Scared

[VitaminK]

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I'm scared to death of how much debt that has been adding up while I've been in med school. By the time I finish I will have about $250,000 in loans. I am now considering family practice and realize that money is sparce in that field. So do I have any way of repaying off my loans? I've heard there are programs out there that will pay back some of your loans but don't know specifically what they are. Also I know of programs during med school that will pay for you school if you then repay them by working in a rural area, however I wasn't able to do this because I didn't know I was going to be interested in FP til now. Has anyone else dealt with this issue and have any recommendations? Could I just file for bankruptcy? Or are there any programs out there that I can enter as a MS-3 that will still pay back my loans for me? I'm just very scared by all my loans and don't want to spend the rest of my life paying for my education.

 

[mpp]

Filing for bankruptcy does not effect Federal Stafford loans...you will still owe the money.

There are many options to help you with payment. For government programs (especially for family medicine) check the AAMC website (link). You should also look into the National Health Service Corps (link) and the various branches of the military.

If you still have at least two years to go and would rather have someone else pay the tuition, check into the military or the NHSC soon as you might still be able to jump on board. Talk to the financial aid officers at your school.

For $250,000 at 5% interest paid off over 10 years, your monthly payments would be about $2,700. Good luck with that.