how do you afford to do stuff?

[Ames980]

so on every interview i went on, all of the students i met assured us that they have enough time to take weekend trips, are good friends with classmates and go out for drinks, etc. but how do you actually afford to do it?

looking at fin aid info, they have a pretty budget which is only allotted for 9 1/2 months - i dont live some crazy lifestyle, but the thought of living on less than 20K a year sounds kind of low. a) am i overestimating how much you spend? b) when taking out a private loan to cover what the stafford doesnt, is it possible to take out more than the school says? [i.e. by school budget is circa 54,000 with about 39 covered by gov't loans. can i take out more than 15 extra?] i feel like i rather have a bit of wiggle room in case of car problems, unexpected expenses, etc. and pay it back at the end of the year if i dont use it..... any insight?

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[Ross434]

so on every interview i went on, all of the students i met assured us that they have enough time to take weekend trips, are good friends with classmates and go out for drinks, etc. but how do you actually afford to do it?

looking at fin aid info, they have a pretty budget which is only allotted for 9 1/2 months - i dont live some crazy lifestyle, but the thought of living on less than 20K a year sounds kind of low. a) am i overestimating how much you spend? b) when taking out a private loan to cover what the stafford doesnt, is it possible to take out more than the school says? [i.e. by school budget is circa 54,000 with about 39 covered by gov't loans. can i take out more than 15 extra?] i feel like i rather have a bit of wiggle room in case of car problems, unexpected expenses, etc. and pay it back at the end of the year if i dont use it..... any insight?

A hugely disproportionate amount of med students come from top 5% families.

 

[backrow]

A hugely disproportionate amount of med students come from top 5% families.

Ah yes, and my family has contributed all of ZERO percent of the funding for my medical education.

And I only wish my family was in the top 5% of families, simply a middle class family, that could afford to help if I asked.

How about instead of doing the 4x4x4 plan, some of us actually worked.

Don't blame your lack of fun on other people's families having money. Such a lame excuse.

 

[wends]

are there jobs for students in med schools? like working in the library, research assistant etc, or did you get a job outside of school?

 

[ambrosia]

Don't a lot of people work in research labs over the summer? Thats what I'm hoping to do. I don't know about working during the year though. I guess it would be doable, but I think I'd rather not.

 

[Ames980]

yeah, im pretty much assuming ill have to work -- im not upset or whatnot that im from a normal middle class family and my parents have to focus their monetary attention elsewhere, im just wondering how it works. id love to have a library job or something along those lines. do students work?

 

[Smurfette]

yeah, im pretty much assuming ill have to work -- im not upset or whatnot that im from a normal middle class family and my parents have to focus their monetary attention elsewhere, im just wondering how it works. id love to have a library job or something along those lines. do students work?

Personally, as a med student, money got tight the last month or so before the next financial aid check came, but it is VERY easy to get more loans if you need it (like 4th year for travelling to interviews, or for new computer, or trips abroad or whatever). I didn't get any parent help either (I'm not from a wealthy family). Don't worry about how much in loans you take out---it will be a lot of money of course, but you WILL be able to pay it back, which before med school was one of my major concerns---now that I've graduated, I wish I hadn't worried about it as much since it helps you out to qualify for loan deferments and longer loan repayment periods and lower monthly payments if you have more money out in loans during med school. The last thing I want to worry about now is how to pay back my loans on an intern's salary....some of my classmates have to worry about this or forbear (where interest accrues on everything as compared to deferment where subsidized loans still accrue no interest.)

Few med students work b/c of the long hours of class and studying required, and those who do work generally work very few hours a week (of course, there are exceptions). Sometimes you can help tutor others in your class or classes below you for a little extra cash, and this allows you to work around class schedules more so than other jobs....our students affairs office hired people to do this on occasion for students needing extra help.

