60k a year???

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TheBoneDoctah

TheBoneDoctah

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I applied to a school that is 60k a year for tuition. Will I ever pay this back or am I craZy for even considering it?
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Depending on the repayment plan, you won't need to pay it all back.
 
Some schools are 80k for OOS students, and they were able to pay it back. You can definitely do it.
 
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one of them from University of Illinois. He's a surgical oncologist now.

Another one went to USC, not as expensive, but still around 60k. He's hematologist.
 
they are certainly not complaining about the money. the surgeon makes around 400k a year.
 
SynapticDoctah said:
Okay. I just wanted someone to say it was all gonna be ok and pat me on the back ahhaha
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yeah man, don't worry about the cost of the school before you even get in. Just do you best to save money right now and worry about the rest afterwards. You might even get scholarships and stuff too.
 
My undergrad costs 65k a year and 50% of students pay it (others gets financial aid), that's insane to me. Medical school is way more worth it.
 
you're not crazy.
But you should be aware of the price. I think it's best to enter the process knowing there is a possibility that you could pay full COA for your most expensive school.
It is possible that you could be accepted to one school, that is very expensive, and not get any financial aid. As we just saw recently in a different thread..
 
terp720 said:
you're not crazy.
But you should be aware of the price. I think it's best to enter the process knowing there is a possibility that you could pay full COA for your most expensive school.
It is possible that you could be accepted to one school, that is very expensive, and not get any financial aid. As we just saw recently in a different thread..
Click to expand...
Do you mean not even loans?
 
You will be able to service that amount of debt on a doctors salary. I wouldn't not go to med school because of it. But anyone who tells you that what will be a greater than $300k debt figure by the time you finish residency won't impact your early paychecks or lifestyle when you ultimately get a job (likely at much closer to the $200k average than some of the figures being hinted at around here) is lying to you. And if you come out into a tight job market in a worse paying field you may be influenced by that kind of debt to jump on a job that isn't your dream but pays the bills rather than wait for the right one to come along. So that kind of debt does have a price.

Don't pretend "oh, when I'm a surgeon earning $400k that $300k of debt won't even matter" because interests and salaries change and you might find yourself that peds guy who has to jump on a $180k salary in a bad market, and suddenly thanks to high debt instead of a house and a car you are shopping for an apartment and a bus ticket. But you will be able to service your eductional debt. A lot of Americans in other fields can't.
 
Law2Doc said:
You will be able to service that amount of debt on a doctors salary. I wouldn't not go to med school because of it. But anyone who tells you that what will be a greater than $300k debt figure by the time you finish residency won't impact your early paychecks or lifestyle when you ultimately get a job (likely at much closer to the $200k average than some of the figures being hinted at around here) is lying to you. And if you come out into a tight job market in a worse paying field you may be influenced by that kind of debt to jump on a job that isn't your dream but pays the bills rather than wait for the right one to come along. So that kind of debt does have a price.

Don't pretend "oh, when I'm a surgeon earning $400k that $300k of debt won't even matter" because interests and salaries change and you might find yourself that peds guy who has to jump on a $180k salary in a bad market, and suddenly thanks to high debt instead of a house and a car you are shopping for an apartment and a bus ticket. But you will be able to service your eductional debt. A lot of Americans in other fields can't.
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Very true. Thank you for the post.
 
I once again want to go back to repayment.

There's a repayment option where everything you cannot pay off in 10 years is forgiven to you by the government.
10 years includes the time you spend in residency
no more than 10% of your paycheck has to go for loan repayment
you have to work for a non-profit hospital, and the vast majority of them are in that category.
 
allenlchs said:
I once again want to go back to repayment.

There's a repayment option where everything you cannot pay off in 10 years is forgiven to you by the government.
10 years includes the time you spend in residency
no more than 10% of your paycheck has to go for loan repayment
you have to work for a non-profit hospital, and the vast majority of them are in that category.
Click to expand...
Any specialty??
 
SynapticDoctah said:
Any specialty??
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Correct. I recently started reading the book called "The White Coat Investor", which I would recommend to anyone whose parents are not paying their way through med school.

He writes that longer you spend in training, the less you will have to pay back as you will only be making very small payments based on your resident salary.
 
Honestly, I just looked into my student loans and it's making me want to pull my hair out. And I haven't even started medical school as yet. Like why is life so hard ?
 
allenlchs said:
Correct. I recently started reading the book called "The White Coat Investor", which I would recommend to anyone whose parents are not paying their way through med school.

He writes that longer you spend in training, the less you will have to pay back as you will only be making very small payments based on your resident salary.
Click to expand...

The only problem with this is no one has taken advantage of PAYE/PSLF yet and there is absolutely no guarantee of it staying. Once large amounts of students with huge debt get "forgiven" (though, you will be hit with a tax bomb), there's really no telling on what the government's response will be. When residents and attendings say not to bank on it, its because it can easily be taken away, or most likely capped. PSLF could also have more stringent requirements as to who can qualify in the future as well. For instance, Obama's latest budget proposal for 2015 (which failed to pass) called for the PSLF cap to be set at $57,500, which isn't exactly a whole lot. (http://educatedrisk.org/analysis/of...ed-budget-pslf-caps-paye-benefits-limitations). Its not farfetched to think that IBR could also be capped in the future and screw over graduate and professional students even more.

