Is it possible to pay off 350k of loans in 3 years?

[JPevzner]

Title says it all. Is this feasible? I have just begun considering doing the HPSP program but some people tell me that its a stupid thing to do for the money. This one guy told me that his cousin who is a periodontist made 160K his first 6 months of work, and was netting 1M 3 years out of residency. I told him that's absurd but he was sure of it and kept defending him. I honestly think that if that's true, its the exception. So anyway, do you guys think the HPSP is a good thing to do?

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[OceanDMD]

Not including the interest just to pay the loan you will need to gross approx $180k thus netting approximately $120k on average for all three years. What do you think?

 

[Aceofspades]

Not including the interest just to pay the loan you will need to gross approx $180k thus netting approximately $120k on average for all three years. What do you think?

Assuming your living expenses are $0 per year...

 

[HotDoc]

Umm. I have a mortgage for that amount. It will take my husband and I 25 years to pay it off! If you eat beans out of a can and live under your desk you may be able to swing it. Probably not likely though.....

 

[JPevzner]

OK. thanks for the responses guys. lol. pretty funny. I figured its a long shot.

 

[lotexigeus]

Umm. I have a mortgage for that amount. It will take my husband and I 25 years to pay it off! If you eat beans out of a can and live under your desk you may be able to swing it. Probably not likely though.....

lol

 

[drsomeday1]

I'm doing HPSP because of the same thing. My debt would have been a little more than yours, so it was a no-brainer for me. Sure you'll make more in private practice (hopefully, but in this economy you never know), but from the HPSPers I've talked to, they feel like they got tons of experience, solidified their skills, and didn't have to start off as an associate after they were done. And not having that debt during school would take a load of stress off your back and allow you to study more. What it came down to for me and my wife was, was I willing to get deployed for a year? Considering you get paid decently and the health benefits etc. are amazing, I thought it was an awesome deal. Factor your 350 K debt into your pay for those four pay-back years, and see if you like that number. I'm so excited to be relatively debt free after school.

 

[JPevzner]

I'm doing HPSP because of the same thing. My debt would have been a little more than yours, so it was a no-brainer for me. Sure you'll make more in private practice (hopefully, but in this economy you never know), but from the HPSPers I've talked to, they feel like they got tons of experience, solidified their skills, and didn't have to start off as an associate after they were done. And not having that debt during school would take a load of stress off your back and allow you to study more. What it came down to for me and my wife was, was I willing to get deployed for a year? Considering you get paid decently and the health benefits etc. are amazing, I thought it was an awesome deal. Factor your 350 K debt into your pay for those four pay-back years, and see if you like that number. I'm so excited to be relatively debt free after school.

That's the exact way i see it! Thanks for your response.

 

[psi169]

Ok, HPSP aside, how long would it take someone to pay off that amount of loans? Realistically, that is, if they diligently worked to pay down that debt? Is there anyone that has lived this that can share?

 

[iwannabadentist]

Ok, HPSP aside, how long would it take someone to pay off that amount of loans? Realistically, that is, if they diligently worked to pay down that debt? Is there anyone that has lived this that can share?

10 years if you live modestly

 

[baseballjunkie]

http://www.finaid.org/calculators/icr.phtml

Check out this link. It compares different ways of paying back loans and can compare the income contingent plan and loan forgiveness if you decide to work in public service for 10 years...

 

[jay47]

Title says it all. Is this feasible? I have just begun considering doing the HPSP program but some people tell me that its a stupid thing to do for the money. This one guy told me that his cousin who is a periodontist made 160K his first 6 months of work, and was netting 1M 3 years out of residency. I told him that's absurd but he was sure of it and kept defending him. I honestly think that if that's true, its the exception. So anyway, do you guys think the HPSP is a good thing to do?

Sorry, you just answered your own question. "A friend of a friend, had a cousin who knew a dentist who did it". Lol. The healthcare scholarships prolly aren't too bad for paying off that sort of dough. The more expensive the school, the better your deal is. Wouldn't make sense for me going to 6th cheapest school in the nation, but its a very viable option for many.

Lol, beans and live under a desk. That would be about right.

 

[Daurang]

You may not want to pay all your student loans in 3 years.

Under new financial aid rules, public service employees can enjoy full loan forgiveness after making 10 years of payments on their federal loans. If you work for a government health center, just pay the minimum and let other people payoff your balance after 10 years.

Many students were able to consolidate their student loans a few years ago at 2.5% when the banks were paying out 6% interest. The interest earned on that $350K loan would have been $20K while interest accrued would have been $8K, for a nice income of $12K.

If you're self employed, you can put almost $50K into a SEP-IRA annually to reduce your tax burden while saving for your future.

I have a wife and kid so I purposely didn't pay off my loans for awhile because there's always a possibility I'll pass away in a freak accident, which will wipe out my loan obligation anyway. The vast chunk of money not paid to loans is for my wife and kid to use instead.

 

[phungy]

Daurang, don't you have to pay taxes on the remaining amount? I was told if you work for 25 years then you won't have to pay taxes on the remaining money.

 

[Aceofspades]

Many students were able to consolidate their student loans a few years ago at 2.5% when the banks were paying out 6% interest. The interest earned on that $350K loan would have been $20K while interest accrued would have been $8K, for a nice income of $12K.

Oh how times have changed. Funny thing is that now it's the reverse. Graduate Stafford student loans are 6.8% and you would be lucky to find a bank paying 2.5%. Now the interest earned would be 8K and the interest accrued would be 20K, for a loss of 12K.

 

[jay47]

Oh how times have changed. Funny thing is that now it's the reverse. Graduate Stafford student loans are 6.8% and you would be lucky to find a bank paying 2.5%. Now the interest earned would be 8K and the interest accrued would be 20K, for a loss of 12K.

Very astute observation.

 

[dentstd]

Yea it's possible. He may have to get a side gig selling himself to old, fat, ugly women, but it's possible.

 

[xhamburgersamx]

be careful about the 10 year loan forgiveness because when they forgive they don't forget. You have to pay income tax on the amount you are forgiven. a 200K or so forgiveness requires you to pay anywhere form 50k-80k

 

[HotDoc]

My husband and I's goal is to not have any debt at all coming out. My tuition in Canada will just be under $90 000. We have saved $45 000 over the last two years and will be able to save the rest off of my husbands income during dental school. If you can take a couple of years off in between your undergrad to work, you can save quite a bit and enjoy a normal life before dental school. I wouldn't want to have that debt looming over my head, and would like to be in a good financial situation so that I will get approved for a business loan. But $350 000, however, will take some time to pay off. If you are married, I would suggest living off of your spouses income while you pay off your debt. Live below your means during that time so that you can quickly pay off your debt and be able to live a nice life from there.