How Do You Afford It?

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Algophiliac

Someday...
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So, let's paint this scenario. Let's say I graduate college, already in some debt, and my grades aren't up to medical school acceptance par. So I take a post bac and try to find work. This may take several years, and I still have loans sitting above my head, that I eventually have to pay off. So...HOW do I afford this? How did you guys afford it? How can I possibly fail to be accepted the first time around when the financial consequences make it practically impossible to succeed in a retry?

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You defer while you are doing the post bacc. You can also due a MS degree, where you get free tuition and a nice stipend (20k/year).

However, don't do this if your GPA is ridiculous. If it's decent (2.8+), then you might luck out and get into medical school after this effort.
 
Worked full time. Went to school full time. Did my post-bacc when I worked at the hospital. They paid for my tuition after I got good grades (above a C is their criteria). Saved as much money as I could. Applied smartly to those schools with the best odds given my package. Tried to co-ordinate interviews so I made one long trip, not many small ones. I also had great physician friends who helped me along the way with plane fare money and down payment money when I was finally accepted.

ONe of my friends referred to it as the BBS program. (beg,borrow, steal) You do what you have to do to get where you need to be. If that means putting your pride on the sidewalk and asking people for a loan then that's what happens. It took me 10 years but I paid back all those who helped me through.
 
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Worked full time. Went to school full time. Did my post-bacc when I worked at the hospital. They paid for my tuition after I got good grades (above a C is their criteria). Saved as much money as I could. Applied smartly to those schools with the best odds given my package. Tried to co-ordinate interviews so I made one long trip, not many small ones. I also had great physician friends who helped me along the way with plane fare money and down payment money when I was finally accepted.

ONe of my friends referred to it as the BBS program. (beg,borrow, steal) You do what you have to do to get where you need to be. If that means putting your pride on the sidewalk and asking people for a loan then that's what happens. It took me 10 years but I paid back all those who helped me through.

Wow, this is an amazing story!

I have never even had a part time job, and have basically been living on loans during my first years of college. It is very difficult for me to get hired lacking job experience, but I am planning on sending out as many applications as possible for part time jobs next semester, because the enormity of financial issues never really made sense before.

Then, if I can afford to pay for some sort of hospital training certifications, or for MCAT studying, even, I can attain a more medically-relevant job while completing my post-bac during gap years.

God, this is beyond stressful to contemplate right now.
 
Wow, this is an amazing story!

I have never even had a part time job, and have basically been living on loans during my first years of college. It is very difficult for me to get hired lacking job experience, but I am planning on sending out as many applications as possible for part time jobs next semester, because the enormity of financial issues never really made sense before.
.

Your so worried about debt, but you never even had a part time job before? Not to sound like an ass, but alot of places hire those with no job experience. It may not be glamorous, but dude flip a burger or two if you want med school bad enough. GET it together. And during summers get 2 jobs!
 
Your so worried about debt, but you never even had a part time job before? Not to sound like an ass, but alot of places hire those with no job experience. It may not be glamorous, but dude flip a burger or two if you want med school bad enough. GET it together. And during summers get 2 jobs!

I know--I should look for a part time job more seriously than I have been, but fewer jobs hire with no experience here than you seem to think. The last 5 jobs I've considered as a cashier required 2 years of prior experience. I really don't care about glamorous at this point, and I guess I should mention that lack of transportation is the most limiting factor.
 
I know--I should look for a part time job more seriously than I have been, but fewer jobs hire with no experience here than you seem to think. The last 5 jobs I've considered as a cashier required 2 years of prior experience. I really don't care about glamorous at this point, and I guess I should mention that lack of transportation is the most limiting factor.

There are plenty of jobs that don't need experience. Some jobs I did while going to college:

Grocery store: stocker, bagger, the deli, the fish dept, etc. No experience needed. They teach you to cashier if you want to learn. they work with students ALL THE TIME and accomodate schedules easily. Look at Sam's club, walmart, fred meyer, safeway, krogers'. My brother worked in the men's dept at Nordstroms. Dressed nice, made lots of money, met lots of women. Seriously

Pizza Delivery: you said you don't have a car. Borrow one. Deliver pizzas. I was making $50/night in tips alone, more on the weekends.

