Do student loans pay enough?

I thought everyone qualified for $40,500 no matter what each year? Maybe that was based on total cost of attendance but idk

hahaha no no dont freak out. It says that for everyone as far as I know. Its said that for me the last few times ive filled it out as well and I take out 80k a year.

Your financial aid dept will really be the one who controls your cash flow based on your need. They typically budget you for a cost of attendance for a typical medical student in your location. If you are not a typical medical student (ie non trad, home owner, etc) you will be able to get what you need within reason. You might have to finagle the system a little bit if you have extraordinary expenses but it can be done.

jessiemsy said:

Oh thank God! haha. ok thanks. I am a non-trad but of course fafsa does not account for the fact that I will not be working next year and thus even more broke than I am now. phew, cool.

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Same...non trad. Dont worry about that expected family contribution crap either. I never supply any family info on my fafsa. My pops is 61 and trying to retire asap...the last thing I want is for him to be dumping money into my education!

So you are likely good for now until the fin aid dept at your school contacts you for more information. I own a home, so I show them my mortgage document to get more money for that. I have a car loan etc....you essentially just need to show supporting evidence for your loan increases and you should be set. However, on the car loan...federal law says they cannot pay for car loans. However I get around this because I ask for my full mortgage amount, however my wife pays 75% of the mortgage since she is working....and voila...car loan money. Gotta be sneaky for some things but it can be done. They will finance most common sense things, health bills, books, ONE new laptop. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions...I have been through it all with fin aid by this point

willen101383 said:

hahaha no no dont freak out. It says that for everyone as far as I know. Its said that for me the last few times ive filled it out as well and I take out 80k a year.

Your financial aid dept will really be the one who controls your cash flow based on your need. They typically budget you for a cost of attendance for a typical medical student in your location. If you are not a typical medical student (ie non trad, home owner, etc) you will be able to get what you need within reason. You might have to finagle the system a little bit if you have extraordinary expenses but it can be done.

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80K a year? Wow what school do you go to?

willen101383 said:

They will finance most common sense things, health bills, books, ONE new laptop.

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I think it's rather ridiculous to finance your lifestyle with student loans. You still end up having to pay interest on it. I don't mean to sound preachy, but I've saved up a little money over the years just so that I don't need loans for basics. A previous edition book works just as well as buying a "new" edition, which ultimately subsidizes the unethical business practices of book publishers.

crazyasian said:

80K a year? Wow what school do you go to?

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I go to PCOM philly.

Praefectus said:

I think it's rather ridiculous to finance your lifestyle with student loans. You still end up having to pay interest on it. I don't mean to sound preachy, but I've saved up a little money over the years just so that I don't need loans for basics. A previous edition book works just as well as buying a "new" edition, which ultimately subsidizes the unethical business practices of book publishers.

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??

I havent purchased any books at all yet in med school. Well I lied...I bought FA. When you arent 21 years old coming right out of mommy and daddy's nest you need to use loans to live your life. Sucks but I have zero regrets. If you want to be el cheapo med student and spend 250 bucks on rent, live with 3 other med students, eat crap food, drive a crappy car, all while padding some landlords wallet who will ultimately likely screw you out of a security deposit be my guest. I am happy to lead the lifestyle I do. I live in a modest but really nice home that I own, drive a nice car, have nice computers,etc....and I wouldnt have it any other way. I had all this crap before I was a med student, I am not going to go back 10 years and live like a 21 year old college student again. My wife and I have more than enough money in the bank aside from my loans. We bought our home at the absolute bottom of the market, +8k from the govt for free,+equity,+all the 1000s ive put into home improvements......so I really have little worry about my financial future. Med school is stressful enough, the last thing id want to do is come home to a 750 sq foot apt at that I share with 3 neurotic med students.....and then eat ramen from a plastic bowl all in the name of saving some cash.

People seem to get very touchy about money and lifestyle and loans. Everyone has their own needs in terms of what they need to spend to be happy. As long as someone knows that every dollar they spend now is $2-3 they can have in the future, to each their own. If living frugally depresses you, then don't do it because your life won't be good. It's by far the lesser of the two evils. If your goal is to have as much money post medical school and residency, then live off of as little as you can and still be happy. And if what other people do with their money bothers you, just put on some blinders and focus on your own thing.

willen101383 said:

??

I havent purchased any books at all yet in med school. Well I lied...I bought FA. When you arent 21 years old coming right out of mommy and daddy's nest you need to use loans to live your life. Sucks but I have zero regrets. If you want to be el cheapo med student and spend 250 bucks on rent, live with 3 other med students, eat crap food, drive a crappy car, all while padding some landlords wallet who will ultimately likely screw you out of a security deposit be my guest. I am happy to lead the lifestyle I do. I live in a modest but really nice home that I own, drive a nice car, have nice computers,etc....and I wouldnt have it any other way. I had all this crap before I was a med student, I am not going to go back 10 years and live like a 21 year old college student again. My wife and I have more than enough money in the bank aside from my loans. We bought our home at the absolute bottom of the market, +8k from the govt for free,+equity,+all the 1000s ive put into home improvements......so I really have little worry about my financial future. Med school is stressful enough, the last thing id want to do is come home to a 750 sq foot apt at that I share with 3 neurotic med students.....and then eat ramen from a plastic bowl all in the name of saving some cash.

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I wasn't trying to belittle you, I was commenting on the availability of loans for everything other than tuition. By all means, good for you for owning nice things and having the amenities unavailable to traditional students. Personally, I've saved my earnings from hard work to fund my lifestyle for medical school rather than relying on loaned money. On that note, I'd like to point out that I'm not some trust fund brat who still lives in "mommy and daddy's nest". I have been financially independent from my parents since I left for college and I plan on graduating with zero loan dollars. My overarching mentality is why do you need to pay tomorrow when you can pay today? Also, you can eat much healthier food than ramen for a minimal cost increase.