If you live *reasonably*, the financial aid they give you should be enough to get by. You shouldn't have to work to support yourself through medical school, and your financial aid is based on cost of living for someone with NO income. But if you have expensive taste and can't bring yourself to be reasonable with what you buy, then you may need some extra money.

 

[Sweet Tea]

I was going to write a long response, but Smurfette said everything that needed to be said.

 

[Smurfette]

I was going to write a long response, but Smurfette said everything that needed to be said.

Aw...Thanks Sweet Tea! 😀

 

[ttpatel]

I was going to write a long response, but Smurfette said everything that needed to be said.

ECU's medical school tuition is one of the lowest, if not the lowest in the country....did you have to worry about taking out lots of loans???

 

[Sweet Tea]

ECU's medical school tuition is one of the lowest, if not the lowest in the country....did you have to worry about taking out lots of loans???

It is the lowest in the country, and the cost of living in Greenville is insanely cheap. Some of my classmates are getting through this without taking any loans out, but I'm not one of them. 😛 I support myself almost entirely on loans, but I have enough to have a nice apartment and to take several trips to NYC to visit my boyfriend. Thankfully, he'll be doing his residency 2 hours away from me and we no longer have to buy plane tickets. However, in order to afford my apartment and my plane tickets, I've had to really cut back in other areas and my budget is tight. I'm taking out the max allowed, and while I could go for private loans I really don't want to. I'm going to come out of med school with a relatively small amount of debt, but I'm still trying to keep my debt down to a minimum.

 

[ttpatel]

It is the lowest in the country, and the cost of living in Greenville is insanely cheap. Some of my classmates are getting through this without taking any loans out, but I'm not one of them. 😛 I support myself almost entirely on loans, but I have enough to have a nice apartment and to take several trips to NYC to visit my boyfriend. Thankfully, he'll be doing his residency 2 hours away from me and we no longer have to buy plane tickets. However, in order to afford my apartment and my plane tickets, I've had to really cut back in other areas and my budget is tight. I'm taking out the max allowed, and while I could go for private loans I really don't want to. I'm going to come out of med school with a relatively small amount of debt, but I'm still trying to keep my debt down to a minimum.

The max federal loans you can take out are $38,500 (unless you were allowed to only take out according to ECU's budget)....ECU's tuition is between $6,500 and $7,700 a year, with living expenses between about $7,000 to $9,000 per year. I know there are also other expenses (http://www.ecu.edu/bsomstudentaffairs/FinancialAid/Cost.htm) and your flight costs...but unless you are flying to NY every weekend I dont understand how you are living on a tight budget at all.

 

[japhy]

the max federal loans are $18,500 a year, not $38,500. just a slight difference...

 

[ttpatel]

the max federal loans are $18,500 a year, not $38,500. just a slight difference...

Max Stafford Loans ...subsidized and unsubsidized loans....http://www.studentdoctor.net/loans/loans101-1.asp

and I asked before...maybe ECU's budget only allows for a certain dollar amount of loans that their students can take out.

 

[tinkerbelle]

the max federal loans are $18,500 a year, not $38,500. just a slight difference...

$18,500 is the OLD loan amount. It is now $38,500 (although you can get a little more depending on where you go to school and how many months they include in their budget).

 

[akpete]

the max federal loans are $18,500 a year, not $38,500. just a slight difference...

No. Max federal loans is $38,500 per year, and at some schools, as reported in the financial aid forum, allow slightly higher max.

 

[nutmegs]

if the thought of living on $20,000 seems low to you, you need to get used to living like a student...

sit down and do the budget yourself.

$400 rent/month
$120 bills/month
$150 groceries/month...

I don't have a car payment (other than repairs... which might as well be...), I am not a fashion plate, and I don't go out to the trendiest, most expensive bars. hell, this year I didn't even have time to drink anything other than starbucks 🙁

 

[pillowhead]

if the thought of living on $20,000 seems low to you, you need to get used to living like a student...

sit down and do the budget yourself.

$400 rent/month
$120 bills/month
$150 groceries/month...

