Common to use full COA?

[ahawke100]

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I start school here shortly and I've been looking at my budget, expenses, and loan amount for the COA. I've had a number of (rather sizable) unexpected expenses here before school, and it looks I'll likely use up the remainder of my fall dispersement during fall semester. Things should cool down by spring and I'll likely be able to return a sizable portion of the loans I borrow for that semester, BUT how guilty should I feel about spending ~14k beyond tuition in just 6 months? There's not much I can do, but I still feel guilty Is it common to use the full COA?

I've never borrowed this amount of money on my own before, and I know it comes with the territory to an extent, but it's scary!

 

[drkube]

I'm in the same shoes as you. The way I see it, succeeding in medical school has no price 😉

 

[IslandStyle808]

I think that is the point of making the COA so high as to give students a cushion to borrow more if they need to. You will probably find ways to decrease your costs as you start. I don't think you will be borrowing the full COA all though your 4 years.

 

[DrMikeP]

I start school here shortly and I've been looking at my budget, expenses, and loan amount for the COA. I've had a number of (rather sizable) unexpected expenses here before school, and it looks I'll likely use up the remainder of my fall dispersement during fall semester. Things should cool down by spring and I'll likely be able to return a sizable portion of the loans I borrow for that semester, BUT how guilty should I feel about spending ~14k beyond tuition in just 6 months? There's not much I can do, but I still feel guilty Is it common to use the full COA?

I've never borrowed this amount of money on my own before, and I know it comes with the territory to an extent, but it's scary!

Beyond COA remember you'll have residency interviews, moving and a ton of other stuff to pay for along the way so consider that in taking out loans.

 

[getfat]

Beyond COA remember you'll have residency interviews, moving and a ton of other stuff to pay for along the way so consider that in taking out loans.

So is you think it's normal to go full COA during the first year and 4th year ?


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[DrMikeP]

So is you think it's normal to go full COA during the first year and 4th year ?


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That's the rec of students at my school because it's needed for expenses later.


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[IslandStyle808]

There are also private loans for residency interviews and moving for residency. This is another option to consider if you are still having financial troubles with getting to all your interviews.

 

[DrMikeP]

There are also private loans for residency interviews and moving for residency. This is another option to consider if you are still having financial troubles with getting to all your interviews.

Agreed, but better to avoid if possible as there are advantages to using gov loans first.

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[IslandStyle808]

Agreed, but better to avoid if possible as there are advantages to using gov loans first.

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Your right, it is a difficult balancing act. I would rather use federal loans myself. If I save during 1st and 2nd year for residency interviews, this amount can compound. So it make me wary of borrowing so much so soon. I could just save up starting 3rd year and then borrow private loans if I needed a bit more. However, I would be paying both federal and private loans at the same time. IBR would save a lot of hassles if I only took out public loans. There are a lot of factors to consider.

A lot of this will be dependent on speciality difficult and where I interview.

 

[ortnakas]

Taking the full amount isn't uncommon.