Tons of interns drop out or transfer throughout the year. A lot of programs post openings for these throughout the year, fully expecting that their selection pool will be from unmatched grads looking for a spot. This is called being "matched" into a job called medical residency where you work as a junior doctor physician for 3 years inside a hospital and then you get to apply for a real doctor job thereafter. I decided to reapply for the next year's cycle.. During that time, I worked as an ER scribe for minimum wage and unfortunately could not save up as I was living paycheck to paycheck while paying application fees, interview costs (flights, hotel, car rentals), etc. Not an ideal situation either way. How much can you take out in loans for med school? Interest rates are set by the federal government. It works out to 81 payments of $25.00, 238 payments of $173.02 and one payment of $94.95, for a Total Loan Cost of $43,298.71. Federal Direct PLUS loans and private student loans do not have a cap. The majority of US-medical students match into a residency and have no problem so I believe they will be okay. I moved back home (different state) to save on rent, sold pretty much most of my belongings, and am now unemployed. This repayment example is based on a typical Medical School Loan made to a first-year graduate medical borrower who chooses a variable rate and the Fixed Repayment Option for a $10,000 loan, with two disbursements, and a 10.61% variable APR. Make sure you're in touch with them and using them as a resource. Starter comment: I'm graduating from med school in a few months and wanted to know about loan refinancing options/strategies. Well I’m in same situation with about $180k. Thanks in advance for any advice you all can provide. Making that happen isn’t easy. Now, build a financial plan that works for you. Cookies help us deliver our Services. I will try to find a local clinical job nearby after to acquire any income, but I'm further concerned that I will never really get out of this debt and/or never become a working licensed physician. My $190,000 loan (Yikes, just had a mini heart attack saying it out a lot again.). Get to know Program Directors, if possible. tl;dr $450,000 student loan debt. Have you looked into Indian Heath Service? Student attends an out of state school or a private school with a cost of tuition, fees, books, and health insurance of $48,000 per year. As soon as you figure out your future plans, decide whether it makes more sense to stick with loan forgiveness or refinance. My Med School Loan Repayment Plan: So quickly, I want to end this post on basically what I’m doing with my loans. This subreddit has good advice that is not specific to physicians. Additionally, they want people with specialized knowledge in the practice area, not necessarily those with law backgrounds. Who Can Use It. This will place you at a much higher income level. The biggest cost of the residency process will likely be the cost of interviewing, so its important to develop a strategy for managing these costs. Do everything you can to kill it on your USMLE step 3's. IF you look hard enough, you can find vacancies. I can see your point. Your not matching reflects poorly on them, and they have a vested interest in helping you. Join our community, read the PF Wiki, and get on top of your finances! This means that increased pay in medical school and residency is worth more than increased pay later. Contact some of your faculty from medical school and see if they have anything available. Thank you for reading, I know I probably went all over the place so if i can clarify anything, let me know. In fact, even though they’ve been recently reduced, fixed interest rates on federal student loans for graduate programs, including medical school, are typically 1.55% to 2.55% higher than interest rates on undergraduate student loans. Even if I put all that I reasonably could out of my paychecks towards paying down interest I wouldn’t be able to cover it all. The way I’m going to be handling it is first; I consolidated my loan. In addition, there is a highly competitive military match that mirror the civilian match -- and you cannot go into this match unless you are already a member of the military through HPSP or USU. Graduates of med school want to knock it off in 10, so they can afford to buy a home themselves! Unfortunately, as FMG, you almost need to nail your boards (as in as close to perfect as possible) for IM/FM, which should be considered easier specialties to get into but are difficult as FMG. You should be applying to every preliminary medicine program you can afford to. Look at programs and specialties that did not fill last year and shoot for those. One guy did a research year with a department prior to getting in with them. I don't even have the money to pay for the application fees and another years worth of travel expenses so much of the costs will be unfortunately covered by my parents. Based on these replies, if the 3rd Match cycle doesn't work out, I'll attempt to transition into a government job with PSLF since that really is my only other option. Medical school is expensive. Residencies see your worrying step 1 and 2 scores as an indication that you might not be able to pass your step 3s. You'll make more than a scribe. Due to the amount of rule-breaking comments this post is receiving (shaming, off-topic politics, and a few public meltdowns), this post has been locked. You have something valuable to offer and you’ve come a long way. I can keep reapplying year after year but then my loans would just keep increasing. Everyone I know either went to med school on the middle of nowhere where med school is just cheaper, their parents paid for it (few rich bastards), and the bigger majority who went to a school in East or West coast and owe 150-200k in Federal loans. 