Tuition pay back?

[zebalong]

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Sorry this might be dumb question but I'll keep it short.
I searched a bit on the board and saw that some job offers offer tuition loan assistance my question is, though none of the posts i found have much details:

1. How do job offers that give some tuition pay back assistance work? is it a yearly thing? and does it have to be government loans or can it be private loans as well?
2. Is it common in job offers to get some pay back and approx how much?
3. If you have no loans can you bargain for something else instead of loan pay back?

Thanks for any insight!

 

[gutonc]

Keep in mind that nothing comes free in these deals. If they're going to be paying off your loans, either your gross salary will be less, they're planning to work you like a dog, the hospital/group/town sucks or (most likely) some combination of the above.

Don't choose a job because it offers some loan repayment. But if a job you want also offers loan repayment, well...bonus.

 

[OveractiveBrain]

gutonc, clearly you did not chose loan forgiveness.

Though some of the things he said are true. The people who offer loan repayment are generally one of two types. (1) Those that serve and underpriviliged urban population in an academic institution (where salaries are lower to begin with or (2) Those that are in the middle of nowhere so offer large salaries and loan forgiveness plans as incentives to get you to their location.

(1) In general, loan payback/forgiveness is an annual "bonus" on your contract, added to your salary. There are also some hospitals that will contract you to ten years of service, then, at the end of 10 years, will pay off your entire debt. Things like that. It varies from hospital to hospital, and Im afraid there isnt a central database of job offers.

(2) They are not common. You may be able to negotiate some repayment into your contract, but at what cost? I would bring this up after you have settled on your salary and benefits. It is an easy thing to add. It isn't salary, and somehow its cheaper for the hospital to pay back your loans than it is from them to pay you.

(3) Once you are going to be hired for a real job, for the first time in most medical school goers lives, there is no standardized application process, there is no AMCAS, ERAS, or other bull****. You can negotiate all you want for whatever you want. No one has to accept you, especially if you are a dirt bag negotiator trying to pinch pennies and arent very good. You don't have to accept anyone. You get to choose if location and services are more important than salary and benefits.

So in summary
(1) Annually or at end-of-term contracts
(2) It is not common. No central database exists. it is totally negotiable
(3) Negotiate everything

 

[gutonc]

gutonc, clearly you did not chose loan forgiveness.

Though some of the things he said are true. The people who offer loan repayment are generally one of two types. (1) Those that serve and underpriviliged urban population in an academic institution (where salaries are lower to begin with or (2) Those that are in the middle of nowhere so offer large salaries and loan forgiveness plans as incentives to get you to their location.

Actually, I said exactly what you said, only more succinctly.

The public service loan forgiveness programs are there because nobody else wants those Primary Care jobs (middle of nowhere ND or Ghettoville, MD) so they have to offer something good to get people to take them. Private practice jobs that offer loan repayment do it for the same reasons (nobody would take the job due to location or work load).