Undergrad loans potentially affecting med school financing

[smallbiz2doc]

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For my first degree, not only did I do horribly (wrong reasons for going to school) but I went to a private school for religious reasons at the time, all on financial aid, taking six years to finish. Therefore I left there with a principal of close to $60,000. Now I'm halfway through a second degree getting straight A's, but wondering if GPA repair is actually the least of my worries. Can I actually have too much in undergrad loans to be able to get financing for medical school? I'm going to a state school now and don't have to borrow very much in comparison, but I'll probably end up with $90,000 in principal.

 

[DrMidlife]

Assuming you're eligible for federal loans and that your credit isn't trashed, this isn't a barrier to med school financing.

But whether you can handle it totally depends on what kind of debt it is.

If it's almost entirely federal (Stafford, Perkins, etc) then you get in-school deferment and essential repayment programs (IBR, PAYE, PSLF). "Essential" means "compatible with >$250k loan burden".

If it's from private lenders then you have to read the fine print to figure out if you're eligible for in-school deferment, and think of it pretty much like consumer debt (like a credit card or car loan) that you have to manage separately from your med school debt.

Best of luck to you.

 

[smallbiz2doc]

Thank you so much! I didn't realize some of them might not be eligible for in-school deferment. I will definitely be paying attention to that.