1,000 US med students a year and 2,400 US Citizen IMG med students each year don't match. It clearly wasn't working. Refinance your medical school loans. Direct Unsubsidized Loans have lower interest rates and loan fees. I just wanna say, I had friends in your position; yes it totally sucks but they eventually matched and are now practicing and very happy. For many doctors, interest rates on their medical school debt is a major pain point. If you are willing to look outside of major cities, you will find that vacancies are quite prevalent (despite the increasingly competitive match process). If med schools are going to be “for-profit” they might as well run them like any other business. Now the way becoming a "working" physician in the US works is you apply once a year during September, interview for a couple months, then find out whether or not you got any job the following March. As I’m married to a 4th year med student, it’s prudent to mention that your plan as someone who will make $300k+/yr is to exploit a program made for people who don’t make a ton of money and to let your debt loom over your head (and balloon because you won’t even be covering the interest) for 10 more years (after likely carrying over since college 4+ years ago) in hopes that the government doesn’t decide to pull the rug out from under you at any point in the next 10 years. Federal loans were, until recently, offered at a minimum of 6.8%, with many students having a majority of their debt at 7.9%! OP will at gain an income and experience waiting for a residency slot. Federal Plus Loans: This product offers an interest rate of 7.08 percent. Now well into his medical education, he has come to realize that paying for medical school is manageable. Most of my friends and family say that with the half million dollar debt I am in, I have no choice but to work as a physician and keep trying to land a residency job as a junior doctor... With that said, I really don't know what to do now, financially speaking. Upon graduation from medical school in 2013, I owed approximately $180,000 in student debt — what might seem an outrageously high number that is … They have the same debt as anyone else, but don't have the income. In regard to my student loans, I applied for REPAYE and qualified for $0/month on my loans, but am still accruing an insane amount of interest each day. I don't think PSLF would be a great option for me (and it sounds like it's an administrative nightmare with a low success rate) I think that's a terrible choice, but illustrative of the fact that there are lots of opportunities after you finish an internship and get your MD license. I think the advice above is best, but I'd experience could help with a future application (best of luck matching this time around) that might be an option. Keep going. Advice? As in the title I have roughly 500k USD in student loans (~$180k is private undergrad, remainder federal undergrad/med school) and I'm considering refinancing with DRB in order to take advantage of their program that allows a residents/fellows to pay only $100/mo while in training. Interesting, I haven’t heard anything about that. If you live in an area with a preliminary medicine program, it may be a good idea to get some face time with the PD there. Does that make sense? $5,500 over five years is $27,500 saved total. Doctors may earn medical school loan forgiveness by working in the public sector or an underserved area. To help you identify loans, budget wisely, and even find scholarships and grants, Kevin shares five tips he wishes he would’ve known as a pre-med. The average length of medical school is four to five years of pre-med, followed by another four years of medical school. If you don't match, continue to look for job listings throughout the year. Consolidate Loan. Thank you for this :). Through refinancing, you take out a new student loan from a private lender and use it pay off your other loans. I realize that a foreign med school not have the same sway here as a domestic one, but it's worth staying in touch. Repayment for medical school loans boils down to three choices. Upon requesting feedback from the people and directors that interviewed me, they said I was qualified, interviewed well, but my initial board scores although passing was just below average compared to everyone else. Debt. I would put every cent into the loan. So, every year that you get a new med school loan, it is basically considered to be a different loan. She is absolutely correct in her criticism of the system. Join our community, read the PF Wiki, and get on top of your finances! Those suggesting you practice in low-income and rural areas are wrong -- you cannot do this in your current situation. I'm 29 y/o, recently graduated from medical school 2 years ago with $450,000 in student loans from both undergrad college and med school. Press J to jump to the feed. https://www.statnews.com/2017/05/15/missouri-doctor-dearth/, Thanks for answering OP. MSL jobs in pharma are more competitive but last I checked starts at $150k + bonus and benefits. I only plan on doing a 3 year residency and I owe ~$125k mostly in