300k debt anyone?

[velouria]

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so i've realized that i will hit somewhere around $275k debt by graduation. i knew this going in, but seeing $68k on paper for this year has sent me into a panic.
does anyone else feel like the debt is a bit suffocating? how are you coping? i've thought about joining the military but it would be mainly just for the money, which i've heard is a bad idea. what other options are there? is $275k as unreasonable as it seems? will i be slave to my debt forever??? 🙂
thanks in advance for any comments/advice.

 

[velouria]

i should add that as of right now i'm interested in ob/gyn or EM. not some super high paying surgery field...

 

[stomper627]

i should add that as of right now i'm interested in ob/gyn or EM. not some super high paying surgery field...

Ill hit 194,000 this year, my fiance will hit 188,000 too. Shes going Peds, me EM. If your willing to go to pretty rural areas in the midwest, you can do well in either ob or EM (potentials of 300-400k)....id stick with em though....less issues with malpractice, and no call.
stomper

 

[ColoMD]

It's definitely in the high range, but it's not unmangeable. Depending on where you settle to practice and if you accept any incentive programs, you'll be able to pay it off eventually if you have some sound financial advice. And while it's important to remember that it will be with you for quite a while, don't let the number get to you. Just be diligent in your management of it and you'll be fine.

 

[japhy]

i just about vomited! holy ****ing ****!

i will push $225+ - but that is for undergrad, med school, law school and graduate school. i try to ignore it, when i think about it too much i do get overwhelmed. for the time being, there really is nothing i can do about it. i won't be paying on it for several more years, i try and live somewhat frugally...

 

[rah223]

I feel ya. I will be between $225,000 and $250.000 in debt by the time I graduate in 2.5 years. I try not to think about it too much although I do have a panic attack twice a year when the loan checks come out! 😱 I just keep telling myself that if I am careful with my money, it will eventually get paid...someday....I'm definitely going to look into an incentive program as I think I'll end up in some sort of primary care field.

 

[jdub]

i'll hit about 265k. if i would have been really frugal, maybe i could have saved 20k over my entire college and med school education, but i really would not have had many other options. i think that it means that we went to an out of state or private college coupled with an out of state or private med school and we did not recieve any help from our parents or from scholarships.

it is unfortunate, but what other options are there? getting to this point was hard enough, being fortunate enough to pick a med school and then to recieve some financial help other than loans doesn't happen for everyone.

personally, i am not worried. i was not and am not willing to compromise what i want to do with my life, so that really did not leave me many options other than taking out a bunch of loans. i'd rather owe a lot of money and be doing what i want.

 

[monstermatch]

I have a few tips for those of you who are trying to "just ignore" that debt.

1) Find a debt calculator online and play around with the numbers. You will **** your pants when you see how big your monthly repayments will add up to after you've accumulated the debt and then allowed it to compound during residency. This stuff is no joke - you will have to deal with it one day no matter what.

2) Now imagine how much debt you'll have when you add a house and 2 car payments. You thought you were done crapping your pants didn't you?

3) Once you've cleaned yourself off you have a choice - either transfer to your state med school or resolve to go into radiology.

 

[Mr PluM]

oh what the heck it's worth it....****, when you really start thinking about it, countries are in debt billions of dollars, debt is a good thing...if you are really clever, have someone else pay for it, nowww that is capitalism....

 

[monstermatch]

oh what the heck it's worth it....****, when you really start thinking about it, countries are in debt billions of dollars, debt is a good thing...if you are really clever, have someone else pay for it, nowww that is capitalism....

Frankly, this is the attitude that has allowed medical schools to jack up their tuition with impunity.

 

[japhy]

one of the biggest problems has been with state schools raising tuition at ******ed rates for the last few years. my tuition has gone up over 50% since i started 3 years ago!

and monster, what the fuq good will it do to stress about our loans right now? we can't do a damn thing about them as students. and we won't be paying for them until after residency. i agree that we should be aware of just what sorts of payments we face, but i have enough to worry about without you trying to stress me out.

go freak out some pre-meds and tell them how hard the mcat is and how step 1 is infinitely worse...

 

[monstermatch]

go freak out some pre-meds and tell them how hard the mcat is and how step 1 is infinitely worse... [/QUOTE]

Sorry buddy but there are already about 200 threads about that crap, no need for me to add to that misery. Maybe I've stumbled on a taboo topic here - I guess the solution is for you to ignore everything I said and keep living in denial.

 

[japhy]

you are missing the point monster. i know how much money i have borrowed and i know what i will be paying each month once i finish. i am not in denial about anything.

but for the time being, there isn't one god damn thing i can do about it. so why stress out about it? once i am in the position to take care of my loans, then i'll worry about it.

 

[Dr Who]

This year I had a choice:
Private med school: tuition ~$29,000/yr
state school: $23,000 / yr
a nice less well known med school: tuition $5,000/ yr

gues which one I chose? 😉

 

[japhy]

what med school's tuition is only $5K? looking through aamc there is not any school with tuition that low.

