Going to medical school as a parent

[Noodles4444]

Hi everyone, I am first time parent, who decided to shift gears and pursue medicine. I wanted to know if anyone knows of any schools that are more accommodating to parents especially when it comes to increasing the budget in order to be able to get a bigger loan.

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[Cornfed101]

You can get more loans for childcare expenses. That’s the main increase you would qualify for. Most of the rules are set at the federal level so individual schools don’t have a ton of leeway although schools have a lot of latitude for how much you can get for cost of attendance. I get $40k a year in COA at RVUCOM and it’s been enough to live on with 3 kids and my wife working a bit. Wherever you end up welfare will be your friend. SNAP and Medicaid will save you tens of thousands of dollars a year

 

[Ellesandra319]

Hi everyone, I am first time parent, who decided to shift gears and pursue medicine. I wanted to know if anyone knows of any schools that are more accommodating to parents especially when it comes to increasing the budget in order to be able to get a bigger loan.

I'd also reccomend looking at cost of living when cosindering where to apply. I'm at school in Mississippi and I know my $44K / year in living expenses goes a LOT farther than it would say in NYC or Denver.

 

[Ellesandra319]

as another word of encouragement, I have multiple classmates with kids and multiple class mates who've had kids during first year. Both men and women! They've found a way to make it work so it is NOT impossible!

 

[esob]

I recently advised a non-trad about this same topic. Although applying the following technique is substantially less work if you have multiple acceptances and are trying to decide between schools, you could also go through the process before applying.

Most schools have a well-defined policy with hard numbers for increasing COA. For example, a school may add $200 per month per child for children enrolled in full-time childcare. The number will vary among schools, so you would need to call the financial aid dept at the schools you are interested in to decide if what they offer is more or less aligned with real-world market forces. It is also worth considering tuition cost because if the COA goes over the Stafford limit, then you get into grad plus loans, which generally have worse rates and are based on credit worthiness.

 

[Darth Doc]

My medical school had scholarships especially earmarked for parents. I was the only parent when I was there. i got all the scholarships. They didn't add up to a lot, but they did mean a smaller debt load. I also am in the Army National Guard and they gave me $1200 a month for living expenses while I was in medical school. It's definitely not for everyone, but I went through with multiple kids and couldn't have done it without that money.

 

[NontradICUdoc]