Wait tables somewhere, anywhere. If you give great service you will get great tips. Ride your bike, take the bus.

The library: if you know your alphabet you can shelve books. I worked my way through college in the library. It's open all night too and you can study while you sit there waiting for folks to check out their books. You can listen to your ipod (with your classes or review material on it) while you shelve books.

Get a CNA license or a phlebotomist's job and work at the hospital. they are all about folks going on for more higher education. they will work with you with your school schedule.

In the summer I worked double shifts at the store and the library then delivered pizzas on the weekend. I also worked some in the tourist business serving coffee and talking about local stuff to do.
 
Your so worried about debt, but you never even had a part time job before? Not to sound like an ass, but alot of places hire those with no job experience. It may not be glamorous, but dude flip a burger or two if you want med school bad enough. GET it together. And during summers get 2 jobs!

So true. I've worked in Chik-Fil-A, Outback, O'Charley's, 2 motorcycle shops, outdoor shops, hospital, etc.

It's not hard for an articulate college student to get a part-time job.
 
The military.


....


Do an enlistment and then go for medical school. You'll lose four years but life isn't a race. If you want something bad enough you do what you'll have to like they've said. In most cases the military can help you pay back existing student loans and then afterward you can use the post 911 benefits to help pay for continued schooling. Using that as an example with 36 months of active duty time you can get 100 percent tuition paid with monthly tax free cheeks. A pay check for going to school. Not to mention book stipends and the big one, having done your part for your country.

Using the benefits afforded me I managed undergrad work with near zero debt and didn't work a day in 3 years. Read up on the LRP they offer. The army route offers many added benefits as well: learning things quickly and understress, knowing when to freak out and when not to, you'll be in great shape...on and on

There are also other programs you can use through the military to help pay for professional school. HPSP is one of them. They do require continued medical service though.
 
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Losing years of attending salary is much worse than the emotional debt that people are irrationally afraid of. For each year that you lose making that attending money is about 120,000 after taxes (conservative for many specialties). Thus, in a rough calculation not including inflation, etc, you will have lost 480,000 net for those four years.

You will have gained a small amount of money in those four years but the debt that you avoided is much less than 480,000.

People should really look at debt as just a cost of doing business, as an investment into their financial future. However, you are kind of reducing risk by accepting such scholarships and stipends in case things go horribly wrong with future reimbursement. (unlikely to dramatically drop)

The military.


....


Do an enlistment and then go for medical school. You'll lose four years but life isn't a race. If you want something bad enough you do what you'll have to like they've said. In most cases the military can help you pay back existing student loans and then afterward you can use the post 911 benefits to help pay for continued schooling. Using that as an example with 36 months of active duty time you can get 100 percent tuition paid with monthly tax free cheeks. A pay check for going to school. Not to mention book stipends and the big one, having done your part for your country.

Using the benefits afforded me I managed undergrad work with near zero debt and didn't work a day in 3 years. Read up on the LRP they offer. The army route offers many added benefits as well: learning things quickly and understress, knowing when to freak out and when not to, you'll be in great shape...on and on

There are also other programs you can use through the military to help pay for professional school. HPSP is one of them. They do require continued medical service though.
 
Wow, this is an amazing story!

I have never even had a part time job, and have basically been living on loans during my first years of college. It is very difficult for me to get hired lacking job experience, but I am planning on sending out as many applications as possible for part time jobs next semester, because the enormity of financial issues never really made sense before.

Then, if I can afford to pay for some sort of hospital training certifications, or for MCAT studying, even, I can attain a more medically-relevant job while completing my post-bac during gap years.

God, this is beyond stressful to contemplate right now.

Algophiliac, I say this in a sort of "tough love" way but you should just get a job :) It takes persistence, but if you're in college you have the skills needed to get a job. It doesn't matter what it is in, although medically-related is a plus. I've worked many crappy jobs over the years that did not pay very well, but the things they taught me were priceless. I honestly worry about people who go on to higher education/professional school without ever having worked in their lives.. needless to say I think it's a very valuable experience.
 
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