To everyone applying/accepted to med school with family and other obligations, how will you make it work? Personally, I will have to sell our house and move in with my parents for the 4yrs (unless I can work a shift a week, which can bring in enough coupled with student loans to remain where we are at least for the 1st 2yrs of school). Any of you planning on working part time? Thoughts?
Difficulty with current economy
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At this point I'm worried we won't even be able to sell our house. The market is painfully slow, almost stagnant where we are. I need to sell and move everyone across country by July, unless my state school comes in at the last minute to svae the day (which I don't believe they will). It's hugely stressful.
If we can't sell, I will have to move out to FL by myself and leave my husband and two kids behind until we do sell. This was NOT our plan, but it may come to that. On top of that, when we move my husband will have to quit and try to find new work - not an easy feat these days.
I look at it as a big picture though - in the long run we will be fine. It is a good plan and it will work out. Or so I tell myself at 3 AM every night when I am lying awake in bed
Best of luck to you. You are not alone.
If we can't sell, I will have to move out to FL by myself and leave my husband and two kids behind until we do sell. This was NOT our plan, but it may come to that. On top of that, when we move my husband will have to quit and try to find new work - not an easy feat these days.
I look at it as a big picture though - in the long run we will be fine. It is a good plan and it will work out. Or so I tell myself at 3 AM every night when I am lying awake in bed
Best of luck to you. You are not alone.
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thinking about continuing to work through med school, at least first 2 yrs, it would be very difficult (and expensive) to sell our mid-sized house, move into an apartment that might cost $600 per month less, and then move back into a house in a couple years.. think of the 5% realtor costs and move costs alone, much less selling the house that fits our family well in a down market.
student loans seem helpful, but don't really consider the move costs or the cost to sell the house; they seem more to focus on ongoing, monthly costs at the poverty level.
student loans seem helpful, but don't really consider the move costs or the cost to sell the house; they seem more to focus on ongoing, monthly costs at the poverty level.
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Do what we are doing - renting our house out. We're going to hire a company that manages it and takes a percentage of the rent money, but it is worth it. We're not selling our home at all, and we don't foresee renting to be a problem. Many people can't afford a mortgage right now, and the rental market is good.
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this is crazy...you must really hate what you are doing now...i would be divorced before i could put the for sale sign up in the front yard...i hope it ends up being all you dream of
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JOIN THE RESERVE COMPONENT OF THE MILITARY!!!!
If you can pass a physical and are not a convicted felon, you should consider the military. Now I know that the very mention of the word military will make skin crawl for a lot of you out there, but as someone who has been active duty for 7 years, I can tell you two definitive things:
1) There is a big difference between the medical corps and the rest of the military.
2) There is a big difference between active duty and reserve duty.
Being a physician in the reserves is not being Private Pyle in full metal jacket. You will drill one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer. That's about 39 working days per year all of which you get paid for. That's it. You will not be deployed while in school. You will not be deployed while in residency. When deployed as a physician, it will be for a maximum of 6 months. If you are in a highly specialized field, you will deploy for a maximum of 3 months. Depending on how long you draw benefits, you might be done with your commitment to the reserves by the time you're done with residency. That means no deployments.
While in school, you can enter the "Medical and Dental School Stipend Program" which right now is $1900/month. You'll also get paid for each day you work in uniform. Every weekend you work (remember one per month), even though you only work Saturday and Sunday, you get paid for Friday and Monday too. It comes out to be about $350/month, so we're up to $2250.
Let's say you're worried about dedicating even one weekend a month to the military because of the demands of medical school. Never fear! There is an alternative drill program, where you will get credited for drill by participating in academic endeavors. In other words, you're now getting paid $350 to spend a weekend in gross anatomy lab, which you were going to do anyway.
The reserves have some really fantastic programs. There are many more that I haven't even listed. Reserve life is much easier than Active Duty. You live where you want, you don't have to move your family, you move when and where you want. I only know Army, but you can check out www.goarmy.com or www.1800goguard.com. If you want any more info from me, shoot me a message.
If you can pass a physical and are not a convicted felon, you should consider the military. Now I know that the very mention of the word military will make skin crawl for a lot of you out there, but as someone who has been active duty for 7 years, I can tell you two definitive things:
1) There is a big difference between the medical corps and the rest of the military.
2) There is a big difference between active duty and reserve duty.
Being a physician in the reserves is not being Private Pyle in full metal jacket. You will drill one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer. That's about 39 working days per year all of which you get paid for. That's it. You will not be deployed while in school. You will not be deployed while in residency. When deployed as a physician, it will be for a maximum of 6 months. If you are in a highly specialized field, you will deploy for a maximum of 3 months. Depending on how long you draw benefits, you might be done with your commitment to the reserves by the time you're done with residency. That means no deployments.
