Would you go to med school if you had to prepay $160k?

[Creightonite]

If you had to prepay for all for years, say it is $40k/year for med school tuition, would you still want to go to med school? we are talking about any not-top 50 school.

Lets just say it does not matter who pays, loans or mom and dad.

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[HumbleMD]

If you had to prepay for all for years, say it is $40k/year for med school tuition, would you still want to go to med school? we are talking about any not-top 50 school.

Lets just say it does not matter who pays, loans or mom and dad.

I'm going to be doing it on loans, so besides the extra interest, it really doesn't make that much difference.

 

[Creightonite]

U'd be surprised. That would be extra $11.2K per the first year worth of interest if you have a 7% interest rate loan.

 

[NonTradMed]

If you had to prepay for all for years, say it is $40k/year for med school tuition, would you still want to go to med school? we are talking about any not-top 50 school.

Lets just say it does not matter who pays, loans or mom and dad.

Besides the increased in interest (because you'd be taking out a loan sooner), there really isn't any difference between paying as you go and paying upfront. I'm not sure I see the huge distinction. It's like asking would we still go to med school if it was more expensive.

 

[BucsFan813]

That really depends on your age, medical specialty, and other factors.

If you pay using cash or securities, then yes it's probably a good investment. If you invested that same money in the stock market over 8 years (@ 8%APR) that money would be worth 300K (in today's dollars). So if you're entering a competitive specialty, you can probably make the 140K up quickly. If you're entering family practice, not so much.

If you use loans, it really depends on the rate. I don't know where you're going to get a 160K lump sum loan... but if you did, you could get tax breaks on the interest and it would reduce your tax liability over the life of the loan...

So go for it, but you better work your tail off in med school so you can get paid...

 

[MirrorTodd]

Hell yes, I would.

 

[Vvandenn]

Yes I would.

 

[SoCuteMD]

It would be cheaper than my current med school!!

 

[etf]

i spent $225,000 trying to bribe an adcom member...didn't work

 

[etf]

btw, i'm kidding about the above

 

[Kuba]

btw, i'm kidding about the above

some people do if you think about the costs of doing postbacc + masters + 2nd masters..

 

[kaikai128]

I know that this is a common practice for people from other countries that are not able to get any govt loans.

 

[jbrice1639]

U'd be surprised. That would be extra $11.2K per the first year worth of interest if you have a 7% interest rate loan.

That's still only about 10% of the average doc's salary right out of residency (not counting higher salaries in specialties).

I have to agree with the others that said it doesn't seem like a big distinction.

I'm also not really sure what the point of the question is...is there some school that requires this?

 

[DoctorPardi]

Are you talking about taking out a 160k loan before the first day of class versus having a 160k loan accruing over 4 years?

If that is the case, the amount isn't going to be THAT much different. I mean, you might be talking about 200-220k instead of 160k. Forty to sixty thousand dollars is a lot of money on its own, but when you're comparingi t to 160, the it isn't that huge of a heightened cost. So I would think, if you're willing to be a doctor for 160k, then you're willing to become a doctor for 220k.

If you're talking about somehow coming up with 160k, then well there is no way I can do that, so I would not become a doctor lol.

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

That's still only about 10% of the average doc's salary right out of residency (not counting higher salaries in specialties).

I have to agree with the others that said it doesn't seem like a big distinction.

I'm also not really sure what the point of the question is...is there some school that requires this?

this is a great question about framing. behavioral economists ask these sorts of questions all the time. the op should have nixed the interest issue, though.

so everybody writes on apps and sdn about how much they want to be a doctor (cognitive). but if you had to financially commit yourself in advance to the entire process (behavioral), would you do it?

 

[jbrice1639]

so everybody writes on apps and sdn about how much they want to be a doctor (cognitive). but if you had to financially commit yourself in advance to the entire process (behavioral), would you do it?

by taking on the first quarter of the loans, i feel that i have committed myself to the entire process...once you start the debt cycle at that level, you pretty much have to finish just to be able to pay off what you started.

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

by taking on the first quarter of the loans, i feel that i have committed myself to the entire process...once you start the debt cycle at that level, you pretty much have to finish just to be able to pay off what you started.

for me, it's still a matter of degrees. there's a degree of hating med school at which i would walk away from 20k put down on a semester but not walk away if i had already put down 160k for the whole process.

 

[_ian]

40K a year for a school that isn't top 50? Hell no. I have state schools.

To actually answer the question, the lump sum vs. per semester payment doesn't matter to me.

 

[alwaysaangel]

40K a year for a school that isn't top 50? Hell no. I have state schools.

To actually answer the question, the lump sum vs. per semester payment doesn't matter to me.

See I can't even imagine paying 40k per year for a school that IS top 50. I would much rather go to a "lousy" state school and pay 20k. I have no interest in a top specialty and as long as its an accredited school I don't care. Unfortunately I live in a state where all the state schools are top 50 and impossible to get into. 🙁

Someone please put a "lousy", non-Christian medical school in Cali.

 

[BeatrixKiddo]

Yes, I'm Rick James.

 

[Hurricane95]

If you pay that much in advance, chances are you will study much, much harder in med school, that's for sure haha...it might not be so bad for some people who have trouble focusing and slack off, because the investment feels much heavier when it's already out of your pocket. You're at the top of the class for sure.

 

[PhotoMD]

If you pay that much in advance, chances are you will study much, much harder in med school, that's for sure haha...it might not be so bad for some people who have trouble focusing and slack off, because the investment feels much heavier when it's already out of your pocket. You're at the top of the class for sure.

I don't know that it will make you study harder, but I'd love to prepay so I didn't have to play the financial aid game every single year. That alone would make the option just spectacular for me.