Graduating MD/PhD or MSTP - Will you get a June stipend?

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Looks like graduating MD/PhD students at my MSTP medical school will not get a stipend in June, thus leaving a gap before Residency. Anyone else perplexed by this? Same or different situation at other schools?

 

[QofQuimica]

Looks like graduating MD/PhD students at my MSTP medical school will not get a stipend in June, thus leaving a gap before Residency. Anyone else perplexed by this? Same or different situation at other schools?

Are you graduating in May? If so, I am perplexed about why you'd be perplexed that your program is not paying you in June when you're no longer a student. It seems perfectly reasonable to me; that money is intended to support current students. I can't speak for MD/PhD programs, but this is exactly how my PhD program worked. The day I graduated was the day they stopped paying me. If there's any grad program anywhere that doesn't have this policy, those students are lucky as all heck.

 

[gbwillner]

Are you graduating in May? If so, I am perplexed about why you'd be perplexed that your program is not paying you in June when you're no longer a student. It seems perfectly reasonable to me; that money is intended to support current students. I can't speak for MD/PhD programs, but this is exactly how my PhD program worked. The day I graduated was the day they stopped paying me. If there's any grad program anywhere that doesn't have this policy, those students are lucky as all heck.

Hahahahahha...... I could see how this conversation goes with the MSTP coordinators.
Yes, I'd like free money. No, I'm not a student. Yes, I turned in my badge. Yes, I have received my diploma. Why am I still here?.....Uhh...

 

[seraph524]

Hahahahahha...... I could see how this conversation goes with the MSTP coordinators.
Yes, I'd like free money. No, I'm not a student. Yes, I turned in my badge. Yes, I have received my diploma. Why am I still here?.....Uhh...

Haha, or you can be like "well...you just gave me money for 8 years...whats 1 more summer? plzzzzzz?"

 

[hatePreMeds]

The same problem occurs for MDs where your financial aid doesn't really last through the start of residency. You should talk to your Med School. There are specific loans for that short period between Med School and residency. You are also covered by your health insurance through COBRA.

 

[QofQuimica]

The same problem occurs for MDs where your financial aid doesn't really last through the start of residency. You should talk to your Med School. There are specific loans for that short period between Med School and residency. You are also covered by your health insurance through COBRA.

Do most people really take out loans like this for those two months after finishing medical school? I have to say, even the mere existence of these loans just blows my mind, never mind that people actually use them! I don't understand the logic in that at all, particularly for people who already have six figure debts from medical school. Doesn't anyone subscribe to the idea of minimizing debt? Well, at least now I understand better why so many docs spend decades paying their loans back.

Here's my radical, no-loan-needed idea for anyone wondering what to do between med school and residency: get a *job* for a couple of months, and/or stay with your family for a while. Problem solved.

 

[Neuronix]

If only it was super-simple to find a job for the short-term that doesn't involve you asking if you want fries with that. You'd seem a little overqualified for such a position with an MD or MD/PhD anyways.

As for going back with your family, that assumes you have a family that will take you back in and is nearby. I hope you have a car (I don't) or maybe you'll just sit at your family's house for a few months twiddling your thumbs.

I think financial aid gaps continue to be a serious issue. It certainly was a big problem for me between undergrad and medical school. Now I've taken out enough loans during my MD/PhD program to give myself some savings that I can use to interview with for residency and such. Had I gone to straight medical school I would probably continue to be flat broke and worrying about these sorts of issues.

 

[QofQuimica]

If only it was super-simple to find a job for the short-term that doesn't involve you asking if you want fries with that. You'd seem a little overqualified for such a position with an MD or MD/PhD anyways.

Ah, maybe you're asking a bit too much. I'm talking about geting a stopgap job to pay the bills for a couple of months here, not about getting a fulfilling job that leads to your dream career. If you are averse to taking whatever job you can get to pay your bills because you feel that it is beneath you and because you're "overqualified" for it, then yeah, I guess I would agree it will be tough to avoid taking out the loan. There are tons of seasonal jobs in the summer, but you're right, most of them probably won't be particularly intellectual or even fun, particularly if you don't like working with kids.

As for going back with your family, that assumes you have a family that will take you back in and is nearby. I hope you have a car (I don't) or maybe you'll just sit at your family's house for a few months twiddling your thumbs.

