Savings for med school.

[MEG@COOL]

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.)

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[braluk]

If you save money, save it for your own personal spending in medical school (i.e. going out to dinner, a flight for vacation before medical school starts, etc..) - things that aren't covered in calculations for costs of living (such as rent, food and groceries, books, tuition, etc..etc..) Whatever you can save, save it. Unless your family is independently wealthy, no money you save should really go to tuition- granted it means you might have to pay a little more if you decided not to put that money into tuition when you start paying back loans+interest- but I wouldn't mind if it means that ill have a little extra room to breathe in med school. You probably know best when it comes to how much you would want to spend on yourself so take it from there how much you should save. Heck, it will still probably be an overestimation since you wont have much time to even spend it on yourself.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

I agree with braluk. Check out your school's financial aid site, look at tuition, and be sure to ask Q's during the interview. They let us borrow a lot of money for school.

 

[Law2Doc]

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.

If you can save enough that you can borrow less that is always a good thing. Interest rates are currently high.

 

[HumbleMD]

I agree with braluk. Check out your school's financial aid site, look at tuition, and be sure to ask Q's during the interview. They let us borrow a lot of money for school.

Thank god. I'm broke coming out of undergrad. I guess the question is though, what school?

 

[Dookter]

Save as much money as you can, but make sure you don't get screwed on financial aid for saving it. In other words, try to find out how finaid is calculated. If it is like you save $10,000 and report $10,000 in the bank and WHAM, you get $10,000 less grant money for year one, then do something else with your money. And I personally do not think you should borrow less $$ just because you have a few grand sitting in the bank. Many people get all worked up over borrowing a few extra thousand every year. I personally think having the extra money to be able to pursue some interests or fly home to visit family, etc., is worth the extra expense. I might owe $10,000 more when I get done with this whole process, but at least I'll be happier b/c I'm not eating rice every night and sitting in the dark afraid of my electricity bill.

 

[notdeadyet]

Save as much money as you can, but make sure you don't get screwed on financial aid for saving it.

The calculations for financial aid are not one for one. Having $10K in savings will not produce $10K less in loans. It's much more based on income.

If you're worried, take your savings and write a check to your grandma. Have her write you a check after your aid packet is determined.

(NOTE: best make sure you're in the will, just in case...)

 

[Stolenspatulas]

The calculations for financial aid are not one for one. Having $10K in savings will not produce $10K less in loans. It's much more based on income.

If you're worried, take your savings and write a check to your grandma. Have her write you a check after your aid packet is determined.

(NOTE: best make sure you're in the will, just in case...)

here's my situation. i have a 25k/yr job right now. i just graduated this past may and plan on keeping the job only until may (therefore ill make around 25k). with expenditures and all, ill probably be able to keep 10-15k in savings. i was planning on just spending a lot of it setting up a new apartment for medschool and taking a vacation this summer (maybe new zealand and europe as well!).

do you think what im doing is smart in terms of financial aid? i dont want to save save save since 10-15k possible savings probably has little effect on my fin aid package. what do you guys think?

 

[Eric Lindros]

do you think what im doing is smart in terms of financial aid? i dont want to save save save since 10-15k possible savings probably has little effect on my fin aid package. what do you guys think?

It's not going to hurt you, really, unless you were dirt poor and qualified for need based scholorships like grants. You'll still get the guaranteed 38,500 and whatever private loans you apply for you're likely to get as well.

 

[NYyanx28]

It's not going to hurt you, really, unless you were dirt poor and qualified for need based scholorships like grants. You'll still get the guaranteed 38,500 and whatever private loans you apply for you're likely to get as well.

What's up with the "guaranteed $38,500"? Is this typical at all schools? And what if a school's financial budget amounts to higher than 38,500?

Any insight into this woud be extremely helpful.

 

[bretticus]

What's up with the "guaranteed $38,500"? Is this typical at all schools? And what if a school's financial budget amounts to higher than 38,500?

