For those of you living off loans- I have a Q

[roar]

How does this work exactly? My dh is going to start med school next year and we are trying to look at all our options. Can someone tell me about how student loans work? I've done the general reading and I know about Stafford, etc from undergrad, but how does this Medloans thing work? I see that you can borrow up to $220,000- is that for everyone? I anticipate that he will be attending a fairly inexpensive state school, so tuition won't be our main expense.

Also, if you are living off loans entirely, do you qualify for govt assistance, specifically WIC, child care assistance, or Medicaid?

Currently I stay home with 2 young kids and though I definitely could work, it doesn't seem it would make a lot of sense since most of that $$ would go to day care.

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[wick215]

It all depends on the school. Talk with the financial aid counselor at your school to see how much they will allow you to take out for Fed. loans. There are plenty of private loans but they come due during residency. During your fourth year, the residency relocation loan will be defered until after residency. We have friends who qualify for WIC and medicaid so you may want to loolk into that. My wife worked during medical school and our financial aid counselor approved us for a larger amount to pay for childcare. Medloans, if believe is a private lender- I do know that they provide a residency relocation loan. About the 220,000, that seems like a lot to me. You may want to look through the forums to see the average debt.

 

[Wifty]

Hubby and I live off loans and it is working quite well.

Part of the reason that it isn't so bad, is that we live in a small town that is pretty cheap to be in....that is something to look at when choosing a school if you are thinking about finances.

We are able to live off what they give him for a single student....and we still have money to play.

Before school, we made sure to pay off any debts....and that again makes a huge difference.

The 220 K I am not sure about but I assume you are talking about over the 4 years?
We just use the staffords right now, but there are other loans available if we need them.

Also, I know that most of the spouses with kids DO qualify and use medicaid for their insurance, including while prego, and for WIC. So that can be a big help obviously.
Some don't want to use the state help and end up with more loans but the way I look at it is that the state help is there for anyone that needs it for a period of time until they can get off it.
Obviously, med students will one day be doctors and will be paying tons in taxes for these programs, but in order to get there, they might need the help....and so its good that it is there to be used.

Good luck on your new adventure!!!! I love having hubby in med school. Not only is he fulfilled and happy (though stressed), but I have made some of my best friends of my life with the other med students (and some of the spouses).

With smiles,
Rebecca

 

[smc927]

WIC, medicaid, etc - there are lots of programs to help families in school.<br>
Some complain about people living off the government while in school. But hey - when you are done with med school and are a fully employed doctor you'll pay more than enough in taxes to make up for it!