I don't have a car payment (other than repairs... which might as well be...), I am not a fashion plate, and I don't go out to the trendiest, most expensive bars. hell, this year I didn't even have time to drink anything other than starbucks 🙁

It all has to do with where you're going to school. You'd be hard pressed to get a place for $400/month where I live even with two or three roomates.

 

[nutmegs]

It all has to do with where you're going to school. You'd be hard pressed to get a place for $400/month where I live even with two or three roomates.

🤔 philly. my roommate and I pay $800 total. you must be in boston.

 

[Sweet Tea]

The max federal loans you can take out are $38,500 (unless you were allowed to only take out according to ECU's budget)....ECU's tuition is between $6,500 and $7,700 a year, with living expenses between about $7,000 to $9,000 per year. I know there are also other expenses (http://www.ecu.edu/bsomstudentaffairs/FinancialAid/Cost.htm) and your flight costs...but unless you are flying to NY every weekend I dont understand how you are living on a tight budget at all.

The amounts listed on the website are exactly what I get in loans every year, not $38,500. As you can see, every year is a little different. $25,000 ($18,500) makes for a tight year, especially when the unexpected happens and things end up costing more than what they're budgeted.

 

[japhy]

wow! i had no idea that max loans had gone up. thanks for clearing that up.



i have been in another program for the last few years, so i hadn't noticed. that will sure make things nice when i get back to 3rd year. 🙂

 

[nockamura]

No. Max federal loans is $38,500 per year, and at some schools, as reported in the financial aid forum, allow slightly higher max.

Yeah, I got $40,000 in federal loans for some reason. I hear some people are getting up to 42k. I guess it depends on your school.

 

[ttpatel]

Yeah, I got $40,000 in federal loans for some reason. I hear some people are getting up to 42k. I guess it depends on your school.

How does that happen??

 

[ilanahg]

so on every interview i went on, all of the students i met assured us that they have enough time to take weekend trips, are good friends with classmates and go out for drinks, etc. but how do you actually afford to do it?

looking at fin aid info, they have a pretty budget which is only allotted for 9 1/2 months - i dont live some crazy lifestyle, but the thought of living on less than 20K a year sounds kind of low. a) am i overestimating how much you spend? b) when taking out a private loan to cover what the stafford doesnt, is it possible to take out more than the school says? [i.e. by school budget is circa 54,000 with about 39 covered by gov't loans. can i take out more than 15 extra?] i feel like i rather have a bit of wiggle room in case of car problems, unexpected expenses, etc. and pay it back at the end of the year if i dont use it..... any insight?

my advice? BUDGET. That's what I do (but i'm used to living on about $20k/yr...in NYC). My fiancee did not budget and found himself $6000 in the hole at the end of the year. I worked, netted about $20k and still came away with a nice size savings for the year. It's all how you shuffle the numbers, but you can definitely do it!

 

[MedicineBird]

wow! i had no idea that max loans had gone up. thanks for clearing that up.
i have been in another program for the last few years, so i hadn't noticed. that will sure make things nice when i get back to 3rd year. 🙂

Hey Japhy -- does that mean you are going to be rolling in mad bank and you will be hosting weekly shindigs for the UofU SDNers? 😀

 

[gunit07]

Dont forget you can take out private loans. Even tho the interest rate is higher, it's still an option.

Honestly, if you want to save money, there are ways to skimp🙂 dont get cable (blasphemy, i know) cause you wont have THAT much time to watch HBO anyways.

I actually dont really understand how people run out of loan money (given no emergencies)... I pay twice as much rent as most people (cause i'm dumb) and I usually have some money left over at the end of each quarter.

Also, if you are planning on living by yourself, your school should give you a living alone appeal form.
Ask your financial aid office what all they can do for you🙂
Good Luck!

 

[Madhatter]

what is a living alone appeal form?

 

[Karina]

It all has to do with where you're going to school. You'd be hard pressed to get a place for $400/month where I live even with two or three roomates.

