Are loans for pharmacy school worth it?

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Der

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I plan to attend SUNY Buffalo for pharmacy school and I'm just wondering if anybody did anything to help lower the amount of loans that they had to take out. Also is it even going to put a major dent in my paycheck if I have to be paying $700 a month for student loans when I get out of pharmacy school as a pharmacist? Will I be able to still live pretty decently and rather comfortably?

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I plan to attend SUNY Buffalo for pharmacy school and I'm just wondering if anybody did anything to help lower the amount of loans that they had to take out. Also is it even going to put a major dent in my paycheck if I have to be paying $700 a month for student loans when I get out of pharmacy school as a pharmacist? Will I be able to still live pretty decently and rather comfortably?

In general, loans for any education endeavor is worth the money invested. Don't spend extravagantly, but live comfortably. You will be able to pay much more of your loans back once you have a pharmacist job (if you're the type of person like me to save, you can probably pay 20 or 30,000 a year off without breaking a sweat)
 
You will most likely finish RX school and make $120,000+ per year.

That's about $10,000 per month before tax.

So about $7,000+ per month after tax..

And if you can't pay $700 per month from that.. you better marry a CPA.

I did.
 
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Great! Thanks for the replies. Any more replies are greatly appreciated.
 
Great! Thanks for the replies. Any more replies are greatly appreciated.

what more replies do you need? you can't spell it out anymore clear than how I replied.
 
Great! Thanks for the replies. Any more replies are greatly appreciated.

I think also, you'll be hard pressed to find a school cheaper then UB. I'm assuming you're an in-state resident (like me!) so you really can't beat the SUNY tuition. If you're looking virtually anywhere else, it's going to be twice the tuition cost, if not triple. For instance, MCPHS, my second choice school is roughly $33k.

The loan repayment issue has been a big issue brought up by my S/O, like "will we be able to handle it when you graduate..." but I think if you do a little research and check out sites like salary.com to see what the starting salary might be for you after graduation and plug in the total loan amount into a repayment calculator to see your estimated payments, you'll see that it's very, very doable. Especially if you go to a state school with much lower tuition.

Think of it as an investment in your future!
 
Thanks candita and no. I made this thread to get replies explaining the reason it's alright to take out student loans and come out with debt. The more replies I get, the more solid the answer. And plus I'm showing this thread to my mom who is a little worried about me having loans, so more replies = better.
 
Thanks candita and no. I made this thread to get replies explaining the reason it's alright to take out student loans and come out with debt. The more replies I get, the more solid the answer. And plus I'm showing this thread to my mom who is a little worried about me having loans, so more replies = better.

Have your mom call me!
 
Why aren't you at work?
 
I work from home...didn't you know? You have no idea what I do...do you...

I have a small idea.......but.......you're usually flying around the country playing golf and "working"
 
I have a small idea.......but.......you're usually flying around the country playing golf and "working"

I travel every other week. And sometimes, I drive.
 
If u are serious about her calling you then that would actually be great. If you want I can give you her number or you can pm me your number and I will tell her to call you when you both have time to spare. I want to be a pharmacist and she is just a little worried about me having loans when I get out so se's not sure if she should cosign for loans or not.
 
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Der~ Maybe you can take her in to speak to the financial aid offices at one of the pharmacy schools you're considering. They'd probably be able to answer her questions and calm her fears.

maybe you can have her drive to the nearest drug store and show her the pharmacists cars in the parking lot....j/k
 
maybe you can have her drive to the nearest drug store and show her the pharmacists cars in the parking lot....j/k

ehhh... not sure that'll work.

I drive a 7 year old Acura
My counter part drives 10 year old Camry
Another collegue drives a 6 year old Acura
My boss drives a beatup BMW 3 series...over 10 years old.
 
maybe you can have her drive to the nearest drug store and show her the pharmacists cars in the parking lot....j/k

Don't come to my store, I drive a 1991 Buick Skylark..... Only 78,000 miles.

If your mom is skeptical, have her go to her local pharmacist and ask him/her if they think it's worth it. Also, have her call Epic.

There is no question, it is worth it. You will have no trouble paying off your loans....
 
I graduated in May 2007 and had to take out loans for both tuition and living expenses. It added up to quite a lot in the end, but I had no other choice but to take out the loans if I wanted to go to pharmacy school. I decided it would be worth the current expense for long-term security. I have to be honest with you, the payments are going to be very high and I'm not going to be able to live as comfortably as others I know who are pharmacists without the loans.

However, I did just buy a house this summer so that makes a difference to; I now have a mortage to pay for but I also made sure to choose a modest home to be on the safe side financially. I drive a 10 year old Honda that's been paid off for years and have no plans on buying a new car until this one starts having problems.

You can do fine taking out student loans, but you do have to live within a different means than others who come out of school without debt. It's all about being responsible with your money.
 
See, there's a different outlook on loans right there lol
 
If you want to be a pharmacist, then go to pharmacy school. Aren't you going to have loans if you go to college for something else? They might not be as much, but the salary also isn't as high. Ultimatly it boils down to what you want to do. Don't worry about mommy...

Only take as much loan money as you need...if you can live at home, that helps save on living expenses.

I just finished school with a considerable amount of loans and I haven't had a probably paying them off so far on a graduate intern salary. I also have rent and car payments.
 
just do what I do and plan on living with the folks the first year........then you can put half of your salary towards payments. Another good idea, work part-time (no more than 16 hours) and work your butt off during the summer. but as a pharmacist, you won't have much trouble paying it off.
 
I just switched my repayment plan to 10 years from 25 year. After working as a pharmacist, I found that I could easily afford to pay off my loans sooner. My current loan balance is $115k.

So, don't worry too much about loans. They allow you to live during school.
 
I just switched my repayment plan to 10 years from 25 year. After working as a pharmacist, I found that I could easily afford to pay off my loans sooner. My current loan balance is $115k.

So, don't worry too much about loans. They allow you to live during school.

That is actually really good to hear. I just started paying off my loans and it is a prtty daunting sum.....but I am still in the process of taking my exams/getting a license. I also want to be able to pay it off a little sooner too instead of paying almost the same amount back in interest that I out.
 
I just switched my repayment plan to 10 years from 25 year. After working as a pharmacist, I found that I could easily afford to pay off my loans sooner. My current loan balance is $115k.

So, don't worry too much about loans. They allow you to live during school.

Wow, that is great news. Thank you everyone for the replies. I think she's convinced :).
 
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