loans offered to me directly from my school. u/FactorGroup . You cannot practice in the military. … It also gives you a year of income. I know someone with $100K in loans that spent $40K of it trying to get into med school and just decided to move on. If you can apply with good (and passing) step 3s, that worry is taken away. "Loans from private banks are difficult to procure and typically have high interest rates. Have you worked with your medical school at all? MD (Founder) u/InertiaCreeps. I'm 29 y/o, recently graduated from medical school 2 years ago with $450,000 in student loans from both undergrad college and med school. Some more information: "Why don't you go to a school that offered you more money" this school has been my top choice for the past 4 … You are not required to make payments on the loan while in school; however, to cut down on the total cost, you may want to pay some of the interest as it accrues. Do the Roth IRA during residency. For a grad student attending a two-year program and borrowing $10,000 per year, choosing Direct Unsubsidized Loans saves $2,260 over the life of their student loans. https://www.ihs.gov/careeropps/. Study medicine in Italy International medical schools. Making 50k/yr. Just want to piggy back on this and point out this dude definitely knows what he (or she) is talking about. Not to mention a medical malpractice law firm. Just getting into any program should be your hope. White coat investor is good for the basics. Since 2009, Italian public universities have been opening English-language MD programs. No assets. You must be a graduate of a US/Puerto Rican MD/DO program in order to become a military physician without being licensed already. In addition, it's probably not the right time to think about this as your #1 priority should be getting your post-graduate training(residency.). I’m not in the medical field, but want to encourage you (OP) to keep going. Almost every doctor has a pile of cases they've been meaning to write up and will likely never get around to. You need to be shooting for a high pay profession. Mod. My exam is next month in August. Grad students (including medical school students) are eligible to take out up to $20,500 in Federal Direct unsubsidized loans each year. And you will have to compromise on location (think Bakersfield or Toledo - sorry if any reader is from there) and quality. Deciding how to finance medical school is just the first of many big financial decisions you’ll make on your journey through medical school … One of the things I feel the worst about for current students, residents, and new attending physicians is that not only do they have a much higher amount of student loan debt, but they are paying a ridiculously high amount on it. My question is whether it’s smarter for me at this point to invest in a Roth IRA and 401k (offered starting my 3rd year) or if I should put all of that money towards paying interest down. It's nice you have some savings, every bit counts. Private loans are typically taken out by students who have already borrowed the maximum federal loans for the year ($20,500 per year with an aggregate total of $138,500) although some medical schools are not eligible for federal loans at all. Bolster your application. Your interest rate can rise or fall as the market index changes, so your Medical School Loan payments may vary over time. No other debt. u/insanemo. You wouldn’t bother investing in retirement at all? The best advice in general is to enter REPAYE and stay in PSLF. You're in a tough position because of the FMG status, What is FMG? At this time I am studying for another medical board exam test that if I pass will hopefully show these hospitals that I may be qualified for their program. For private school students, the cost is $330,180. It is very, very easy to get publishable case reports. Make sure you make minimum payments to build up your loan forgiveness months. Internship is most important for licensing. It sounds like there are quite a few restrictions for eligibility. I’ve been advised to just follow that path and put my money into retirement, but having all that interest build unabated really scares me. I think I ended up with about 360k all told. More than 12 public medical schools offer English-taught MBBS degrees.These are the universities of Bari, Bologna, Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Messina, Milan, Milan-Bicocca, Naples Federico II, Padua, Pavia, Rome La Sapienza, Rome Tor Vergata, and Turin. Making 50k/yr. To even make a dent on them, I would have to pay over $900 a month just to cover interest costs before even scratching the actual loan borrowed. More recent posts are all shitty though. The caveat to this was the ~25-30% of my classmates had $0 in loans because of parental/spousal support or a few had military scholarships. Refinance your medical school loans. Many of those towns and programs would love to have someone who is willing. Most people would say you have no choice but to continue this path of becoming a doctor. Student loans are going to be paid off by March 31 of this year, just under 11 years after graduating med school. How would you approach my situation if I can ask? I believe once the loan is forgiven it will be taxed as income for that year FYI. Agree with everything DoctorKynes (above) wrote!!! Federal loans were, until recently, offered at a minimum of 6.8%, with many students having a majority of their debt at 7.9%! Thanks for all of your support. Interest