How did you guys afford this whole process?

[tonguetalker]

Hey so Im just wondering what did you guys do to afford this whole process? I do have the FAP so that helps with some of the costs but Im going to school out of state and only applying to one school close to where Im going to school now meaning that I will have to fly to all of my interviews. I know people will say get a job, I have one but I think at best I will have $1000 saved. I already have $2000 saved but I still havent bought an interview suit yet and I feel like flying to all my interviews, plus transportation, etc will quickly eat away at my budget.

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[bigloley]

Im almost 10k in credit card debt from last cycle, even with FAP. I'm starting med school soon so it was worth it, but I'm gonna have to take out extra loans just to pay off high interest credit card debt. This process really sucks for people who are independent/have no other money to rely on.

 

[tonguetalker]

Ive worked reallllly hard to get a decent credit score (730 ftw!) I kinda dont want to mess that up

 

[Sinclaire]

If you get interviews in the same area you can try to reschedule them so they are close together and you don't have to travel back twice. Call old relatives and friends to crash at their place or call the application office or the diversity office to schedule a med student to spend the night with for free. Make sure you call the application office to have them waive the secondary fee because you are on FAP. For an interview suit, you could check your local or online consignment shop to find good suits for cheap or just rent one. Also, some schools' careers services let students rent interview clothes for free so check if yours does.

 

[MedPR]

Ive worked reallllly hard to get a decent credit score (730 ftw!) I kinda dont want to mess that up

Your score will go back as soon as you repay your CC debt. It has no memory of your high balances so long as you don't pay late or charge off any accounts. In other words, if I charge up 100% of my available credit this month my score will plunge. When I pay it off next month, it will bounce back like nothing happened. If you're worried about interest, there are a few cards with introductory 0% for x months.

Citi Diamond Preferred = 0% for 18 months (I just got this myself for that very reason), but you need to have a decent credit file. I'm not talking about having a good score; yours is fine. If your file is "thin" (e.g short history, low limits, etc) you most likely will get denied. There are easier Citi cards to get like Dividend and Forward. I believe they both have a 6-12 month 0% intro period. Chase Slate and Discover More also have 0% introductory periods. Get one or more of those cards and they are basically a free loan so long as you pay them off before the 0% is up.

 

[tonguetalker]

Your score will go back as soon as you repay your CC debt. It has no memory of your high balances so long as you don't pay late or charge off any accounts. In other words, if I charge up 100% of my available credit this month my score will plunge. When I pay it off next month, it will bounce back like nothing happened. If you're worried about interest, there are a few cards with introductory 0% for x months.

Im not worried about interest but I also dont have the money to charge it up one month and pay it off the next lol. If I did, I wouldnt charge it in the first place.

 

[MedPR]

Im not worried about interest but I also dont have the money to charge it up one month and pay it off the next lol. If I did, I wouldnt charge it in the first place.

Then get a CC and use that.

 

[GOMERE]

I'm the first in my family so everyone was proud of me, so each one chipped in some from as little as $10 to as much as $2000 from my sister, got just enough to cover the costs of applications and interviews and deposit for medical school. Even if your family is poor like mine, I know they are proud and will do their best. Remember your family loves you more than the government does.

 

[InquisitiveDoc]

I definitely had to foot the entire bill myself my first time around. That meant depending heavily on my income tax refund because my job pays me just enough money to pay sallie Mae and great lakes. And because of my lack of funds, I had to forfeit the entire application process once secondaries came around because I could no longer afford it. I think this time around, my goal is to save as much as I can and apply wisely. A few months won't change your financial circumstance. So we'll see what the money gods have in store for me next year. Lol

 

[Haislip]

Take out a loan from the bank if you have no savings. This is your dream, go for it!

 

[Makati2008]

Take out a loan from the bank if you have no savings. This is your dream, go for it!

I would disagree with this one. What if you take out the loans from the bank and you get no acceptances? Then your stuck with a small car payment on top of reapplicant fees as well.

I personally worked my butt off(two jobs and probably close to 80hrs a week) the year I was going through the process to pay down debt, pay off my car, and cover my med. apps.

Savings I didn't touch until I got into school and I am burning through it at a depressing rate.

 

[tonguetalker]

I'm the first in my family so everyone was proud of me, so each one chipped in some from as little as $10 to as much as $2000 from my sister, got just enough to cover the costs of applications and interviews and deposit for medical school. Even if your family is poor like mine, I know they are proud and will do their best. Remember your family loves you more than the government does.

Haha yeah some of my family is proud but those are usually the ones that hit me up for money now Having saved $2000 is probably more money than any of us has had at any one time outside of income tax time and Im not even fortunate enough to get that because I tutor.