Surviving medschool alone

[krkawakami]

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Hi

I’m thinking about finally trying to apply for medschool but I know I won’t have a support system (family with housing, financial, etc)
Right now, I have a pretty good job with some savings and will have to give it up.
My question and somewhat curiosity is has anyone been in this scenario? How did you handle off semester housing and financials?

 

[Hollow Knight]

So a lot of med students have rich parents, but a lot of us don’t.

It freaked me out when I got into medical school a little- I literally googled “How do normal people afford to be doctors” and the White Coat Investor book/site popped up. Great book, you should check it out.

But the bottom line is you borrow money to pay your rent and buy food. It’s tough. But it’s doable. And you will make enough as a physician to pay the loans off (barring some unpredictable catastrophe).

Don’t let your background hold you back. If you want it, go for it.

The only caution I will give you is that in the age of the BBB, there are probably some medical schools that will cost more than you can afford to pay off even as a doctor. You should still apply, just don’t forget to do the math before you matriculate somewhere like that.

 

[Smurfette]

Student loans.
only 2 people in my med school class of 150 graduated with no loans. And the vast majority took out the max offered to them.
As for your last question, live off campus (house or apt) and student loans. Med school is basically year round, so there is not much off-semester time to worry about other than between year one and two (and some schools go straight through).

 

[DocWinter]

I thought medical school was outrageously expensive when I attended. I came from humble beginnings, had no family or other assistance and put it all on Federal loans, balance was about $350,000 at the end.
Fortunately I matched into a specialty where I can pay it off and still live comfortably. I started medical school in 2014 for what it's worth.

Currently I'm seeing students routinely take on up to 80-100,000 a year in medical student debt. The majority of these students are entering into primary care specialties with low and stagnating pay. $300,000 a year may sound like a lot of money, but you give Uncle Sam no less than a third, pay your ever expanding bills and suddenly you're not really moving ahead.

At some point ROI is simply not going to be worth it as reimbursement in the primary care specialties will not match up to inflation, interest, cost of living and the other plagues of our current day.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Hi

I’m thinking about finally trying to apply for medschool but I know I won’t have a support system (family with housing, financial, etc)
Right now, I have a pretty good job with some savings and will have to give it up.
My question and somewhat curiosity is has anyone been in this scenario? How did you handle off semester housing and financials?

I'm sorry if this sounds rather flippant, but have you looked at USUHS or HPSP? Are you still eligible for it? Of course, the question is whether you would consider the miltiary community a new support system.

 

[NSB2288]

I'm sorry if this sounds rather flippant, but have you looked at USUHS or HPSP? Are you still eligible for it? Of course, the question is whether you would consider the miltiary community a new support system.

Please don't do HPSP unless you have a passion for military service.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Moving to pre-med