Congrats to class of 2012 but I have one question. How big of a role does tuition+housing+cost of living factor in to deciding what MS to attend? How much is too much? 🙂
sorry to dampen the mood-
sorry to dampen the mood-
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How Much Is Too Much?
Started by Dabyachunv
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Tution and financial aid costs played a big role in deciding between schools. I was accepted to 3 of them, so one thing I had to do when deciding one school was gauge their their tuition costs. When I applied, that was not a concern.
I hope that helps ^.^
I hope that helps ^.^
I think 'how much is too much' really depends on you. Personally, I didn't want cost to be the sole factor in choosing where I'm going to med school. If I did I would be going somewhere I wouldn't be all that happy at. But I think it is an important factor.
What kind of quality of life do you want to live after? Do you have a family to support? And what kind of specialty do you think you're going into? Again, don't be choosing a specialty just becuase of the loans you have to pay back, but it is something to consider.
Just borrow the lowest amount that you can, and cut back where you can in med school.
What kind of quality of life do you want to live after? Do you have a family to support? And what kind of specialty do you think you're going into? Again, don't be choosing a specialty just becuase of the loans you have to pay back, but it is something to consider.
Just borrow the lowest amount that you can, and cut back where you can in med school.
I have no UG debt (thanks to parents), live with parents on Long Island, and i understand that walking out with 170K is possible, I was just wondering how much people are not willing to pay for medical school. Personally 42k/year is my limit, and thats w/o living cost.
try again ^.^
We just had a debt management seminar the other day and it was definitely sobering.
Our tuition is ~25-26k a year. So the max we can take out a year (with all loans plus the Grad plus loans) is around 50-55k a year. So if we take out the max during all 4 years we'll have a final principal balance of around $210,000. (A littler higher once repayment starts actually).
So after their calculations, the total cost of the loan if you a 25-yr repayment schedule would be close to $515,000.
Now, they showed that if you could borrow $5,000 LESS each year, then that's of course $20,000 less at the end of 4 years, and after the 25yr repayment schedule you would have saved $58,000.
So, I don't think tuition should be the only or most important criteria, but it should be given some thought. Obviously don't go to a school where you don't feel comfortable at just because it's cheaper, but all other things being equal, if at one school you'll be able to "save" (take out less) $10,000 a year over another school, then in the end that could be a total savings of $100,000.
Unless you have parents that are helping or are doing a military scholarship, think of it as you're borrowing from your future income.
I think the above is probably "worst case" scenario, as I am NOT going to spend 25 years paying these loans back, plus you can start from the beginning paying some of the interest if you have a SO that's working or have some sort of extra income.
Our tuition is ~25-26k a year. So the max we can take out a year (with all loans plus the Grad plus loans) is around 50-55k a year. So if we take out the max during all 4 years we'll have a final principal balance of around $210,000. (A littler higher once repayment starts actually).
So after their calculations, the total cost of the loan if you a 25-yr repayment schedule would be close to $515,000.
Now, they showed that if you could borrow $5,000 LESS each year, then that's of course $20,000 less at the end of 4 years, and after the 25yr repayment schedule you would have saved $58,000.
So, I don't think tuition should be the only or most important criteria, but it should be given some thought. Obviously don't go to a school where you don't feel comfortable at just because it's cheaper, but all other things being equal, if at one school you'll be able to "save" (take out less) $10,000 a year over another school, then in the end that could be a total savings of $100,000.
Unless you have parents that are helping or are doing a military scholarship, think of it as you're borrowing from your future income.
I think the above is probably "worst case" scenario, as I am NOT going to spend 25 years paying these loans back, plus you can start from the beginning paying some of the interest if you have a SO that's working or have some sort of extra income.
Two things for nlax..
1) Thank you for that. I will be getting married in 2009 (ish) and my fiancee and I are discussing how I can take out the smallest amount of money possible. Actually, she wants me to take out the max, so I can now use this thread to gently explain how that doesn't make sense. Thanks for that...
2) ^.^ I hope to see you roaming the halls next year! Any suggestions on where to live (if off topic, feel free to PM me ^.^)
1) Thank you for that. I will be getting married in 2009 (ish) and my fiancee and I are discussing how I can take out the smallest amount of money possible. Actually, she wants me to take out the max, so I can now use this thread to gently explain how that doesn't make sense. Thanks for that...
2) ^.^ I hope to see you roaming the halls next year! Any suggestions on where to live (if off topic, feel free to PM me ^.^)
Congrats on the acceptance!
Also keep in mind that you can take out what you think you might need and then return some if you took out more than you needed to. I know there's some sort of time limit/deadline in which you can do that, but that's something you'd have to ask the financial aid folks. So even if you take out the max, and she starts working or something and ya'll don't need as much as you thought, then you can return some of it. For this year I took out all but the Grad PLUS loans, since that's a higher interest rate than the gov't loans.
Ideally we should be able to just take out enough for tuition, and live off her income, so hopefully saving at least $20k for the next few years. I took out more this first year because I just had a ton of books to get and wanted a little "safety net" while she looked for jobs.
There are a lot of decent places to live. Ya'll looking for an apartment, townhouse, or house? Not sure if you got a chance to drive around at all but in Lakewood Ranch there are a couple of apartment complexes where a lot of students live. We live in a townhome only about 10 min from campus, and it's a very quiet area. But feel free to PM me if you find any specific deals online or any other questions.
Also keep in mind that you can take out what you think you might need and then return some if you took out more than you needed to. I know there's some sort of time limit/deadline in which you can do that, but that's something you'd have to ask the financial aid folks. So even if you take out the max, and she starts working or something and ya'll don't need as much as you thought, then you can return some of it. For this year I took out all but the Grad PLUS loans, since that's a higher interest rate than the gov't loans.
Ideally we should be able to just take out enough for tuition, and live off her income, so hopefully saving at least $20k for the next few years. I took out more this first year because I just had a ton of books to get and wanted a little "safety net" while she looked for jobs.
There are a lot of decent places to live. Ya'll looking for an apartment, townhouse, or house? Not sure if you got a chance to drive around at all but in Lakewood Ranch there are a couple of apartment complexes where a lot of students live. We live in a townhome only about 10 min from campus, and it's a very quiet area. But feel free to PM me if you find any specific deals online or any other questions.
It is evident that you guys don't invest. At 8% interest, it takes slightly longer than 9 years for your money (or debt) to double. I'm not sure what the loan interest rates are but yeah, it's a good way to estimate how much mone you'll be paying back.
Correct! I agree with you there! If I knew how to invest money, I would probably pull out the max every semester and invest what I don't use. Then I could sell the stock at a high price and use it to pay off all of my loans. Yet, that feels like an extremely risky maneuver that I am just not willing to try. Maybe 27 Red? 😛 Just kidding, just kidding.
Oh no I wasn't suggesting to take out loans and invest them. That is way too risky. With the exception of Warren Buffet, almost every other GREAT investors have years where they just do terrible. In the end, if you're able to beat the S&P500 you're doing amazing, and even then it's not that much.
I was just saying that when borrowing money, you should consider the doubling rates of that money and how long before you pay it back.
I was just saying that when borrowing money, you should consider the doubling rates of that money and how long before you pay it back.
Yea it was sobering to see the actual numbers on paper.... I definitely don't want to spend 25 years paying back what'll be a half million dollars when all is said and done.
