Will I have to start paying back loans with a low paying job?

[psychMDhopefully]

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Ok so, long story short, I failed out of med school for failure to pass Step 1 and now have about 215k in debt with no way to really pay it off. I have accepted a teaching job that will pay me 35k as a new teacher and I would really like to defer paying loans on this salary, but can I? I remember reading here that residents can defer loans while in residency, but does that have to do with the trainee status?

After failing out of med school my life was ruined and I'm trying to put it back together. My plan is to teach for next year, get myself together, get in shape and apply for AA school entering class of 2019. Once I become an AA it would make sense to start paying loans then.

 

[mvenus929]

You can apply for forebearance, citing that your don’t have the funds to pay. Or, depending on the rest of your situation, you can enroll in PAYE or IBR, or REPAYE and only pay 10-15% of your discretionary income, which on 35K should be fairly low (my payment was like $250 on 50K).

Your financial aid office should have given you some exit counseling with these options, especially since you aren’t following the typical path. But, bottom line, contact your loan servicer and find out what your options are.

 

[TMP-SMX]

What's AA?

When you are out of school you will enter repayment after a grace period. IBR/REPAYE won't be too bad in terms of monthly payments. Long term you may or may not want to stay in government/nonprofit for the next 10 years, but that might be one way of managing that 215k of debt. Is that really for two years of med school? Anyway, do your own research and figure what's best for you.

 

[psychMDhopefully]

What's AA?

When you are out of school you will enter repayment after a grace period. IBR/REPAYE won't be too bad in terms of monthly payments. Long term you may or may not want to stay in government/nonprofit for the next 10 years, but that might be one way of managing that 215k of debt. Is that really for two years of med school? Anyway, do your own research and figure what's best for you.

Med school plus undergrad and some graduate courses. AA=Anesthesia Assistant.

 

[TMP-SMX]

Strongly consider working for a nonprofit until your loans are forgiven under an income limited repayment plan. I don't know how you are going to surmount that kind of debt as an anesthesia assistant.

 

[psychMDhopefully]

Strongly consider working for a nonprofit until your loans are forgiven under an income limited repayment plan. I don't know how you are going to surmount that kind of debt as an anesthesia assistant.

IBR or PAYE, AAs make 150k

 

[Mad Jack]

Do PAYE, work for a nonprofit, your loans will be forgiven in 10 years and it'll be low medical school never happened

 

[Stroganoff]

I'm loving REPAYE personally. Probably run the numbers for your individual situation. The 1-2 hours of reading + filling out the application relieves a lot of debt worries, especially once you see your minimum payment go down.

 

[TMP-SMX]

IBR or PAYE, AAs make 150k

You have two more years of education for the masters correct or are they taking some of your med school coursework to avoid that? Range I see is 95-180k a year for salary. Do the repayment plan calculator to figure out if the repayment plans are feasible for you. You'll be paying 2400 a month on a standard repayment plan at 215k if you are single at an AGI of 150k. REPAYE is around 1000 a month and you would end up only paying about 168k on your loan if you are eligible for PSLF. For the standard plan, a third of your 150k salary after taxes would go to your student loan. Do your own math on some calculators to find out what you can live on and the best route.