Odd Situation...

[Winkledorf]

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My total federal loan debt could be ~$520k after finishing at my state school (due to the loans I have accrued thus far, which are high for undisclosed reasons). Is this possible on a physician's income or a complete waste of time to consider?

 

[Brain Bucket]

Here, have my undisclosed opinion.

 

[PL198]

Huh? so you have 520k in debt and you want to postpone making enough money to start to pay that off by at minimum another 7 years?

 

[Winkledorf]

Huh? so you have 520k in debt and you want to postpone making enough money to start to pay that off by at minimum another 7 years?

No - that would be the worst case scenario at the end of four years of medical school (i.e., total debt at end).

If PSLF sticks around, would that mean it could all essentially be erased after seven years or less of post-residency practice (depending on residency length and making minimum payments throughout)?

 

[DrJonesenberg]

If you wouldn't be happy at all doing the job you were just trained to do in school and you'd be miserable if you were anything but a doctor then I say go for it. It is feasible to pay off that kind of loan but it will take a very long time. If you rather be a doctor and live modestly than be anything else and have money then be a doctor. I would just make 100% sure it's what you want to do before you do it. I also think the armed services is a smart decision if you want to pay off that loan quicker. You'd go to med school for free, $20k signing bonus , 100K in stipend over the 4 years, and better paying residency. It may suck to have to be in the armed services for a few years to pay it back but it may be better than being a slave to that kind of debt for way more years than the 4 you'd have to do in the military

 

[deleted503015]

No - that would be the worst case scenario at the end of four years of medical school (i.e., total debt at end).

If PSLF sticks around, would that mean it could all essentially be erased after seven years or less of post-residency practice (depending on residency length and making minimum payments throughout)?

keep in mind that not all jobs after residency are at non-profits (even if the hospital is), which is a requirement for PSLF. where i grew up, the big academic hospital is non-profit, but all the physicians who work there are technically employed by the "private diagnostic clinic"

re: the amount of debt. I would recommend using this website and looking at the amount/month required for extended repayment (or one of the other plans that does not involve any forgiveness, because you don't want to be screwed if it goes away or is limited in the future): https://www.aamc.org/services/first/medloans/

 

[Sephiroth]

http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-2945_40012-135399--,00.html
If you go into Ob/Gyn in Northern Michigan

 

[VisionaryTics]

If PSLF sticks around, would that mean it could all essentially be erased after seven years or less of post-residency practice (depending on residency length and making minimum payments throughout)?

1. That's a big if. No one has actually reaped the benefits of PSLF yet, and it wouldn't be far fetched to think that politicians would find it easy to eliminate a plan to forgive hundreds of thousands of dollars of low risk loans for people in the top 1% of earners.

2. Like above poster said, you have to be careful about how you are employed post residency.

I have seven years of residency and probably fellowship between now and when I start practice. I'm not liking the odds of PSLF being around in 2021.

 

[Winkledorf]

1. That's a big if. No one has actually reaped the benefits of PSLF yet, and it wouldn't be far fetched to think that politicians would find it easy to eliminate a plan to forgive hundreds of thousands of dollars of low risk loans for people in the top 1% of earners.

2. Like above poster said, you have to be careful about how you are employed post residency.

I have seven years of residency and probably fellowship between now and when I start practice. I'm not liking the odds of PSLF being around in 2021.

Seven years is a long time - neurosurgery's the only one that long, right?

Agreed about PSLF, if I were more confident about it staying around and being guaranteed that'd be the best solution for anybody with that kind of debt.