 

[mpp]

Mayo Medical School's tuition is under $6,000 per year for residents of Minnesota, Arizona, and Florida.

 

[Dr Who]

what med school's tuition is only $5K? looking through aamc there is not any school with tuition that low.

yes there is... check out the University of Puerto Rico. Tuition is only $5,000/ yr
The catch is you need to know how to speak some spanish for clinical years.
I checked them out and they have a pretty good record for residency placement, believe it or not.
Its considered an accredited US school, and I end up saving maybe $150,000 in loans, so what the hay!

 

[Dr.Evil1]

If you ask practicing MDs very few of them are strugling to make ends meet. Think of it this way, that debt is what allowed you to do what you hopefully love doing. Without that pentance we couldn't have afforded to go to med school.

Also we are fortunate that interest rates are the lowest they have been in decades right now. I have heard after repayment begins you can earn credits for automatic bill pay and no late payments that get the loans down below 2%. It's like free money.

BTW EM makes great money. I talked to an EM doc last night who told me that he is making double what he was told he would make in medical school if he went into EM.

 

[ldona]

I like to think about it in this way,

I'm investing in a "House" of knowledge that will build up equity over time, making it worth it.

 

[LukeWhite]

I have a few tips for those of you who are trying to "just ignore" that debt.

1) Find a debt calculator online and play around with the numbers. You will **** your pants when you see how big your monthly repayments will add up to after you've accumulated the debt and then allowed it to compound during residency. This stuff is no joke - you will have to deal with it one day no matter what.

This isn't an entirely useful comparison, because it adjusts for your outflow without any adjustment for inflow. It's a pretty sure bet that most doctors' salaries are going to continue to increase at reasonable rates, even if only keeping pace with inflation, for the forseeable future.

Given that there's at least seven years between when you start taking out loans and when you start repaying them, everyone will have a significantly higher salary with which to repay the loans.

Let's say you're a (fairly high) $250k in debt when you begin repayment, and are repaying over (a fairly short) ten years with a (fairly high) average interest rate of 6%. You'll pay about $33k a year.

*But* let's say that your (fairly low) $120k doc salary increases for just inflation from MS-1 to PGY-3 at a rate equal to the seven-year period '96 to '03. You're now making nearly $139k, cutting more than half off what that loan repayment amount looks like now.

Also keep in mind that loan repayment needn't be money out of pocket...buying a first house and being clever with the mortgage can free up money to repay the loan that's essentially tax-deductible. And of course, there are plenty of government agencies and private employers willing to subsidize one's student loans. The idea that one has to specialize to pay off high loans is a bit of a canard...an FP on the lower end of the pay scale and upper end of the debt scale can pay off loans pretty quickly while still living quite comfortably.

 

[Dr Who]

I like to think about it in this way,

I'm investing in a "House" of knowledge that will build up equity over time, making it worth it.

I like the way you think. 👍

 

[gioia]

This isn't an entirely useful comparison, because it adjusts for your outflow without any adjustment for inflow. It's a pretty sure bet that most doctors' salaries are going to continue to increase at reasonable rates, even if only keeping pace with inflation, for the forseeable future.

Given that there's at least seven years between when you start taking out loans and when you start repaying them, everyone will have a significantly higher salary with which to repay the loans.

Let's say you're a (fairly high) $250k in debt when you begin repayment, and are repaying over (a fairly short) ten years with a (fairly high) average interest rate of 6%. You'll pay about $33k a year.

*But* let's say that your (fairly low) $120k doc salary increases for just inflation from MS-1 to PGY-3 at a rate equal to the seven-year period '96 to '03. You're now making nearly $139k, cutting more than half off what that loan repayment amount looks like now.

Also keep in mind that loan repayment needn't be money out of pocket...buying a first house and being clever with the mortgage can free up money to repay the loan that's essentially tax-deductible. And of course, there are plenty of government agencies and private employers willing to subsidize one's student loans. The idea that one has to specialize to pay off high loans is a bit of a canard...an FP on the lower end of the pay scale and upper end of the debt scale can pay off loans pretty quickly while still living quite comfortably.

LUKE WHITE,

You always sound so rational - I like the way you think!

Joy

 

[DW]

My solution to med school debt...date rich!!! I've hooked up with a hot Nurse Practitioner who makes 100K a year and has zero educational debt, I'm not letting this one go 👍

 

[monstermatch]

I'm sure the financial deans out there who have browsed this thread will be delighted with your responses. Looks like they can go ahead & jack up the tuition with abandon.

 

[10minutes]

My undergrad debt: $0.00
Med school: $80,000 estimated.

 

[LaurieB]

ZekeMD put out a really helpful debt calculator spreadsheet a while back - you guys might want to check it out.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=115748

 

[quideam]

Hey Thanks LaurieB, I've been looking for that!!

🙂

 

[babyruth]

Deferment, Deferment, Deferment!! Like any loan, many choose to extend pyments for longer than the ten year repayment period. Although this raises your accumulated interest, it allows for more manageable payments. Of course you will never be out of debt.

Last year, they were trying to get a bill passed about increasing government loan caps. Does anyone know what happened to this?