Summer Time, Money $$$, Etc.

[docscience]

I put the "$$$" so SDNers would come running...

A quick intro...I am a 1st year student at a public midwest school.
I know we are all getting burnt out! But stick in there! Hopefully 3rd and 4th year won't suck as much..lol

Question:
Tuition is approx. $25K + $10K for living expenses (I live alone and try to spend around $1000 for rent and food ---trying to stretch it for 12 months)
= $35K debt/year

What should I do for the summer? Should I do whatever I feel like, or consider the money I could be making (around 3K - 5K) either through research or a job?????

I don't HAVE to do research and would rather just pick up a few extra $1000s and travel/enjoy all summer.

Anyone else have debts around my area?? I am anticipating graduating with $150K in debt!!! Scary!! (Lucky ass rich med school kids...i envy those whose parents pay)

For a GP who makes $110 after taxes (approx. 9K/month) is $150K (with accumulated interest) an easy debt to pay off? Sorry, but I guess I am spoiled and have not thought about this until now...now that I am busting my balls..lol

Thanks all!!

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[TMP-SMX]

150k is on the low end of loan amounts of our 2011 class. That's essentially what I will have if my loans capitalize in residency.

 

[Re3iRtH]

I put the "$$$" so SDNers would come running...

A quick intro...I am a 1st year student at a public midwest school.
I know we are all getting burnt out! But stick in there! Hopefully 3rd and 4th year won't suck as much..lol

Question:
Tuition is approx. $25K + $10K for living expenses (I live alone and try to spend around $1000 for rent and food ---trying to stretch it for 12 months)
= $35K debt/year

What should I do for the summer? Should I do whatever I feel like, or consider the money I could be making (around 3K - 5K) either through research or a job?????

I don't HAVE to do research and would rather just pick up a few extra $1000s and travel/enjoy all summer.

Anyone else have debts around my area?? I am anticipating graduating with $150K in debt!!! Scary!! (Lucky ass rich med school kids...i envy those whose parents pay)

For a GP who makes $110 after taxes (approx. 9K/month) is $150K (with accumulated interest) an easy debt to pay off? Sorry, but I guess I am spoiled and have not thought about this until now...now that I am busting my balls..lol

Thanks all!!

Where do you live that your total expenses are only 1000$/month?
Do you drive? public transp? entertainment? leisure? buy textbooks?

 

[ubcredfox]

Ya, $1000/month is really low! Ha, but I'm getting totally shafted on rent

If you're wondering about what to do with your summer, I think the easy answers is do whatever it is that'll bring you the most pleasure. I usually try to get a few things on the go at the same time, and spend a month or so doing each thing. I stay as far away from research labs or school related experiences as I possibly can.

I'm going to go traveling again this summer Screw the debt. Enjoy life outside of the grind!

 

[docscience]

Where do you live that your total expenses are only 1000$/month?
Do you drive? public transp? entertainment? leisure? buy textbooks?

I live in the midwest...go to school in KY...so that narrows it down a bit for you. I do not drive as I live a mile from school and I just walk. I drive around to friends houses and shopping on the weekend.

I used to go drink a lot....now I try to limit my weekly spending to $50. $200/month on going out, drinking, eating...$550 for rent, $40 for internet...but I usually end up spending more and so that is why I round up to $1000.
my parents live in town and they cook me food and drop it off....i know i know...i am super super spoiled...

I am just trying to debate whether being this cheap will pay off in the end, or if I should just enjoy and spend a little more and have nice things (like my friends do...lol)

 

[khadija]

whoa, what r u guys doing? i spend no more than $900/month, and rent is $720/month. and i live in a big city in the east coast. my advice is to buy in bulk. and go to as many free parties/events as possible.

 

[TMP-SMX]

whoa, what r u guys doing? i spend no more than $900/month, and rent is $720/month. and i live in a big city in the east coast. my advice is to buy in bulk. and go to as many free parties/events as possible.

We have cars in the midwest. Gas isn't cheap. Of course I stream a vast majority of lectures so I save that way.

 

[NormalSaline]

For a GP who makes $110 after taxes (approx. 9K/month) is $150K (with accumulated interest) an easy debt to pay off?

I recently did the math on this. I will have ~150k when i graduate. If I recall correctly, To pay off that amount @ ~7.5% in 10 years is 2200/mo

Taking home 110k, you should be able to do it in 5 while living comfortably.

