how do you pay for med school?

[anystream]

i don't know ANYTHING about financial aid. i went to a public school for undergrad, got some nice scholarships and i was fine. i want to attend a private med school but i'm stressed and don't know where to start looking for financial aid info.

where do i start?

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[tulane06]

Check out the financial aid office at your school(i'm assuming you've been accepted). Scholarships are harder to come by in med school than undergrad but they do exist. You can also get a military scholarship (HPSP), but it would probably be better to join up once you are a resident with the FAP program if the military is what you want to do. You can also just take out the loans and pay them off with your doctor's salary.

 

[izibo]

Ahhh, the joys of matriculating at an MD/PhD program

 

[humuhumu]

i don't know ANYTHING about financial aid. i went to a public school for undergrad, got some nice scholarships and i was fine. i want to attend a private med school but i'm stressed and don't know where to start looking for financial aid info.

where do i start?

Here: http://www.aamc.org/students/financing/md2/start.htm

 

[NapeSpikes]

On a related note, the other day I was wondering what happens to the loans if, in some tragic event, you cannot continue with medicine? I mean something really sad, like you die or become blind or something that serious. People usually don't have co-signers for med school loans, right? So is this all covered in the death and dismemberment part of the required health insurance? Does it all just go away? Or do they stick it to your next of kin? Do we need our own life insurance policy worth $200,000 then??

 

[MollyMalone]

I'm personally offering up my first-born child.

 

[Twitch]

On a related note, the other day I was wondering what happens to the loans if, in some tragic event, you cannot continue with medicine? I mean something really sad, like you die or become blind or something that serious. People usually don't have co-signers for med school loans, right? So is this all covered in the death and dismemberment part of the required health insurance? Does it all just go away? Or do they stick it to your next of kin? Do we need our own life insurance policy worth $200,000 then??

Depends on the nature of the loan. Typically stafford loans are guaranteed by the federal govt (hence called federal student loans). As you know it comes in sub and unsub. In either case if you die, the govt. (aka all us taxpayers) pick up the tab.

 

[Telemachus]

Bite, kick, and scratch to get into a state school. Seriously.

 

[odrade1]

On a related note, the other day I was wondering what happens to the loans if, in some tragic event, you cannot continue with medicine? I mean something really sad, like you die or become blind or something that serious. People usually don't have co-signers for med school loans, right? So is this all covered in the death and dismemberment part of the required health insurance? Does it all just go away? Or do they stick it to your next of kin? Do we need our own life insurance policy worth $200,000 then??

Don't take out a life insurance policy just to pay back your loans, unless you feel that you owe it to society or to the private bank you borrowed from, if you don't take federal loans. Get a life insurance policy so that your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend doesn't have to sell the house when you die, or so that your children can go to college.

Educational loan repayment? It depends on the extent of the disability.
death = no repayment obligation
total disability (unable to work any job) = no repayment obligation
partial disability = repayment obligation
Educational loans are actually the most difficult financial obligation there is, in terms of ease of getting out of the repayment obligation.

My partner is a dentist and has a special insurance policy that pertains exclusively to the loss of his ability to practice dental medicine. This is--of course--above and beyond the regular health & life inurance policies, etc. I would be absolutely shocked to find that such policies were not available for MDs & DOs, as well.

 

[DrBowtie]

They have MD disability insurance. I'm not sure if you can get it while in school though.

 

[ms1finally]

Government loans are forgiven upon death - regardless of whether that occurs prior to or during repayment. Private loans, on the other hand, are usually not forgiven upon death. I believe THE is the only lender that does forgive them if you die before you enter repayment. Once you enter repayment, you better make sure you have enough life insurance to cover any private loans.

 

[-Goose-]

Bite, kick, and scratch to get into a state school. Seriously.

there's probably alot of wisdom to this statement

 

[MollyMalone]

Not all state schools are cheap.

 

[anystream]

Not all state schools are cheap.

yea isn't the average debt like $135k for a private and $100k for a state school? i am not smart with financial stuff...but it really doesn't seem like a big difference to me. PLUS i am from california...*maybe* i'll get into a UC but i'm not holding my breath

 

[JonnyG]

marry rich

 

[unfrozencaveman]

marry rich

I admire your love of WaWa by the way. I miss those italian hoagies.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Med school financing, for the most part, is all about loans. Unless you're from a low income family, you pretty much have no chance of getting need-based grants. Scholarships for med school are few and far between, so unless you got a few tricks up your sleeve, you're really looking at loans (and family help, if applicable). What sucks about averages that schools post is that they include students who got need based grants, scholarship students, and trustfund babies who leave med school with about $20k in debt. The rest of the class is leaving with $200k+, but the average doesnt really reflect that. If you end up going to a private school (or out-of-state public) as a non-scholarship student, you're really looking at a number that high - some students leave med school with a quarter million in debt.
I'll bet you're waiting for the little call from UCI now, aren't you

 

[letmein!please?]