 

[Winkledorf]

keep in mind that not all jobs after residency are at non-profits (even if the hospital is), which is a requirement for PSLF. where i grew up, the big academic hospital is non-profit, but all the physicians who work there are technically employed by the "private diagnostic clinic"

re: the amount of debt. I would recommend using this website and looking at the amount/month required for extended repayment (or one of the other plans that does not involve any forgiveness, because you don't want to be screwed if it goes away or is limited in the future): https://www.aamc.org/services/first/medloans/

Thanks for the link - I actually hadn't seen this calculator yet when someone recommended it on my other post (I had started a thread in Osteopathic since I hadn't gotten many responses here and I figured D.O. schools tend to run up the tab more). Very useful for comparing the different plans (and easier than my Excel spreadsheets to compare repayment plans).

 

[Winkledorf]

If you wouldn't be happy at all doing the job you were just trained to do in school and you'd be miserable if you were anything but a doctor then I say go for it. It is feasible to pay off that kind of loan but it will take a very long time. If you rather be a doctor and live modestly than be anything else and have money then be a doctor. I would just make 100% sure it's what you want to do before you do it. I also think the armed services is a smart decision if you want to pay off that loan quicker. You'd go to med school for free, $20k signing bonus , 100K in stipend over the 4 years, and better paying residency. It may suck to have to be in the armed services for a few years to pay it back but it may be better than being a slave to that kind of debt for way more years than the 4 you'd have to do in the military

http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-2945_40012-135399--,00.html
If you go into Ob/Gyn in Northern Michigan

Both good suggestions - thank you.

 

[Fluffy Pomeranian]

Can you disclose the type of program you are in now? Why are you unhappy in it? Also can you tell us your age group (like 20's, 30's, etc)?

500k+ is an insane amount of money and that's assuming the best case scenario (getting into your state school), not to mention all the interest it will accrue.

 

[Mehd School]

I'm on the fence here.

I'll be spending $550k myself, but both my fiancé and I will have medical degrees.

 

[StIGMA]

What is the expected income from your current degree? If it is significantly less than it would be with the medical degree it may make sense (try to calculate the scenarios - including the loss of potential pay during the medical training).

If you are in vet school, I would definitely recommend going to medical school instead.

 

[Sephiroth]

What is the expected income from your current degree? If it is significantly less than it would be with the medical degree it may make sense (try to calculate the scenarios - including the loss of potential pay during the medical training).

If you are in vet school, I would definitely recommend going to medical school instead.

HAHAHAHAHAHA. My gf is a vet student and that is often a subject of entertaining discussion. Hey now, if you can get awesome grades, you can get into a vet derm residency, and those pay well.

 

[Winkledorf]

Can you disclose the type of program you are in now? Why are you unhappy in it? Also can you tell us your age group (like 20's, 30's, etc)?

500k+ is an insane amount of money and that's assuming the best case scenario (getting into your state school), not to mention all the interest it will accrue.

I'm on the fence here.

I'll be spending $550k myself, but both my fiancé and I will have medical degrees.

What is the expected income from your current degree? If it is significantly less than it would be with the medical degree it may make sense (try to calculate the scenarios - including the loss of potential pay during the medical training).

If you are in vet school, I would definitely recommend going to medical school instead.

HAHAHAHAHAHA. My gf is a vet student and that is often a subject of entertaining discussion. Hey now, if you can get awesome grades, you can get into a vet derm residency, and those pay well.

Age group - mid-20s
Type of program - undisclosed (sorry, can't really explain further than involved with the healthcare system in a way)
Reason - always wanted to go into medicine

The "best case scenario" school would be the only scenario I'd consider, but not necessarily too difficult to do, just very expensive and as you said the interest adds up significantly.

What I'm going into now usually rapidly rises to around $150k-$200k after a few years, then goes up steadily from there or plateaus depending on many factors (so it's certainly not a bad deal).

No, the program is not veterinary school (I love the idea of working with people, but animals would be another story).

I did decide that the switch is too bad of a deal financially to go through with - maybe later in life when med school is only 3 yrs., free, or if I could pay for more up front/limit the loan amounts (though fairly unlikely, since that'd be late in the game for medicine).

Thanks to everybody for taking the time to respond! (though I still really want to know what Brain Bucket's undisclosed opinion was)