Loans for WesternU?

[mercyfriend]

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Hi all!! I am super grateful to get into Western University of Health Sciences which is super exciting!! I just wanted to also get some input on how student loan debt will be like after graduating? I really really want to get into pathology, but I know with student loans it might be difficult to live with both paying it off and living off of a lower salary in residency (if I get in!). I know I’ll likely have debt if I go anywhere, but I saw my award letter for WesternU and I was baffled with how costly it was. It is the only school I got into (and I was on the waitlist, my interview skills are not very good I guess 😭), so it has been really tough for me to decide if I should bite the bullet and take the huge loan or if I should reapply. The only other school I was waitlisted for is Midwestern (also super expensive) and I was rejected from Davis after interview. I know that there are super awesome opportunities at WesternU and saw some successful grads in pathology, so the only thing making me indecisive is the cost. Please, can any recent grads or current students let me know a realistic view of the accumulation of debt for WesternU? Thank you very much!!!

Edit: I changed the name of the thread because I realize it was probably insensitive of me, I’m sorry!! Also to add a bit of background to why I am a bit scared of loans, it is for mental health reasons. I’ve heard that Western is very supportive of their students, which I am counting on! From advice on this thread I have looked at repayment plans and it has given me some comfort so thank you!

 

[JaynaAli]

I can’t speak specifically for the debt related to Western, but if you’re considering declining your offer, make sure you’re okay with the possibility of not ever getting in anywhere else. We preach “go to the cheapest school” and I believe that is best practice, but you only have one option and I don’t mean this rudely but you say yourself you weren’t a shoo-in. Maybe you do decide to decline and reapply and you get in somewhere cheaper…and that’s great. But there’s a chance if you decline you may not get another acceptance. If you’re okay with that because you don’t want to put yourself into debt, then cool. Maybe that’s the smart option. But make sure you can live with the consequences if you decline and don’t ever get in anywhere else.

I can speak specifically to debt and pathology…I’m a clinical pathologist. Pathology is one of the lower paid specialties for sure. Academia salaries seem to be in the 90-120k range the past few years. Starting salary in a diagnostic lab may be slightly higher (I was hired at 113k) and after 4 years in a commercial D-lab I’m making over 180k because I take on extra cases for extra pay. I work remotely and live in a very rural area where things are cheap so that salary goes a very long way for me. Salaries in industry (such as preclinical drug safety testing) will be even higher, often significantly so (like 200-300+) but not everyone enjoys that type of work. I didn’t go to Western and had way below average debt. Even so, I went on income based repayment during residency and paid nothing or very little during that time. With a really high loan burden, you’d need to do income based repayment during residency and your loan totals will grow during that time I assume, but once you’re out and making a full salary you can start to either elect to aggressively pay them off or stay on an income based repayment plan and go the loan forgiveness route after 20-25 years. I’m not saying that paying off the 400k cost of Western (or sticking out 20-25 years in income-based repayment while saving for the tax bomb) will be easy, but it probably isn’t any different for someone in pathology than someone in GP or another role since salaries for most people in path are pretty similar to or slightly above average GP pay. I personally wouldn’t want to pay that much for vet school but you have to decide what your limits are. Hopefully someone with a similar debt burden and/or from Western can chime in with their experiences.

 

[mercyfriend]

I can’t speak specifically for the debt related to Western, but if you’re considering declining your offer, make sure you’re okay with the possibility of not ever getting in anywhere else. We preach “go to the cheapest school” and I believe that is best practice, but you only have one option and I don’t mean this rudely but you say yourself you weren’t a shoo-in. Maybe you do decide to decline and reapply and you get in somewhere cheaper…and that’s great. But there’s a chance if you decline you may not get another acceptance. If you’re okay with that because you don’t want to put yourself into debt, then cool. Maybe that’s the smart option. But make sure you can live with the consequences if you decline and don’t ever get in anywhere else.