If you end up going to a private school as a non-scholarship student, you're really looking at a number that high - some students leave med school with a quarter million in debt.
I'll bet you're waiting for the little call from UCI now, aren't you

Are you serious? Are there some other expenses I am overlooking? By the way, If you've worked to pay for stuff through college (food, gas, clothes, etc.), how do you do this in med school? Can you take out loans for these expenses? Im working 30 hours a week now but I don't think I could do 10 in med school...hmmm I'm screwed.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Are you serious? Are there some other expenses I am overlooking? By the way, If you've worked to pay for stuff through college (food, gas, clothes, etc.), how do you do this in med school? Can you take out loans for these expenses? Im working 30 hours a week now but I don't think I could do 10 in med school...hmmm I'm screwed.

No joke. Take, for example, one of the notoriously expensive private schools, like Georgetown or Tufts. You'll be paying roughly $40k/year in tuition, and in cities like DC or Boston, your cost of living will be nearly $20k/year. If you have no grants or scholarships, over the course of four years, you'll have to take $240,000 in loans. Add that to any undergrad loans you may have, and you could easily be over a quarter mil in debt by graduation.

 

[deleted50541]

I'm personally offering up my first-born child.

I was thinking along similar lines.

Perhaps selling my spleen and a kidney on the black market.

Anyone know the going rates?

 

[jebus]

Wow, I'm impressed everyone's restraint. This thread hasn't gone prurient at all. It's time to change that.
Me, well, I'm willing to do some movies if you don't show my face and promise to be gentle.

 

[letmein!please?]

Wow, I'm impressed everyone's restraint. This thread hasn't gone prurient at all. It's time to change that.
Me, well, I'm willing to do some movies if you don't show my face and promise to be gentle.

Why would you be gentle, there's no money in that!

 

[ShyRem]

Last I knew you could get about $60K for a good kidney.

 

[deleted50541]

Last I knew you could get about $60K for a good kidney.

Well that's a start at least.

Looks like I may have to consider plan B: starting a meth lab or being coke mule

 

[MollyMalone]

Wow, I'm impressed everyone's restraint. This thread hasn't gone prurient at all. It's time to change that.
Me, well, I'm willing to do some movies if you don't show my face and promise to be gentle.

Wait, I have an even better idea.

Me, well, I'm willing NOT to do some "movies" if you'll throw a little cash my way. I mean, come on, think of the children! Think of your eyes! I promise you -- it will be money well spent.

 

[notdeadyet]

Last I knew you could get about $60K for a good kidney.

Yeah, but give up two and you're looking at $120K. Sweet!

 

[mustangsally65]

Did you guys see the med student on Jeopardy! this week? He won three days, and got over $70,000. That'll be nice to help pay down those loans. He was from Texas, too.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all win that kind of money? I wonder how much you actually get after taxes, though.

 

[anystream]

I'll bet you're waiting for the little call from UCI now, aren't you

UCI really impressed me, and their subsidized housing is impressing me even more now... : )

about the rest of what you said- if private school debt for most people is actually much higher than the projected average, couldn't you also conclude the same about debt from public med schools?

 

[little_late_MD]

All the strippers I meet say they're dancing to pay tuition. YOu don't think they're lying to me do you?

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

about the rest of what you said- if private school debt for most people is actually much higher than the projected average, couldn't you also conclude the same about debt from public med schools?

Ya, definitely. Someone who goes to say, UCI, will graduate with ~$160,000 in debt if they are ineligible for grants, don't have a scholarship, and don't have parental help. That's a big difference from the published average debt of $75k. However, compare that to the little school up the road in downtown LA, where someone in the same financial situation will graduate with ~$240,000. That $160k doesn't look so bad anymore

 

[letmein!please?]

Yeah, but give up two and you're looking at $120K. Sweet!

How much do you think I could get for my heart? my soul?

 

[mdforlife]

i don't know ANYTHING about financial aid. i went to a public school for undergrad, got some nice scholarships and i was fine. i want to attend a private med school but i'm stressed and don't know where to start looking for financial aid info.

where do i start?

stripper at Scores, NYC

 

[astrife]

Ok... question...

I want to do peace corps during my life, and I'm thinking it'd be best to do it right after college graduation (won't take MCAT till senior year). I'd graduate college at 22, and I'd finish peace corps at 24. This means when I apply I believe I'm beyond the age where I am considered a dependent of my parents(I believe it's 24, but not sure). Does this mean that I will theoretically have 0 income without a job, and schools that do offer grant/scholarships to extremely needy students will give me money as I'm basically on my own at that point?

 

[NapeSpikes]

Ok... question...

I want to do peace corps during my life, and I'm thinking it'd be best to do it right after college graduation (won't take MCAT till senior year). I'd graduate college at 22, and I'd finish peace corps at 24. This means when I apply I believe I'm beyond the age where I am considered a dependent of my parents(I believe it's 24, but not sure). Does this mean that I will theoretically have 0 income without a job, and schools that do offer grant/scholarships to extremely needy students will give me money as I'm basically on my own at that point?

No, institutional aid/need-based scholarships take into account parental income regardless of age. If it were otherwise, most traditional applicants would qualify for huge grants because they usually have little income and assets, and thus leaving no way to distinguish between anyone. However, loans will be available without any parental info.

You could be married with kids and financially independent for ten years, but the schools will still ask about parental income for institutional aid/need-based grants.