How do you support yourself during med school?

[Curious?]

I am deeply interested in a career as a Physician, but looking into these forums it seems as if no one has time to do anything but study. I do not come from a well off family, and I will be paying every dime of my tuition and housing. But looking at a lot of the threads I have come across have stated that it is a bad idea to get a part time job for even 15 hours a week if you care about your grades.
How do you manage to support yourself when you are your only source of income in Med School?

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[MadRadLad]

Loans.

Schools calculate a full "cost of attendance" which includes reasonable allowances for living expenses, transportation, food, utilities, etc. You are allowed to borrow up to the full calculated CoA for your school, per year.

 

[Curious?]

Loans.

Schools calculate a full "cost of attendance" which includes reasonable allowances for living expenses, transportation, food, utilities, etc. You are allowed to borrow up to the full calculated CoA for your school, per year.

Thank you for having the patience to answer my question. I have not attended public school since the 5th grade so no one has talked to me about about college life. I was unaware that student loans included living expenses. So going into college with debt (Car payments, credit card payments) would be borrowed per year as well?

 

[metaphase]

True, it would be a very bad idea to have a part-time job.

Think about medical school as an investment in paving the path to your future career. Working 10 hours a week at $15 an hour would make you an extra $7500 per year for your first two years of medical school, but that's time you're not spending studying for class, boards, or keeping sane and maintaining relationships/health/sleep. You are transitioning from a land of more-time-than-money into the land of more-money-than-time. That $7500 is chump change compared to the income differences you will yield by placing into a top residency that sets you up for whatever you want to do - academics, fellowship, working in a highly desirable location. Time you spend churning out work is time you're skimping on the other demands of your life, particularly your "other" job - studying to be a doctor.

As a second year, I only know a few people who do Kaplan or self-scheduled online tutoring, and a few who might do some freelance work if they have journalism/art skills when they have time. No one has a "real" part-time job, as far as I know. I personally babysit 1-4 hours a week for fun money - I don't even count it as income when budgeting. It's like a little bonus that means I have to withdraw from the ATM less often.

Your loans will pay for everything you need. Don't worry. It takes time to adjust to the idea of obligatorily being in a large amount of debt (remember - unless you fail or quit, you _will_ pay it off and come out on top.) And yes, the big negative six-digit number is still going to be hanging over your head whether you make some side-money during med school or not.

EDIT: I take it you are in high school? There are a ton more pre-med school-related topics in the High School and Pre-Allo forums that you might find more helpful than this one. I bet it's something on a lot of people's minds.

EDIT #2: Just saw your second post. Each school has an estimated 'cost of living' ($16-$22,000ish) based on your city's living and transport costs, and you can choose to take as much of that as you want. I would try my hardest to avoid taking on any significant non-student loan debts pre-medical school - private loan repayment won't be very sympathetic and wait 8+ years for you to make some real income.

 

[Curious?]

True, it would be a very bad idea to have a part-time job.

Think about medical school as an investment in paving the path to your future career. Working 10 hours a week at $15 an hour would make you an extra $7500 per year for your first two years of medical school, but that's time you're not spending studying for class, boards, or keeping sane and maintaining relationships/health/sleep. You are transitioning from a land of more-time-than-money into the land of more-money-than-time. That $7500 is chump change compared to the income differences you will yield by placing into a top residency that sets you up for whatever you want to do - academics, fellowship, working in a highly desirable location. Time you spend churning out work is time you're skimping on the other demands of your life, particularly your "other" job - studying to be a doctor.

As a second year, I only know a few people who do Kaplan or self-scheduled online tutoring, and a few who might do some freelance work if they have journalism/art skills when they have time. No one has a "real" part-time job, as far as I know. I personally babysit 1-4 hours a week for fun money - I don't even count it as income when budgeting. It's like a little bonus that means I have to withdraw from the ATM less often.