Any insight into this woud be extremely helpful.

Technically, only $30K is guaranteed. Most people will get the additional $8500 in subsidized federal loans though -- this is all federal money and has nothing to do with your university (unless they have <$38.5K COA, which I doubt).

Your institution may give you grants and institutional loans in addition to this. If you still can't cover your costs, the next best loans are the PLUS ones, I believe. Someone correct me.

I'm in a similar situation. I make about $50K/year, and I will be keeping it until probably June. I plan on having saved up around $35K by then. For my FAFSA, I only had about $18K in savings when I submitted. My EFC is about 8500 for what it's worth, and according to finaid.org I will still get the subsidized loans. I think you should be fine in that regard. As far as institutional aid goes, I don't know, and I'm anxious to find out.

 

[Dookter]

It's not going to hurt you, really, unless you were dirt poor and qualified for need based scholorships like grants.

It really depends on the school. Sure, you won't have a problem getting your loans b/c of savings [well, maybe if you had like a million in the bank, who knows]. But if you're at a school that hands out free $$$ [Duke, WashU, etc.] then you really could be hurt by having savings even when you're not dirt poor. Keeping that in mind, be sure that you are careful with how you report savings that you know you'll spend before medical school starts. I know for me I reported all my savings, but then I bought an expensive engagement ring. I had to go back and tell the two schools I was seriously considering attending. Thankfully, they both understood and adjusted my financial aid package to account for the "loss" in my savings. A good example would be if you had like $20,000 sitting in the bank but planned to buy a new car right before school starts that would last you through school and residency. If you're going to a school that hands out free $$, make sure you let them know that your $20K will be gone before school and should not be put into the calculation to see how much "need" you have for the next year.

 

[bretticus]

It really depends on the school. Sure, you won't have a problem getting your loans b/c of savings [well, maybe if you had like a million in the bank, who knows]. But if you're at a school that hands out free $$$ [Duke, WashU, etc.] then you really could be hurt by having savings even when you're not dirt poor. Keeping that in mind, be sure that you are careful with how you report savings that you know you'll spend before medical school starts. I know for me I reported all my savings, but then I bought an expensive engagement ring. I had to go back and tell the two schools I was seriously considering attending. Thankfully, they both understood and adjusted my financial aid package to account for the "loss" in my savings. A good example would be if you had like $20,000 sitting in the bank but planned to buy a new car right before school starts that would last you through school and residency. If you're going to a school that hands out free $$, make sure you let them know that your $20K will be gone before school and should not be put into the calculation to see how much "need" you have for the next year.

This is good advice. I'm going to do this for a couple of schools that I will need a car for should I end up attending. Did you tell them about your purchase before or after your aid was calculated i.e., did they calculate it with the information or recalculate later?

Also, to the person who said write a check to your grandma: be careful with this. Any gifts to others over $10K (I believe that amount is correct) are taxed as income. So your grandma would be taxed for it when you give it to her, and you'd be taxed for it when she gave it back. This would probably negate any benefit you would receive from sheltering that money. I think you can get around this, however, if you give multiple gifts of $10K or less to separate people. Someone tell me if I'm wrong.

 

[dpmd]

Technically, only $30K is guaranteed. Most people will get the additional $8500 in subsidized federal loans though -- this is all federal money and has nothing to do with your university (unless they have <$38.5K COA, which I doubt).

The $38,500 (although now it is $40,500) is guaranteed even if you don't qualify for subsidized loans. You just get it all as unsub. They don't reduce the maximum total loan just because you don't qualify for the maximum subsidized portion.

As for savings, if you are working enough to accumulate savings, you probably aren't going to get much need based aid (and if you do it will probably just be lower interest loans). You might as well save as much as you can. Whether to take out less loans, or live it up is up to you. Keep in mind that fourth year will involve lots of expenses (interview travel, application costs) that you might want to keep some money around for, and having a savings cushion can make the transition to internship a little more pleasant.

