Budgeting COA and personal expenses

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IceOtope

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I am currently a pre-pharm student, but my academic advisor has advised I look into med school several times. I am currently at a 3.8 with lots of extra curriculars, volunteering, one of several pre-health club student leaders, and working as a pharmacy tech. I am enjoying what I am doing and learning, but exploring career options is never a bad idea.

I want to ask a question that I haven't found an answer to in the forums, but can be applied to both pre-med and pre-pharm students. How do you decide on the amount of loans to take out for tuition and fees, and how much do you plan on spending on food (outside of meal plan)/clothes/phone etc. basically anything "extra" unrelated to learning.

Lets say tuition and fees come out to $50k/year. What extra amount of loans do you take out to spend at your leisure? How do you manage this money? Do you consider loan repayment at the time you take out the loans?

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My school gives a suggested breakdown of expenses in our COA (i.e. X amount for food, X amount for rent). With this, I adjusted my loan amount based on what I know I spend and eliminated/reduced costs in other areas. I have friends who took out the entire COA amount though.

Creating a budget for all your expenses is extremely helpful. And yes, I did consider the amount of interest I'd have to repay if just took out the entire amount.
 
I am currently a pre-pharm student, but my academic advisor has advised I look into med school several times. I am currently at a 3.8 with lots of extra curriculars, volunteering, one of several pre-health club student leaders, and working as a pharmacy tech. I am enjoying what I am doing and learning, but exploring career options is never a bad idea.

I want to ask a question that I haven't found an answer to in the forums, but can be applied to both pre-med and pre-pharm students. How do you decide on the amount of loans to take out for tuition and fees, and how much do you plan on spending on food (outside of meal plan)/clothes/phone etc. basically anything "extra" unrelated to learning.

Lets say tuition and fees come out to $50k/year. What extra amount of loans do you take out to spend at your leisure? How do you manage this money? Do you consider loan repayment at the time you take out the loans?

The school gives an estimated COA, but I view that as an absolute maximum. It's up to you to decide if you can be frugal, live in the lap of luxury, or somewhere in between. As for me, I came up with a monthly budget for all of my major expenses (ie rent, food, entertainment, utilities, internet) and added a hundred or so to have a bit of a cushion. Be realistic when it comes to your budget and keep in mind, you can always adjust it. I find it helpful to track my major expenses with an app (such as expense or mint). It's been working pretty well so far.

As for your last question, I do consider the total repayment after a 10 year standard repayment plan. I have a spreadsheet keeping track of my expected loan vs actual loan that I am updating yearly. Make sure you account for a yearly 3-5% increase in tuition, fees, and other expenses.
 
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