Your loans will pay for everything you need. Don't worry. It takes time to adjust to the idea of obligatorily being in a large amount of debt (remember - unless you fail or quit, you _will_ pay it off and come out on top.) And yes, the big negative six-digit number is still going to be hanging over your head whether you make some side-money during med school or not.

EDIT: I take it you are in high school? There are a ton more pre-med school-related topics in the High School and Pre-Allo forums that you might find more helpful than this one. I bet it's something on a lot of people's minds.

Actually, I have been home schooled since 5th grade. And by that I mean my mother failed to school me and I got my G.E.D at 19 after working since I was 16. So I am a full time worker right now, working 40-45 hours a week as a Phleb at a plasma donation clinic. I will definitely keep that in mind, tutoring for more fun money.

 

[metaphase]

I see - best of luck to you! Don't let anyone discourage you. Getting to med school is the hardest part. Hopefully you can make it work.

 

[giraffedom]

im working in a brothel to pay for cost of livng, but its legal where i live so theres no ethical concern

 

[DrEnderW]

@Curious? You will have zero issue supporting yourself with the loans available. Thousands of students, including myself, do this every year. Relying 100% on loans is not an unusual situation at all. I've been able to make a few thousand each year by doing things like tutoring and working for education companies on the side as well.

 

[Stagg737]

It depends on the job. Something like a phlebotomist where you actually have to do something isn't a good idea. A lot of med schools offer positions like desk attendant or library assistant where they basically pay you to study. Those jobs are great. I make about an extra 250/month by sitting at the front desk of our study building and studying. However, if you want to work a 15 hour/week job during your undergrad years, that is completely doable and I would actually recommend it if finances are an issue. Especially if it's something medically related as it will show adcoms you are already trying to get a grasp of what healthcare is like.

I would also recommend you do everything you can to pay off existing debt before you enter med school. Interest will pile up quick and it's likely you won't be able to make payments while in school, so if you've got credit card debt or bank loans, work hard to pay those loans off now. The only exception to this is subsidized loans, meaning that you don't pay interest on them while you're in school. This is what most undergraduate loans will likely be, so if you rack up some debt from going to college before med school, that's okay.

 

[jqueb29]

Get married to someone with a job.

 

[Pacna]

^ GG EZ

 

[fancymylotus]

Date/marry rich.

 

[caffeinemia]

Date/marry rich.

Some people have AmEx platinum cards. I have essays to edit. Bwahahahahah

 

[ConfusedChemist]

fellow self-supporter here! Loans are both your new best friend and worst enemy lol
But heres a couple tips
1. tutor-the best part time job because you don't have to pay taxes on the income, and it doesn't get counted in your yearly income. This is good for bursaries and scholarships. Also i pays well
2. Be an RA (residence assistant), I am and its paying a salary of my room, meal plan, internet, etc, so tuition is my only expense! Also its such a rewarding and fun job

 

[caffeinemia]

fellow self-supporter here! Loans are both your new best friend and worst enemy lol
But heres a couple tips
1. tutor-the best part time job because you don't have to pay taxes on the income, and it doesn't get counted in your yearly income. This is good for bursaries and scholarships. Also i pays well
2. Be an RA (residence assistant), I am next year and its paying a salary of my room, meal plan, internet, etc, so tuition is my only expense!

In the us, you generally do pay federal taxes on tutoring income? you may choose to declare those earnings, but that is technically illegal?

 

[ConfusedChemist]

In the us, you generally do pay federal taxes on tutoring income? you may choose to declare those earnings, but that is technically illegal?

hmm, I don't know about the US
But I'm in Canada my only taxable income is whatever has a T4 at the end of the year and that's the only thing that's ever been counted in my loans.
So it's not much, but it still saves you from losing 15% off every dollar you earn

 

[giraffedom]

as an aussie, i dont know anyone that declares their tutoring money as income ... none of us are dumb enough to declar cash money when on student welfare payments (which are like only $800 a fortnight max so not much at all to live on)

to live reasonably where i am youd need at least $60,000 a year, $30,000 ish to live like a povo uni student
im making $200,000 in the escort biz .... but 40% of that is taxes ... but i get to claim shoes, clothing and makeup for the job back on tax (and i spend alot on shoes thanks to shoe fet clients)

 

[Smart Money MD]

Loans are how must students make it through medical school. As some posters mentioned above tutoring is an option. I would caution about taking too much time away from your studies (and down time) to make money. It will take many years to pay off the loans (medical school, residency, fellowship, and attending years), but it is worth it.

