Help! Dad heading to med school in the fall!

[coffeesnob81]

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I am 30yrs old, a husband of 6 years, and father of two girls ages 2 yrs and 6 mos. this fall I am starting med school. I need to get up to speed on the ins and outs of loans and repayment.

Here are the facts about my situation and then my specific questions.

Facts:
-I estimate finishing my MD with $267,000 of debt.
-my wife is a homemaker and would very much prefer to continue to stay at home and be a mom while I am in school. If she did go back to work full time, realistically her earning potential in a 4 year time frame would be $30,000-$40,000 per year.
-currently, we have zero debts, including no mortgage (we rent a house).
-we have $8,000 in savings
-we currently live on my salary which is $42,000 per year before taxes...this allows us to basically break even each month and not dip into savings.
-I am not interested in military service.

Questions:
-is it even possible for me to know right now what my monthly payment will be after I graduate? from what I have read there seems to be a lot of variables, so is there a way for me to get an idea for the amount my monthly repayment will be?
-what types of loans in order of preference should I seek and how much of my debt do you estimate each type of loan would cap at?
-what are my best strategies for repayment...forbearance, PSLF, income based repayment? What are the loan term options?
-can someone define what is considered public service work under PSLF? Are all residency programs considered public service work? What about academic medicine as an attending?
-has anyone out there applied and qualified for Medicaid, food stamps, help with utility bills or other forms of welfare? If so, can I qualify and how do I pursue these options?

Thanks in advance to anyone will to give their 2cents!

 

[TMP-SMX]

You can calculate your repayment by using an IBR calculator or look

Maximum Stafford Loans at 6.8% are $40,500 a year. Starting in July there are no more subsidized Staffords so they are all unsub. In addition to the staffords the remaining cost of attendance is filled with Grad Plus loans at 7.9%. There is no cap other than up to the cost of attendance for the year. Obviously it is in your interest to get need-based aid, scholarships, or other aid before these loans. Perkins are at 5% but only a small amount each year.

For PSLF you have to do IBR and the only loans that are eligible are direct loans. If you make 10 years of IBR payments the rest of your balance is forgiven tax free if you are working for a nonprofit. If you make IBR payments for 25 years you get the balance forgiven with tax but you don't have to work for a nonprofit. Forbearance is possible. I guess you lose the beneficial aspect of IBR in the feds paying your subsidized Stafford interest during repayment if you don't have it during medical school anyway as sub staffords are gone for graduate students. You should always try to make some payments and if you are going for PSLF obviously you don't want to be in forbearance.

Most residents get their funding from the federal government but some programs give above and beyond. If the funding is from a nonprofit source then it qualifies. If not, then it doesn't count towards the total 120 payments required for PSLF. As an academic attending it depends on the hospital. Many hospitals are nonprofit so would qualify.

I did apply for some assistance with utility bills. It is state-dependent, but if you qualified for the home heating credit you probably qualify for assistance (in Michigan it is $6 less for heating bill). Not a whole lot to be honest. You won't qualify for Medicaid as you will have insurance through school most likely (most schools require their insurance). Food stamps you can try. You would probably also qualify for the childcare tax credit if you wife is working and you are at school (not a whole lot but helps a bit). Earned income tax credit was a godsend this year getting $6000 back from the feds and State of Michigan when I paid far less than that for the year in actual taxes as it is a refundable credit. I didn't apply for food stamps or anything like that. The income limits are pretty stringent. With your $42,000 income you wouldn't qualify. You would have to some how qualify based on current income rather than past income.

 

[coffeesnob81]

Thanks TMP-SMX...this is helpful info...

 

[plauto]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=897939

Read this. It is strongly recommended that your SO get a job. The stress of medical school is enough to deal with, you ( and your family) do not need the extra financial stress.