While in school, you can enter the "Medical and Dental School Stipend Program" which right now is $1900/month. You'll also get paid for each day you work in uniform. Every weekend you work (remember one per month), even though you only work Saturday and Sunday, you get paid for Friday and Monday too. It comes out to be about $350/month, so we're up to $2250.
Let's say you're worried about dedicating even one weekend a month to the military because of the demands of medical school. Never fear! There is an alternative drill program, where you will get credited for drill by participating in academic endeavors. In other words, you're now getting paid $350 to spend a weekend in gross anatomy lab, which you were going to do anyway.
The reserves have some really fantastic programs. There are many more that I haven't even listed. Reserve life is much easier than Active Duty. You live where you want, you don't have to move your family, you move when and where you want. I only know Army, but you can check out www.goarmy.com or www.1800goguard.com. If you want any more info from me, shoot me a message.
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I am also one of those who did not get love from the state school. We decided to move to a neighboring state and rent out our house. We never considered living apart. I am trying to rent our house as we speak. Luckily for us, where we will be moving, the rentals are much cheaper than where we currently live. I also decided to go to this school because my husband can keep his job and telecommute. Not my first choice but in the end it came down to economics.
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For those that plan on working, a word of advice: it may not be worth the effort during the first two years depending on what type of job you can do and how much of an academic adjustment you have.
At my school, there are plenty of nontrads including a few whose spouse lost their job, but the idea of working is not feasible given our schedule. The first two years for many people is extremely busy, even a couple of weekends a month can make or break a grade for some people.
My best advice is to feel your way through the first round of exam before deciding on working. I think it will be worth it in the long run, but you have to sometimes make painful sacrifices in order to get to the end point.
Military is definitely an option for those with mounting bills. I'd also suggest primary care scholarships for those interested in primary care. The scholarships are pretty good deals (from what I can see), and the definition of 'underserved' is pretty wide. Look into those before thinking about pulling down part time job in school.
At my school, there are plenty of nontrads including a few whose spouse lost their job, but the idea of working is not feasible given our schedule. The first two years for many people is extremely busy, even a couple of weekends a month can make or break a grade for some people.
My best advice is to feel your way through the first round of exam before deciding on working. I think it will be worth it in the long run, but you have to sometimes make painful sacrifices in order to get to the end point.
Military is definitely an option for those with mounting bills. I'd also suggest primary care scholarships for those interested in primary care. The scholarships are pretty good deals (from what I can see), and the definition of 'underserved' is pretty wide. Look into those before thinking about pulling down part time job in school.
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We are just 
that the house sells- we have had a few people through, but not offers to date.
We are only moving 2 hours away, but really do not want the hassle of being a landlord on top of three young kids, school, and FT work for DH.
I am considering working very PT- 5 hours/week or so.
that the house sells- we have had a few people through, but not offers to date. We are only moving 2 hours away, but really do not want the hassle of being a landlord on top of three young kids, school, and FT work for DH.
I am considering working very PT- 5 hours/week or so.
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We do not have to move, but school loans are not enough to cover the mortgage, family...
We just refinanced to a 30yr interest only, and I cashed out everything they would let me. So at 4.8% interest, it is cheaper money than a non-subsidized Stafford. (I did read a thread once over in the financial aid forum where AMDFAO gave arguments against refinancing, so you may want to consider her advice too.)
We just refinanced to a 30yr interest only, and I cashed out everything they would let me. So at 4.8% interest, it is cheaper money than a non-subsidized Stafford. (I did read a thread once over in the financial aid forum where AMDFAO gave arguments against refinancing, so you may want to consider her advice too.)
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In order for me to go back to school and pursue this long process of a dream, i quit my job (worked 60+ hours... retail management, need i say more? and they were not exactly cool with the whole go back to school full time thing when it's not a business degree), also sold all of my toys (3 beautiful sports cars I worked hard for!) and had to eliminate all of my debt which somehow I did except for a cell phone. I am also married so I don't exactly pay rent to my husband lol but we really had to cut back on going out and whatever else we used to do (travel a lot). I had a chunk of money saved up which I use for misc. school expenses. He's in the Navy so we are going to have to live apart when I go off to school but he has done nothing but tell me to keep pursuing the dream even if it comes to that. I realize I can't exactly tell the Navy where to send him. We also don't want kids so we won't have that expense. It was a huge shock to live the "poor college student" life but definitely worth it!!!
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This is precisely what we are doing, but we'll be taking a loss on the rent (which is at least tax deductible - cold comfort). Our house is underwater right now, and the costs of selling are way more than we can afford, particularly because we're moving most of the way across country, and I'm pregnant and we have a 3 year old. I just took a personal loan to cover those costs, and getting the house ready to rent. We're hiring a property manager.
