% of medical students graduate with no debt. I am not sure who is included in the statistic.

Originally Posted by ckdgusdl88

I'm at an Ivy League medical school and a few of my friends have revealed to me that they won't have loans when they graduate, or have lavish spending habbits (think designer clothes, luxury automobiles, etc) that I assume their parents are giving them lost of money.

I've heard that the "average indebtness at graduation" figure can be misleading because many families take out loans strategically, with the intention of paying back with parental money. For one thing, prior to the federal budget overhaul, some federal loans were 0% interest while the student was in medical school.

Do you have friends in medical schools whose parents pay for 100% of the cost of medical school? What's the impression that you get of these people? What do their parents do for their living?

Its pretty common. I read somewhere (dont have the exact number) that majority of medical students come from well off families (top 10% income), about 30% come from middles class families, and only 10% or so come from low income households. Most people wont go around advertising that their parents are footing the entire bill.

Did you know the original Hippocratic oath had a line that was later taken out: I will impart a knowledge of the Art to my own sons, and those of my teachers, and to disciples bound by a stipulation and oath according to the law of medicine, but to none others.

Depends how rich their parents are...

My dad makes $300k per year and isn't paying for anything toward my medical education. Go figure.

Originally Posted by Medstart108

Strategic loaning is very smart and everyone should do it if possible. You can get a loan with 0% interest in medical school and have your parents pay it off for you after you graduate. My parents will just over half the cost of my fees if i go to medical school and we will likely strategically use the loans we can get to minimize our interest rates.

This is incorrect

My parents don't make enough to be paying for my medschool, but they did pay for about half of undergrad. If I have the means to (which I should so long as I don't have 20 kids ), I would definitely help pay for my hypothetical kids hypothetical med-schooling.

No reason to force a kid to pay a ton of interest to the bank on loans just so they can say they are "self sufficient", given the fact they are going to get whatever assets I have when I die anyway, I would rather keep that 100k of interest in the family by helping pay for their medschool at the time rather than waiting till I die.

Funny Current,
0% interest federal loans are gone now, but used to be around when I started school.

Some medical schools also offer loans that are 0% interest while in school - if offered, there's no reason why anyone should refuse these.

Due to strategic borrowing, I suspect that the actual average indebtness is somewhat lower than AAMC figures. Also the actual proportion of people graduating without debt is somewhat higher.

Originally Posted by ckdgusdl88

Funny Current,
0% interest federal loans are gone now, but used to be around when I started school.

Some medical schools also offer loans that are 0% interest while in school - if offered, there's no reason why anyone should refuse these.

I take out a Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) That is 0% interest while in school. Also a Perkins loan is 0%. These are both still available but only to students whose parents make less than $100,000 combined.

Originally Posted by ckdgusdl88

Funny Current,
0% interest federal loans are gone now, but used to be around when I started school.

Some medical schools also offer loans that are 0% interest while in school - if offered, there's no reason why anyone should refuse these.

Due to strategic borrowing, I suspect that the actual average indebtness is somewhat lower than AAMC figures. Also the actual proportion of people graduating without debt is somewhat higher.

Yep, some of my loans are like that. No interest till I finish residency.

Originally Posted by surftheiop

My parents don't make enough to be paying for my medschool, but they did pay for about half of undergrad. If I have the means to (which I should so long as I don't have 20 kids ), I would definitely help pay for my hypothetical kids hypothetical med-schooling.

No reason to force a kid to pay a ton of interest to the bank on loans just so they can say they are "self sufficient", given the fact they are going to get whatever assets I have when I die anyway, I would rather keep that 100k of interest in the family by helping pay for their medschool at the time rather than waiting till I die.

I think this is the rationale behind many parents' decisions to foot their kids' medical school bills. It is a estate-tax free way to help your children out, and you can avoid paying interest.

Originally Posted by Oxer45

Its pretty common. I read somewhere (dont have the exact number) that majority of medical students come from well off families (top 10% income), about 30% come from middles class families, and only 10% or so come from low income households.

Any ballpark of how these wealth classes are broken down? I've had a difficult time telling amongst my classmates except for the uber-rich, and even then it wasn't immediately obvious to me (as I'm one of the less outgoing students, I'm sure).

Originally Posted by ckdgusdl88

Funny Current,
0% interest federal loans are gone now, but used to be around when I started school.

Some medical schools also offer loans that are 0% interest while in school - if offered, there's no reason why anyone should refuse these.

Due to strategic borrowing, I suspect that the actual average indebtness is somewhat lower than AAMC figures. Also the actual proportion of people graduating without debt is somewhat higher.

