How are you paying for med school?

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FutureDrB

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So, I'm just curious...

How do y'all plan on paying for med school? :scared:

I plan on taking out stafford loans, but that's only going to cover $20,000 per year. Most private DO schools are $35K - $40K per year...

(Why I'm debating on just applying to state schools... pay the "out of state tution" for the first year and then drop down to resident tuition.) :thumbup:

Is it common to get other financial assistance (grants, etc.) from the medical school? Throughout my undergrad and grad degrees I received state/school grants that helped out.

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(Why I'm debating on just applying to state schools... pay the "out of state tution" for the first year and then drop down to resident tuition.) :thumbup:

*Disclaimer: I have never applied for or received financial aid, and I know nothing about DO schools*

I would watch the apply to state schools and drop to resident status after the first year plan. Many states if you entered the state for the purpose of education you are perpetually an out of stater for tuition purposes. I know Ohio lets you pay resident tution after the first year, I know there's a few others like this but they are in the minority.

How do y'all plan on paying for med school? :scared:

With my soul. :scared:
 
(Why I'm debating on just applying to state schools... pay the "out of state tution" for the first year and then drop down to resident tuition.) :thumbup:

Better read the fine print. With some exceptions, your state of residency at the time you fill out your AACOMAS application determines your residency for all four years of med school. Going to school in state X doesn't make you a resident of state X, unless it's in state X's stated interest to get you to BECOME a resident. Giving instate tuition breaks to newcomers who are then going to go home to practice isn't much of a turnon for state taxpayers.
 
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(Why I'm debating on just applying to state schools... pay the "out of state tution" for the first year and then drop down to resident tuition.) :thumbup:

This will probably not work. Most if not all states require you to be living in a state as a "non-student" in order to become a resident.

I plan on taking out stafford loans, but that's only going to cover $20,000 per year. Most private DO schools are $35K - $40K per year...

Federal loans can cover more than this cant they!?!? they may be unsubsidized, but at every financial aid presentation I have gone to it has been well over $20,000 as the top amount...if I remember right!
 
Stafford loans, subsidized (based off FAFSA).
+
Stafford loans, unsubsidized (based off FAFSA).
+
GradPlus loans, remainder (of tuition + estimated living expenses; this varies per school). <--- must have good credit to qualify.

All federal loans.

Already 30k in the hole for gradschool :(
 
Air Force HPSP is the way I'm leaning right now
 
Federal loans can cover more than this cant they!?!? they may be unsubsidized, but at every financial aid presentation I have gone to it has been well over $20,000 as the top amount...if I remember right!


Looks like it varies, but I would imagine it would be over 20k everywhere.
Medical School Stafford Loans
Annual: $40,5001
Aggregate: $189,125
1The unsubsidized Stafford loan limit is less any subsidized loan amount. (The annual subsidized limit is $8,500. Aggregate subsidized limit: $65,500.) Limits may vary by school. See your financial aid officer for more information.

http://www.salliemae.com/get_studen...ad/med_school_loans/med-school-stafford-loan/
 
Looks like it varies, but I would imagine it would be over 20k everywhere.
Medical School Stafford Loans
Annual: $40,5001
Aggregate: $189,125
1The unsubsidized Stafford loan limit is less any subsidized loan amount. (The annual subsidized limit is $8,500. Aggregate subsidized limit: $65,500.) Limits may vary by school. See your financial aid officer for more information.

http://www.salliemae.com/get_studen...ad/med_school_loans/med-school-stafford-loan/

Yea thats more like it. staffords can cover almost $50k per year if need be, OP where did you get your numbers? I think this is what a lot of people end up doing.
 
staffords can cover almost $50k per year if need be

No, Staffords can cover up to $40,500 per year, which is the annual Stafford limit including subsidized and unsubsidized. See here.
 
Thanks for the responses people!
I wasn't aware you could get $40,500 per year in stafford "medical school loans."
I was under the impression it was only $20,500 per year for medical school with an aggregate of $225,000
This really widens my school options!
 
I pay my tuition in two-dollar bills.

Don't ask me what I do on the weekends.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Lottery ticket!
i may get a small scholarship from one of my previous employers too :)
 
So, I'm just curious...

How do y'all plan on paying for med school? :scared:

I plan on taking out stafford loans, but that's only going to cover $20,000 per year. Most private DO schools are $35K - $40K per year...

(Why I'm debating on just applying to state schools... pay the "out of state tution" for the first year and then drop down to resident tuition.) :thumbup:

Is it common to get other financial assistance (grants, etc.) from the medical school? Throughout my undergrad and grad degrees I received state/school grants that helped out.

1. Grad plus loans make up the difference (FYI, Stafford loan limits are higher for med students than grad students...I think)

2. Most state schools will not give you residency after a year. There are very few states that will do this. Ohio will do this, Utah will do this, New Jersey will do this, but I can't think of any other states that will.
 