In some ways, I'm very lucky because I have enough in scholarships to cover all of my tuition, books and fees. Also, my husband will be able to work remotely for his current job. However, because my husband and I made so much last year, and because my new kid isn't counted on my current tax return, my EFC for the school is very high and the estimated budget is very low, particularly if you consider that we need full-time childcare for 2 really young kids. So far, I have been offered no Stafford loans or anything else.
What really sucks is that we both paid for our undergrad with our own money, and neither of us understand how financial aid works. Lots and lots and lots of sleepless nights over here, let me tell you. Have to say, it's nice to know we're not alone freaking out in this.
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A piece of advice to all of you out there. Unless you work for someone very flexible, don't expect to be able to work a set schedule. While it is true that your classes run M-F 9-5 for the most part, you also need to include study time. Working certain saturday/sunday's will not really be an option if you will have an upcoming exam on a monday or tuesday, as you WILL need this time to study if you plan on doing at least reasonably well in school (important for residency purposes down the road). Plus, you still need family time and time for your spouse as well.
That said, this is what you can expect:
Each year, you will get between $15-25K for living expenses (depending on location) in addition to your tuition loans. This is money that you WILL qualify for. The first $45K is backed by the federal gov't so you will get this amount regardless of credit (should at least cover tuition). The rest you will get in the form of scholarships, and private or institutional loans (perkins, direct school loans, banks, etc). I don't know of anyone in our class that didn't get the full amount they were budgeted for. They even give you $$$ for daycare.
Next, regarding residencies. Having just finished up the interview trail, I can tell you that this year, the salaries ranged from $38K (in san bernardino) to $58K (in manhattan). The average was around $48K or so. Almost all included full benefits for the entire family. These are for the internship year. They appear to go up 3-4% a year. The average PGY-4 was around $60K this year.
I too gave up a high paying job to turn into a student once more, but it was well worth it.
Good luck!!!
That said, this is what you can expect:
Each year, you will get between $15-25K for living expenses (depending on location) in addition to your tuition loans. This is money that you WILL qualify for. The first $45K is backed by the federal gov't so you will get this amount regardless of credit (should at least cover tuition). The rest you will get in the form of scholarships, and private or institutional loans (perkins, direct school loans, banks, etc). I don't know of anyone in our class that didn't get the full amount they were budgeted for. They even give you $$$ for daycare.
Next, regarding residencies. Having just finished up the interview trail, I can tell you that this year, the salaries ranged from $38K (in san bernardino) to $58K (in manhattan). The average was around $48K or so. Almost all included full benefits for the entire family. These are for the internship year. They appear to go up 3-4% a year. The average PGY-4 was around $60K this year.
I too gave up a high paying job to turn into a student once more, but it was well worth it.
Good luck!!!
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We just keep chanting, "Big Picture, Big Picture, remember the Big Picture".
We had to move across the country, my husband gave up a great paying, extremely secure job only to move to one of the most economically depressed regions of the country and has been unable to find solid, permanent employment that is anywhere appropriate for his level of education. We also were unable to sell our house, so we are currently renting it out. That is a huge hassle (and expensive) because we had to go through a property management company since we'll be too far away to act as landlords.
One nice thing is that at least my loans are as sure thing. I know its accumulating debt for later, but at least we can pay the bills now. There are plenty of people out there losing jobs and have no money with which to pay their mortgage.
We had to move across the country, my husband gave up a great paying, extremely secure job only to move to one of the most economically depressed regions of the country and has been unable to find solid, permanent employment that is anywhere appropriate for his level of education. We also were unable to sell our house, so we are currently renting it out. That is a huge hassle (and expensive) because we had to go through a property management company since we'll be too far away to act as landlords.
One nice thing is that at least my loans are as sure thing. I know its accumulating debt for later, but at least we can pay the bills now. There are plenty of people out there losing jobs and have no money with which to pay their mortgage.
This is very similar to my situation. We never had to take loans before either. I don't have a scholarship but we are hoping to manage w/o loans for the most part.
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Just an FYI- if your budget is low and not going to cover expenses (like us with over 25,000/year just in daycare costs 
) get a budget update form.
And email/call the financial aid contact- they have been extremely helpful and have tips/resources available as well...
Nanon- email Amy, I have yet to get her on the phone, but she is really helpful.
We just dropped the price on our house, Open House coming up this weekend. We still have a ways to go before we would be in a short sale situation, but hopefully we will get a decent price.
) get a budget update form. And email/call the financial aid contact- they have been extremely helpful and have tips/resources available as well...
Nanon- email Amy, I have yet to get her on the phone, but she is really helpful.
We just dropped the price on our house, Open House coming up this weekend. We still have a ways to go before we would be in a short sale situation, but hopefully we will get a decent price.
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