warning! stupid question

[dajalyn]

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how do you support yourself financially during med school? during your 3rd and 4th years when most are typically interns, are you paid at all for that? how do you live during med school? do you just start making money when you start your residency?

 

[Naphtali]

You sink into a quagmire of debt. (Paid for 3rd year! It is to laugh! YOU pay THEM.) And you won't be making the big bux in residency either. How does 40k for an 80 hour work week sound?

Now you see why docs deserve good pay after residency.

Naphtali

 

[topherius]

umm...by "3rd and 4th year" I assume you mean 3rd and 4th year of medical school, when you are not only not paid but are actually still paying the same amt. of tuition that you paid during 1st and 2nd year, if not a little more. Technically, the term "intern" in medicine is reserved for your first year of residency (the year after your 4th year of school). This is a little confusing, I guess, since you start doing rotations during 3rd year, which are more like internships in the conventional, non-medical sense of the word.

Anyway, sorry for that digression...basically you support yourself in med school thru financial aid, be it grants or loans (plus whatever $$ you bring in to begin with). Most schools work out a comprehensive budget that covers pretty much your entire cost of living, and the aid package they give you covers this. It ensures that you'll live comfortably for your four years of school, even if you're then in a huge amount of debt when you get out. (I think average debt for med school graduates is around $100,000, but I know there are probably SDNers out there who have the exact figures 🙂 )

You start making money your first year of residency, but it's barely enough to live on...usually just over $30,000 a year. Most loan programs forgive your debt with 0% interest for at least the first couple years of residency, if not the whole thing. So, overall, the financial situation isn't great, but it's feasible and most people have to deal with it to some extent, unless they go to a cheap state school, get a great grant package, or are independently wealthy.

 

[Alexander99]

To give a somewhat more detailed answer, you get a bunch of student loans which cover your tuition and cost of living (rent, food, etc) for the first 4 years of med school. The good thing about these loans is they are very low interest (practically free when adjusted for inflation) and they don't have to be paid back until you're making the big bucks (you don't have to pay during your residency when you're only making 40k/year.)

The bad thing is, they don't cover anything beyond your basic cost of living so if you have a car payment, kids, massive amounts of pets or whatnot, you may need another source of income. Hardly anyone works while in med school though so that is something to think about.

 

[hsouth]

Speaking of paying for school...how do you all feel about the programs like National Health Corps and Army that pay for all your school (tuition, books, and a stipend) but that you owe 4 years of your life to? I'm looking into them, but haven't made a decision. Anyone have any experience (positive or negative) with these? Thanks!

~H

 

[TTSD]

Originally posted by hsouth
Speaking of paying for school...how do you all feel about the programs like National Health Corps and Army that pay for all your school (tuition, books, and a stipend) but that you owe 4 years of your life to? I'm looking into them, but haven't made a decision. Anyone have any experience (positive or negative) with these? Thanks!

~H

From friends in medschool, I hear that the students receiving their tuition from the military get to buy all the cool equipment. Just never choose Navy! As my pappy told me, "You'll be smelling everyone's fart."

 

[topherius]

I don't know...there are pluses and minuses to both, I guess. The major detractor from NHSC is that you have a very small range of specialties to choose from. Since I don't know yet what I want to do, I'm skeptical. Military isn't really an option for me. But if it's open to you, it at least gives you more latitude in what you wind up doing...with the caveat that you could wind up posted in the arctic circle or some such lovely place.

 

[ATPase]

Does anybody out there have credit card debt that you'll still be paying off while in medical school? What do most people do about this? Take out additional loans to make your credit card payments every month???

 

[Alexander99]

Originally posted by ATPase
Does anybody out there have credit card debt that you'll still be paying off while in medical school? What do most people do about this? Take out additional loans to make your credit card payments every month???

If your monthly payments aren't too bad (less than $200/month), you'll probably be able to squeak by on your regular loans. Normally the loans give you a little extra for miscellaneous living expenses. Just be really tight with your money and don't go out to eat, etc. If your payments are significantly more than that, you can't take out additional loans to cover them so you'll have to look at another option. Maybe get a job now and pay off as much as possible between now and the time you get into med school.

 

[ATPase]

Thanks - I've been concerned about this!

 

[hsouth]

I am SEVERELY in credit card debit! (About $4k) Mostly from this silly application proces. One of the reasons I'm considering Army...a little more $ to play with. The benefit of no debt when I graduate is huge too. We'll see though...I need to make a decision one way or the other soon!

 

[TTSD]

Rob your local liquor stores.

 

[topherius]

I sold one of my toes.

Well, I at least thought about it...

 

[Mistress S]

Another thing to look into with NHSC is loan repayment programs. I don't think I would take the scholarship as you have to commit to a primary care specialty, which I am not ready to do yet, but if I end up pursuing one of these specialties anyway I think the NHSC loan repayment is a great way to go--you still get paid a regular salary, you can apply for positions anywhere in the country (although many of the available positions are in rural areas, so that's something to consider), and you get up to $25,000/yr of your loans repaid--all this while providing care to needy populations. I think there is also a simliar repayment program for native american reservations, if this interests you. Anyone know more about that? I can't remember the name of the program or anything right now.

Personally, I would never go the army route, as one of my chief goals in life is to stay as far away from war as possible. Also, the military is kind of tricky in that once you have repaid your 4 years to them, if a war comes up and they decide they need you with your valuable military medical experience, they can always call you back up. Once you get involved with them, it can be difficult to extract yourself completely. But I'm sort of biased, as I generally feel the military is a huge crock of s***, and wouldn't trust anything they told me.

 

[mpp]

A few more specifics in regards to federal loans.

During residency you may qualify for a hardship deferrment (it is not automatic) and this depends on your monthly loan payment, your income, and the poverty level in the state in which you are a resident. This deferment is good for 3 years maximum and must be renewed each year. After those 3 years you may qualify for forbearance which has even more stringent requirements for eligibility. Unsubsidized Stafford loans (the majority of the federal loans available) do accrue interest during deferment. Both subsidized and unsubsidized loans accrue interest while in forbearance. The interest is capitalized at the end of the deferment or annually for loans in forbearance. Stafford loans (the Federally backed loans) have a variable interest rates so this rate can change once per year and is capped at a maximum of 8.25%.

Private loans have their own terms and conditions which should be reviewed carefully. Typically, their rules in regards to deferment are more stringent and their interest rates higher.

Consolidating loans is a whole 'nother bag, but a good option once you complete residency. In this way you can get a fixed rate of interest but you may lose/gain other benefits depending on with whom you consolidate.

 

[hsouth]

More questions from me 🙂....Can you do Army (or Air Force, or Nat'l Health Corps, whatever) AND take out small loans? An $1100/month stipend isn't much to live on. Especially not with the rent in some of the areas I'm looking at. All that would be taken up by rent! I guess I could always give up food hehe. Thanks!
~H