Praefectus said:

I wasn't trying to belittle you, I was commenting on the availability of loans for everything other than tuition. By all means, good for you for owning nice things and having the amenities unavailable to traditional students. Personally, I've saved my earnings from hard work to fund my lifestyle for medical school rather than relying on loaned money. On that note, I'd like to point out that I'm not some trust fund brat who still lives in "mommy and daddy's nest". I have been financially independent from my parents since I left for college and I plan on graduating with zero loan dollars. My overarching mentality is why do you need to pay tomorrow when you can pay today? Also, you can eat much healthier food than ramen for a minimal cost increase.

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Sorry if I took that the wrong way but that irritated me for some reason. I graduated college in 2005 and worked full time as an allied health professional all the way through my masters and right up until a month before I started med school. I have zero undergrad or graduate debt before med school. Granted I bought a house and dumped all my savings into a down payment, I cant understand how someone coming right from undergrad has enough money saved up to graduate med school with no loan debt. Maybe I am missing something here. If you somehow can swing it thats awesome and good work. The average med student isnt going to be able to make something like this work...especially in a big city with a higher cost of living. Do I use my loan money to buy more crap than I should.....yes. I was doing very very well before med school financially, and like I said before, I wont go back in terms of lifestyle. However even if I didnt by some of this extra crap I would still have significant expenses just as a result of cost of living and cost of attendance. Youd be surprised how much crap you need to buy as a med student. Diagnostic kit during m1=I think 600 or so....and like 800ish for the more expensive (lighter nicad) Welch Allyn setup. Class dues/notetaking service/boards prep...crap adds up. I am doing doctors in training for boards prep right now and that course alone was like 800 bucks. Tack on uworld at 145+kaplan if you finish early at another 150ish. Med school aint cheap. Either way, no idea why I am arguing about this since I answered the OPs question like 10 posts up. Good luck!

willen101383 said:

I go to PCOM philly.

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Your personal expenses is about 40k a year????

When fill out the FAFSA it asks for your EFC (Earned Family Contribution) You should have put 0, if it asked you. Financial Aid should have covered the normal tuition in grants; the day tuition for actually going to class. Then from there it would give you your loan amount, which would cover your living expences, It may not exactly cover the small out of pocket student fees. But your school depending on the kind, should offer institutional aid that is seperate. There is also option of Work Study/ Getting a job on campus. You can also apply for scholarships outside of the school.

jessiemsy said:

How did you possibly save enough money coming straight out of college to pay for med school?

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Sorry, that was a little unclear on my part. I am graduating from undergrad with no loan dollars, but in all likelihood I will be taking loans for tuition for medical school. The savings will be going toward food, gas, books, etc.

HoltMD said:

Your personal expenses is about 40k a year????

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No offense but where do you live? How old are you? Have you ever had a real "grown up" type life in a big city? If not...you will find out its not cheap. I remember being a 21 year old undergrad living on like 400 bucks a month all in...so the idea that real life costs money might be shocking to you (as it would have been to me). Like I said above, I had my house/life/lifestyle before med school even started. Not like I am going to sell my house for the purpose of saving loan money. At least I will see the majority of that cash back outside of interest vs the renters who are just flushing 100s down the toilet every month. I actually tried to sell my car and get something used but still sexy.....couldnt make it happen.

My mortgage alone is 21,000 a year.
Car loan alone is 5870
Car insurance 2400 (had a major accident 2 years back...still getting screwed)
Food 3600
Our utilities alone are on the order of 4800 a year(gas/water/electric)
Gas 2600/yr

That doesnt even factor in things like school related expenses...going out...having a life....and we are already at 40,000+. My wife just got a new job at a much larger financial services firm ($$) so shes shifted to paying a majority of the mortgage so that should drop my expenses.

JennMedeiros said:

When fill out the FAFSA it asks for your EFC (Earned Family Contribution) You should have put 0, if it asked you. Financial Aid should have covered the normal tuition in grants; the day tuition for actually going to class. Then from there it would give you your loan amount, which would cover your living expences, It may not exactly cover the small out of pocket student fees. But your school depending on the kind, should offer institutional aid that is seperate. There is also option of Work Study/ Getting a job on campus. You can also apply for scholarships outside of the school.

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1) EFC (expected family contribution) is calculated, not something you fill in.
2) Unlike ugrad, there is no work study for grad/professional school
3) Working enough while in med school to actually cover the majority of expenses is a very dangerous undertaking and not something that most people can even consider doing.

CopaceticOne said:

1) EFC (expected family contribution) is calculated, not something you fill in.
2) Unlike ugrad, there is no work study for grad/professional school
3) Working enough while in med school to actually cover the majority of expenses is a very dangerous undertaking and not something that most people can even consider doing.

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That is not true. Plenty of people do work study at my school. Why? I have no idea the pay is hilariously low and something id never consider doing.

Agree with you on 3....partially. My buddy was a paramedic before he came to med school and he worked through half of 3rd year and all of 2nd year and just recently stopped. I was trying to swing working a few shifts here and there but it ultimately didnt work out. If you are the right kind of student (IE dont go to class and watch lectures/self study) you will have tons of ample time that you could be working. I had so much pointless free time during most of M1 and M2 that I really could have worked if my former employer needed me to. But agreed, for most this would be a bad idea...especially if you are a class goer/someone who needs to study nonstop to succeed.