Taking out loans for rent internship year?

[JedMosley]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone here taken out loans (or plan to take out loans) specifically just for internship year? I'm moving to California for internship and can hardly believe cost of living... there's almost no way I will be able to pay rent on my intern salary unless I live in a dump. I have made it through undergrad and graduate school with no loans, no debt- and feel guilty about starting now. My other option is to live with my aunt for the year, but it is an hour commute and she has two teenagers, so that may be worth getting in debt to avoid 😛 Just looking for other thoughts/options! Thanks!!!

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[Ollie123]

See if you can talk to last years interns about living options.

Willing to consider roommates?

 

[JedMosley]

See if you can talk to last years interns about living options.

Willing to consider roommates?

Absolutely, but our incoming cohort is very small and they all have significant others/family to live with. I've spoken with a few of last year's interns and most of them had roommates or again lived with SOs because rent is so expensive everywhere!

 

[Ollie123]

Absolutely, but our incoming cohort is very small and they all have significant others/family to live with. I've spoken with a few of last year's interns and most of them had roommates or again lived with SOs because rent is so expensive everywhere!

Interns at other nearby sites, incoming medical residents, graduate students (if a site with an affiliated university). Craigslist and cross your fingers? Sounds like finding one or more roommates is going to be your best bet if you want to avoid loans. If you haven't yet, ask last year's interns how they found their roommates. Lots of places have boards for posting those sorts of things or other ways to facilitate communication. I imagine this will be especially true in areas with high COL.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

If you have no other loans, taking out a small loan to bridge your salary seems reasonable. Commuting an hour each way will get old. I had a 45-50min commute (60-90min in bad weather/snow), and it wore on me after 4-5mon. I had satellite radio and a mostly traffic free commute, but adding two hours to every day was frustrating.

 

[stw2010]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone here taken out loans (or plan to take out loans) specifically just for internship year?

I'm not sure if this matters for you -- but myself and my cohort members with loans were not able to defer our loans during internship -- so we needed to start making payments. I'm not sure if this differed for others.

 

[deleted343839]

I didn't have a problem deferring my loans during internship or postdoc.

 

[stw2010]

I didn't have a problem deferring my loans during internship or postdoc.

I was told I could for postdoc (yay) but unfortunately what my cohort members and I found -- is bc of the way we are enrolled in our grad program while on internship (1 internship credit, etc), we don't appear to be "full (or even part time) time students". But it seems like this differed for people. Good to know this is not true for everyone. Thanks MamaPhD!

 

[smalltownpsych]

We were still enrolled and thus could still defer. Of course, we still had to pay some tuition, too. 🙁
For the OP, that is one reason that I left California for internship. I would have probably had to move anyway (or commute in LA traffic) and why pay for a high cost of living area when I was going to get 18k per year. You are there now, so you will need to do what you have to do. An hour commute in Cali can easily turn into two so that would be extremely stressful. I would get the cheapest, safe place as close to your site as you can and if you have to borrow a bit, then so be it. In a few years, you should be making 80k+ so keep your eyes on that. Good luck and enjoy your last year of struggling financially.

 

[463951]

I didn't have a problem deferring my loans during internship or postdoc.

How were you able to defer your loans during postdoc?

 

[AcronymAllergy]

How were you able to defer your loans during postdoc?

I believe there's a stipulation for deferment that specifically mentions fellowship. Although if you can swing the payments and are on an IBR-type plan, paying while in fellowship may not be a bad idea; cuts a year or two off the back end.

 

[deleted343839]

How were you able to defer your loans during postdoc?

I was in a formal postdoc on a training grant, so I could give my lender clear evidence that I was still in a training position.

 

[463951]

Thanks for your responses. I could go the fellowship route and defer, but agree that going IBR now is better, since I can afford the payments at this time.

 

[deleted343839]

Thanks for your responses. I could go the fellowship route and defer, but agree that going IBR now is better, since I can afford the payments at this time.

That's the smart thing to do! Paying something is better than paying nothing. And at least you can take the student loan interest deduction.

 

[463951]

That's the smart thing to do! Paying something is better than paying nothing. And at least you can take the student loan interest deduction.

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Great info for those still in training.

 

[Spydra]

I was in a formal postdoc on a training grant, so I could give my lender clear evidence that I was still in a training position.

Thanks for sharing this! This is definitely worth factoring into my future post doc search.

 

[DynamicDidactic]

Man, I would hate for you to take out loans now. Its really just a personal decision at this point. I had decent success with finding a CL roomie. I remember other interns splitting apartments with 2-3 people.

 

[calimich]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone here taken out loans (or plan to take out loans) specifically just for internship year? I'm moving to California for internship and can hardly believe cost of living... there's almost no way I will be able to pay rent on my intern salary unless I live in a dump. I have made it through undergrad and graduate school with no loans, no debt- and feel guilty about starting now. My other option is to live with my aunt for the year, but it is an hour commute and she has two teenagers, so that may be worth getting in debt to avoid 😛 Just looking for other thoughts/options! Thanks!!!

Hey JedMosley -- congrats on matching in California! I also interned and postdoc'd in CA and needed to take out some loans to help with COL. Sounds like you are debt free so far so it shouldn't set you back too much. And like others have said, I was also able to defer loans both years while opting to make interest payments. Good luck!

 

[CApsych]

I'm at a northern ca va for internship and honestly feel that that it is nearly impossible to live here without outside support. I wouldn't feel the least bit guilty about taking out loans. My rent easily exceeds my stipend, alone, and I rented before the boom.

 

[CApsych]

I also have an hour commute and can say that's not horrible. I have a "threenager" but no teenagers🙂

 

[Lurking Oracle]

I believe there's a stipulation for deferment that specifically mentions fellowship. Although if you can swing the payments and are on an IBR-type plan, paying while in fellowship may not be a bad idea; cuts a year or two off the back end.

Agreed. Keep in mind that a deferral-eligible postdoctoral fellowship/residency would need to be a structured experience in a formally organized setting. For example, simply getting a year or two of "supervised" hours in somebody's private practice in accrual for licensure would not be eligible.