I hope it stays, but my advice for OP and anyone worried about the debt is to use the MedLoan calculator (https://www.aamc.org/services/first/medloans/) and project what you will end up having to pay. Assume that the only guaranteed options of repayment is 10 year standard and 25 year extended. I'm going into school assuming that I am going to pay the loans back on the "extended" option and I feel alright about my future financial position. As the years go by and if I see that PAYE or IBR stays then I can adjust my plan.
 
allenlchs said:
Depending on the repayment plan, you won't need to pay it all back.
Click to expand...
Yeah, like if you die at an early age. Other than that, you pay it your entire life till the balance is zero.
 
SynapticDoctah said:
I applied to a school that is 60k a year for tuition. Will I ever pay this back or am I craZy for even considering it?
Click to expand...

I just turned down my dream school to minimize debt and it's the hardest decision I have ever made, but I feel freer than ever going to med school now. It sucked but realistically speaking debt can really influence your medical school experience, career choices, and your life after that.
 
SynapticDoctah said:
I applied to a school that is 60k a year for tuition. Will I ever pay this back or am I craZy for even considering it?
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Depends what your other choices are. Is this an out-of-state school or in-state? Public or private?
 
snowys435 said:
I just turned down my dream school to minimize debt and it's the hardest decision I have ever made, but I feel freer than ever going to med school now. It sucked but realistically speaking debt can really influence your medical school experience, career choices, and your life after that.
Click to expand...
And you made a very smart decision in your case.
 
Not everyone pays full COA at any school. There are almost always scholarships or loans to help pay it off. Once again, repayment is another issue all in itself.
 
I thought following your dream was a priceless venture.

If you're in it for the money I'd suggest investment banking.
 
medicalmnt said:
I thought following your dream was a priceless venture.

If you're in it for the money I'd suggest investment banking.
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You have to be realistic. Yes, my dream is to become a doctor. However, I don't want to be in school till I'm 38 and then have to live paycheck to paycheck. There comes a point where it isn't worth it, even if it is your dream.
 
SynapticDoctah said:
You have to be realistic. Yes, my dream is to become a doctor. However, I don't want to be in school till I'm 38 and then have to live paycheck to paycheck. There comes a point where it isn't worth it, even if it is your dream.
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Have you done the calculations using the AAMC loan calc?
 
Time Table said:
Not everyone pays full COA at any school. There are almost always scholarships or loans to help pay it off. Once again, repayment is another issue all in itself.
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Loans usually means you ultimately pay MORE than the cost of admission, it's just that you pay later. Saying there are "almost always scholarships" is grossly exaggerated. Some people get scholarships, most won't.
 
SynapticDoctah said:
They do have a BA/MD program, however they still admit "normal" MD students as well (not many though).
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Well then I would thoroughly investigate the program, as 60 K/year for an unranked medical school is ridiculous. Can't imagine being in a class of 20 year olds who aren't even of legal age to drink.
 
DermViser said:
Well then I would thoroughly investigate the program, as 60 K/year for an unranked medical school is ridiculous. Can't imagine being in a class of 20 year olds who aren't even of legal age to drink.
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Yes, I realize that is crazy for the school. However, if it's the only school I get into.....then what do I do? Also, the BA/MD students aren't in the same class. They matriculate into the M.D. program after they get their BA.
 
SynapticDoctah said:
Yes, I realize that is crazy for the school. However, if it's the only school I get into.....then what do I do? Also, the BA/MD students aren't in the same class. They matriculate into the M.D. program after they get their BA.
Click to expand...
Um, did you see the thread? http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/accelerated-baccalaureate-md-program.1081755/ The whole school and curriculum is built around being a BA/MD school. You'll be the minority as a traditional student (4+4), and the rest of the class is 2 +4, :barf:
 
Law2Doc said:
You will be able to service that amount of debt on a doctors salary. I wouldn't not go to med school because of it. But anyone who tells you that what will be a greater than $300k debt figure by the time you finish residency won't impact your early paychecks or lifestyle when you ultimately get a job (likely at much closer to the $200k average than some of the figures being hinted at around here) is lying to you. And if you come out into a tight job market in a worse paying field you may be influenced by that kind of debt to jump on a job that isn't your dream but pays the bills rather than wait for the right one to come along. So that kind of debt does have a price.

Don't pretend "oh, when I'm a surgeon earning $400k that $300k of debt won't even matter" because interests and salaries change and you might find yourself that peds guy who has to jump on a $180k salary in a bad market, and suddenly thanks to high debt instead of a house and a car you are shopping for an apartment and a bus ticket. But you will be able to service your eductional debt. A lot of Americans in other fields can't.
Click to expand...

Fantastic post.
 
60k/year tuiton? COA is going to be $80k/year. You'll have nearly $400k or so owed when you start paying back.

Get out now while you still owe $0. Medicine isn't the low-risk bet it used to be. There is a lot of uncertainty going forward. Most of medicine sucks, and there is a decent chance you will end up hating it. I can't imagine a worse nightmare than to be tied to it for most of your life because of the debt. Get a degree in computer engineering or something, get a decent entry level job, and enjoy your life with the freedom to walk away and take a new job or pursue another opportunity whenever you want.
 
atomi said:
60k/year tuiton? COA is going to be $80k/year. You'll have nearly $400k or so owed when you start paying back.

Get out now while you still owe $0. Medicine isn't the low-risk bet it used to be. There is a lot of uncertainty going forward. Most of medicine sucks, and there is a decent chance you will end up hating it. I can't imagine a worse nightmare than to be tied to it for most of your life because of the debt. Get a degree in computer engineering or something, get a decent entry level job, and enjoy your life with the freedom to walk away and take a new job or pursue another opportunity whenever you want.
Click to expand...
Ok this a completely different recommendation than everyone else
Haha
 
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