My parents would love me to live with them for the rest of my life, so I'll grant you that not everyone has that option like I do. But, I don't have a car, either. Do they not run the buses in Philly any more? In fact, I bet you they even have some kind of car sharing program there, if you are interested in looking into that. A lot of cities have them these days. Here, I googled it, and they do have one in Philly: http://www.phillycarshare.org/

I think financial aid gaps continue to be a serious issue. It certainly was a big problem for me between undergrad and medical school. Now I've taken out enough loans during my MD/PhD program to give myself some savings that I can use to interview with for residency and such. Had I gone to straight medical school I would probably continue to be flat broke and worrying about these sorts of issues.

All I can say is that it basically comes down to a person's individual values. My philosophy is that as long as I'm in good health and there is no reason why I can't work, then I will work. I've gotten through college, two grad schools, and now halfway through med school, and I never had to take out a single loan except for when I bought the pickup I used to have, which I paid off early. But I'll readily concede that probably most of your gap summers over the past fifteen years have been more fun than most of mine were. Shrug.

 

[meowkat444]

It's fairly easy to temp in a metropolitan area, yes? I may end up doing that for a few weeks *before* I start a program....

 

[Neuronix]

Do they not run the buses in Philly any more? In fact, I bet you they even have some kind of car sharing program there, if you are interested in looking into that. A lot of cities have them these days. Here, I googled it, and they do have one in Philly: http://www.phillycarshare.org/

My family lives nowhere near Philly. My point was if I was to go back with my family (I couldn't anyways) I would need to get a car and lose most of the financial incentive I had to move in with them in the first place.

I'm very familiar with the transportation options in Philadelphia. Philly Car Share is more expensive than renting a car if you're going any distance. They wouldn't even allow me to take the car that far (it's restricted to certain counties).

But I'll readily concede that probably most of your gap summers over the past fifteen years have been more fun than most of mine were. Shrug.

I worked 40 hours a week all through undergrad on top of being a pre-med, plus of course the time before and after undergrad when I worked well over 40 hours a week. I did take out extra money in loans anyways, at first so that I could live but then so that I could enjoy life a little more. Oh no, I'd actually like to enjoy life a little bit. I think it's not much to ask when I won't have a real job until I'm close to 40. I didn't have a vacation until I was 20 and a Junior in college and I got a study abroad scholarship. I didn't take an actual spring break until I was in med school. The only summer I actually went anywhere or did much fun was between undergrad and med school. That was on my inheritance from my grandparents ($1,500). You got me! I should have saved it for the summer after med school!!!!!

This is one of the advantages of MD/PhD for poor people--the income actually allows you to live life a little bit.

As for finding a job for those two months, yeah ok maybe I could work at Starbucks, you got me there. They fired me from the post office and I don't think they want me back.

 

[QofQuimica]

My family lives nowhere near Philly. My point was if I was to go back with my family (I couldn't anyways) I would need to get a car and lose most of the financial incentive I had to move in with them in the first place.

I'm very familiar with the transportation options in Philadelphia. Philly Car Share is more expensive than renting a car if you're going any distance. They wouldn't even allow me to take the car that far (it's restricted to certain counties).

I worked 40 hours a week all through undergrad on top of being a pre-med, plus of course the time before and after undergrad when I worked well over 40 hours a week. I did take out extra money in loans anyways, at first so that I could live but then so that I could enjoy life a little more. Oh no, I'd actually like to enjoy life a little bit. I think it's not much to ask when I won't have a real job until I'm close to 40. I didn't have a vacation until I was 20 and a Junior in college and I got a study abroad scholarship. I didn't take an actual spring break until I was in med school. The only summer I actually went anywhere or did much fun was between undergrad and med school. That was on my inheritance from my grandparents ($1,500). You got me! I should have saved it for the summer after med school!!!!!

This is one of the advantages of MD/PhD for poor people--the income actually allows you to live life a little bit.

As for finding a job for those two months, yeah ok maybe I could work at Starbucks, you got me there. They fired me from the post office and I don't think they want me back.

Neuro, you certainly don't have to justify your decisions to me, and we're totally derailing this thread. I apologize for upsetting you.

 

[fantasty]

Another factor that wasn't mentioned was the fact that we're all a lot older than regular MD grads. Many of the MSTPers at my school are married and many have kids. Although having another income in the house helps defray the temporary drop in income, we're already having enough trouble paying our bills as it is.

