How many of you are considering loan forgiveness programs?

[UserNameNeeded]

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What are the cons of doing this (since we all know the pros)?

Is there just one loan forgiveness program? Has anyone (or know anyone who) had experience with it? Do you apply for it after you graduate or before?

I heard from someone (who really doesn't know much, from what I could gather), you apply for the program after you graduate and it's highly competitive so you might not be accepted. This doesn't make sense to me since, 1) it'd be cheaper for the program to pay for med school costs directly now than to pay years later when those loans accrue interest and 2) how can it be so competitive when there's such a huge need for doctors in so many underserved areas of the US? 😕

 

[hucm2009]

I'm going to consider it depending on what speciality i choose to go into. I'm likely going to be 160k in debt. While I'm working in this underserved area hopefully ill be saving up so i can move and open my own practice or buy a house when my loans are finished being paid off. Nothing beats somebody paying your loans off for you!! 👍

 

[JohnUC33]

I work at a small hospital in a rural area. I've talked to several of the doctors that work in this town, and they said just to get loan repayment negotiated in your contract. One doctor said to be very specific in your contract, for the rural areas are just looking for doctors and will quickly pay your loans for you. He said that he set his contract up so that if he left after completing only half of his contractual time, then he would only owe the remainder of what was not already paid back on his loans. I hope that helps.

 

[nutmegs]

2) how can it be so competitive when there's such a huge need for doctors in so many underserved areas of the US? 😕

because we're spending $440B on a war? money has to come from somewhere, no?

 

[lilmo]

I signed up for a program before beginning med school. Basically they pay my tuition and give me a monthly stipend in exchange for going into primary care and working in an underserved community. Each year the contract changes a bit, and right now the county I go to school in is considered underserved so I can pretty much work anywhere in my state. Unfortunately, if after graduating I choose not to go into primary care or not work in an underserved community I owe a TON of interest. So this program really isn't too good unless you are absolutely sure thats what you want to do. I've definitely had some second thoughts, but its too late.

 

[Brainsucker]

I signed up for a program before beginning med school. Basically they pay my tuition and give me a monthly stipend in exchange for going into primary care and working in an underserved community. Each year the contract changes a bit, and right now the county I go to school in is considered underserved so I can pretty much work anywhere in my state. Unfortunately, if after graduating I choose not to go into primary care or not work in an underserved community I owe a TON of interest. So this program really isn't too good unless you are absolutely sure thats what you want to do. I've definitely had some second thoughts, but its too late.

Yeah, the main con is that you just made yourself an indentured servant for the gov't. That's great if you want to work where they put you doing what they tell you to do, but not so good if you want more choice.

 

[UserNameNeeded]

I signed up for a program before beginning med school. Basically they pay my tuition and give me a monthly stipend in exchange for going into primary care and working in an underserved community. Each year the contract changes a bit, and right now the county I go to school in is considered underserved so I can pretty much work anywhere in my state. Unfortunately, if after graduating I choose not to go into primary care or not work in an underserved community I owe a TON of interest. So this program really isn't too good unless you are absolutely sure thats what you want to do. I've definitely had some second thoughts, but its too late.

Interesting. So the "TON of interest" you'd owe is from what exactly? They're paying for your tuition and giving you a monthly stipend. Are you taking out additional loans as well for fees, books, etc., and is that what the interest is based on? Or will you be charged interest for the tuition+stipend you're getting now?

I'm like 99% sure I want to do primary care, but there's that pesky 1% doubt in the back of my mind. Does the program you signed up for have a site? I'd love to read up on more about the contract details.

 

[alina_s]

There are the NHSC scholarship and loan forgiveness program and then several states as well as the Indian Health Service run separate loan forgiveness programs. As an NSHC scholarship recipient, I would strongly recommend the loan forgiveness programs over the scholarship. For the NHSC version, you apply for jobs at needy sites off of the list and then they decide who will get the loan forgiveness (I assume that they give the money to the people who have taken positions at the neediest sites?). Financially, the loan forgiveness isn't as good a deal- less money per year and you have been accumulating interest on the loans- but the options are much more liberal. Find the NHSC site and compare the numbers of sites for scholarship recipients versus everyone else. With the scholarship, once you have it, they are allowed to change the terms however they like and you are still stuck with your sevice obligation. I wanted to work as a psychiatrist for the IHS and when I signed up, the IHS sites were open to scholarship recipients but not loan repayment. Now there are only 19 psychiatry sites in the whole country for scholaship recipients and 16 of them are prison sites. Ouch. Plus, if you change your mind about your primary care/OB/psych more than 12 months after getting the scholarship (or refuse to work at one of their sites), the NHSC will bill you for triple the value of the scholarship. The NHSC site has links (some bad) to state loan forgiveness sites, which include some sites not on the NHSC list, and presumably the terms vary state by state.