Correct. Still:

Aren't 0% loans offered to those with financial need (that's how it is at my institution)? As a result, those planning to do strategic loaning, with parental payment of debt upon graduation, will likely encounter some disappointment.

Originally Posted by surftheiop

My parents don't make enough to be paying for my medschool, but they did pay for about half of undergrad. If I have the means to (which I should so long as I don't have 20 kids ), I would definitely help pay for my hypothetical kids hypothetical med-schooling.

No reason to force a kid to pay a ton of interest to the bank on loans just so they can say they are "self sufficient", given the fact they are going to get whatever assets I have when I die anyway, I would rather keep that 100k of interest in the family by helping pay for their medschool at the time rather than waiting till I die.

Kids should be self sufficient. They have a lifetime of income to pay off their loans, but at that point you will have only a few years to save for retirement. Most Americans are adverse to older parents living with them. No point to sacrifice your financial well being for something all the other kids do anyway (pay off loans).

Originally Posted by FunnyCurrent

Correct. Still:

Aren't 0% loans offered to those with financial need (that's how it is at my institution)? As a result, those planning to do strategic loaning, with parental payment of debt upon graduation, will likely encounter some disappointment.

Is anyone NOT in financial need? Most professional students don't list their parents tax info and have no savings themselves.

Originally Posted by Oxer45

Kids should be self sufficient. They have a lifetime of income to pay off their loans, but at that point you will have only a few years to save for retirement. Most Americans are adverse to older parents living with them. No point to sacrifice your financial well being for something all the other kids do anyway (pay off loans).

The interesting thing is most people would love to get 6.8% return on their money. When I retire I'd gladly make part of investment plan for retirement to loan med students money at 5% interest.

I actually had an uncle try to propose this to me last Christmas break. He could only get 3-4% on his money right now.

Originally Posted by link2swim06

Is anyone NOT in financial need? Most professional students don't list their parents tax info and have no savings themselves.

Private medical schools are free to set their own rules regarding who qualifies for 0% interest loan, and can require parental info.

Federal programs, on the other hand, consider professional students to be adults separate from parents. I do not recall supplying parental info to the Federal govt, and I have both Perkins (still available) and Federal Direct Subsidized Loans (now gone), both of which is 0% while in school. I can't be sure if the school didn't supply my parents info to the govt, but I doubt it as I don't recall being told about it.

Originally Posted by Oxer45

Kids should be self sufficient. They have a lifetime of income to pay off their loans, but at that point you will have only a few years to save for retirement. Most Americans are adverse to older parents living with them. No point to sacrifice your financial well being for something all the other kids do anyway (pay off loans).

Of course, you should only pay for your kids' medical school if you are confident of your ability to pay for retirement.

Originally Posted by Shnurek

I take out a Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) That is 0% interest while in school. Also a Perkins loan is 0%. These are both still available but only to students whose parents make less than $100,000 combined.

These aren't available to medical students. Subsidized loans are gone w the republican congress. Hitting us fatcats in med school.

Originally Posted by RadicalRadon

These aren't available to medical students. Subsidized loans are gone w the republican congress. Hitting us fatcats in med school.

Correct. Class of 2015 forward will not have subsidized loans.

Also perkins is not 0% interest and only cover up to 8000

Edit2: I find it shocking that people don't know this stuff like the back of their hand.

Originally Posted by Oxer45

Kids should be self sufficient. They have a lifetime of income to pay off their loans, but at that point you will have only a few years to save for retirement. Most Americans are adverse to older parents living with them. No point to sacrifice your financial well being for something all the other kids do anyway (pay off loans).

Most parents that pay 100% of their kids tuition can do so comfortably. No point in wasting an extra 200k of your kids' money in interest on loans just to teach them a lesson.

Originally Posted by RadicalRadon

These aren't available to medical students. Subsidized loans are gone w the republican congress. Hitting us fatcats in med school.

Actually, ending subsidized student loans for grad students was proposed by Obama himself in his 2012 budget proposal.

It was also the democrats who put in the sunset provision for undergrad student loans to shoot up to 6.8% interest in the middle of an election year.

And also, it isn't a republican congress. The senate still has a democrat majority.

Disclaimer: I do not support the GOP or the democratic party.

Originally Posted by RadicalRadon

These aren't available to medical students. Subsidized loans are gone w the republican congress. Hitting us fatcats in med school.

ya it rained today....obviously must have been the republicans fault

The median income of med school student families is something like 100k.

Originally Posted by RadicalRadon

These aren't available to medical students. Subsidized loans are gone w the republican congress. Hitting us fatcats in med school.