Luckily, I'm planning to stay at the same institution, and my PI should be able to pick me up for a couple of months as a temp RA. I do think I'll have to get Cobra, though.

 

[Neuronix]

Neuro, you certainly don't have to justify your decisions to me, and we're totally derailing this thread. I apologize for upsetting you.

It's ok. I still disagree that it's so easy to just survive a couple extra months for a medical student with no financial aid post residency interviews and probably transportation expenses for aways and such. Even for a MD/PhD student I think this could be an issue. Most people assume you will always have your parents to fall back on, and that's just not true for everyone.

 

[Picklesali]

Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when there was a heated discussion between two mods...


One thing that you brought up, Neuronix, is that you've taken out loans during your MD/PhD. I, too, have no family support, no savings, no car...and a whole lot of undergrad debt. I was hoping to save some money off of my stipend (depending on where I end up) to start paying off my debt. Is it fairly common for students to borrow on top of their stipend? I was hoping it would be enough to live off of (not like a pauper either) with a little extra. I also thought that not all programs allowed MD/PhD-ers to get Stafford loans? Am I way off base?

 

[QofQuimica]

It's ok. I still disagree that it's so easy to just survive a couple extra months for a medical student with no financial aid post residency interviews and probably transportation expenses for aways and such. Even for a MD/PhD student I think this could be an issue. Most people assume you will always have your parents to fall back on, and that's just not true for everyone.

I do understand where you're coming from, and dantay too. I was older when I started medical school than many of you combined program folks will be when you finish your MD/PhDs, though thankfully I no longer have anyone that I'm supporting. Even most of my friends from grad school have real jobs and adult lives by now. 😛 My parents are retired, and my dad has a chronic illness, so I wouldn't say I could "fall back" on them exactly to the tune of thousands of dollars. But they would definitely do whatever they could to help me if I was in trouble.

I know that I'm a lot more loan-averse than most people are. But, I still think that avoiding loans for gap periods is completely doable for most people if you plan for it. We know from the day we enroll in school that the expense of moving on is coming, and even people like me in straight MD programs have several years to prepare for it. I guess I'll just say that it has been doable for me every previous gap period so far, and I've been saving up for the next big app round for the past two years since I started med school. 🙂

Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when there was a heated discussion between two mods...

He started it.

Pickles, I did save money every month from my stipend in grad school, but it requires some sacrifices, like: public transportation instead of your own car, living with a roommate (or a couple of them), taking fewer trips home if you're far from home, etc. Basically, transportation and housing are most people's biggest expenses. If you can figure out a way to decrease those costs, that will help. And hopefully you're not going to school in Boston or San Fran. 😉

The other thing I did all through my last year of college, all through grad school, and the first year and a half of med school was to work part time teaching MCAT prep courses. Now I'm having to take a break for a while--darn clinics are interfering with my work schedule. 😛

 

[Neuronix]

He started it.

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! Actually my mom showed up unannounced this weekend and it really stressed me out. Sorry for the outburst 🙁

Pickles, some schools let you take out stafford loans and some don't. Is it common? I have no idea.

 

[fantasty]

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! Actually my mom showed up unannounced this weekend and it really stressed me out. Sorry for the outburst 🙁

Pickles, some schools let you take out stafford loans and some don't. Is it common? I have no idea.

We could take Stafford loans during graduate school but not during medical school.

 

[Neuronix]

We could take Stafford loans during graduate school but not during medical school.

It's the opposite here.

 

[QofQuimica]

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! Actually my mom showed up unannounced this weekend and it really stressed me out. Sorry for the outburst 🙁

NP. Though next time, let me know if I'm about to step on the land mine first, will ya?

Unannounced visits suck. I don't even like people to *call* me unannounced. 😉

Have you ever thought about teaching MCAT prep classes or tutoring students during free summers, Neuro? For a part time job, it pays pretty well after you've done your first round. You could just teach bio if you wanted, or physics, or whatever is closest to your area of expertise. You all probably don't have to TA, but picking up extra sections in your field (if you have premeds majoring in it) could be an option too. That takes more time though because then you have to grade, and you have to have office hours, and you have to listen to people whine about how the B+ you gave them is going to keep them out of medical school. I never got paid extra for those things. 👎