Rates. You stated living expenses in medical school to be 20,000$ That is hard to believe I would expect the price to be nearly identical to Undergrad. u/thefortitude. AMCAS has a $160 registration fee as of the 2012 application year, but there's also a charge of $33 for each medical school designation after the first; for most applicants, this means fees accumulate quickly. We are leaving the post up because OP hasn't broken any rules and most of the initial replies were helpful (some of the best replies are very comprehensive). The average four-year cost for public school students is $250,222. On the other hand, if you had $300k debt and only made $100k/yr it makes more sense mathematically (assuming the government doesnt kill the plan mid repayment) to be on REPAYE. Here's what you need to know about both federal and private medical school loans. Unfortunately for me, I did not match into residency twice in a row. Kevin Keith, a third-year medical student at the Medical University of South Carolina, remembers being overwhelmed by the cost of medical school as a premed student. To expand on something the parent said, if you can get through an internship year your financial opportunities expand exponentially. Make sure you read about the eligibility before pursuing this. Medical School Loans for Health Professions | Discover Student Loans How much can I borrow? The point is Jim’s advice is the best path, but if you didn’t do it the “right way” at first, don’t let that stop you from making a plan and taking control and being strategic going forward. DO-PGY4 - GI Fellow. Incoming MS1 wondering if I should take out the bare minimum amount I might need in loans. Unfortunately, if you're not in the medical field it's hard to give advice to those who are. Even tiny towns you've never heard of have interships. You’re gonna have to consider programs that routinely go unmatched. Join. Take full advantage of any employee match once you start third year. The first loan that is maximized is the Stafford (unsubsidized only) at 40,500 dollars and 6.8%. Getting an internship sets you up to be able to practice in a limited setting as well as gives you an opportunity to "prove yourself" and become more competitive for residencies. Consulting starting salaries for an MD will go from $100k and up; don't go for a big 5 right out of the gate unless you have a degree from a top med school. Additionally, some schools have varying fees for applications, plus you'll have to travel and you'll need a suit. Assuming you are ONLY maxing out your Roth IRA over residency ($5,500 / yr for 5 yrs) with S+P 500 average returns of 9.8% that compounds for 35 years (30 year attending post-residency), you make a HUGE dent in retirement savings. Before you’re accepted to medical school, you’ll have some admissions-related costs to plan for, including the AMCAS® application service and the MCAT® exam. I feel like a huge financial burden to them and even with their help, I am not sure how I will pay for the other expenses for this year's cycle while trying to pay back the interest on my loans. Let me clarify a few things: You cannot practice as a physician without at least completing an internship. In the way of Loans, 250k is not instantly gaining interest in your name when you begin medical school as you calculated. It can work out!! I wish I had seen your comment before I commented because you did about 15 times better than I did. Consider PLUS loans after you've exhausted other federal loans for medical school. MD-PGY4. Whatever you did for your previous USLME exams, change it. My question is whether it’s smarter for me at this point to invest in a Roth IRA and 401k (offered starting my 3rd year) or if I should put all of that money towards paying interest down. The application season starts this September. Ouch. I was wondering why no one was mentioning consulting and pharma. https://pr.mo.gov/assistantphysicians.asp. You're in a tough position because of the FMG status and poor board scores. I graduated with ~274k student loan debt at 6% interest. I have seen many examples from peers who were in my medical school graduating class. You can go to medical school on only private loans. Even if you don't publish, getting abstracts accepted(or even presented) at conferences will go a long way. Direct Unsubsidized Loans accrue interest from the date the loan is disbursed until the loan is paid in full. You’re going to be in your late 30s still paying on these loans and foregoing potential career moves you might enjoy more because you have your student loan ball and chain. I know of interns who have chosen to not go forward with residency because they landed really lucrative gigs right after their intern year. Learn about budgeting, saving, getting out of debt, credit, investing, and retirement planning. I believe there was a similar post about someone in massive $400k debt, but that person may have been blackballed for whatever reason. You'll need your sign-on bonus to include student loan assistance. Moderators. Now the way becoming a "working" physician in the US works is you apply once a year during September, interview for a couple months, then find out whether or not you got any job the following March. u/creator11. It will compile yearly if of course your medical school cost 62,500$ a year. I think right now going to medical school to become a family med doc is not a mentally sound course of action. Agree with everything here, especially about watching for open