Med School Debt

[saveourpens]

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Just how important is it? To me a school's financial aid is a huge factor in my preference of schools.

My family however keeps telling me that "tuition is pretty much the same at every school" and that "as a doctor you'll have no problem paying off your loans"...they often cite how my grandparents payed off around $150,000 in 3 years.

This comes at the heals of my upcoming interview at one of the most expensive schools in the country.

Do they have any point at all?

 

[MedicalName]

I've always held the view that I'll have the money to eventually pay off debt. As of right now, I'm young so I just want to go some where that I will enjoy and be happy.

 

[willen101383]

It IS important. I would say its probably the 2nd most important factor when picking a school, only behind quality of rotation sites. My school is around 40 a year. I will graduate with around 350k in debt. Just imagine if my tuition cost 60k. 80k+ interest is a TON. Granted I still intend to pay my loans off in 5 years or less...but an 80 would make that a lot less likely.

 

[johnisles2011]

I would argue that you should pick a school based on what you want first then money second. You have to keep in mind that TONS of med students take on extraordinary amounts of debt, and they all seem to manage to pay it off. That's why I don't worry TOO much about that.

Also, I think your parents are right about most schools costing about the same. Private schools are all in the same neighborhood. They don't really vary by more than two thousand dollars or so; that may sound like a lot, but in the grand scheme of medical education, it's not. There are exceptions though, schools for which you are in state are a good bit cheaper, and schools for which you are out of state are MUCH more expensive (almost prohibitively so).

When you think about cost, though, you also have to factor in location. If you go to school in New York City, you will pay more money than you can imagine for rent and even groceries. These are factors to consider.

But at the end of the day, I think that for the most part, you'll be able to pay it off. Be smart with your money and work hard.

Also remember, during your residency, you'll be making money, but you'll have so little time you won't be able to spend it anywhere but by paying off your loans ;-).




2 caveats:
1.) Depending how healthcare legislation goes, doctors may receive less compensation in the future. If you pile on the debt, that could be a problem. I don't forsee this happening in such a way as to completely screw over docs, though, given that almost ALL doctors have tons of debt when they graduate med school.
2.) I have heard that it is hard to go into some specialties (family medicine) with a high debt load, because these specialties have lower compensation. If you are thinking about one of these specialties, cost may be more significant in your med school consideration.

Good luck

 

[DrBowtie]

The argument about medical students in the past always paying off their debt isn't a good one to cite. Most newer attendings consolidated their loans at ~2%. We have 6.8% fixed (best case scenario if all of yours are Stafford).

 

[Brachyury]

Just how important is it? To me a school's financial aid is a huge factor in my preference of schools.

My family however keeps telling me that "tuition is pretty much the same at every school" and that "as a doctor you'll have no problem paying off your loans"...they often cite how my grandparents payed off around $150,000 in 3 years.

This comes at the heals of my upcoming interview at one of the most expensive schools in the country.

Do they have any point at all?

Everyone has a price: some people will only go to the least expensive school, some people want to go to the school they will be happiest at, and some want a little of a and a little of b. I have old college friends who turned down their state school to go to more expensive private schools because they felt that they would be happier at the private school; I also have friends who are at their state school (some of whom hate their school) who will be graduating with 60-100k less debt than if they had gone to one of the private schools they were accepted at. You need to have a conversation with yourself about field you might want to go into, do you need to live a certain area or are.you flexible (I.e. would you be willing to move to a less desiarable area that pays well), and do you want to kids, etc. Understanding what your potential income--and expenses--night be can aid you in your value judgement of how much you'd be willing to borrow.

. . . Unless you want to do peds, in which case you should go to the least expensive school possible.

 

[FSU2013]

I didnt even apply to a single out of state school or this reason. I disagree with the "tuition is what it is" mentality. I'm going to a state school and I am soooo grateful. I will graduate with about 60 in debt due to living frugally, savings and a little family help. A few other things to consider:

Where you do residency is more important than med school. Obviously, the better the med school, the easier it is to get a top residency - but you can get a great residency from state school with solid board scores and being at the top of your class. Unless you want to go into academics, your med school isn't super important.

What if you want to do residency in a place with high cost of living? If you match in NYC or San Fran, do you really want to let 300k acrue interest?

Specialty choice - what if you fall in love with Peds, family or academics? You don't want to have to pay off 200+ if you're making 120 or, even worse, pick a specialty for money.

Lastly, I'm about to get married. I would hate to bring that much financial strain on a young marriage.

Ultimately, I came down on the conservative side. I'd rather be out of debt ASAP, keep my options open and buy a house with cash (and sooner than later). Granted, I see the benifit of having a degree from Harvard, Yale, etc.

 

[willen101383]

I didnt even apply to a single out of state school or this reason. I disagree with the "tuition is what it is" mentality. I'm going to a state school and I am soooo grateful. I will graduate with about 60 in debt due to living frugally, savings and a little family help. A few other things to consider:

Where you do residency is more important than med school. Obviously, the better the med school, the easier it is to get a top residency - but you can get a great residency from state school with solid board scores and being at the top of your class. Unless you want to go into academics, your med school isn't super important.

What if you want to do residency in a place with high cost of living? If you match in NYC or San Fran, do you really want to let 300k acrue interest?

Specialty choice - what if you fall in love with Peds, family or academics? You don't want to have to pay off 200+ if you're making 120 or, even worse, pick a specialty for money.

Lastly, I'm about to get married. I would hate to bring that much financial strain on a young marriage.