Pickles, that's basically your other option to avoid loans: if you can't reduce your expenses enough, you can up your income. Check with the program first though, because some programs or departments may not let you have a job while you're a student. Luckily the chem dept. at my school didn't care. I didn't even tell my PI what I was doing until one day he suggested it himself as a way that I'd be able to get free MCAT review materials. He knew that I used to teach MCAT classes when I was in college, so he thought maybe I would be able to get rehired. I was already teaching 2-3x per week at the time and I had been doing that the entire time I was working for him. So I told him, "You know, that's a really great idea. I'll look into doing that." This is the same guy who told me that he knew I was smart, but he didn't think I was *that* smart, when I got my MCAT scores back. 😛

 

[Picklesali]

Actually, I have considered MCAT prep teaching, I've met quite a few current MSTPers along the interview trail who do it, and it sounds like a good supplement - especially if you have the experience to charge big bucks for private tutoring. Who did you teach for Q?

I think I am eligible to teach for Kaplan, but I'm not sure if I can teach for TPR because of my bio score? (V=14, P=11, B=10)

 

[xanthines]

I taught for Kaplan with a 10 in "B". They just didn't let me teach orgo or biology which was fine by me.

-X

Actually, I have considered MCAT prep teaching, I've met quite a few current MSTPers along the interview trail who do it, and it sounds like a good supplement - especially if you have the experience to charge big bucks for private tutoring. Who did you teach for Q?

I think I am eligible to teach for Kaplan, but I'm not sure if I can teach for TPR because of my bio score? (V=14, P=11, B=10)

 

[QofQuimica]

Actually, I have considered MCAT prep teaching, I've met quite a few current MSTPers along the interview trail who do it, and it sounds like a good supplement - especially if you have the experience to charge big bucks for private tutoring. Who did you teach for Q?

I think I am eligible to teach for Kaplan, but I'm not sure if I can teach for TPR because of my bio score? (V=14, P=11, B=10)

Kaplan. I'm still an employee, just mostly inactive at the moment because I can't really teach while I'm doing rotations. The manager did keep me on the list as a potential sub, but that's probably overly optimistic. 😉

If you want to teach while you're in med/grad school, apply to start now, and do your first classes this summer. That way you can keep teaching while you're in your first year of med school (assuming your program allows it) without it being too much of a time drain. You definitely don't want to teach for the first time while you're already in med school, because the first time through it's a lot of work to prep.

I don't know about TPR's requirements; I've never worked for them. But since your overall score is so high, you might be fine for all subjects with Kaplan even with the 10 BS, especially if your center is short on instructors. Technically you're supposed to have an 11 in each section, but I know of people who have taught with a 10 as long as their overall score was 33+. I mean, geez, it's not like a 10 is a low section score! Most of the instructors have scores in the mid-thirties, so you're more than fine with a 35.

Nice job with that VR score, BTW. 👍

 

[pathgrrl]

Thanks for all the responses...but only one person actually posted whether the situation is the same at their school....is it??
I'm not complaining about the gap (OK, I am, a little bit), bit yes, I do have peeps to support, and two mortgages to pay. I posted this really to give everyone here a heads up, it's something to think about.
Also, I wonder if MSTP (federal grant) gives the school $$ for us until the end of the fiscal year? That's the part that perplexes me a bit.
Whatever.

 

[Neuronix]

Thanks for all the responses...but only one person actually posted whether the situation is the same at their school....is it??

Sorry but the vast majority of the posters on this forum just aren't to graduation yet and just don't know.

 

[Hard24Get]

Do most people really take out loans like this for those two months after finishing medical school? I have to say, even the mere existence of these loans just blows my mind, never mind that people actually use them! I don't understand the logic in that at all, particularly for people who already have six figure debts from medical school. Doesn't anyone subscribe to the idea of minimizing debt? Well, at least now I understand better why so many docs spend decades paying their loans back.

Here's my radical, no-loan-needed idea for anyone wondering what to do between med school and residency: get a *job* for a couple of months, and/or stay with your family for a while. Problem solved.

