decided

[gljj]

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decided

 

[Shunsui]

Could you opt out of the primary care loan forgiveness program down the line or is it binding?

Financially, Geisinger makes sense but this is something that really stood out from your write-up:

Hypothetically, if I had to choose between Geisinger without loan forgiveness and VCU, I would choose VCU

Money is important but so is freedom and happiness

 

[gljj]

Could you opt out of the primary care loan forgiveness program down the line or is it binding?

Financially, Geisinger makes sense but this is something that really stood out from your write-up:

Money is important but so is freedom and happiness

Hi, and thank you so much for your response! From my understanding, it is possible to opt out of the program, you would just be responsible for paying back the loan over 10 years.

I've been thinking about it, and I don't really see myself wanting to return to the Geisinger Health System for employment. If that's the case, I'm not sure that the loan forgiveness program is worth it for me. If I do accept the offer, I think I could technically go 4-7 years (medical school +/- residency) interest-free before getting a job elsewhere and then beginning to pay the loan at that point. That feels pretty disingenuous though, especially since I'm sure the offer could go to someone who better identifies with the mission.

 

[applicant20]

I wouldn't choose Geisinger based on the loan forgiveness program, because ultimately it's asking for a huge commitment on multiple fronts; you have to commit to primary care + being employed there + multiple years if you want all your loans forgiven. You might change your mind about specialties once you're in med school, and considering you're not crazy about Scranton now, you probably won't want to return for work there so many years down the line.

So maybe think of it like, if the loan forgiveness program didn't exist, where would you rather go? I would compare the cost of Geisinger (without the loan forgiveness) with VCU and see how much more total debt you would accumulate at VCU after 4 years. Then decide if that's significant enough of a factor to choose Geisinger based on cost alone, or if you could justify paying more for VCU if it ends up making your 4 years there happier.

 

[gljj]

I wouldn't choose Geisinger based on the loan forgiveness program, because ultimately it's asking for a huge commitment on multiple fronts; you have to commit to primary care + being employed there + multiple years if you want all your loans forgiven. You might change your mind about specialties once you're in med school, and considering you're not crazy about Scranton now, you probably won't want to return for work there so many years down the line.

So maybe think of it like, if the loan forgiveness program didn't exist, where would you rather go? I would compare the cost of Geisinger (without the loan forgiveness) with VCU and see how much more total debt you would accumulate at VCU after 4 years. Then decide if that's significant enough of a factor to choose Geisinger based on cost alone, or if you could justify paying more for VCU if it ends up making your 4 years there happier.

Yea, I think the commitment is something I wasn't prepared for when I initially applied. There's a good chance I'll want to pursue primary care anyway, but I keep thinking "what if???" about other specialties that I just haven't gotten the chance to learn more about yet lol. So besides being happier in/with Richmond, I think VCU will give me more freedom, like the previous poster mentioned. And compared to VCU, Geisinger without loan forgiveness is not significantly less expensive.

Thanks for your insight, I really appreciate it!