how many out there with undergrad loans?

[Canez81]

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hello fellow premeds. i was just wondering how many of you out there are going to school and just living off of loans? if you dont mind give a ballpark figure of how much you took out and how you factored out how much you would need. i do not work and dont plan to work so i can totally focus on undergrad. im about to graduate this spring term from a community college in miami and its up to me to stay living at home and attend a local university here in miami or take out loans and head up north to the univ of florida. im really leaning towards wanting to go to UF, but am wondering if its worth it to get into so much debt this early in school, knowing that i'll get into much bigger debts later on for medical school and in the back of my head are the thoughts of what if i dont get in, then im stuck with this huge undergrad loan. all input, advice and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sistermike]

I would think that most undergrad's take out some sort of loan. Most of my friends have taken out some sort of loan. I would not advise not working at all. Working, going to school, and participating in ec's is something med school admission's look at because they are able to see that you can manage your time well. It is also a proven fact that people who have jobs while in school perform better in school because you don't have tons of free time on your hands and you usually do not procrastinate as much.
But to answer your question, I took out $5,000 in loans my first semester at college. I ended up transferring schools and have not had to take out any loans since my first semester. But next semester I will be transferring schools again and plan to take out at least $10,000 my first semester to aid with the cost of going to an out of state school and help with my cost of living. As I always say, we are going to be in debt for the rest of our lives, so why not start out with a bang? 🙂

 

[LiNk]

I took out mega loans during undergrad and I was also working. I consolidated my loans from my first 3 years in college which came to $30k. Then I also have 2 other loans for the 4th year which total $5k. Since I recently graduated I've had to start paying them back but the agencies are flexible about payments and they can even be deferred for a year if you can't handle the payments. If you go to med school, the payments would be deferred with no interest until you graduate.

I factored in tuition, books (usually like $500), housing, food plan... basically everything. I worked to pay my car payments, insurance, etc.

 

[Canez81]

I would think that most undergrad's take out some sort of loan. Most of my friends have taken out some sort of loan. I would not advise not working at all. Working, going to school, and participating in ec's is something med school admission's look at because they are able to see that you can manage your time well. It is also a proven fact that people who have jobs while in school perform better in school because you don't have tons of free time on your hands and you usually do not procrastinate as much.
But to answer your question, I took out $5,000 in loans my first semester at college. I ended up transferring schools and have not had to take out any loans since my first semester. But next semester I will be transferring schools again and plan to take out at least $10,000 my first semester to aid with the cost of going to an out of state school and help with my cost of living. As I always say, we are going to be in debt for the rest of our lives, so why not start out with a bang? 🙂

hey guys thanks for replying. sistermike, i have been working in an OR fulltime for the past five years as a tech. The past two semester i cut my hours to only working on saturdays and totally focusing on school. i only said that i dont work because i only work one day a week, so i dont consider it a "job". tuition would be covered and im considering taking out $20,000 to cover 2 years of living and expenses.

 

[CrystalLamae]

Soooo far I have taken out about 32,000 and I am starting my senior year and will be taking out 10,000 more. I live mostly off these, as I am a single mother with 2 infants. Between taht and child support.. thats how I live. It kinda stinks, but you do what you gotta do!