Well, I am graduating the 3rd week of May, and starting residency the 3rd week of June. I will likely have to move across country in between that time and get a new place to live. What kind of job do you recommend I get? 😕

 

[Hard24Get]

Ah, maybe you're asking a bit too much. I'm talking about geting a stopgap job to pay the bills for a couple of months here, not about getting a fulfilling job that leads to your dream career. If you are averse to taking whatever job you can get to pay your bills because you feel that it is beneath you and because you're "overqualified" for it, then yeah, I guess I would agree it will be tough to avoid taking out the loan. There are tons of seasonal jobs in the summer, but you're right, most of them probably won't be particularly intellectual or even fun, particularly if you don't like working with kids.

the economy isn't as good as it used to be. I tried to find a little part time job, irrespective of my qualifications, and was lucky to find a TA job for this semester when nothing else was available. Also, what seasonal jobs are you referring to that will hire you for a month to 6 weeks in the beginning of summer?

My parents would love me to live with them for the rest of my life, so I'll grant you that not everyone has that option like I do. But, I don't have a car, either. Do they not run the buses in Philly any more? In fact, I bet you they even have some kind of car sharing program there, if you are interested in looking into that. A lot of cities have them these days. Here, I googled it, and they do have one in Philly: http://www.phillycarshare.org/

So I guess we need to only match where our parents live. My parents live in San Diego, I am in Philly. And neuronix is right, Philly car share is expensive. This plan just doesn't work for many of us. Many of us have parents that just can't do these things, and many of us already have families.

All I can say is that it basically comes down to a person's individual values. My philosophy is that as long as I'm in good health and there is no reason why I can't work, then I will work. I've gotten through college, two grad schools, and now halfway through med school, and I never had to take out a single loan except for when I bought the pickup I used to have, which I paid off early. But I'll readily concede that probably most of your gap summers over the past fifteen years have been more fun than most of mine were. Shrug.

I'm sorry to drag this thing out, but I think no plan works for everyone and you are making wild assumptions about the values of people that have not been as fortunate as you. I haven't had a free summer since high school, and i still need to worry about this gap. I find your generalizations quite insulting.

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm sorry to drag this thing out, but I think no plan works for everyone and you are making wild assumptions about the values of people that have not been as fortunate as you. I haven't had a free summer since high school, and i still need to worry about this gap. I find your generalizations quite insulting.

I apologize to you as well for having managed to insult you. If anyone else reads this thread at any point in the future and feels insulted, please accept my apology in advance. 🙁

Again, it wasn't my intent to upset anyone, but I *do* think it is completely possible to avoid taking out loans, if that matters to you. That is all I'm trying to say. Maybe avoiding the loans matters more to me than it does to most people--I'm certainly getting that impression. Based on your response, I also obviously didn't do a very good job of explaining what I mean. Of course you shouldn't only try to match to one city where your parents live--that would be pretty unreasonable.

If anyone is interested, what I did each time I had one of these in between summers was stay where I was for most of the summer and continue working. At the end, I'd sometimes go stay with my parents for a couple of weeks, and then move to my new city to start the next phase. In other words, I didn't graduate and then start looking for a job--I had the jobs before I graduated and was already working. (And I have always worked during school part time, which also helped with saving a cushion for later.) For example, during my last year of college, I had a lab tech job and I was teaching for Kaplan. When school ended, I was able to increase my hours at both jobs and keep working all summer. After grad school, I did the same thing. It helps if you have jobs that are flexible (ex. teaching test prep courses is a lot more flexible than teaching university courses, in my experience, because you can decline test prep class dates that conflict with your school or interview schedule). In order for this to work best, you need to start at your job(s) early, before the summer begins.

To answer the question about seasonal jobs you can get for a month or two in the summer, picking tomatoes and landscaping are two that I've gotten in a pinch. They're not terribly fun or intellectual jobs, but they got me through a couple of summers when I was desperate.

 

[greg12345]

My experience: graduated in May and received stipend for May. Intern orientation started midway through June and got paid as a PGY-1 the moment I started intern orientation, hence I got paid for 2 weeks before I even started taking care of patients. So there was only a gap of about 2 weeks (1st 2 weeks of June) where I did not have a salary. I am guessing most places pay you during intern orientation but I could be wrong, and some places start intern orientation even earlier than that.

 

[MelRoos]

We graduated in June, but did not get June stipend. Was a bit surprise b/c figured pay would go through graduation. But did some consuliting for my PI and got paid on an hourly basis. Way better way to make ends meet than a menail job. Also for the health insurance, you can file for it retroactivly within 60 days of end of school. So I just rode it out until I got a new plan, and if I had gotten sick, would have retroactively filed....Plus we took out a little in subsidized fed loans earlier in the year to help cover moving costs etc.....

 

[j-weezy]

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