Not that I am recommending fraudulant activity, but there is no real way for anyone to check how much is in your savings at the time you submitted your FAFSA. If I knew I was going to spend some of it soon, I might just reduce the amount I report.

 

[Dookter]

This is good advice. I'm going to do this for a couple of schools that I will need a car for should I end up attending. Did you tell them about your purchase before or after your aid was calculated i.e., did they calculate it with the information or recalculate later?

I had already received my finaid packages at the time I bought the engagement ring, so I had to have my packages recalculated. Luckily, it was a really easy process. I offered to provide the receipt, etc., but both schools I was interested in just took the email I sent them as proof, crunched some numbers, and mailed me a new finaid letter.

 

[bretticus]

The $38,500 (although now it is $40,500) is guaranteed even if you don't qualify for subsidized loans. You just get it all as unsub. They don't reduce the maximum total loan just because you don't qualify for the maximum subsidized portion.

Wow, you're correct. Sorry about that. Also happy to know the limit was increased!

 

[Gabujabu]

I will also be starting med school with savings from previous work (~$40k). Do you think it should go towards tuition, that it should be saved for additional expenses like residency interviews/a car, or a little of both? I don't expect to get need-based aid.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

Thank god. I'm broke coming out of undergrad. I guess the question is though, what school?

I read some of your stuff on the Baylor thread. Baylor gives the best damn deal in the world save for one of the sweet Mayo scholarships. If money really is a prime concern, then there should be absolutely no question whatsoever what your choice should be.

With that said, however, I'd put my money on the fact that you'll get a handsome return on your investment at any of the places you've been accepted. I'm not the best person to advise you overall because of my love for the St. Louis Cardinals, but I've also been adamant that I'd pay both tuitions for anybody at Baylor who wanted to trade places with me. I love their curriculum.

 

[HumbleMD]

I read some of your stuff on the Baylor thread. Baylor gives the best damn deal in the world save for one of the sweet Mayo scholarships. If money really is a prime concern, then there should be absolutely no question whatsoever what your choice should be.

With that said, however, I'd put my money on the fact that you'll get a handsome return on your investment at any of the places you've been accepted. I'm not the best person to advise you overall because of my love for the St. Louis Cardinals, but I've also been adamant that I'd pay both tuitions for anybody at Baylor who wanted to trade places with me. I love their curriculum.

Yeah, especially if I could get the in-state price at some point. It's not one of my primary concerns, but definitely a concern as I'm not attracted to the more high-salaried specialties, so am worried about the difficulty of paying ack 200K in debt.

 

[Papillon11]

Hi guys,
Do schools really check your saving account? Do they ask you to send in a bank statement?

 

[Eric Lindros]

Yeah, especially if I could get the in-state price at some point. It's not one of my primary concerns, but definitely a concern as I'm not attracted to the more high-salaried specialties, so am worried about the difficulty of paying ack 200K in debt.

You'll be able to pay back your debt no matter what speciality you go into. Now whether or not you'll be bouncing back to your crib in your Hummer or Benz is a different story.

 

[Law2Doc]

You'll be able to pay back your debt no matter what speciality you go into. Now whether or not you'll be bouncing back to your crib in your Hummer or Benz is a different story.

Unless you are moonlighting as a valet parking attendant, you won't be driving either of those vehicles for many years. And by then who's to say what incomes will be like. In most cases these days, someone who borrows $200k will be able to service their debt and pay their bills, but won't be living that high on the hog. Think subaru not Humvee.

 

[GuzzyRon]

For my FAFSA, I only had about $18K in savings when I submitted. My EFC is about 8500 for what it's worth, and according to finaid.org I will still get the subsidized loans. As far as institutional aid goes, I don't know, and I'm anxious to find out.

Hey Brett, for your FAFSA application, did you use figures from last year's income tax statement or have you filed your taxes for this year already?