premed4321
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Right now I am very interested in psychiatry and academic medicine. However I’m not sure what I’ll see myself doing in 8 years.. I kind of want to prioritize work life balance (as best I can as a physician) so I know I don’t really want to do surgery.Do you want to be near family? And what are your goals in medicine for the future?
Hey! I'm in the same boat for not qualifying for aid, but not receiving help from my family. I'm planning on heading to one of these schools and the debt is daunting. If you don't mind sharing, are you planning to just use loans?
What have been your thoughts? Curious to hear your opinion as well since we seem to be in very similar situationsHey! I'm in the same boat for not qualifying for aid, but not receiving help from my family. I'm planning on heading to one of these schools and the debt is daunting. If you don't mind sharing, are you planning to just use loans?
I completely understand. Unfortunately all my savings from this year have been used to aggressively pay off my undergrad loans (I still have like 80K though). Was trying to minimize that debt before starting school bc interest will only keep accruing .. so I have no way to pay for school other than loans which is very scary. It has honestly made me rethink if it’s financially feasible to go to school 🙁 it’s tough I would feel so lucky to go to one of these schools but I’m rly worried about debt. So having a tough time choosing between these schools but also choosing if it makes financial sense in general
Interesting point- so any non-profit hospit qualifies? Or will I need to make sure it is a 501(c)3? Sorry I am just very unfamiliar but want to see if some hospitals qualifyBased on your preferences, Columbia seems like the right choice given the small differences in cost among your choices. (Congrats btw!!)
So...one thing on loans. Unless your undergrad loans are high-interest private loans, I'd suggest that you please stop eating away at your savings. Your federal loans (assuming you took them out after 2011) are all eligible for income-based repayment (a few different varieties of this). Ignore the interest for the time being (I know this sounds ridiculous). The federal direct loans you take out for medical school will also be eligible for income-based repayment. Why does this matter? Because for residency you're only making $50-60K (little more in the Pacific Northwest). Your payments will be quite reasonable and you'll likely qualify for "Public Loan Service Forgiveness." Most hospitals (~73%) and virtually all academic centers are 501(c)3 non-profits which qualify you for loan forgiveness after 120 payments (10 years). Imagine. 3-4 years residency. 6-7 years as an attending, then $300K wiped away (tax-free). You might be worried that your payments will get super high as an attending. Not if you choose the right repayment plan. There's a cap on monthly payments to the 10-year standard rate.
Yes, this will apply to you. Even if Republicans regain control of the House and get rid of PSLF (unlikely) you'll already be taking out those loans. They can't change the promissory notes you've already signed by then (which include loan forgiveness).
Sorry that was a little off-topic. I just wanted you to know that you'll be good. Most people don't know that you don't have to work primary care on a reservation in North Dakota to still qualify for public service loan forgiveness. You can do it without really even trying. Just make sure you consider whether your intended residency is at a non-profit hospital. I encourage you to seek out resources on PSLF yourself.
EDIT: By no means am I endorsing spending frivolously. Still be frugal and try to get the best deal. And if your undergrad loans are high interest private loans, take out the max amt you can in federal loans during medical school and pay off your private loans. Now, all of your loans are eligible for PSLF and income-based repayment (with lower interest rates).
Interesting point- so any non-profit hospit qualifies? Or will I need to make sure it is a 501(c)3? Sorry I am just very unfamiliar but want to see if some hospitals qualify
Sorry I wasn't clear. All non-profit hospitals qualify. Most academic hospitals are non-profit hospitals. For example,
New York Presbyterian (Columbia)
Mass General Hospital (Harvard)
Johns Hopkins Hospital (Hopkins)
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn)
Stanford University Medical Center (Stanford)
all of them are 501(c)3
Good info! Thanks for mentioning this. An attending I shadowed recently also talked about loan forgiveness after 10 years (of paying the minimum). Sounds legit
Oh I see... also is it guaranteed that you could have your loans forgiven?This 10 year program is not guaranteed however. In 14 years you cannot be assured that it will still be going on. But I agree that it can be a good option for people
Oh I see... also is it guaranteed that you could have your loans forgiven?
I guess one worry I have is that if I only pay 10% of my income for 10 years, I probably won’t even be paying much into the principal.. then after 10 years if I am not approved then I will have wasted so much in interest accruing than if I had paid as much as I could afford from the beginning
This 10 year program is not guaranteed however. In 14 years you cannot be assured that it will still be going on. But I agree that it can be a good option for people
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service#qualifySorry OP I didn't mean to derail your thread. The beauty is that it doesn't have to be around for 14 years--only 4 more for you. The promissory note is a contract with the government. And just like every change in federal loans (e.g. 2007, 2011) the people who have already taken out loans are "grandfathered" in. In 2015, Obama proposed a cap on forgiveness at $57,500--it failed. Republicans proposed a cap at $150K--it failed. Democrats are actually proposing to EXPAND public loan service forgiveness--we'll see if that happens. Either way, it isn't going away entirely. The people who want it are lawyers, doctors, etc. (i.e. everyone with expensive grad degrees). That's a powerful lobby. But that's politics.
I encourage you to seek out the information for yourself. Consult with financial aid counselors. This isn't well-known because no one could successfully do it until 2017 at the earliest (2007 + 10). It also requires a good paper trail because fed loan service providers SUCK.
EDIT: Interesting article worth reading. The Top 4 Reasons Physicians Abandon PSLF | Student Loan Planner
What have been your thoughts? Curious to hear your opinion as well since we seem to be in very similar situations
Average debt is heavily skewed by kids whose parents pay their entire tuition. You can likely double whatever 'average debt' your school is reporting and that will be more realistic to most of the class.it seems like the vast majority of students graduate with way less debt than the $320k that I'm looking at?