Basically, you're implying that if someone is not a "fatcat", the government should be funding his or her college or graduate education.

Those types of assumptions have put the US (and Europe) in this horrible financial situation.

In response to the OP, I think it's pretty common for the student's family to help out with at least part of med school. E.g. food, clothing, etc. But it's not unfair for parents to expect kids (esp. those going into medicine) to pay part of their own way through loans.

Originally Posted by FunnyCurrent

Correct. Class of 2015 forward will not have subsidized loans.

Also perkins is not 0% interest and only cover up to 8000

Edit2: I find it shocking that people don't know this stuff like the back of their hand.

Woops, ya its 1% that you pay up front and then payments don't start until 4 years after when I graduate and wait another 6 months after graduation before interest starts accruing. 1% still beats inflation which is at 3%-5% a year Free money? Ya I'll take it. I think the HPSL has also a 1% fee.

Originally Posted by notbobtrustme

The median income of med school student families is something like 100k.

Source?

Originally Posted by phenylacetone

Any ballpark of how these wealth classes are broken down? I've had a difficult time telling amongst my classmates except for the uber-rich, and even then it wasn't immediately obvious to me (as I'm one of the less outgoing students, I'm sure).

Its hard to tell who's rich or not, cause most people dont show it. And some of the people who often flaunt wealth dont have a high net worth and use loans to finance their lifestyle. Think about it this way: A parent will have a high net worth if they save a lot, a trait the kids will learn too. So the kids are unlikely to show "wealth" as it costs a lot to buy designer clothes, German cars, etc. But every now and then you will have an occasional d-bag brag about his yacht trip.

My mother is paying for my med school (albeit in state public) because her father paid for hers. It's about the best gift a parent can give a kid, if they can do it.

What's interesting is that individuals who have their tuition and four years of living expenses/everything else paid for...... Which could easily hover around $500k total.....probably do not have any way of understanding that this is a big deal. Obviously they know they're "lucky" or don't have debt but if you've never had debt and mom and dad have always footed the bill.........how would you truly know.......the bounty paper towel test: if youve ever contemplated and felt guilty about buying bounty paper towels because they're so much more expensive- or even noticed how much more expensive they are- you're probably not a sheltered and pampered youngin'

Fine by me though. Although I'd be the first one to grab a tub of butter drenched popcorn to watch a formerly supported student figure out how to support themselves if the cord was ever cut. That happened to me when my parents lost almost everything in the dot com crisis.....

Originally Posted by wacritchlow

My mother is paying for my med school (albeit in state public) because her father paid for hers. It's about the best gift a parent can give a kid, if they can do it.

My grandmother paid for my dad's med school.

I'm paying for my own.

Originally Posted by ucladoc2b

My grandmother paid for my dad's med school.

I'm paying for my own.

Great! My parents paid for my med school. My spouse and I will be paying all the costs for my children. We are delighted to be able to do so.

The idea that there are only rich parents for whom $50,000-$100,000/year in overall med ed costs is trivial and other folks who will destroy their retirement by paying for educational expenses is vastly oversimplified.

Some of us knew that our kids might need educational support beyond college early on and planned savings accordingly, and have adjusted our lifestyle accordingly without affecting retirement savings. We are not all the 0.1%ers.

Originally Posted by oldbearprofessor

Great! My parents paid for my med school. My spouse and I will be paying all the costs for my children. We are delighted to be able to do so.

The idea that there are only rich parents for whom $50,000-$100,000/year in overall med ed costs is trivial and other folks who will destroy their retirement by paying for educational expenses is vastly oversimplified.

Some of us knew that our kids might need educational support beyond college early on and planned savings accordingly, and have adjusted our lifestyle accordingly without affecting retirement savings. We are not all the 0.1%ers.

Sorry but the beginning of your post begs for this: good for YOU!!!!!

Lol, if you can save an additional 200k on top if regular college savings you are not just a talented strategic planner....... You have to actually have the money to put away in the first place after paying for the rest of life........

I don't think many are destroying their retirement plans to send their kids to medical school. If you were responsible enough to have a good retirement plan you'll be responsible enough to to not pay for post grad educational expenses you can't afford.

Originally Posted by Oxer45

Its hard to tell who's rich or not, cause most people dont show it. And some of the people who often flaunt wealth dont have a high net worth and use loans to finance their lifestyle. Think about it this way: A parent will have a high net worth if they save a lot, a trait the kids will learn too. So the kids are unlikely to show "wealth" as it costs a lot to buy designer clothes, German cars, etc. But every now and then you will have an occasional d-bag brag about his yacht trip.