 

[Doctor J]

...

What should I do for the summer? Should I do whatever I feel like, or consider the money I could be making (around 3K - 5K) either through research or a job?????

I don't HAVE to do research and would rather just pick up a few extra $1000s and travel/enjoy all summer.

Don't do research unless you're interested in research. If you're just doing it for the cash you will be terribly sorry you wasted your last real free summer for a lousy 5 g's. Research (especially bench) can be incredibly frustrating and entail long hours in the lab when you'd rather be out in the sun. Summer after 2nd year is board studying, summer after 3rd year is about 14 days long, summer after 4th year is spent moving your whole life to a new city and ends July 1st. So think very hard about whether you want the research experience because you might really like research... or you just want the money.

Myself, I spent the summer after 1st year doing absolutely nothing and I loved every second of it. I don't regret my decision in the least.

 

[Crixivan]

I recently did the math on this. I will have ~150k when i graduate. If I recall correctly, To pay off that amount @ ~7.5% in 10 years is 2200/mo

Taking home 110k, you should be able to do it in 5 while living comfortably.

This is a plus for pharmacy, as you can start making good money when you're finished with school.

For a med student, graduating with $150,000 of debt will snowball to $200,000 over four years of residency at the interest rate mentioned (though thanks to the CCRA, residents have to find a way to make payments during PGY). To pay that off in 5 years, your monthly loan payment would be about $6,000. That doesn't leave much living comfort if you have a family, especially if you want to own a home.

 

[Green Chimneys]

This is a plus for pharmacy, as you can start making good money when you're finished with school.

For a med student, graduating with $150,000 of debt will snowball to $200,000 over four years of residency at the interest rate mentioned (though thanks to the CCRA, residents have to find a way to make payments during PGY). To pay that off in 5 years, your monthly loan payment would be about $6,000. That doesn't leave much living comfort if you have a family, especially if you want to own a home.

But why would you pay it off in 5 years? You're almost definitely going to have a better interest rate on your educational loans than on a house, credit cards, car, or whatever else you spend money on. Why worry about eliminating your low interest debt as fast as possible just so that you can tie up your money in high interest debt?

 

[kdburton]

But why would you pay it off in 5 years? You're almost definitely going to have a better interest rate on your educational loans than on a house, credit cards, car, or whatever else you spend money on. Why worry about eliminating your low interest debt as fast as possible just so that you can tie up your money in high interest debt?

I say this same thing every time, but nobody ever understands... School loans are probably the cheapest debt you can get, so if you're going to be making payments on anything else you might as well string the student loan ones out over the longest time possible.

 

[Crixivan]

But why would you pay it off in 5 years? You're almost definitely going to have a better interest rate on your educational loans than on a house, credit cards, car, or whatever else you spend money on. Why worry about eliminating your low interest debt as fast as possible just so that you can tie up your money in high interest debt?

I agree. My 5 year figure was based on NormalSaline's timeframe.

I say this same thing every time, but nobody ever understands... School loans are probably the cheapest debt you can get, so if you're going to be making payments on anything else you might as well string the student loan ones out over the longest time possible.

Yeah, it's almost like you have to become a homeowner before you understand how everything works.

I just hope they let us deduct paid student loan interest from taxable income.

 

[nogolfinsnow]

Can you consolidate med school loans to a lower interest rate after graduation? I think all the loans during school are around 6.5-8% interest, which can generate some big numbers if you start out down $250k. My sister-in-law consolidated her law school debt to 1% interest! She probably won't pay it all off until she's 90, nor should she! If you can consolidate to a really low rate over a long time, then paying it off really isn't a big deal, I'm just not sure how it works with medschool loans

 

[Crixivan]

Can you consolidate med school loans to a lower interest rate after graduation? I think all the loans during school are around 6.5-8% interest, which can generate some big numbers if you start out down $250k.

If you're talking about Staffords, yes, they can be consolidated after graduation, but beware that you may lose the ability to defer if you consolidate under a private lender. I've never really seen a "better" deal that didn't come with some kind of catch.

 

[docscience]

A lot of people have sent me messages asking me where I go to school...I hope this doesn't affect me, but I go to UK (University of Kentucky) in Lexington, KY

Anyone else go there?