So please tell me how absolutely F*CKD I am. With the new BBB 🙄 I will need to take out at least 200K in private loans just to pay for medical school. I am actively looking for scholarships and other ways to pay but I know most of my funding will come from private loans. Anyone else in the same boat ? Any advice on how to avoid drowning myself in debt for the rest of my life.
Paying for medical school as a student starting in 2026
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camplakemn
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Basically everyone starting in 2026 will be in this boat. Med school is unfortunately expensive and we will be drowning ourselves in debt for the rest of our lives no matter what. However, what exactly that means I think is yet to be determined. The biggest deficit will come from OOS matriculants and those in DO programs (besides those at institutions like LECOM with low tuition). I think it will be tough considering the higher interest rates, however, if you look at the national average for physicians who have defaulted on their student loans it is almost zero. In the end we will likely pay a little more each month, potentially for a little longer, but that should be about it. I do worry about how the more competitive specialties could potentially get more competitive considering the higher salaries, but that is yet to be seen and likely won't be seen for many years. Just my thought, but I think more information will come in the next few years (which sucks....).
camplakemn
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Unfortunately yes, grad PLUS loans are being taken away effective 7/1/2026 🙁
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We've been talking about this topic quite a while:
www.studentdoctor.net
The “One Big Beautiful Bill”: How New Budget Legislation May Reshape Medical Training and Healthcare Access | Student Doctor Network | SDN
A sweeping new federal budget bill, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” became law on July 4th after a dramatic final passage through Congress and
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If you want to avoid drowning in debt, go to the cheapest medical school to which you have been admitted. I hope you applied to all of LECOM's campuses.
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I finished residency with around $430k at 7-9% rates back in 2015. I worked hard, lived within my means, and refinanced twice with a private loan servicer. I didn't trust the PSLF to stay solvent and/or still be a thing. I'm of the mindset that since I borrowed the money, I need to pay it back. I know that's a bit of an unpopular opinion. The payments were big, ~$4k/month, but as I paid other things off I kept adding that payment to the next thing. I just finished paying my loans off last month, a little over 10 years after finishing residency. Its doable. Does it suck? Yes. Do I wish there was a program that would have paid them off for me? Yes. But I didn't want to suffer and be stuck at a bad job or one I didn't like due to being beholden to the loans.
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I have to agree with the above.
When I finished I had about 370k in loans and decided I would rather put it on my back, having the same concerns about the long-term security of psfl.
My employer yearly pays off a chunk per my contract, so I basically handle the interest each month and they take care of the principal over time. It's probably going to be a 10-year journey, and I certainly could do things to shorten the process, but I'm leery of government programs and prefer to do things on my own terms.
When I finished I had about 370k in loans and decided I would rather put it on my back, having the same concerns about the long-term security of psfl.
My employer yearly pays off a chunk per my contract, so I basically handle the interest each month and they take care of the principal over time. It's probably going to be a 10-year journey, and I certainly could do things to shorten the process, but I'm leery of government programs and prefer to do things on my own terms.