How about those of us who chose NOT to get a roommate! My rent is more than double than that!
I move out next month...I have been working and have saved up two months of living expenses and rent...just case financial aid gets delayed or something...but I'm not worried about it...I'll just get a few extra thou if money gets tight half way through the year...

Karina

 

[nockamura]

How does that happen??

Beats me. It's up to your school I think. The only number that is variable is the unsubsidized stafford.

 

[RefractoryMD]

I received training as an EMT about a year ago, and all I can say is good dear lord I save a bunch of money and I can work strictly nights about 12 times a month. Its mostly overtime pay so that is good and, although Im not in med school yet, It allows me to get an idea of how to get around income and budgeting problems. Plus i get awesome clinical experience. Working nights isnt so bad, its not like any of us sleep anyways 😉

 

[Ramoray]

Ya financial aid completely depends on the city. I was in dc and i took out max aid and it was hardly enough to scrape by on, in fact it wasnt and i had to use eveyr last penny of my savings to pay my 1250/month studio apartment to live by msyelf. Another thing i could have saved on is coffee. 2nd year i probably spent 40 bucks a week on the stuff. I mean it was the only thing i spent money on since all i did was study but even so i could have saved a bunch, like 2k a year.. damn that hurts, i shouldnt have reminded myself of that figure.. but give up coffee and youll save.

 

[clayvessel]

if the thought of living on $20,000 seems low to you, you need to get used to living like a student...

sit down and do the budget yourself.

$400 rent/month
$120 bills/month
$150 groceries/month...

I don't have a car payment (other than repairs... which might as well be...), I am not a fashion plate, and I don't go out to the trendiest, most expensive bars. hell, this year I didn't even have time to drink anything other than starbucks 🙁

people have widely different expenses even when not living at all extravagantly.
why do you not have a car payment? could it be b/c someone bought your car for you a while ago? i think that's great, just trying to get you to see that everyone's situation is very different!!

an alternate (and may i say more *realistic* for the average financially independent 20-something?) budget could be:

$500-600 rent/month
$ 200/bills (cell phone, utilities)
$ 100 car insurance
$200 car payment
$200 groceries
$150 spending money for routine things (dinners, coffee, wal-mart)
$100 health insurance
$50 gas
$100 savings/spendings for travel, gifts, etc.

total: ~$1700/month. x12 = $20,400.
which means that if you go over this budget, you're in trouble. i don't think the amt med schools give to live on is unreasonably low; but neither do i think it's ridiculously easy and requires no planning at all to live on $20,000/year.

 

[cammy1313]

Bottom line is to formulate a projection on how much money you would like to have in your pocket in a given year. Once you have that figure then you supplement whatever your federal loans are with a private loan to reach that amount. Problem solved. A few extra thousand borrowed dollars per year to live within means you are comfortable with isn't very much when tacked on to the $150,000+ debt you'll be in from tuition and basic living expenses. I mean, I'm staring at a $46,000 per year tuition alone, not to mention cost of living in Boston. I'm probably looking at $60,000 per year, give or take a few.

 

[KNightInBlue]

if the thought of living on $20,000 seems low to you, you need to get used to living like a student...

sit down and do the budget yourself.

$400 rent/month
$120 bills/month
$150 groceries/month...

I don't have a car payment (other than repairs... which might as well be...), I am not a fashion plate, and I don't go out to the trendiest, most expensive bars. hell, this year I didn't even have time to drink anything other than starbucks 🙁

Try living in westchester, one of the richest counties in the US, where the avg studio goes for about $1000.

I hate not having money!! 🙁

 

[Ross434]

Try living in westchester, one of the richest counties in the US, where the avg studio goes for about $1000.

I hate not having money!! 🙁

Okay, you can go ahead and try it. We'll all see how you do. Maybe others will try something else and save more money.

 

[MadameLULU]

but give up coffee and youll save.

buy a french press or espresso machine