No, Staffords can cover up to $40,500 per year, which is the annual Stafford limit including subsidized and unsubsidized. See here.

Note that the yearly total is actually a little higher if you are in a 10, 11, or 12 month program. You get about $2,200 extra for each month over 9. No, it's not posted anywhere, but you do. Also, the aggregate limit on loans is now in excess of $200,000. The info on the website is out of date.
 
Sallie Mae private loans. For all 4 years. Sometimes the interest rate is great, but it's not fixed.
 
So, I'm just curious...

How do y'all plan on paying for med school? :scared:

Loans, mostly stafford (mostly unsub), and the rest grad plus. That's what most people do. A lot of people here are giving good explanations of the total amount you can take, etc. Here is what you need to know: (1) get FAFSA done now (you can enter the school codes for all the schools you are considering, even if you don't know which one you'll attend) and when you get in, (2) do what financial aid tells you to do. Other than that, don't worry, graduating med school won't require a degree in accounting, and everyone gets out of debt eventually.

I met with an Air Force recruiter last week. I got a free dinner out of it, and that's as far as I'll ever go joining the armed forces. It's for some people, but not everyone. Go research that if you want, and keep in mind that inactivated reservists do get called up now so you may be looking at more than four years.

Grants are less frequent, but they do happen. I got a small one from PCOM yesterday, but on the whole, don't expect them to amount to much. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.

Good luck!
 
Lottery ticket!
i may get a small scholarship from one of my previous employers too :)

you were probably joking about the lottery ticket....but Ive just gotta make sure. You WERE joking right? If not I need to shake your hand.
 
How do you go about finding the rates for private loans? I know it is based on my credit etc., but can I get a ball park figure on the phone?
 
you were probably joking about the lottery ticket....but Ive just gotta make sure. You WERE joking right? If not I need to shake your hand.

no i wasn't joking
but i'm still waiting to win the lottery :)
 
anyone know if there is an aggregate max for GradPlus loans??
 
anyone know if there is an aggregate max for GradPlus loans??

No, I don't believe there is.

It's simply your Cost of Attendance minus the financial aid you're already receiving each year. It's meant to fill the gap to actually give you the money you need. In this sense, it's self-limiting.
 
No, I don't believe there is.

It's simply your Cost of Attendance minus the financial aid you're already receiving each year. It's meant to fill the gap to actually give you the money you need. In this sense, it's self-limiting.
ahh, okay thanks.
 
You can always do what the pre med student on the show Private Practice did.... become a call girl because of the good money. Medical TV shows are gettin ridiculous.
 
On the subject of paying for med school, I was reading into the military HPSP stuff because I thought it would be a good way to pay off debt and serve my country for a bit...but the docs in it right now have the worst stories! Almost every doctor in the mil-med forum warns against it. Here is one of the threads - http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=324400

Be warned!
 
there is another one where you serve in disadvantaged urban areas if you arn't into the whole military thing
http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov/

i dont know why more schools dont provide info about this one...
 
the nhsc seems to be a pretty good deal, when I interviewed last year during the financial aid presentation they claimed that if you took the nhsc you would be required to do year for year+1 in primary care in underserved area's "oklahoma almost anywhere counts." It would pay for all four years of tuition I think. Student loans to live would cover the rest and put me in debt around 120k+interest, If I borrowed 30k a year.
 
there is another one where you serve in disadvantaged urban areas if you arn't into the whole military thing
http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov/

i dont know why more schools dont provide info about this one...

That's definitely an interesting program.

I looked through several pages, but I can't find information on whether THEY choose the site you'd practice at or if YOU can choose it.
 
the financial aid advisor told us "not sure if it is correct" that you can choose as long as it is underserved. Now I could see them pushing you into Alaska "Northern Exposure" but keep in mind it is not permanent.
 
The loan provider's website usually provides the prime rate for the day. Based on prime rate and your credit score you get a variable interest rate that starts at X.X%

For Citi there are tiers: excellent, good, fair, and poor. Based on your credit score you're placed into one of these brackets. I know for excellent its prime rate and up to 1%.

Right now, its great to be borrowing private loans. All my loans for UG range from 5 to 6%. However, if the economy turns around they will go up, I'm sure unlike Stafford that is capped at 6.8%.
 
On the subject of paying for med school, I was reading into the military HPSP stuff because I thought it would be a good way to pay off debt and serve my country for a bit...but the docs in it right now have the worst stories! Almost every doctor in the mil-med forum warns against it. Here is one of the threads - http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=324400

Be warned!

The new army national guard and FAP are both nice alternatives to the HPSP.

FAP http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=189443

ANG Program http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=550134
 
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