 

[geekOCD]

Interesting. So the "TON of interest" you'd owe is from what exactly?

It's literally a ton of money, usually 3 times what they paid. So if you took the payment for 2 years = ~100K, then reconsidered, now you owe them $300K. This is why it's a very serious committment.

 

[lilmo]

Yeah, the main con is that you just made yourself an indentured servant for the gov't. That's great if you want to work where they put you doing what they tell you to do, but not so good if you want more choice.

Actually, I get to do what I chose to do and where I chose to do it. Pretty cool--as long as I don't want to be a plastic surgeon in beverly hills.

 

[lilmo]

Interesting. So the "TON of interest" you'd owe is from what exactly? They're paying for your tuition and giving you a monthly stipend. Are you taking out additional loans as well for fees, books, etc., and is that what the interest is based on? Or will you be charged interest for the tuition+stipend you're getting now?

I'm like 99% sure I want to do primary care, but there's that pesky 1% doubt in the back of my mind. Does the program you signed up for have a site? I'd love to read up on more about the contract details.

If I drop out, I owe 15% interest on my tuition and stipend starting from the day I first took the money. I'm not quite sure what that amounts to, but I'm guessing it accumulates pretty fast. I've been lucky enough to work over summer and winter breaks so far, which has kept my outside loans to a minimum.

Here's a link to the info sheet for my program: http://www.kumc.edu/studentcenter/pdf/fin_kms_info06-07.pdf

I'm guessing many schools offer something similar.

 

[synapse lapse]

If I drop out, I owe 15% interest on my tuition and stipend starting from the day I first took the money. I'm not quite sure what that amounts to, but I'm guessing it accumulates pretty fast. I've been lucky enough to work over summer and winter breaks so far, which has kept my outside loans to a minimum.

Here's a link to the info sheet for my program: http://www.kumc.edu/studentcenter/pdf/fin_kms_info06-07.pdf

I'm guessing many schools offer something similar.

15%!!!!!That's exhorbinate! Why would anyone sign up for such a horrible arrangement? I see these programs as such a scam, you can easily pay back borrowed money on your own without the hastle, you are open to do anything you want, and if you want to work in an underserved area often times private physicians in these places make even more! I don't see any reason to do this at all.

 

[lilmo]

15%!!!!!That's exhorbinate! Why would anyone sign up for such a horrible arrangement? I see these programs as such a scam, you can easily pay back borrowed money on your own without the hastle, you are open to do anything you want, and if you want to work in an underserved area often times private physicians in these places make even more! I don't see any reason to do this at all.

Wow! Strong feelings. I'm actually very grateful to have my medical education paid for. Primary care is something I know I want to do, so the arrangements actually aren't horrible for me at all. You should be preaching to the people who sign up for this "free money" and then get lured into surgury.

 

[synapse lapse]

Wow! Strong feelings. I'm actually very grateful to have my medical education paid for. Primary care is something I know I want to do, so the arrangements actually aren't horrible for me at all. You should be preaching to the people who sign up for this "free money" and then get lured into surgury.

If I have strong feelings its because this is such a scam. It is a horrible investment decision, attrocious really. You could easily have done primary care anyhow, all you've done now is lock yourself into a contract that doesn't work in your favor. 15% is insane, I do hope you realize, and given that even FP's make on average $150k plus, often times more in rural areas, you could easily have payed back loan money. I strongly dislike these programs who sucker people into doing them out of fear of loan repayments when easily these loans can be repayed with minimal burden on the physician.

 

[lilmo]

let's just agree to disagree. i'm happy with my loan repayment program and graduating virtually debt free, you're happy with loans that you will have no problem paying back. 🙂

 

[skypilot]

If I have strong feelings its because this is such a scam. It is a horrible investment decision, attrocious really. You could easily have done primary care anyhow, all you've done now is lock yourself into a contract that doesn't work in your favor. 15% is insane, I do hope you realize, and given that even FP's make on average $150k plus, often times more in rural areas, you could easily have payed back loan money. I strongly dislike these programs who sucker people into doing them out of fear of loan repayments when easily these loans can be repayed with minimal burden on the physician.

You don't need loan payback. Just live on a normal person's salary for 4 or five years and poof you've made your own loan payback without any 15% penalties or committments.