Ultimately, I came down on the conservative side. I'd rather be out of debt ASAP, keep my options open and buy a house with cash (and sooner than later). Granted, I see the benifit of having a degree from Harvard, Yale, etc.

Concur. Congrats dude, im getting married in 2 weeks! I keep posting it because im so excited for the checks to start rollin in! haha (def jelly of ur 60k...how'd u pull that off?) I take out practically 60 in living expenses each year alone! Sheesh!

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

As with most things in life, do what makes you happy and the most financially stable! 😀

 

[45408]

It's extremely important. Don't be stupid. Pick the cheapest school that you'll be happy to attend. I didn't pick the cheapest school I got into, but they were within $10K/year.

 

[NickNaylor]

I agree with going with the financially strongest option assuming you don't hate the school in question. It's easy to dismiss six figure debt and say, "I'll pay it later." I assure you going to a cheaper school is a decision you WON'T regret once you're in the "real world" and don't have to pay back loans for 10+ years. I have yet to meet anyone that does.

 

[EBTrailRunner]

The stress......

 

[Law2Doc]

The argument about medical students in the past always paying off their debt isn't a good one to cite. Most newer attendings consolidated their loans at ~2%. We have 6.8% fixed (best case scenario if all of yours are Stafford).

Not only that, but a lot of us further down the path are watching folks coming out of fellowships in multiple specialties having a horrible time of finding jobs -- the byproduct of a bad economy is that older docs are not retiring and so their old jobs aren't opening up as frequently as they used to. How much debt interest you are accumulating plays a direct role in how long you can sit tight and wait for that dream job to present itself.

There's really no shortage of public interest articles about doctors who took on too much debt and now can't break even. While it takes some unrealistic expectations to allow yourself to dig that kind of hole, high interest rates and a tight job market are going to more and more of these stories in the next few years. Whatever you can do to not be among these unfortunate few is advisable.

 

[varsityblue]

Just how important is it? To me a school's financial aid is a huge factor in my preference of schools.

My family however keeps telling me that "tuition is pretty much the same at every school" and that "as a doctor you'll have no problem paying off your loans"...they often cite how my grandparents payed off around $150,000 in 3 years.

This comes at the heals of my upcoming interview at one of the most expensive schools in the country.

Do they have any point at all?

They do have a point; tuition is relatively high at all medical schools and you're going to be making tons of $$ once you finish residency/fellowship.
1) If you're qualified for FAFSA support and outside scholarships, you may be able to graduate loan-free from medical school. (See Ramit Sethi's blog at www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com for tips and tricks.)
2) If you don't qualify for FAFSA but qualify for outside scholarships, just remember to apply broadly. PM me if you need scholarship app automation tips (I was able to save >$35K in fees as a sophomore.)

 

[thesauce]

It IS important. I would say its probably the 2nd most important factor when picking a school, only behind quality of rotation sites. My school is around 40 a year. I will graduate with around 350k in debt. Just imagine if my tuition cost 60k. 80k+ interest is a TON. Granted I still intend to pay my loans off in 5 years or less...but an 80 would make that a lot less likely.

And I would say quality of rotation sites isn't an important factor at all. First off, you don't have the knowledge to judge this as an applicant so you have to go by what others tell you which is going to be biased. Secondly, you learn the vast majority about patient care in residency anyway.

BTW, 350k??? Seriously?

 

[CoolWhipp]

Not only that, but a lot of us further down the path are watching folks coming out of fellowships in multiple specialties having a horrible time of finding jobs -- the byproduct of a bad economy is that older docs are not retiring and so their old jobs aren't opening up as frequently as they used to.

...

What's up with some articles I've been reading about doctor shortages? It would be great if you can shed some light on this contradicting issue.

 

[SoundofSilver]

Cost of attendance should be the number one factor to consider in my opinion.

If you're paying for everything on your own, you need to think long and hard about how oppressive a 200,000+ debt burden at 7% compounding interest will be especially in the face of great uncertainty in medicine and the economy in general.

I think it's pretty hard to justify going to an expensive school if you have cheaper options, unless you have wealthy parents that are helping you out. In that case, consider yourself lucky.

 

[schwabejr]

Another thing to consider is how confident you are in what area of medicine you'll be studying. You may be dead set on a high paying specialty going in to school and think that itll be no problem paying off your debt when you're netting over 200k. But whats to say you won't get into those third year rotations and fall in love with some primary care field?
I've given this alot of thought since the only school Ive been accepted to is VERY expensive. I really don't want to be limited in terms of what type of medicine I'll be practicing just because of my debt, that's part of the reason Im praying for a second, more affordable acceptance.

 

[Brachyury]

Cost of attendance should be the number one factor to consider in my opinion.

If you're paying for everything on your own, you need to think long and hard about how oppressive a 200,000+ debt burden at 7% compounding interest will be especially in the face of great uncertainty in medicine and the economy in general.

I think it's pretty hard to justify going to an expensive school if you have cheaper options, unless you have wealthy parents that are helping you out. In that case, consider yourself lucky.

Not all state schools have low enough tuition that in-state residents will be fortunate enought to graduate with less than 200k in debt.

In my case, as someone who never, ever, ever wants to have children, I consider the total cost of my debts (after I payoff the principal and interest) to be equivalent to the cost of raising a child. My education is an investment in myself, so for me, it's a pill I can swollow. That being said, don't borrow more than you need to; it's just common sense.