 

[gettheleadout]

In the us, you generally do pay federal taxes on tutoring income? you may choose to declare those earnings, but that is technically illegal?

It's illegal to fail to declare income earned even if you're not getting a W-2 with it, but it's common for people to do so in part-time cash payment jobs such as tutoring, babysitting, etc.

 

[giraffedom]

if you declare cash in hand jobs you arent very smart ... government isnt gonna find out

 

[Ronald Kris]

buy Dow Jones ETF: lower beta than the actual benchmark, you get dividends, and you can NEVER lose your principle because the Dow Jones will not go under and its made up of huge blue chips.

 

[Brand_new_colony]

Hello! Sorry to revive an old thread, but I had a question. I see on here people are saying everything, including living expenses, is included in your financial aid. I was just curious, is that federal aid or private aid? I'm looking into SGU and it says you can only borrow up to $20,500 a year or something, which is only about half the tuition and does not even touch the living expenses.

So, do you use private loans? If so, did you get them yourself? I don't have any available cosigners, which was a problem for me trying to finish undergrad. I can't imagine the stress of trying to find a cosigner for $40,000 of private loans when I couldn't even find one for $8,000.

Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks so much!

 

[Entadus]

Hello! Sorry to revive an old thread, but I had a question. I see on here people are saying everything, including living expenses, is included in your financial aid. I was just curious, is that federal aid or private aid? I'm looking into SGU and it says you can only borrow up to $20,500 a year or something, which is only about half the tuition and does not even touch the living expenses.

So, do you use private loans? If so, did you get them yourself? I don't have any available cosigners, which was a problem for me trying to finish undergrad. I can't imagine the stress of trying to find a cosigner for $40,000 of private loans when I couldn't even find one for $8,000.

Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks so much!

$20,500 per SEMESTER (41k per year) is the limit for Stafford loans. You can use federal Grad-PLUS loans on top of that until COA (cost of attendence) is reached.

Don't go to SGU.

 

[tantacles]

$20,500 per SEMESTER (41k per year) is the limit for Stafford loans. You can use federal Grad-PLUS loans on top of that until COA (cost of attendence) is reached.

Don't go to SGU.

Repeat: don't go to sgu.

 

[Brand_new_colony]

Ok cool, thanks!

As far as SGU I've heard the good and the bad. Still weighing my options, we'll see. Thanks for your help though!

 

[Brand_new_colony]

Hmmm just found this though.

"Eligible students can borrow up to $20,500 per academic year from the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loan not to exceed an overall aggregate amount borrowed of $138,500. The Federal Direct Graduate PLUS loan program is used to bridge the gap between the Unsubsidized Loans and the remaining cost of attendance. Students must have a satisfactory credit history in order to qualify for a Federal Direct Graduate PLUS loan. The Direct PLUS loan does not have an aggregate limit."

 

[Mjolner]

Ok cool, thanks!

As far as SGU I've heard the good and the bad. Still weighing my options, we'll see. Thanks for your help though!

I can't say this strongly enough. Don't go to SGU.

 

[tantacles]

Ok cool, thanks!

As far as SGU I've heard the good and the bad. Still weighing my options, we'll see. Thanks for your help though!

The bad should far outweigh the good. It is extremely difficult to get a residency coming out of SGU. If you are able (and I don't just mean if you are willing to take a year off. I mean literally if you are ABLE), find something else to do, buff up your application, and reapply to MD and DO schools. Any US MD or DO school is going to be 100 times better than SGU.

 

[Merely]

Agreed