Really? You actually have people like that in your class? It's been my experience that medicine is not usually a field people of that much wealth go into. Generally finance, banking, etc... Cool, though.

Originally Posted by projectlogic

Source?

The median family income reported by
respondents has increased from
$50,000 in 1987 to $100,000 in 2006.

https://www.aamc.org/download/102338...aibvol8no1.pdf

Originally Posted by oldbearprofessor

Great! My parents paid for my med school. My spouse and I will be paying all the costs for my children. We are delighted to be able to do so.

The idea that there are only rich parents for whom $50,000-$100,000/year in overall med ed costs is trivial and other folks who will destroy their retirement by paying for educational expenses is vastly oversimplified.

Some of us knew that our kids might need educational support beyond college early on and planned savings accordingly, and have adjusted our lifestyle accordingly without affecting retirement savings. We are not all the 0.1%ers.

Rocket scientist. Nice.

Originally Posted by oldbearprofessor

Great! My parents paid for my med school. My spouse and I will be paying all the costs for my children. We are delighted to be able to do so.

The idea that there are only rich parents for whom $50,000-$100,000/year in overall med ed costs is trivial and other folks who will destroy their retirement by paying for educational expenses is vastly oversimplified.

Some of us knew that our kids might need educational support beyond college early on and planned savings accordingly, and have adjusted our lifestyle accordingly without affecting retirement savings. We are not all the 0.1%ers.

So what are you planning on being able to cover? I shudder to think about how expensive something like med school is likely to be in another 25 years or so.

I believe that one generally has an obligation to return whatever one receives from one's parents to one's offspring. The exception is if one's offspring are clearly not worth the investment.

It is vitally necessary to properly guilt your progeny when paying for their schooling. When paying for college, for instance, you should make it very clear that you do not want your child to be a hipster when they graduate.

Originally Posted by ucladoc2b

My grandmother paid for my dad's med school.

I'm paying for my own.

Sounds like your dad's a generational leech, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Originally Posted by ckdgusdl88

The exception is if one's offspring are clearly not worth the investment.

.

Perhaps your child is more likely to become "not worth the investment" if you're in the habit of evaluating whether or not he or she is.

Originally Posted by Tatiana3325

Perhaps your child is more likely to become "not worth the investment" if you're in the habit of evaluating whether or not he or she is.

I disagree. If you just provide and provide, you are going to incentivize a lazy lifestyle.

Originally Posted by ckdgusdl88

Sounds like your dad's a generational leech, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

To be fair, medical school is a lot more expensive now than it was a generation ago. I'll take UPenn as an example, because their data is the first that turned up on a cursory search. Tuition and fees for a year of medical school is currently about $45k. Assuming ucladoc2b's father is 35 years older than he/she, the dad would probably have been in school 35 years ago, in 1977. In 1977, tuition and fees for a year at UPenn's medical school cost $6k, which is a little shy of $23k when adjusted for inflation. So the cost of sending your child to medical school doubled from the past generation to this one.

Honestly, I like the financial independance I get by paing my own way through life. I had a very high pay job pre med school (over 150K), so my father's and my situation are a little different. Even at a public med school, I pay $36k a year. However, my school factors in my parents income and assets when caluclating any school-based financial aid (grants, etc) despite the fact that I am older. When they review my parents info, there is no chance I could get any grant money.

Some schools (I know Stanford in particular) will switch to a sliding scale for the impact parental income has for financial aid. At my school, the pharmacy students do not have to report parental income after age 29. Med still have to, however.

Originally Posted by ckdgusdl88

I believe that one generally has an obligation to return whatever one receives from one's parents to one's offspring. The exception is if one's offspring are clearly not worth the investment.

It is vitally necessary to properly guilt your progeny when paying for their schooling. When paying for college, for instance, you should make it very clear that you do not want your child to be a hipster when they graduate.



Sounds like your dad's a generational leech, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

That's a bit harsh. Funny though.

People in some cultures see kids as investments, someone to take care of you when you get old, just like you took care of them when they were a helpless baby. As far as investments go, a medical degree gives you a really good rate of return.

Originally Posted by Oxer45

People in some cultures see kids as investments, someone to take care of you when you get old, just like you took care of them when they were a helpless baby. As far as investments go, a medical degree gives you a really good rate of return.

yea right here. I'm getting all expenses paid for and graduating with $0 debt, but I will undoubtedly be paying it all back once my parents get older, if not more. It is just a different way of looking at things, that varies significantly with what I feel is the traditional American perspective.

Wish I had a parent who made that much money.. I had to pay for all of UG and siblings UG.