Saving for Medical school? Yay or nay

[joshuabalbuena.rpt]

I am planning to attend medical school in the next 3-5 years, yes still pretty far away but I like to plan a lot ahead. I wanted to ask whether it's a good a idea I save at least half the medical school cost? Or should I just loan most of it.

I heard that letting my spouse or my mom hold that money would help with the interest rates?

Any insights would help.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Dave1980]

Can you save $150,000 in 3 years? Might want to reconsider leaving that job for med school.

 

[joshuabalbuena.rpt]

Can you save $150,000 in 3 years? Might want to reconsider leaving that job for med school.

Do you have anymore insights?
Iets say hypothetically I can save somewhere close to that number but would saving that much ever really help or would make the interest rate higher?

I can't attend medical school at the moment since I'm still taking my Prerequisites.

 

[wysdoc]

Do you have anymore insights?
I can save somewhere close to that number but would saving that much ever really help or would make the interest rate higher?

Federal loans have a low interest rate that does not change much over the years. Any money you save now will be money you don't have to pay back with interest later! Keep the money in your own name. Applying to med school and traveling to interviews also costs money, so some of it you will use for the application/interview process.

 

[joshuabalbuena.rpt]

Thank you for your response

 

[Cornfed101]

but would saving that much ever really help or would make the interest rate higher?

Of course it would still help! The less money you have to take out in loans, the better. Your interest rate will not be affected.

 

[joshuabalbuena.rpt]

Of course it would still help! The less money you have to take out in loans, the better. Your interest rate will not be affected.

Thank you for the response! I thought it would affect it since I saw a forum from 2007 that it would increase my interest rates. Ill try to find the forum and post the link here.

 

[joshuabalbuena.rpt]

Thank you for the response! I thought it would affect it since I saw a forum from 2007 that it would increase my interest rates. Ill try to find the forum and post the link here.

Savings for med school.

How much should one have saved for med school? I have been told saving much does not help people as that effects ones financial aid. Id like to be able to afford to go out at least once a week and eat decently ( buy real food and cook it. not ramen noodles and other crap.)

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[Cornfed101]

That may have been the case in 2007, but federal loans are a fixed interest rate now regardless of income or creditworthiness. The only caveat is that you can be disqualified from Grad Plus loans if you have adverse credit history (stuff like bankruptcy, foreclosure, default, etc.). Private loans would be affected by income and creditworthiness, but you shouldn't be taking those out anyway. Federal loans will cover full COA.

 

[joshuabalbuena.rpt]

That may have been the case in 2007, but federal loans are a fixed interest rate now regardless of income or creditworthiness. The only caveat is that you can be disqualified from Grad Plus loans if you have adverse credit history (stuff like bankruptcy, foreclosure, default, etc.). Private loans would be affected by income and creditworthiness, but you shouldn't be taking those out anyway. Federal loans will cover full COA.

YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER! I was so worried about that part. So how do you recommend spending the savings? Should I use it to pay for the tuition or should I only use to pay interest and other expenses?

 

[Cornfed101]

YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER! I was so worried about that part. So how do you recommend spending the savings? Should I use it to pay for the tuition or should I only use to pay interest and other expenses?

First and foremost, get through undergrad debt-free. If you are saving money to put into a savings account and taking out undergrad loans with interest that is stupid.

If you get to the application without any debt then use the money you save for the application expenses and budget a certain amount each year towards living expenses first and then tuition for anything left over. You can always borrow more money while in school (up to COA). I would keep a little leftover as an emergency fund in case something comes up (it will), but otherwise just try to avoid credit cards and other non-student loan debt.

 

[joshuabalbuena.rpt]

First and foremost, get through undergrad debt-free. If you are saving money to put into a savings account and taking out undergrad loans with interest that is stupid.

If you get to the application without any debt then use the money you save for the application expenses and budget a certain amount each year towards living expenses first and then tuition for anything left over. You can always borrow more money while in school (up to COA). I would keep a little leftover as an emergency fund in case something comes up (it will), but otherwise just try to avoid credit cards and other non-student loan debt.

That's sound very doable. Thank you very much for the insights and suggestion.

 

[wysdoc]

Savings for med school.

How much should one have saved for med school? I have been told saving much does not help people as that effects ones financial aid. Id like to be able to afford to go out at least once a week and eat decently ( buy real food and cook it. not ramen noodles and other crap.)

forums.studentdoctor.net

13-year old thread with some inexpert opinions!

Here is a better one to look over, and I commend you for planning ahead!

HomeSkool's Guide to Financing Your Medical Education

You got into medical school! Now how do you pay for it? You already sold a kidney and your grandma disinherited you after your last arrest. What options are left? In this guide, I’ll provide a rundown of some basic options for funding medical school. This subject is very complex and my...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[joshuabalbuena.rpt]

13-year old thread with some inexpert opinions!

Here is a better one to look over, and I commend you for planning ahead!

HomeSkool's Guide to Financing Your Medical Education

You got into medical school! Now how do you pay for it? You already sold a kidney and your grandma disinherited you after your last arrest. What options are left? In this guide, I’ll provide a rundown of some basic options for funding medical school. This subject is very complex and my...

forums.studentdoctor.net

ANOTHER LIFESAVER! THANK YOU.

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

Use that time to build up your credit score if you haven't already.

 

[anewmanx]

How many years of MD specialty salary will you lose by waiting and saving?

saving $50,000 a year over three years could save you $150,000 plus at least 6-7 years of interest assuming you let it float through residency. Let’s say $220,000 in saved expense / debt.

then again if you went to school right away that’s three years earlier you graduate at whatever your final starting salary is after residency. Let’s say you start out at $240,000. 3 x that is $720,000.

so waiting 3 years to go to school while you save money costs you half a million in lost wages.

 

[Sleepingdoc]

How many years of MD specialty salary will you lose by waiting and saving?

saving $50,000 a year over three years could save you $150,000 plus at least 6-7 years of interest assuming you let it float through residency. Let’s say $220,000 in saved expense / debt.

then again if you went to school right away that’s three years earlier you graduate at whatever your final starting salary is after residency. Let’s say you start out at $240,000. 3 x that is $720,000.

so waiting 3 years to go to school while you save money costs you half a million in lost wages.

50 grand a year x3 is 150k... So the next 4 years after you get in you wont have any income I am assuming.... Unless you live under a bridge while attending med school... please save at least 100k more to pay for living expenses.

 

[joshuabalbuena.rpt]

How many years of MD specialty salary will you lose by waiting and saving?

saving $50,000 a year over three years could save you $150,000 plus at least 6-7 years of interest assuming you let it float through residency. Let’s say $220,000 in saved expense / debt.

then again if you went to school right away that’s three years earlier you graduate at whatever your final starting salary is after residency. Let’s say you start out at $240,000. 3 x that is $720,000.

so waiting 3 years to go to school while you save money costs you half a million in lost wages.

As of the moment I am constrained by circumstances. So even if I wanted to I can't

 

[anewmanx]

As of the moment I am constrained by circumstances. So even if I wanted to I can't

Then $150,000 saved and invested could return a nice extra monthly benefit to help you through school. Save save save.