I have a bankruptcy and cannot get GradPlus, Should I do PA instead of MD?

[QuantumMan]

I don't think I would be able to pay off medical school without GradPlus loans.

PA school is cheaper, can I get by there without Gradplus loans Assuming a PA school might cost $40,000 to $100,000 for the full program?

I've made some very dumb decisions in the past and it led to the purchase of a business and then a few years later to a personal bankruptcy. That means that I would have to wait 5 years before I can go to medical school and pay with GradPlus loans.

Is PA a better option than waiting 5 years?

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[Glazedonutlove]

I don't think I would be able to pay off medical school without GradPlus loans.

PA school is cheaper, can I get by there without Gradplus loans Assuming a PA school might cost $40,000 to $100,000 for the full program?

I've made some very dumb decisions in the past and it led to the purchase of a business and then a few years later to a personal bankruptcy. That means that I would have to wait 5 years before I can go to medical school and pay with GradPlus loans.

Is PA a better option than waiting 5 years?

That decision entirely depends on you... We can't tell you whether you want to be a pa or a doctor

 

[Blue Blood]

I'm pretty sure you can get past that if you have a co-signer.
Either way I wouldn't make your decision based on Grad Plus loans. There are many more important things that should be going into that decision..

 

[QuantumMan]

That decision entirely depends on you... We can't tell you whether you want to be a pa or a doctor

I have worked with PA's as well as physicians in various fields and it appears to me that their jobs are quite similar. I would be happy with both, but I do feel that getting paid a bit more (as an MD) and getting more respect would be nice things, but they aren't necessary for me.

My plan was to always get into MD, but I wouldn't mind PA.

 

[Spector1]

what are your chances of getting into med school not considering money? (stats, ec's, mcat, etc...)

 

[QuantumMan]

I'm pretty sure you can get past that if you have a co-signer.
Either way I wouldn't make your decision based on Grad Plus loans. There are many more important things that should be going into that decision..

You are correct, but I have no one (without adverse credit history) to co-sign for me. My family pretty much lives in poverty and the business purchase was meant to hopefully get us a good amount of money (but that failed miserably--what did I expect from paying cheap price for a business?). The issue is, I would have to wait 5 years to get loans for medical school. Now, I can likely become a practicing PA in less than 3 years. And if by any chance, I want to upgrade, I may do a bridge program (PA-->MD) to become an MD (but it appears that most PAs are happy with their jobs).

I guess I'm in a serious pickle here.

Would you know anything as to how much federal grants, Stafford and Perkins loans (the loans you can get if you are bankrupt) can give per year in professional school? Would it be enough to cover any specific medical school? Would it be enough to cover the PA school costs (40 grand to 100 grand for the entire program)

 

[QuantumMan]

what are your chances of getting into med school not considering money? (stats, ec's, mcat, etc...)

3.97 GPA, Ec's include: volunteer EMT, volunteering for thousands of hours (literally) at a free clinic, paper published while being first author, lots of shadowing (MD/DO and PA), working about 25 hrs/week.

Have not took mcat. But assume that I am competitive for medical school. Should I take the 5 year wait? Or go on to PA?

 

[Mad Jack]

I thought you could get GradPlus loans as long as you had no currently outstanding collections. Bankruptcy does not preclude you from receiving a GradPlus loan- they are not credit-based in the traditional sense, merely "don't have any creditors beating down your door" and you can usually get one.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

3.97 GPA, Ec's include: volunteer EMT, volunteering for thousands of hours (literally) at a free clinic, paper published while being first author, lots of shadowing (MD/DO and PA), working about 25 hrs/week.

Have not took mcat. But assume that I am competitive for medical school. Should I take the 5 year wait? Or go on to PA?

Do you have a plan for what you would do for the 5 years if you chose to wait?

 

[genericpremedstudent]

i always wondered how credit affects your ability to get loans. my credit isn't so hot, but luckily i have enough time to pay off everything in collections prior to matriculation. worst comes to worse, my SO has a credit score in the high 700s so she could co-sign for me, but she will also need to take out loans for optometry school so i rather not have to get her involved.

 

[QuantumMan]

I thought you could get GradPlus loans as long as you had no currently outstanding collections. Bankruptcy does not preclude you from receiving a GradPlus loan- they are not credit-based in the traditional sense, merely "don't have any creditors beating down your door" and you can usually get one.

Actually bankruptcy prohibits you from getting a GradPlus if the Bankruptcy was within 5 years.

here is an informative link: http://www.nesl.edu/userfiles/file...verse Credit History for Grad PLUS Loans.pdf

Do you have a plan for what you would do for the 5 years if you chose to wait?

Not as of yet, but I might be doing something productive like a master's degree and I would continue with my volunteering and shadowing. To be honest, I don't think I want to wait a whole five years

Why do you think you would be able to pay for PA school without GradPlus loans?

If you could afford a private PA school, you might be able to afford the first 2 years of med school.

So if you apply next summer, that's 1 year. Year 2 is the time during the application cycle. Year 3 and 4 are the first two years of med school. So if you need to wait 5 years, you can put off applying until the 2017 cycle, save money until then, and use loans for the last two years of med school.

If I'm not mistaken. Stafford loans and perkins loan are on a year to year basis. That means I cannot take out the entire Perkins loan in one year/semester. So if a 3 year PA school is 70 grand (for example), then it would be 23,000 every year. Is that affordable through federal grants, stafford loans and perkins loans per year?

Now compare that to 45k a year for medical school. It is possible that the stafford loans and perkins loans do not allow you to get that much in a year.

 

[deleted480308]

Hpsp or nhsc?

 

[deleted480308]

Also national guard if you go to a cheap enough school....your non grad plus loans can handle the tuition and they give you ~$2k/month stipend plus $300 post tax when you drill

 

[Spector1]

3.97 GPA, Ec's include: volunteer EMT, volunteering for thousands of hours (literally) at a free clinic, paper published while being first author, lots of shadowing (MD/DO and PA), working about 25 hrs/week.

Have not took mcat. But assume that I am competitive for medical school. Should I take the 5 year wait? Or go on to PA?

try taking the mcat and see what happens. If you're competitive, I'd go for md.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

try taking the mcat and see what happens. If you're competitive, I'd go for md.

it would expire in 5 yrs

 

[deleted158872]

Hpsp or nhsc?

NHSC is a good option but very competitive, so don't bank on that...

@QuantumMan: How much loans are you currently carrying from undergrad? i can't speak for you, but if i thought i could graduate med school with <$300k (including ugrad loans), i would go for it.