Living expenses (How do you survive?)

[PT_Hopeful20]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hi, everyone! I'm about to start PT school this summer and I'm a little worried about living expenses. I understand that as grad students, unsubsidized loans is ~$20,500 per year and students usually rely on grad plus and private loans for the remainder. For those of you are about to start school this year, how are you planning on paying for things like rent, transportation, food, etc? I have some money saved up (~$15,000) but I know this won't last the entire 3 years of school, especially since I will be an out-of-state student.

 

[DesertPT]

students usually rely on grad plus and private loans for the remainder

There's your answer, unfortunately.

 

[steveyk]

great question! I'm curious, too. For current students and future students, how much did you or will you take out in loans throughout PT school for living expenses (everything other than school tuition/fees)? I did a rough estimate, using my expenses in the last two years, and it's looking like I'll need to take out close to 50k for all three years in an area with relatively affordable costs of living (small town in SW VA in the mtns, or west TX). I know part of that time will be spent elsewhere for clinicals, but roughly, does that seem like a reasonable amount?

 

[antry]

Do you guys have any recommendation in terms of private loans vs. plusloans? I'm also in the same boat where I will most likely end up with at least 140k in loans after I'm done and was just wondering what you guys have learned/recommend.

 

[Kinesiology.To.DPT]

@PT_Hopeful20 I've heard of some people who use their extra loan money (grad plus and private?) to buy a cheap car for transportation. Whether or not this is a smart idea depends on the person's situation but this does put you in a bigger debt. Also, keep in mind that monthly payments, insurance, maintenance, gas, etc. can add up pretty quickly so don't rely entirely on your loans. The good thing is you do have money saved up so create a reasonable budget for yourself.

 

[ptmonster]

I was wondering the same thing...
How do also current students manage to make payments for their unsubsidized loan interest?

 

[Azimuthal]

I was wondering the same thing...
How do also current students manage to make payments for their unsubsidized loan interest?

Most do not. All should think wisely of their finances going into, during and AFTER PT school. Many new graduates will not be in a position to accept the job positions they want because of low starting salaries that are insufficient to cover COL and loan repayment after school. Some employers will not even hire new grads with a certain amount of student debt because their compensation is not competitive enough to retain invested talent.

 

[DesertPT]

Some employers will not even hire new grads with a certain amount of student debt because their compensation is not competitive enough to retain invested talent.

Potential employers have no business asking how much student debt a candidate has, and candidates are under no obligation to tell them. If it were the case that a potential employer insisted I tell them how much debt I have, and then rescinded an offer because of my answer, that is not someone I would want to work for anyway. And you would be hard pressed to generate solid evidence that student loan balance was predictive of employee retention rates. One number simply does not tell the whole story of someone's financial life.