How do people pay for applying/interviews?

[LordYinepu]

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How are people able to afford the gi-normous interviewing/applying costs? I'm not really looking for tips on how to save money (student host, etc) because I already plan to do all that (and did a search 😀)

No I more literally meant, where is this money coming from? My parents will not support me, I'm still in undergrad so I can't get a job, I have no money saved, I'm not needy (by parent's income)...I just have no idea how to pay for this? I was hoping someone could offer some advice. Do people use credit cards? Get loans from somewhere? I don't know how I will pay thousands of dollars just to apply to these schools.

Thanks 😍

 

[benzonase]

get a job

 

[Mavii]

I had enough established credit to qualify for a credit card with 0% apr for the first 18 months. I've used that and am now paying back monthly with a part-time job at the gym. As for others, I'm not sure. The best thing you can do right now is try to save up for a job or ask your parents to throw some money your way and that you'll pay them back on a monthly basis (this was impossible for me).

 

[red doctober]

My guess for the top answers would be (1) parents (2) self (employed) and (3) FAP

Loan/credit card with no source of income would be pretty dumb.

 

[Mavii]

My guess for the top answers would be (1) parents (2) self (employed) and (3) FAP

Loan/credit card with no source of income would be pretty dumb.

I think fapping for cash is a little extreme!

 

[Erakis]

When you start your initial AMCAS application, you can apply for a fee waiver based on financial hardship, and to my knowledge, many school waive secondary fees based upon an AMCAS exemption.

As far as travel fees, clothing, etc..., you could try to take out a small personal loan through a bank, which is what I know several people to have done.

I also know some people that were vey savvy with their student loans, and managed to squirrel away portions of their living expenses towards interview season. I don't know much about to repurpose financial aid to such a thing, and don't understand it's ethical implications enough to recommend it.

The only upside is that all interview and application expenses are tax deductible for that year.

 

[Mavii]

The only upside is that all interview and application expenses are tax deductible for that year.

Please elaborate as I'm filing for taxes soon 😀

 

[CsHead]

How are people able to afford the gi-normous interviewing/applying costs? I'm not really looking for tips on how to save money (student host, etc) because I already plan to do all that (and did a search 😀)

No I more literally meant, where is this money coming from? My parents will not support me, I'm still in undergrad so I can't get a job, I have no money saved, I'm not needy (by parent's income)...I just have no idea how to pay for this? I was hoping someone could offer some advice. Do people use credit cards? Get loans from somewhere? I don't know how I will pay thousands of dollars just to apply to these schools.

Thanks 😍

The first part... I didn't realize that was the case.

The second part of that... failure of or primary education



How are you paying for college? If it's loans, live less extravagantly for the rest of the year and siphon off of that. If it's parents... see the prior sentence and then get a job.

 

[Erakis]

Please elaborate as I'm filing for taxes soon 😀

When I file for 2012, I will print out my MCAT registration email, AMCAS application fee emails, secondary fee emails, and all airline and hotel invoices for interviews. I will also bring receipts for suit and accessory purchases and dry cleaning. You can also claim personal vehicle mileage for driving to airports or in state interviews. These are all tax deductible expenses because they are educational/professional expenses.

I also claim textbook every year since I don't buy them with financial aid.

 

[benzonase]

The only upside is that all interview and application expenses are tax deductible for that year.

How? I am suddenly curious.

 

[HughMyron]

Parents 🙂

 

[circulus vitios]

Savings from working during the school year and over the summers. I'm also taking a gap year where I work full time.

 

[MedPR]

How are people able to afford the gi-normous interviewing/applying costs? I'm not really looking for tips on how to save money (student host, etc) because I already plan to do all that (and did a search 😀)

No I more literally meant, where is this money coming from? My parents will not support me, I'm still in undergrad so I can't get a job, I have no money saved, I'm not needy (by parent's income)...I just have no idea how to pay for this? I was hoping someone could offer some advice. Do people use credit cards? Get loans from somewhere? I don't know how I will pay thousands of dollars just to apply to these schools.

Thanks 😍

This thing called a job.

 

[mwall003]

Take a year off and work full-time while applying and saving money throughout the summers/breaks during undergraduate working.

It's a super expensive, but worth it process. Be sure to be frugal and put money away in the good ole bank account for when application season comes around. Don't forget MCAT costs, traveling, suit, etc.

 

[GorillaPanic]

The only upside is that all interview and application expenses are tax deductible for that year.

