How Did You Do It Post Bacc'ers?

[Mr. Adventure]

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Just curious how you guys are financing your post-bacc education. The intent is to give hope to all those poor bastards out there like me who want to go through a formal program. I will fall into the category of federal and private loans. Hopefully I won't have to work and will be able to dedicate all my time to classwork.

 

[sunnyjohn]

Hey, none of these fit me!

I work full time and go to school full time. No aid at all. It is tough but it can be done. 😀

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Hey, none of these fit me!

I work full time and go to school full time. No aid at all. It is tough but it can be done. 😀

Cheers to you my friend. Where are you doing your post-bacc at?

 

[jintonic5]

Hey, none of these fit me!

I work full time and go to school full time. No aid at all. It is tough but it can be done. 😀

i'm impressed-- i don't think i could do that.

i'm actually a combo of two of the above options-- school and food come from federal, private loans. housing comes from mom and dad (moved back onto the the mothership 🙄 )

 

[Sundarban1]

Wheres the option for those who are not using aid at all (parental or loans)? I work and save my money to pay for my post bacc! Equal voting rights for out of pocketers!!

 

[LionInTheDark]

There are many ways to do it. I did the Penn Post-Bacc by working full-time and paying out of pocket and then with some tuition assistance through my full-time research position at the university. Penn will cover two classes per semester if you work for them full-time.

Don't burn yourself out though! Federal loans might be a better way...

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Thanks for all the additional input guys! I know there's quite a few variables that could never be covered en masse in a poll, so thanks! I didn't realize that it was possible to work and pay for classes without aid, but now I know: it can be done.

 

[megawatt]

I work part-time (~25-30 hours/week), which covers everything, although my parents are going to pay my tuition this fall. I'm a bookkeeper and a tutor, both of which have good hourly pay and flexible schedules. I don't own a car, so that reduces my expenses significantly, and I live in a shared househeld, which helps as well. However, I'm only taking two to three classes at a time (two lab classes max), which may disadvantage me with some adcoms, as I've heard they want to see that you can carry a heavy academic load. Also, I currently have no time for significant volunteering, but I'm going to start doing a few hours every other week at the needle exchange.

 

[Pemulis]

Just curious how you guys are financing your post-bacc education. The intent is to give hope to all those poor bastards out there like me who want to go through a formal program. I will fall into the category of federal and private loans. Hopefully I won't have to work and will be able to dedicate all my time to classwork.

Mr. Adventure,

Since I know from your other threads that you are interested in Goucher and maybe some other programs, let me lighten your worries a bit: the financial aid you get at Goucher (and presumably at similar programs) is more than enough for you to live decently for the year while covering your tuition. It's true that the dough is 100% in the form of loans, but med school is not the path for those who are afraid of debt. The typical graduating doctor in this country has something close to 150K in loans; another 25 thousand or so won't kill you in the long run. Saving money now might seem like a good idea, but if it results in you taking longer to get to med school, or having fewer options once you do, or not being able to negotiate as good a financial aid package (because maybe your grades suffered from working part-time or whatever), you could actually end up costing yourself money down the road.

Looked at another way: deciding on med school is a leap of faith in many respects, not the least of which is finances. Make peace with this fact, if you haven't done so already.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Thanks Pemulis, I needed that!! 🙂

 

[Jack1919]

I'm working fiull-time, taking two classes w/lab at night, and I too moved back home for the year - yikes! It helps that I live in a city where a car isn't necessary.

I agree with Pemulis that the aid one takes out for Post-Bac is just a drop-in-the-bucket. However, I'm working full-time in hopes that I can repair my credit rating which I destroyed back in college. Most likely I will need to take out some serious private loans for med school and at this rate I would either get killed by a high interest rate, or have to get a co-signer. Anyway, I should be good after this semester and then I plan on finishing it up full-time hopefully in time for August '06 MCAT.

 

[DD214_DOC]

I took out Stafford and that's it. Going to be working FT as a phlebotomist while taking 3-6 hours to makeup some bad grades.

Uncle Sam is paying for my med school, so I'm not too concerned with that. 😀

 

[heymisslady]

Hey, none of these fit me!

I work full time and go to school full time. No aid at all. It is tough but it can be done. 😀

Me either, my postbacc program offers tuition remission and a stipend 🙂

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Me either, my postbacc program offers tuition remission and a stipend 🙂

oooo. Do tell. Which program. (Or is it a secret.) 😎

 

[LaurieB]

I paid for my postbacc with my savings from working. I also moved back home to cut back on expenses- so there was a bit of mommy and daddy factor.

 

[Jonesie]

I work full-time at a job that offers tuition reimbursement after a year of service. So, I paid for my first two post-bac years, but have been getting some financial help with my third. I elected not to take out loans because I wanted to be free and clear before jumping into med school....obviously I'll be taking out mad loans for med school itself, but I just didn't want to have the mindset "Oh, I already owe all this money for post-bacc, I HAVE to go to med school now...". I just want to be doing it for the right reasons.

It can be stressful at times to have a full-time job while taking evening classes, but I figure it gives me good practice at managing a crazy schedule. It's also nice to have a FT job to fall back on should something go horribly awry with my classes. Plus, the fact that I have an income source means that I can generally do the things I want to do and not worry to much about money or debt. The only drawback (for me, at least) is that it takes longer to complete your coursework.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Yep, that's why I think I'll try to go all out with private and federal loans. I want to knock out the post-bacc pre reqs in one year and jump straight into med school without the glide year. Hope I get into a school with good linkage programs!!