How much debt are you in?

[medstudent87]

I'm in my second year of MS and feel like I'm in more debt than most other people because they're either going to cheaper schools or their parents are helping them out. I'm putting myself through med school without any outside help and I'm already $130k in the hole. Is that about normal? i predict I"m going to graduate with about $270k... :/

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[WashMe]

I'm in my second year of MS and feel like I'm in more debt than most other people because they're either going to cheaper schools or their parents are helping them out. I'm putting myself through med school without any outside help and I'm already $130k in the hole. Is that about normal? i predict I"m going to graduate with about $270k... :/

I'll be in for about $140-160k at graduation and I get zero help. No undergrad loans though.

 

[medstudent87]

I'll be in for about $140-160k at graduation and I get zero help. No undergrad loans though.

I don't have any undergrad loans either...that $130 after 2 years is just from tuition and living. How is your school SO cheap? Tuition alone at mine is $50k

 

[avatarftw]

Wow, that's really good. Did you get scholarships or something? Our tuition is 34,000 and rising each year....

I'll be in for about $140-160k at graduation and I get zero help. No undergrad loans though.

 

[AlexMorph]

Wow, that's really good. Did you get scholarships or something? Our tuition is 34,000 and rising each year....

Tuitions vary wildly across state schools. Best example is Texas, where tuition is like 10k tops.

 

[txprodigal]

i'll be at around 130-150k upon graduation... coming in with 80k from undergrad. no help either

 

[medstudent87]

so....im screwed.

 

[AlexMorph]

so....im screwed.

nah. loan forgiveness after 10 years assuming you work for those 10 years in a public field. i dont have all the details, but you might wanna check the financial aid forum.

 

[avatarftw]

Hmm, can you reduce your expenses? You can't control tuition and board costs, but you can get the roommate, buy on sale, etc to save money. 130,000 in debt after 1.5 years of med school is a lot; 50,000 a year for tuition? Are you an out of state student or something. Debt is very emotional; you will still have a very high net worth if you invest wisely and have a moderate lifestyle.

Think about it this way, for every year that you delay becoming a doctor you lose about 200,000 gross (120,000 net). Thus, if you had to choose attending a school with a 50,000/year tuition cost or delaying a year and attending a school that cost 30,000/year then you would still come out ahead choosing the pricey school. Without factoring in inflation and interest, you would be set back ~80,000 for attending a year early but that extra year of attending earning power is pretty significant.

Remember: you would still have living costs even if you weren't in med school. You have to compare apples to apples.

I'm in my second year of MS and feel like I'm in more debt than most other people because they're either going to cheaper schools or their parents are helping them out. I'm putting myself through med school without any outside help and I'm already $130k in the hole. Is that about normal? i predict I"m going to graduate with about $270k... :/

 

[medstudent87]

Hmm, can you reduce your expenses? You can't control tuition and board costs, but you can get the roommate, buy on sale, etc to save money. 130,000 in debt after 1.5 years of med school is a lot; 50,000 a year for tuition? Are you an out of state student or something. Debt is very emotional; you will still have a very high net worth if you invest wisely and have a moderate lifestyle.

Think about it this way, for every year that you delay becoming a doctor you lose about 200,000 gross (120,000 net). Thus, if you had to choose attending a school with a 50,000/year tuition cost or delaying a year and attending a school that cost 30,000/year then you would still come out ahead choosing the pricey school. Without factoring in inflation and interest, you would be set back ~80,000 for attending a year early but that extra year of attending earning power is pretty significant.

Remember: you would still have living costs even if you weren't in med school. You have to compare apples to apples.

i'm not out of state, its just an expensive private school. that and its located in an expensive city = 130k in 2 years
i DID start med school right after college, though....so, win? lol

 

[WashMe]

Wow, that's really good. Did you get scholarships or something? Our tuition is 34,000 and rising each year....

My school gives need based aid, so I pay about 2/3 and they pay 1/3 of overall cost. Actually though, about 1/4 or more of the MD-only students in my class have full tuition scholarships, but I didn't get merit money.

 

[amakhosidlo]

nah. loan forgiveness after 10 years assuming you work for those 10 years in a public field. i dont have all the details, but you might wanna check the financial aid forum.

Indeed. Three letters: I..B..R. Basically you only pay a set %age, based on your income, but never any more than you'd pay under a normal repayment plan

Not just a public field though, I think it's specifically 501c3's, Government facilities, etc.

Some public hospitals qualify and others don't for some reason, it's weird.

And that plan only pays off in certain situations, like if you're doing a long residency/fellowship. So you pay a low %age of your normal payment based on your income for, say, 7 years while you're in your neurosurg residency, then 3 more years on a normal payment schedule.

 

[avatarftw]

Yeah, you're fine. Especially if you want to do (and match into) a high-paying specialty like ortho or radiology each year of earning power is pretty significant.

i'm not out of state, its just an expensive private school. that and its located in an expensive city = 130k in 2 years
i DID start med school right after college, though....so, win? lol

 

[DOtoCanada]

Please keep in mind your actually debt will be a lot more than you think. I've heard a lot of people say "Well, $50k/yr for 4 years, so... about $200k." You need to realize that we have compounding interest for four years, then it compounds during residency. If you have a large load, you are not going to be able to pay the interest during your residency so your debt will be increasing. My school is about $63k/yr and with my $40k in undergrad loans I figure I should end up having an after-residency total of $375,000 thanks to fixed interest rates of 6.8% and 8.5%. FML but it's the only way I could have been a doctor, so that's what I did.

I live very comfortably right now. I am by no means extravagant, but my husband and I have a nice one bedroom + den apartment, only eat very healthy foods, take time to visit friends that are out of state and we have two new-ish cars (both were less than $13k brand new, one is paid off, the other is almost there.) If I'm going to go through this hell that is medical school, I want to come home and be happy. To save money, we don't pay extra for cable, we don't eat out at restaurants, we only get movies from RedBox, I NEVER buy food from the hospital cafeteria and our recreational activities involve our pets or exercising in some form. To tell you the truth I am completely happy living this way. I have no desire to buy a big house, drive a fancier car (OK, I fantasize about a 2011 Infiniti G37 6MT coupe... but who doesn't?!?!?), go on expensive vacations or anything else that takes my monthly budget past $1100. I plan on living like this for at least a few years after residency and pounding the hell out of my loans and buidling up my retirement plan. We all have priorities. Some people want a house, some people are raising families. I just don't want to have anymore debt.