I can speak specifically to debt and pathology…I’m a clinical pathologist. Pathology is one of the lower paid specialties for sure. Academia salaries seem to be in the 90-120k range the past few years. Starting salary in a diagnostic lab may be slightly higher and after 4 years in a commercial D-lab I’m making over 180k because I take on extra cases for extra pay. I work remotely and live in a very rural area where things are cheap so that salary goes a very long way for me. Salaries in industry (such as preclinical drug safety testing) will be even higher, often significantly so (like 200-300+) but not everyone enjoys that type of work. I didn’t go to Western and had way below average debt. Even so, I went on income based repayment during residency and paid nothing or very little during that time. With a really high loan burden, you’d need to do income based repayment during residency and your loan totals will grow during that time I assume, but once you’re out and making a full salary you can start to either elect to aggressively pay them off or stay on an income based repayment plan and go the loan forgiveness route after 20-25 years. I’m not saying that paying off the 400k cost of Western (or sticking out 20-25 years in income-based repayment while saving for the tax bomb) will be easy, but it probably isn’t any different for someone in pathology than someone in GP or another role since salaries for most people in path are pretty similar to or slightly above average GP pay. I personally wouldn’t want to pay that much for vet school but you have to decide what your limits are. Hopefully someone with a similar debt burden and/or from Western can chime in with their experiences.

Thank you for your advice!!! Your input on salaries in the pathology field is especially helpful. I’m going to go off topic of my question about debt to ask, what have you found most helpful when applying for pathology residencies? Thank you again!

 

[JaynaAli]

Thank you for your advice!!! Your input on salaries in the pathology field is especially helpful. I’m going to go off topic of my question about debt to ask, what have you found most helpful when applying for pathology residencies? Thank you again!

Pathology isn’t in the match so the application and selection process is a little different timeline, but in general, they want what all internship and residency programs want. You want to show a dedicated interest in the field (do well in path classes, join path club, go to path rounds, just show up and watch necropsy or hang out in the cytology room [ask permission but I doubt they’d say no]) and develop good relationships with the pathologists at your school. Letters of rec are very important…it’s a small field and everyone knows everyone. Get the best grades you can. Maybe consider a summer research project or something…it’s not critical to have research and it’s not something I did but it can be a good app booster if you enjoy it. Instead of research I had a paid job in the clin path lab. I worked on call nights and weekends running bloodwork for the clinicians and in the summer we worked full time in the lab for training purposes.

 

[woofers7]

Incoming 2027 student for Western U as well. I also was waitlisted and then got in. I agree with @JaynaAli, are you okay with denying your offer and not ever getting into anywhere else? I feel like every cycle is getting more competitive and the tuition cost is increasing yearly. While I have thought about denying the offer myself, I had to be harshly realistic with myself. I have started to make a Google doc of loan payment plans, scholarships, etc. While I am interested in GP only, I am leaning toward PSLF to help pay off my student loans and/or aggressively pay off my student loans. I also plan to work over the summer full time and save money. I currently work two jobs to get ready for the move, emergency money, etc.

 

[Border Goat Bananas]

While I cannot speak for Western, I do want to agree with what the others said. There’s no guarantee you’ll get accepted elsewhere next year - or heck even Western again. If this is something you truly want to pursue, I would go to Western if you can.

I applied to 8 schools and got accepted to my least preferred school. I’ll be attending as 1) I don’t want to wait another year and cycle and 2) a school is a school and 3) I’ll be in debt regardless.

I think if you had multiple offers, choosing the lesser debt one would be more arguable. Good luck! 🙂

 

[mercyfriend]

I think if you had multiple offers, choosing the lesser debt one would be more arguable. Good luck! 🙂

Ouch 😭😭 but true! One could only wish 😭 good luck to you too!

 

[mercyfriend]

Incoming 2027 student for Western U as well. I also was waitlisted and then got in. I agree with @JaynaAli, are you okay with denying your offer and not ever getting into anywhere else? I feel like every cycle is getting more competitive and the tuition cost is increasing yearly. While I have thought about denying the offer myself, I had to be harshly realistic with myself. I have started to make a Google doc of loan payment plans, scholarships, etc. While I am interested in GP only, I am leaning toward PSLF to help pay off my student loans and/or aggressively pay off my student loans. I also plan to work over the summer full time and save money. I currently work two jobs to get ready for the move, emergency money, etc.

Two jobs! Kudos to you! What resources have you looked at for scholarships? Is it the WesternU scholarship database? Hopefully they open applications soon. I guess student loans are strong in the beginning and then once we know what we need/are able to apply to scholarships, we will hopefully need less loans. And now that I looked into simulations of loan payment plans, the cost of paying off loans per month seems doable but longer term. I just have to get comfortable with the thought of just paying off another bill per month for awhile. Thank you for your response!