This is unfortunately not true:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=791753

Unless educational expenses are required to keep your current job, they are not deductible. If it qualifies you for a new profession, then you can't deduct the application and travel expenses.

 

[SOMBound13]

No I more literally meant, where is this money coming from? My parents will not support me, I'm still in undergrad so I can't get a job, I have no money saved, I'm not needy (by parent's income)...I just have no idea how to pay for this? I was hoping someone could offer some advice. Do people use credit cards? Get loans from somewhere? I don't know how I will pay thousands of dollars just to apply to these schools.

I guess I'm lucky because my parents paid, but if they hadn't I would have used earnings from my part-time job. I don't understand your point of not being able to work. You could have worked/saved during summers and worked part-time during the school year.

If you're needing money RIGHT NOW, then if you haven't used your Stafford loan amounts for this year, and you still have some uncovered COA, then you can go to your FA office and get a Stafford loan.


I'm not needy (by parent's income

Who is paying for your undergrad? Maybe your parents will lend you some and you can pay them back with summer earnings. Are you sure that your parents won't help you at all?

 

[Erakis]

This is unfortunately not true:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=791753

Unless educational expenses are required to keep your current job, they are not deductible. If it qualifies you for a new profession, then you can't deduct the application and travel expenses.

I stand corrected. I was actually looking forward to this year's tax return. My wife is a surgical resident, and she had made a killing during interview years on taxes.

 

[CrimsonKing]

Get a job, even if it necessitates taking a gap year and working full-time, which is what I did. Don't be afraid of having to work hard to achieve your dream.

 

[kami333]

I stand corrected. I was actually looking forward to this year's tax return. My wife is a surgical resident, and she had made a killing during interview years on taxes.

She shouldn't have deducted expenses for residency interviews, if that's what she did. It is allowed for fellowship though.

 

[Erakis]

She shouldn't have deducted expenses for residency interviews, if that's what she did. It is allowed for fellowship though.

Her last round was for research fellowships, so you are correct.

 

[lovemango]

How does being in undergrad prevent you from having a job? LOTS of students in undergrad hold jobs just to be able to pay for their education. I was lucky enough to have scholarships and grants funding my undergrad (parents didn't contribute anything) but I still had a part-time job as well as an Etsy shop, and did well in my classes. It's called time management and learning how to prioritize.

 

[Ismet]

Mine was a combo of things...

1. extra $$ from undergrad loans, since I moved off campus and paid much less than university room & board
2. small private loan to cover the rest
3. my dad helped with travel...he travels for his job and had a ton of points at different hotels, so all but one hotel stay was free. find out if any of your close relatives have points built up that they don't plan to use or something
4. all the schools i applied to were within driving distance, so paying for gas was much cheaper than flying

 

[virtuoso735]

There are a lot of credit cards that offer 0% interest for 12-18 months. If you have a short, clean credit history, you should be able to apply for and receive these cards. If you don't have a credit card yet, apply for one, use it to make purchases, and pay off your entire balance every month. Within a year or so, you'll have a good credit history.

 

[1stmeds]

get a job

👍

I suggest becoming a driveway ambassador. make it rain!

 

[eggs13]

My parents fronted me the money and I will have to repay using my loan money

 

[chillaxbro]

For me it was FAP and a bunch of financial aid refund checks I have saved up from the last 3.5 years of undergrad. I also had some money saved up from self employment and being frugal

 

[Mdtichen]

I got a job tutoring and saved up all the money I could. The sad thing is it still wasn't enough 🙁 .

 

[wanderedtoolong]

credit card debt - woo!

 

[BABSstudent]

I took a little extra out for school loans the year before applying to be able to afford the suit, tailoring, primary and secondary fees. Then I continued to work three jobs in my final semester to pay for the flights, hotels and the security deposits.

Not all of us have rich parents that can (and will) pay for everything. Heck, I am jealous of you guys that had parents that paid for stuff in high school. I worked a full time job to help pay for food.

 

[tpsreport]

credit card debt - woo!

Money saved up from my job.
But mostly from my mom

 

[circulus vitios]

Money saved up from my job.
But mostly from my mom

 

[Shinobiz11]

I think fapping for cash is a little extreme!

I can't believe no one else commented on this. I Lol'd.

To OP, I've been saving all my money since the beginning of this semester. So hard to resist buying fastfood; I've held it up for a month almost.

 

[alpharez]

A gladiator with black line on his back is gonna pay for me.

