pre med student debt

[wall2cp3]

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Hey guys, long time lurker and first time poster. I was just wondering if there are any pre-med students who'll have significant debt when they graduate. I'm going to attend American University and tuition is above $50,000 and the average graduate student debt is over $36,000 😡 .

Is there anybody out there like me and what did or will you do. Do you pay that off after med school or what. Damn i hate college.

 

[farnell]

I'm making my minimum payments until I can get into med school, at which point you can defer your loans until after you graduate. Hopefully i get in this cycle....

 

[tbornottb]

I have $50,000 in debt from undergrad. I've been making the minimum payments on time but when I go to med school I will defer

 

[circulus vitios]

If you have federal loans, IBR limits your repayment to 15% of your "discretionary income."

 

[amad01]

If you can't get most of tuition covered through scholarships and grants, go to a different school. Med school debt will be plenty. I see no reason to get into heavy debt from undergrad when there are other options that are perfectly fine...

 

[LaughingMan]

Honestly OP,

If I was in your shoes--instead of trying to graduate in 4 years--make it 5. Go part time and get a clinically related job (scribe, EMT, etc) and pay off your school.

You not only gain valuable experience which has many benefits besides helping in Medical School Admissions, but it also plays on the safest side. You are pre-med now, but who knows what might happen down the line. People seem to think "This debt isn't a problem cause when I'm a Dr, I'll easily pay it off." Yet you must understand, circumstances change--and you might be in a position in which you can't pay it back.

Let's not forget that debt will grow.

If part time is too little, then maybe go 9 hours with a non-clinical job at school.

 

[Ruby claire]

Make minimum payment to get into med school then apply for scholarships and do any part time job and slowly clear your payment!!

 

[notbobtrustme]

go to a different school. that debt + med school debt is going to be crushing.

 

[mcworbust]

Honestly OP,

If I was in your shoes--instead of trying to graduate in 4 years--make it 5. Go part time and get a clinically related job (scribe, EMT, etc) and pay off your school.

You not only gain valuable experience which has many benefits besides helping in Medical School Admissions, but it also plays on the safest side. You are pre-med now, but who knows what might happen down the line. People seem to think "This debt isn't a problem cause when I'm a Dr, I'll easily pay it off." Yet you must understand, circumstances change--and you might be in a position in which you can't pay it back.

Let's not forget that debt will grow.

If part time is too little, then maybe go 9 hours with a non-clinical job at school.

^^ Solid advice, here's my 2cents:

1. If you can go to a different school that you enjoy then I would, especially a state school over private, and maybe not in DC where cost of living is huge.

2. You said you "will be attending" (my apologies if I am mistaken) so Im assuming you're a senior in HS, so I'd also recommend getting a job as an EMT to get some income to lessen student loans. If you work half time as an EMT and go to a cheaper school I think you could finish in 4 years. ***I'd try to get as many prereqs out of the way now so you dont have to take them in UG to lessen your course load and make time for work and other stuff. also, try and see if you can enroll in an EMT or other healthcare related prog (like CNA) this spring at a community college while in HS (or better during summer b4 UG) so you can go to your UG and start working...just make sure the certificate/accredation is valid in the state you're heading to (if it is out of state..)

good luck!

 

[notbobtrustme]

Honestly OP,

If I was in your shoes--instead of trying to graduate in 4 years--make it 5. Go part time and get a clinically related job (scribe, EMT, etc) and pay off your school.

You not only gain valuable experience which has many benefits besides helping in Medical School Admissions, but it also plays on the safest side. You are pre-med now, but who knows what might happen down the line. People seem to think "This debt isn't a problem cause when I'm a Dr, I'll easily pay it off." Yet you must understand, circumstances change--and you might be in a position in which you can't pay it back.

Let's not forget that debt will grow.

If part time is too little, then maybe go 9 hours with a non-clinical job at school.

wait what, this is terrible advice or egregiously terrible advice, depending on how the school structures part-time students. Going part-time for 5 years could easily cost more than 4 years full-time.

honestly, how much are you going to pay off working 15-20 hrs/week at $10/hr?

 

[amad01]

wait what, this is terrible advice or egregiously terrible advice, depending on how the school structures part-time students. Going part-time for 5 years could easily cost more than 4 years full-time.

honestly, how much are you going to pay off working 15-20 hrs/week at $10/hr?

This is what I try to tell my friends who think it's better to work full time and take 1 or 2 classes so they can save money.... working during undergrad will usually hardly pay for living expenses, let alone tuition each semester. If you are afraid of loans, which you should be, go to a cheaper school.

I live in my parents basement and have full tuition throughout all UG at a pac12 school.. sure I could move out of state and go to a dream school, but it's just shooting myself in the foot.

 

[tbornottb]

go to a different school. that debt + med school debt is going to be crushing.

