Debt...

[PreMedDocMD]

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How do you guys find the money to pay bills for undergrad and med school, leaving only like $200,000 in debt. Most good undergrad colleges cost around $40 k. That for 4 years is $160k. Plus med school, can be over 300k. But, whenever people talk of debt, they say only like 100k-150k. How do you pay around 100k by residency?

 

[boboli]

It really depends on your specific situation. Many people have part time jobs during undergrad and are fortunate to have had parents help. In-state tuition/fees/housing is nowhere near $40,000/yr. I had minimal <$5000 debt for college. Med school tuition varies depending on in-state/out of state/public/private. Tuition for four years is in the $80,000 to $120,000 range. Many people also take out loans to cover living expenses. This will depend on your life style and how expensive your city is. A lot of people have spouses with jobs to cover living expenses, so the loans are mostly for tuition. Others have other sources of financial support. I do think the $100-$150K is reasonable - it isn't uncommon to go over the $200K mark though. Hope that sheds some light on the subject.

 

[colbgw02]

I love the implication that you can't go to a good college for less than $40K/year.

 

[mlw03]

state undergrad + part-time job + helpful parents = no undergrad debt
state med school not in Cali or northeast = $150K in debt

there's the math that many of us deal with. look on the pre-med discussion boards and you'll see a hundred threads devoted to "dream school vs. state school" with a major theme being the significantly lower cost associated with in-state med school tuition.

 

[ESPNdeportes]

I love the implication that you can't go to a good college for less than $40K/year.

Yeah, that's kinda crazy.

The bottom line is that no matter where you go, you're only going to get out what you put in. There are plenty of people that are very successful coming from lesser known schools (even Podunk U's) and there are people that won't get into med school coming from big name schools. That said, there are advantages to going to a big name school, but in my experience, its not going to make or break your potential future in medicine.

 

[Winged Scapula]

State undergrad + mom paid back loans

State grad school and I paid back the loans

State University grad school and tuition + stipend

So I started "fresh" for medical school and with some help from grandma to lessen the loan debt. Thanks grandma (and mom)! 😀

 

[Bitsy3221]

undergrad + working part time + grad school + parents helping but not being rich = $50K
state med school + working part time + parents still helping but still not being rich = $150

So that is about the only way I know of to hover around $200K. That is still a ton of money. I try not to think about it.

I think that unless you were fortunate enough to find yourself in the situation mlw03 describes or unless you got a sweet scholarship package, you will still have a ton of debt even if parents help a little. For those of you living in my reality, we'll be sending checks to Aunt Sallie for a while. My family has been incredibly supportive emotionally though, and I wouldn't trade that for a check ever.

 

[dutchman]

How do you guys find the money to pay bills for undergrad and med school, leaving only like $200,000 in debt. Most good undergrad colleges cost around $40 k. That for 4 years is $160k. Plus med school, can be over 300k. But, whenever people talk of debt, they say only like 100k-150k. How do you pay around 100k by residency?

I don't know that it is normal nor advisable to spend 160K on an undergrad degree.

 

[path15]

I have to agree with dutchman -
the financial return on an undergrad degree is not enough to pay off 160$ in debt, unless more schooling is completed afterwards (or you end up one of the extremly rare people who manage to land a well paying job) -
I'd be very nervous running up a 160K debt on undergrad alone, with no guarentee of future professional school -
Even with an MD and a good paying job - paying back 160$ in debt is, in my opinion, difficult, especially if you want other things too like a house, car, kids, etc. -

 

[mig26x]

undergrad: state school: parents payed for it
med school: 140,000 in loans

 

[changeofheart77]

if it's really a "good" undegrad, i assume they would have fair financial aid packages to entice strong candidates who otherwise don't have parents in the alumni list. i have a friend who got a free ride from an ivy (merit + financial need), but that's more an exception than the rule. i myself graduated from 2 state schools with ~25K in loans. i had jobs usually FT during summer, parttime during school year and helpful parents.

personally, i think it's mean to slap a 160K tag on "good" undergrad degrees if you're not paris hilton.

 

[angel80]

I had zero debt from undergrad. I went to a state school and had a full scholarship to pay for tuition. I had a part-time job throughout all of undergrad to help pay my living expenses, and my parents helped me out as well. I think that finishing undergrad with more that $50,000 in debt is too much, and that you should re-think your undergrad plans.