 

[Ravizzle]

Fortunate to have a lot of family support (emotionally and financially). I paid what i could. My parents paid for some of my secondaries and my airfare and hotel. My older sister bought me a nice suit n shoes as a birthday gift because she knew I would need a suit for interviews.

I have had a part time job since high school so if my parents hadn't been supportive I probably would have drained my savings and put rest on credit.

I highly suggest getting a part time job or tutoring. I did paid research during undergrad so it was a job as well as an EC that would solidify my application.

Sent from my Galaxy S2

 

[OwlPower22]

If it weren't for the FAP and my low-paying jobs, I wouldn't have been able to apply. Thank goodness for the FAP - I think I spent about $200 total applying to 20 schools.

 

[MedPR]

There are a lot of credit cards that offer 0% interest for 12-18 months. If you have a short, clean credit history, you should be able to apply for and receive these cards. If you don't have a credit card yet, apply for one, use it to make purchases, and pay off your entire balance every month. Within a year or so, you'll have a good credit history.

This is exactly what I did.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[DoctorLacrosse]

I can't believe no one else commented on this. I Lol'd.

To OP, I've been saving all my money since the beginning of this semester. So hard to resist buying fastfood; I've held it up for a month almost.

Lol I actually laughed at it too, just didn't take the time to comment. It was hilarious though haha

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

I don't know why people are suggesting to take a year off to work a random job. Not only could that very well not benefit you at all (unless you can live with your parents and don't have to pay back any loans such that you can save every dollar you make), but it's pretty silly considering that you're about to take out $100,000+ in loan debt for med school. Adding on a few more thousand bucks for travel expenses and application fees isn't a very significant addition to debt that large.

I would strongly recommend against using a credit card though. They're the most expensive debt to carry and the interest rates are going to be obscene for a college student unless you've somehow managed to build up a good credit score (720+) in your short time as a non-working adult. Not to mention there's a high likelihood of running into issues with the limits on the card since without a good credit history the limit is likely to be very low. Also keep in mind that having a credit card on your record with a balance greater than 30% of its limit is not going to be good news for your credit score (and the effect gets worse the higher that percentage gets).

If you do go with a credit card, at least make it a frequent flyer card. That way your application process helps pay for itself. I know that United Airlines has a sign-up offer for a card that gives you 30,000 miles if you charge $1000 to the card within three months which will be absolutely no problem for you thanks to the application process. Once you've got those miles, congrats, all your interview travel expenses are now free.

If such a card won't make things cheap enough though then I think the best option for you is to take out a small student loan. The interest rates will be much lower than other forms of debt, and you can defer payments until you're done with your education.

 

[amad01]

How are people able to afford the gi-normous interviewing/applying costs? I'm not really looking for tips on how to save money (student host, etc) because I already plan to do all that (and did a search 😀)

No I more literally meant, where is this money coming from? My parents will not support me, I'm still in undergrad so I can't get a job, I have no money saved, I'm not needy (by parent's income)...I just have no idea how to pay for this? I was hoping someone could offer some advice. Do people use credit cards? Get loans from somewhere? I don't know how I will pay thousands of dollars just to apply to these schools.

Thanks 😍

You CAN get a job, you just WON"T get a job...

if you qualify for financial aid and fed loans for UG, take more out than you intend to use and use it for application/interviews.

 

[tehrevenant3]

Get really good at saving up your financial aid, apply for FAP, get a job during the semester, and work a well-paid internship in the summer. If you internship covers food and housing and you are able to live fairly frugally over the summer, you will typically be able to save a good deal of money.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

Apply yourself like walter white

 

[darklabel]

Most people don't qualify for FAP though.

Anyways I'll be paying for it through savings from my job, loans, credit cards and hopeful pre-med dreams.

 

[987439759]

How are people able to afford the gi-normous interviewing/applying costs? I'm not really looking for tips on how to save money (student host, etc) because I already plan to do all that (and did a search 😀)

No I more literally meant, where is this money coming from? My parents will not support me, I'm still in undergrad so I can't get a job, I have no money saved, I'm not needy (by parent's income)...I just have no idea how to pay for this? I was hoping someone could offer some advice. Do people use credit cards? Get loans from somewhere? I don't know how I will pay thousands of dollars just to apply to these schools.

Thanks 😍

credit cards

 

[Sidereum]

I don't know why people are suggesting to take a year off to work a random job. Not only could that very well not benefit you at all (unless you can live with your parents and don't have to pay back any loans such that you can save every dollar you make), but it's pretty silly considering that you're about to take out $100,000+ in loan debt for med school. Adding on a few more thousand bucks for travel expenses and application fees isn't a very significant addition to debt that large.

