The only school I have been accepted to so far would cost me $80,000 a year to attend. Do you guys think its worth it, especially those who have completed school and are now physicians?
Is it worth going if its so expensive?
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Do not count on loan forgiveness as the above poster references--those programs have been in question for some time. Also, only consider HPSP if you want to be in the military. It's great if you do, but if you read over the military medicine threads, it's not worth it for just the money.
$80k per year is an awful lot. And that costs goes up in M3 and 4 as they're year-round. Realistically, you're looking at $350-400k in debt at the end of medical school when interest is taken into account, depending on how cheaply you can live. It will be a big stress, but so would having $300k.
One thing to keep in mind is if you don't go to this school, reapply, get in, and start med school the following year, then you are losing one year of attending income. That could be anywhere from $120-$500k or so after taxes. If this is your only acceptance and you are otherwise very happy with the school, it may still even be the smart financial choice to go now.
If you are really set on a lower-paying specialty (peds, FM, IM, psych, PM&R, etc.) then it's going to be harder to pay that much debt off. (Note some of those specialties have the potential to make much more depending on how hard you want to work.) However, it's still doable. If I were you I would extensively educate myself on how to keep a budget, live cheaply (mrmoneymoustache.com is a great blog for that), and lean to be happy with little. Basically, you keep your life simple. Studio apartment as a med student or share a small apartment. Walk/bike to school the first 2 years, then buy a beater for M3/4. You keep up that same lifestyle as a resident and again at least a few years as an attending, and even $400k can get paid down in a decent amount of time. Of course, if you're living that lifestyle, you won't need to take the full cost of attendance--even borrowing just $5,000 less per year in living expenses saves you $20,000 (not counting interest)
As someone who borrowed a lot for undergrad/med school and is in one of those lower-paying specialties (PM&R), I really wish I had started living "moustachian" a long time ago. And it's not like I was going out to eat or to the bars every week
$80k per year is an awful lot. And that costs goes up in M3 and 4 as they're year-round. Realistically, you're looking at $350-400k in debt at the end of medical school when interest is taken into account, depending on how cheaply you can live. It will be a big stress, but so would having $300k.
One thing to keep in mind is if you don't go to this school, reapply, get in, and start med school the following year, then you are losing one year of attending income. That could be anywhere from $120-$500k or so after taxes. If this is your only acceptance and you are otherwise very happy with the school, it may still even be the smart financial choice to go now.
If you are really set on a lower-paying specialty (peds, FM, IM, psych, PM&R, etc.) then it's going to be harder to pay that much debt off. (Note some of those specialties have the potential to make much more depending on how hard you want to work.) However, it's still doable. If I were you I would extensively educate myself on how to keep a budget, live cheaply (mrmoneymoustache.com is a great blog for that), and lean to be happy with little. Basically, you keep your life simple. Studio apartment as a med student or share a small apartment. Walk/bike to school the first 2 years, then buy a beater for M3/4. You keep up that same lifestyle as a resident and again at least a few years as an attending, and even $400k can get paid down in a decent amount of time. Of course, if you're living that lifestyle, you won't need to take the full cost of attendance--even borrowing just $5,000 less per year in living expenses saves you $20,000 (not counting interest)
As someone who borrowed a lot for undergrad/med school and is in one of those lower-paying specialties (PM&R), I really wish I had started living "moustachian" a long time ago. And it's not like I was going out to eat or to the bars every week
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Every bit of advice I've been told is to not ever turn down an acceptance. I personally know someone who turned down an MD admission to do a masters degree in a healthcare specialization and she wonders every day if she made the wrong decision (she didn't do it for financial reasons though).
You never know if you'll get this chance again, so you gotta go for it. It's kind of a tragedy that medical education is so expensive. Having $400k in debt is a big motivator to go into a high-paying specialty, rather than something you may enjoy more like primary care. Doctors are incentivized from the start to maximize financial gain... :-(
You never know if you'll get this chance again, so you gotta go for it. It's kind of a tragedy that medical education is so expensive. Having $400k in debt is a big motivator to go into a high-paying specialty, rather than something you may enjoy more like primary care. Doctors are incentivized from the start to maximize financial gain... :-(
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It's doable as long as you're prepared to give $35K-40K of your post-tax annual paycheck to the government for 25 years. You won't be rich but you won't be poor either.
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As long as it is an LCME accredited school. in the US or Puerto Rico, you'll be fine. If it were an off-shore school (Grenada, etc), then it would be a very bad decision.
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If you have to ask "Is it worth it"?, it's not.
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relative terms, friend
I definitely want to be a physician. I just don't want to be in crippling debt until I am 60.
D
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You won't be if you live like a resident and pay that crap off
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That's why God invented financial planners.
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I mean if you want to be a physician does it matter? Just think of it as a special tax you have to pay. You will still be making almost 4 times the median family income even if you pay 50K each year for student loans. If you are concerned about the debt maybe looking into primary care loan repayment programs for undeserved areas? You are young and have 30+ years of earning left after medical school. It will be fine.
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@Pablo94 Were you born in 1994? If so, you are young. If you live modestly it can be paid off in far less than 30 years. Now if you are already 45 years old, then yes, you will be paying it off until you are old and gray. Nonetheless, if this is the career you want, you do what you have to do and you will have the income to pay it back and still live well above the median income for Americans.
haha yes I was born in 1994. Sounds awesome then, articles on the internet make it seem like I will be in debt my whole life and miserable.
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