How do you pay for rent and food in Medical School?

[josh219]

get money get paid

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[DoctaFuture]

As the Great Philosopher Randy Moss once said "Straight cash homie"

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-aAitwm_yo[/YOUTUBE]

 

[amazing tekkers]

I would have started a new thread but this suffices if anyone wants to contribute to answers.

 

[IniestaDeMiVida]

I'm in Texas, drove to the six schools I interviewed at. Including all fees and travel expenses, it probably came out to ~2,000 MAXIMUM, and I usually stayed in hotels. Texas is cheap to apply and driving saved me money.

 

[BABSstudent]

I'm in Texas, drove to the six schools I interviewed at. Including all fees and travel expenses, it probably came out to ~2,000 MAXIMUM, and I usually stayed in hotels. Texas is cheap to apply and driving saved me money.

Well, not all of us are that lucky.

Let's see...

I took the MCAT twice, so thats $540.
MCAT study books were $200.
AAMC practice tests cost me $200.
I paid $840 for the primaries.
$50 for secondaries because of FAP and only one school didn't take it.
My suit was $400. Tailoring was another $150.
I am from the west coast, so flying to interviews is much more expensive. All together I paid $1100 for two flights. Parking my car at the airport cost me $40 total for both flights. Gas for going to the airport was $30.
I could drive to my instate interview, but it was 6 hours away so I spent about $100 in gas for the round trip.
Hotel room for one interview was $100. I also spent $33 on a cab to get to the hotel. Saved money by getting a ride back with someone who rented a car.
Food costs while interviewing was $50.

Then the best part....

Deposits for two medical schools: $200

All together, that comes to $4,033.

However, I got lucky with one my acceptances. Scholarship for $100,000. Easily covers everything that I paid.

Edit: I should add that I paid for all this by myself. I worked three jobs while still taking classes. It was tough, but it was one of the only ways to do it. No credit card debt for me.

 

[Drogo]

Well, not all of us are that lucky.

Let's see...

I took the MCAT twice, so thats $540.
MCAT study books were $200.
AAMC practice tests cost me $200.
I paid $840 for the primaries.
$50 for secondaries because of FAP and only one school didn't take it.
My suit was $400. Tailoring was another $150.
I am from the west coast, so flying to interviews is much more expensive. All together I paid $1100 for two flights. Parking my car at the airport cost me $40 total for both flights. Gas for going to the airport was $30.
I could drive to my instate interview, but it was 6 hours away so I spent about $100 in gas for the round trip.
Hotel room for one interview was $100. I also spent $33 on a cab to get to the hotel. Saved money by getting a ride back with someone who rented a car.
Food costs while interviewing was $50.

Then the best part....

Deposits for two medical schools: $200

All together, that comes to $4,033.

However, I got lucky with one my acceptances. Scholarship for $100,000. Easily covers everything that I paid.

Edit: I should add that I paid for all this by myself. I worked three jobs while still taking classes. It was tough, but it was one of the only ways to do it. No credit card debt for me.

Wow, congrats on your acceptance/scholarship.

 

[speeddemon]

Rent - About 7k a year including internet, cable, utilities and other bills

 

[PennDippody]

My sugar mama paid for my food/rent during med school. I recommend it.

Ahh, looking forward to this - married a surgeon myself.

 

[futureczar]

I know a few pharmacists that worked per-diem during med school. 60+/hr for a few shifts a month can cover living expenses. If people have time to get drunk during medical school, people have time to work a couple of shifts a month. Of course its all about finding the right job, with the right hours, and the right pay.

 

[Weewee]

I wonder how the op's fund is progressing or if he is still even considering applying?

 

[nabilesmail]

I spent a lot less than I expected I was going to spend.

135 for TMDSAS
110 for 2 secondaries
95 for gas + food for 1 interview
Points for 1 night hotel stay
Used clothes I already had

Total cost = $340

At first I was like, OMGZ YOU FILLED OUT 135 PRIMARIES FOR TMSAS!!!!!!@?1$#?<@#[email protected]

But then I was like, 135 medical schools in Texas seems a bit too much

 

[syoung]

I'm from the west coast, had to fly to VT, PA, MA, IA. One interview in state (can you guess which price that was???)

I applied to 15 schools (636)
14 secondaries (1226)
5 interviews
(550) (408) (814) (834) (734)
clothes (110) I had a suit from before, so this was for shoes and a belt.
Pre-med conference (214) I'm pretty sure I got 4 of my interviews because of this.
Total: 5523.

All paid for from savings. Had like 2k left in my bank after that... Started to work again to help pay for all this.

 

[Thomas91]

On the food stamps and welfare discussion, I agree entirely that medical students who are attending and living entirely on loans, grants, scholarships, etc.... should take everything that social services will offer. Think about it. Your working a ton by attending medical school and not getting paid. Having a job during medical school would pull focus from studies and, in theory, lower your ability to learn. You have no money, your borrowing it.... a lot of it, so this establishes a specific need for assistance. Taking the little bit of help that social services offers you is an investment in social welfare. Why? Just look at the income tax brackets for people who make over 3 figures. If you succeed financially you will pay back what you got from social welfare MANY times over. Another perspective is lowering the amount of money borrowed. Would anyone agree that a graduate with more debt would be less likely to choose a specialty or location where there was a scarcity of doctors but offered less compensation? So why not take every step possible to lower student debt as an incentive to fill specialties and locations where there is need?

I have two children and my wife stays at home with them. It's how we want to raise our kids. For me, I am planning on getting as much as I can in scholarships, grants, food stamps, and finally loans to ensure my children maintain a decent (still very humble) quality of life while I am in medical school. There is nothing wrong with that.