Residency salary vs. student loans?

[Azjoe]

What kind of salary can I expect during an EM residency? Is there a web page that gives averages of different residencies? I am just wondering because of the amount of student loans that I am building up. I have been told that you can defer them during residency. Does anyone know if that's for sure?

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[southerndoc]

EM resident salaries are no different than any other residency. Visit the SAEM website and take a peek at the various residency programs listed there. That'll give you an idea of salary. Generally speaking, salaries are in the $36,000 to $45,000 range for first-year residents and increase from $500 to $1500 per year for successive years of residency.

Don't worry about student loans. You can defer them either through forbearance (accumulates interest on your subsidized loans, higher interest rate if you didn't consolidate before entering into forbearance) or through economic hardship (subsidized loans are still subsidized, lower interest rate on all government loans). You can also get a fellowship deferment.

Nobody expects you to make payments on your student loans on a resident salary.

Private loans have their own rules, so if you have credit card debt, well, you'll still have to pay that.

 

[GeneralVeers]

Two words that are your friends: Consolidate, Deferrment.

 

[USCDiver]

Careful with the consolidation, though! Some of the seedier loan consolidators require you to begin paying back your loan immediately and you forfeit any eligibility to defer or forebear.

 

[southerndoc]

Careful with the consolidation, though! Some of the seedier loan consolidators require you to begin paying back your loan immediately and you forfeit any eligibility to defer or forebear.

That's illegal. Any student loan consolidation company is government by government regulations. So the same deferments, hardships, and forbearances apply.

 

[EMguy]

ANYONE with students loans coming out of medical school should consolidate their loans the day after they graduate this year. Right now the rates are 2.77% and after July 1 are going to go up to around 5%. Seems like not much of a difference, but with 100,000 paid back over 20 years, with 2.77% you end up paying $30,000 in interest, with 5% you end up paying $58,000 in interest.

So save yourself $28,000; consolidate now and start making the minimium payment.

 

[NinerNiner999]

ANYONE with students loans coming out of medical school should consolidate their loans the day after they graduate this year. Right now the rates are 2.77% and after July 1 are going to go up to around 5%. Seems like not much of a difference, but with 100,000 paid back over 20 years, with 2.77% you end up paying $30,000 in interest, with 5% you end up paying $58,000 in interest.

So save yourself $28,000; consolidate now and start making the minimium payment.

Or better yet, consolidate now and only pay what you need to cover interest (much less than the minimum)...

 

[KungPOWChicken]

Where did that 5% interest rate hike come from?

 

[Jeff698]

I graduate in June and am just starting to look at this consolidation thingee. I understand I need to do it sometime between graduation and July 1 (b/c of rate increases). I have both federal and private loans. Any thoughts on who to consolidate with?

Thanks and take care,
Jeff

 

[po' boy]

Go to www.graduateleverage.com . They explain the whole process and have you apply through them to consolidate with a lender they've bargained superior terms with (such as interest rate reductions, reduction of 5% perkins loan interest to the lower consolidated rate, etc.)

 

[GeneralVeers]

I graduate in June and am just starting to look at this consolidation thingee. I understand I need to do it sometime between graduation and July 1 (b/c of rate increases). I have both federal and private loans. Any thoughts on who to consolidate with?

Thanks and take care,
Jeff

At my school we had a whole day last month explaining to us the pros and cons of consolidation. From everything we heard, you might as well just consolidate with Sallie Mae. It's reputable, you get the 2.77% interest rate (which can't be beaten) and you can get 3.5% cash back for all outstanding Medloans you have.

 

[Jeff698]

At my school we had a whole day last month explaining to us the pros and cons of consolidation. From everything we heard, you might as well just consolidate with Sallie Mae. It's reputable, you get the 2.77% interest rate (which can't be beaten) and you can get 3.5% cash back for all outstanding Medloans you have.

What's the deal with the cash back on the Medloans? I have several of these from SallieMae (I don't know if they're the only ones who do them or not) and was under the impression that these, as private loans, were not able to be consolidated.

I'll check out both graduateleverage and salliemae.

Man, I'm glad I went into medicine. This finance stuff gives me headaches.

Take care,
Jeff

 

[Daiphon]

hey...

my financial aid office is less than helpful in explaining things; although they did do a big program regarding deferrment & consolidation... one thing that stuck out, though (and i don't think was mentioned) was that you lose your grace periods if you don't submit a consolidation application BEFORE you graduate.

granted, we're all deferring anyway (for the most part); but keeping grace periods just lets you deal with the deferrment paperwork in a few months.

just a thought...

-t