debt

Started by OpalOnyx
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Some of it is people with full rides significantly affecting the average. Some is people who don't take out as much in loans because of significant others/parents contributing.
 
JimmerJammerMrK said:
Some of it is people with full rides significantly affecting the average. Some is people who don't take out as much in loans because of significant others/parents contributing.
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Yeah, those big name schools probably have huge endowments from rich alumni. Big endowment = lots of money for scholarships, etc.

Also chances are higher that the folks at Harvard Med were sent to private schools by their super rich Daddy, who can also pay their way though med school (with 0 debt).
 
hmmm yea thanks guys, that makes sense. I know I'll be paying for it all myself so I guess my numbers would be quite different from those on that US News report...
 
Apply broadly, and if you are fortunate, you will have multiple offers to compare. If cost is a chief concern (it is for me), hopefully one of your offers will minimize the debt.
 
It's very common for the average debt of graduates to be significantly lower than the cost of attendance multiplied by four. Some of that is financial aide. A lot of it is the suprising number of folks who have someone picking up at least a chunk of the tab for medical school. My school, for example, told us at orientation that the average debt for the class who graduated in May was 210k for out of state students. I don't remember the in state number, sadly! The reason I remember this number more is that out of state tuition for my school is just under 60 thousand dollars per year. So, figure about 80 thousand once expenses are added in. 80 multiplied by four is 320 thousand, yet the average for graduates is 210. Before someone says anything, the 210 figure is those who graduate as out of staters, not those who manage to get in state tuition at some point.

I'm still suprised constantly hearing that so many of my classmates have "mumsy or daddy" paying for medical school.
 
ThaliaNox said:
I'm still suprised constantly hearing that so many of my classmates have "mumsy or daddy" paying for medical school.
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Yeah, if I get into my IS school - my dad is probably going to offer to pay for at least part of it. But I am so ready to just be on my own financially, even if that means paying off loans. I would obviously go for IS over OOS anyday. And paying for it myself would just add to the sense of accountability and responsibility. Someone's gotta draw the line, somewhere right. Might as well happen next year if I hopefully get in.
 
OpalOnyx said:
Yeah, if I get into my IS school - my dad is probably going to offer to pay for at least part of it. But I am so ready to just be on my own financially, even if that means paying off loans. I would obviously go for IS over OOS anyday. And paying for it myself would just add to the sense of accountability and responsibility. Someone's gotta draw the line, somewhere right. Might as well happen next year if I hopefully get in.
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lol i personally think that's foolish. if they're willing to help you out, let them. if you really feel guilty, pay them back once you're an attending.
 
If you are a parent, paying for your child's medical school education is about as good a way to spend your money as you're likely to see. It's likely to make a significant improvement in their life later (they'll be able to get a mortgage because they are not tied down with educational debt, etc.), and you know they will still have to work hard and be motivated (they won't take your money and spend it on clothes and cars).

For a while, the silver-spoon-born were not at too great an advantage because there were loans available and the amounts were not too onerous. But now, with tuition and loan amounts becoming immensely burdensome, the wealthy are again at a distinct advantage. Just another way in which the rich and the poor are diverging in contemporary America.
 
I'm not saying that it doesn't make sense for parents to help out their kids going to medical school. That makes sense... IF you can afford it. What suprises me is the number of students whose families can apparently afford it. Medical schools, even relatively inexpensive in state public schools, cost cost 40 grand plus per year, with living expenses. That's more than my parents MAKE in a year. It just goes to tell you that the process of getting to medical school is still highly selective for the children of the upper middle class and up. No average family in the United States has an extra 40 grand to spend on one of their children, especially after that same child has gone to four years of undergrad.
 
ThaliaNox said:
I'm not saying that it doesn't make sense for parents to help out their kids going to medical school. That makes sense... IF you can afford it. What suprises me is the number of students whose families can apparently afford it. Medical schools, even relatively inexpensive in state public schools, cost cost 40 grand plus per year, with living expenses. That's more than my parents MAKE in a year. It just goes to tell you that the process of getting to medical school is still highly selective for the children of the upper middle class and up. No average family in the United States has an extra 40 grand to spend on one of their children, especially after that same child has gone to four years of undergrad.
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I think you are correct, and I think I have seen data that confirms this, but I don't remember where.

Woe unto the poor slob who takes on $300k in loans thinking that everyone is in the same boat so "how bad can it be?" - no, some of your classmates got significant if not full ride scholarships, and more of them have family money than the "diversity" campaigns would lead you to believe otherwise.

If you are paying full price at an OOS public or a private med school, you are getting screwed.
 
i'm just wondering...what's the maximum loans you guys are willing to take out for medical school?
 
I would be very sad if I had more than 220k in loans.. at 6.8% interest thats $15,000 just in interest at year one. Paying that in 10 years would be a $30,000 yearly payment :\ depressing
 
Rocher said:
I would be very sad if I had more than 220k in loans.. at 6.8% interest thats $15,000 just in interest at year one. Paying that in 10 years would be a $30,000 yearly payment :\ depressing
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oh yeah, that is depressing.

The thing is - my dad wants to pay for some of my tuition, if I get in. But I don't see how he can afford it on top of the mortgage, my siblings college tuitions, etc. It's just too much on his plate. And I don't want to let him take that on, even if he wants to... Here's to hoping for IS acceptances.
 
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