 

[Border Goat Bananas]

Hi all!! I am super grateful to get into Western University of Health Sciences which is super exciting!! I just wanted to also get some input on how student loan debt will be like after graduating? I really really want to get into pathology, but I know with student loans it might be difficult to live with both paying it off and living off of a lower salary in residency (if I get in!). I know I’ll likely have debt if I go anywhere, but I saw my award letter for WesternU and I was baffled with how costly it was. It is the only school I got into (and I was on the waitlist, my interview skills are not very good I guess 😭), so it has been really tough for me to decide if I should bite the bullet and take the huge loan or if I should reapply. The only other school I was waitlisted for is Midwestern (also super expensive) and I was rejected from Davis after interview. I know that there are super awesome opportunities at WesternU and saw some successful grads in pathology, so the only thing making me indecisive is the cost. Please, can any recent grads or current students let me know a realistic view of the accumulation of debt for WesternU? Thank you very much!!!

Edit: I changed the name of the thread because I realize it was probably insensitive of me, I’m sorry!! Also to add a bit of background to why I am a bit scared of loans, it is for mental health reasons. I’ve heard that Western is very supportive of their students, which I am counting on! From advice on this thread I have looked at repayment plans and it has given me some comfort so thank you!

I didn’t think the name of the thread was insensitive. ❤️ There’s so much to consider with vet school and you’re soooooooo lucky to have an offer!

 

[woofers7]

Two jobs! Kudos to you! What resources have you looked at for scholarships? Is it the WesternU scholarship database? Hopefully they open applications soon. I guess student loans are strong in the beginning and then once we know what we need/are able to apply to scholarships, we will hopefully need less loans. And now that I looked into simulations of loan payment plans, the cost of paying off loans per month seems doable but longer term. I just have to get comfortable with the thought of just paying off another bill per month for awhile. Thank you for your response!

I have used the database and asked my friends who are also vet students in other schools. I did get overwhelmed as well with the loan package but in my opinion, this is the career that I have been working my butt off for. I feel like incoming applicants and pre-vet students need to plan ahead of time for what is to come especially when it comes to stress and loans. You got in though! That is a major accomplishment and remember to give yourself some credit.

 

[lbcsg1030]

Don’t apply if you can’t handle the debt. You should come in expecting that.

 

[meelc]

Don’t apply if you can’t handle the debt. You should come in expecting that.

I'm not sure comments like this are necessarily appropriate. Vet school loans/debt is a serious subject that should be thoroughly considered and sometimes that happens for people prior to applying, sometimes prior to beginning school, and sometimes not until people are graduating and actually facing the loan burden. Its not about "handling" the debt, but about having a realistic idea of financial expectations of a program and making sure you are aware of how you personally plan to approach that, which is exactly what this person is doing and processing through. We can all be respectful of our individual financial situations.

Also @mercyfriend, obviously do whatever you decide is best for you personally, but I was one of those people that turned down an acceptance I had received (off the waitlist my first application cycle) due to a combination of cost and program, reapplied, and received three acceptances to schools I hadn't even interviewed at previously. Because I did that, I will have about $150,000 less in loans when I graduate next year. A big contributor to that was efforts I had made to improve my application in the interim, but I'd be happy to talk about that or give more specific advice if you are interested!

 

[honeypot999]

I'm not sure comments like this are necessarily appropriate. Vet school loans/debt is a serious subject that should be thoroughly considered and sometimes that happens for people prior to applying, sometimes prior to beginning school, and sometimes not until people are graduating and actually facing the loan burden. Its not about "handling" the debt, but about having a realistic idea of financial expectations of a program and making sure you are aware of how you personally plan to approach that, which is exactly what this person is doing and processing through. We can all be respectful of our individual financial situations.

Also @mercyfriend, obviously do whatever you decide is best for you personally, but I was one of those people that turned down an acceptance I had received (off the waitlist my first application cycle) due to a combination of cost and program, reapplied, and received three acceptances to schools I hadn't even interviewed at previously. Because I did that, I will have about $150,000 less in loans when I graduate next year. A big contributor to that was efforts I had made to improve my application in the interim, but I'd be happy to talk about that or give more specific advice if you are interested!

I totally agree with the idea of turning down acceptances if the loans will be outrageous.

I went from potentially paying 314k for SGU to paying 224k for MSU. I should hopefully come out with less than 100k in student loans (that’s the optimistic part of me).

Nothing is wrong about taking a gap year doing something outside of vet med to strengthen your application and reapplying. Honestly I’d recommend it