+1 Unless your family is rich/willing to pay for your entire education, it won't be possible to avoid debt, and a couple thousand dollars is just a drop in the bucket. Whether you start borrowing now or six months from now isn't going to matter much in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Narmerguy]

You CAN get a job, you just WON"T get a job...

if you qualify for financial aid and fed loans for UG, take more out than you intend to use and use it for application/interviews.

Eh, I guess this is may be true but it likely depends on the OP's situation. If she/he's taking a lot of credits already it may be hard to find a job that will accommodate their study/EC schedule. The only people I've really seen (personally) pull off a job, a heavy schedule, and good grades were students that did work study programs through the schools.

 

[Guero]

I used a combination: saved some from my last semester's loans, used credit cards, and used funds from my full-time job. It cost me $3k just in the primaries, probably somehwere around 6 or 7k in the end. (DC was "espensive.")

 

[SOMBound13]

As mentioned earlier, get a job this summer and save the money.

Also, I know that some people spend $5k-10k on applications, but it doesn't really have to cost that much. People who apply to far away schools will rack up costs for last minute plane travel and hotels.

Are there med schools near where you go to college? Many people live within 5 hours of at least 6 med schools. If you do, you can try to target your apps to schools that won't require air travel. a friend of mine only applied to med schools within 4 hours of her parents' home (her personal req't).. She got 3 acceptances and is now a MS2.

My primary and secondary apps probably cost about $1500. I drove to my interviews and only needed a hotel for one of them. I stayed overnight with a student for one interview. The whole process will likely cost less than 2500.




If necessary, do a gap year after graduation. Then your earnings from a job can pay your costs.

 

[phranklee]

I saved money I earned while working for full-time for the last two years (clinical research job). Spent about $4,000 total before I got my first acceptance.

 

[BABSstudent]

As mentioned earlier, get a job this summer and save the money.

Also, I know that some people spend $5k-10k on applications, but it doesn't really have to cost that much. People who apply to far away schools will rack up costs for last minute plane travel and hotels.

Are there med schools near where you go to college? Many people live within 5 hours of at least 6 med schools. If you do, you can try to target your apps to schools that won't require air travel. a friend of mine only applied to med schools within 4 hours of her parents' home (her personal req't).. She got 3 acceptances and is now a MS2.

My primary and secondary apps probably cost about $1500. I drove to my interviews and only needed a hotel for one of them. I stayed overnight with a student for one interview. The whole process will likely cost less than 2500.




If necessary, do a gap year after graduation. Then your earnings from a job can pay your costs.

False. I don't even live within five hours of a medical school. If you move that time up to six hours, then I live within the range of one medical school. The reason why the cost is so high for some people is for this reason. Driving to the airport is going to cost $40 round trip, paying for parking at the airport will be another $30. I could have a friend drop me off, but it is $10 cheaper to just pay for parking.

Any interview I have requires an across the nation flight. The west coast doesn't have too many medical schools. This may be different for the east coasters.

 

[SOMBound13]

False. I don't even live within five hours of a medical school. If you move that time up to six hours, then I live within the range of one medical school. The reason why the cost is so high for some people is for this reason. Driving to the airport is going to cost $40 round trip, paying for parking at the airport will be another $30. I could have a friend drop me off, but it is $10 cheaper to just pay for parking.

Any interview I have requires an across the nation flight. The west coast doesn't have too many medical schools. This may be different for the east coasters.

I said "many people" not all people. And, I don't just mean "live" as in parents' home, I mean "live" as in where you live while in school.

It sounds like you're in Calif? If so, do you go to school in Southern Cal or Northern Cal?
Or are you in another state? What region is your college located in?

What do you mean by saying that the West Coast doesn't have many medical schools? While the NE may have more, there are a number of SOMs on the West Coast.....UCSD, UCI, UCR, UCLA, UCSF, UCD, Stanford, Loma Linda, USC, (am I missing any?), Oregon's and Washington's SOMs. That's 11. And, it looks like Nevada, Utah, and Arizona's SOMs do take some OOS students.

Depending on your app list, all of your interviews should not require a cross-country trip. However, if your stats are such that you won't get any west coast invites, then maybe you do need to do a gap/glide year, work and save, and pay as you go with earnings from your job. A gap year might allow you to use senior year to improve your stats to make yourself a better candidate for west coast schools.