If you can avoid undergrad debt then that is certainly ideal, but having above average undergrad college debt + med school debt doesn't necessarily mean it will be crushing. I know a guy who finished his residency and has 40k from undergrad plus his med school loans and he said he's doing fine with paying everything back and he seems to be living comfortably. So it's definitely manageable although it's obviously better to avoid debt when possible

 

[wall2cp3]

go to a different school. that debt + med school debt is going to be crushing.

the thing is, im not half the student that most of the people whose posts i read. i see stuff like a 4.0 3.7 blah blah. im an average 3.2 guy who never studies and to be honest american university is probably the best school ican get into. my other choices are kansas u, salisbury, and arkansas
i know au isnt well known for its pre med but they have research and internship ooppertunities and i thought your choice of undergrad was important in going to med school

 

[notbobtrustme]

If you can avoid undergrad debt then that is certainly ideal, but having above average undergrad college debt + med school debt doesn't necessarily mean it will be crushing. I know a guy who finished his residency and has 40k from undergrad plus his med school loans and he said he's doing fine with paying everything back and he seems to be living comfortably. So it's definitely manageable although it's obviously better to avoid debt when possible

I'd question whether or not he actually had significant medical school debt. Also, depending on when he graduated, he may have had some or all of his loans at a much lower interest rate than students today will have. And finally, graduate loans now compound from day 1, which is a devastating turn of events compared to a decade ago where they were subsidized until you reached residency training.

The biggest change is that loans are at a much higher interest rate than before. My undergrad debt (~20k) is interest-subsidized and has an interest rate of 1.8% or something obscenely low like that. With a federal cap on undergraduate loans (@ 3.4% at that), more students will have to take out unsubsidized loans at a higher rate, which is a double punch to the nuts, which it looks like the OP will have to do unless he/she has a strong scholarship.

 

[NickNaylor]

If you can avoid undergrad debt then that is certainly ideal, but having above average undergrad college debt + med school debt doesn't necessarily mean it will be crushing. I know a guy who finished his residency and has 40k from undergrad plus his med school loans and he said he's doing fine with paying everything back and he seems to be living comfortably. So it's definitely manageable although it's obviously better to avoid debt when possible

As the above poster mentioned, anyone that has graduated more than five or so years ago should not be used for financial advice because of the significant differences in how loans work now versus then. This is especially true for older physicians that accumulated very little debt and did so at insane interest rates.

(sent from my phone)

 

[Mountaineer12]

If you have federal loans, IBR limits your repayment to 15% of your "discretionary income."

👍 I'm currently trying to get approved for this. I have a fairly low paying lab tech job until I start med school. I could start making my payments (I have $15,000 so they would be in the low hundreds), but it would a big help if I didn't have to. With IBR (income based repayment) I won't have to pay anything on my loans right now because I don't make enough. Then when med school starts I can defer them.

I would really suggest looking into this if have a significant amount of debt and a low paying gap year job. Sure, that debt will still be there after med school but you weren't going to make a significant dent in it over a year anyway so why not save while you need every penny?

 

[LaughingMan]

wait what, this is terrible advice or egregiously terrible advice, depending on how the school structures part-time students. Going part-time for 5 years could easily cost more than 4 years full-time.

honestly, how much are you going to pay off working 15-20 hrs/week at $10/hr?

Excellent point, one that I completely overlooked. OP would have to likely pay an extra year of academic fees.

Your best bet OP is to crunch the numbers and see what the best option is---but definitely try to avoid underestimating debt.

I know my University also offered a 1k rebate if you finished in 4 years--so it's also essential to examine if your uni has any policies of the sort.

Lastly, working has many benefits. You'll have a $$$ cushion, learn the value of a dollar, and have some great ECs. The EMT route mentioned above I thought was great.

 

[Praefectus]

Excellent point, one that I completely overlooked. OP would have to likely pay an extra year of academic fees.

Your best bet OP is to crunch the numbers and see what the best option is---but definitely try to avoid underestimating debt.

I know my University also offered a 1k rebate if you finished in 4 years--so it's also essential to examine if your uni has any policies of the sort.

Lastly, working has many benefits. You'll have a $$$ cushion, learn the value of a dollar, and have some great ECs. The EMT route mentioned above I thought was great.

If your cost-benefit analysis shows that working more than offsets your tuition and living expenses during that extra year, go for it. If not, you'll end up in a worse situation.

I'd recommend using your extra time to find scholarships and grants. Even if they're $500 for a one page essay, that's pretty good for about an hour's work. It also gives you practice for crafting a really good personal statement. Go with a cheaper school if it's possible, because you may end up paying next to nothing or actually getting paid to attend.

 

[occams_razor]

I went to a state school and it still cost me 20k a year. My parents could only help out so much so I have ~25k in undergrad debt. It's not fun but it is what it is. It could be worse I know 2 kids who went to private schools, one is 70k in debt and the other is, I kid you not - 100k in debt!

Check these articles out:

http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/03/pf/student_loan_debt/index.htm

http://www.usnews.com/education/bes...es-where-students-graduate-with-the-most-debt

 

[cortana431]

I was accepted and could have attended Cornell or Carnegie Mellon and graduate with ~$80,000+ in debt. I instead chose to attend Rensselaer polytechnic institute, where I was awarded a big merit scholarship and will graduate with $0 in debt.

Look at your state school or apply to schools you can win big merit scholarships or full rides, if you're stats are strong enough. (If you're currently a HS senior).