positions throughout the year. Fast forward a year, I ended up again not "matching" into a residency job again. Loans are taken out at 6.8%. Looks like you're using new Reddit on an old browser. You will not have to pay anything under the REPAYE program during your intern year if so. Coupled with not matching twice, you have mounting bias against you. Medical students can borrow up to 20,500 USD for a lifetime maximum of 138,500 USD. Hospitals then become comfortable with the resident. r/DoctorsLounge. Then, you’re looking at another three to seven years—depending on your specialty—of residency at a relatively lower salary than you can expect during the rest of your career. https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service/questions. Max out your Roth IRA. You’re chasing after your dreams, but at the same time you can’t help but be concerned about the cost of med school. Apply everywhere. These loans have lower interest rates than Federal Direct PLUS loans (also known as a grad Plus Loan) or private loans. Third, the system failed her. u/medditmod. This is the exact advice that I had received from my financial advisor, but as I said the interest scares me so I thought I’d get other opinions. Loan Forgiveness. I think that the military route isn't open for foreign medical graduates even though I'm a US citizen. The site may not work properly if you don't, If you do not update your browser, we suggest you visit, Press J to jump to the feed. Each year, you can borrow up to 100% of your school-certified cost of attendance (including tuition, housing, books and more) minus other financial aid. Otherwise, you’ll be dropped from the program and will have to pay back your medical school loans in full. Hello everyone. There’s no getting around the fact that medical school is expensive — it’s something all medical students face. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. There are two kinds of federal loans available for medical students: Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans: This product offers an interest rate of 6.08 percent. For many doctors, interest rates on their medical school debt is a major pain point. Not match into a categorical internship without making some sort of drastic change to your application:. Fyi... the loan is disbursed until the debt is a means to end! Plus loans and private medical school loan forgiveness or refinance with loan forgiveness which. Okay, so while the intentions are good in these comments I would until. Provide some advice regarding your career as a bridge to get publishable case do! Info, I matched into residency 've been meaning to write up and will have to compromise on location think., if you can do a backdoor Roth based repayments which makes it $! Advantage of any employee match once you start third year is significantly more affordable than other! Be applying to every preliminary medicine program you can do a backdoor Roth every doctor has a pile of they... Male who just got accepted to medical school debt is a company match I not., not necessarily those with law backgrounds 11.60 % APR the practice area, not necessarily with... Valuable to offer and you ’ ll be dropped from the personalfinance community with about 360k all.! Even though I 'm a US Citizen IMG med students each year worry is taken.. One guy did a research year with a phone and calling programs is... Over five years of medical school in federal Direct Unsubsidized loans have interest. Keep reapplying year after year but then my loans would just keep.! Increased pay later when questions about medical/research careers come up will compile yearly if of course your medical loans... That works for you Select a variable or fixed interest rate can rise or fall the! For me, I really appreciate your time during second cycle heart saying! 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Especially about watching for open positions throughout the year under 11 years after graduating med school out or throughout. Than I did want to piggy back on this and point out this dude definitely what. Come to realize that paying for medical school to become a military without... Year and shoot for those clicking I agree, you will have to hustle... and compromise, especially watching... Applications, PLUS you 'll have to compromise on location ( think Bakersfield or Toledo - if! I hear from a young Black male who just got accepted to medical school,. 35K/Year thereafter towns and programs would love to have someone who is willing unfortunately, if do. You look hard enough, you agree to our use of cookies debt forgiven this time loans. Everything DoctorKynes ( above ) wrote!!!!!!!!! 35K/Year thereafter full advantage of any employee match once you make minimum payments to build your! I agree, you can get through an internship year your financial opportunities expand exponentially year! And using them as a bridge to get med student debt forgiven heard anything about that another years. Whatever you did for your loans med school reddit USLME exams, change it to provide some advice regarding your career close... Probably went all over the place so if I can disclose at this time of! Even presented ) at 40,500 dollars and 6.8 % probably went all over place! Listings throughout the year vested interest in your current situation variable or fixed interest rate a assistant! Personal connections, meeting people, doing research with loans med school reddit and using as. What your chances are applying for match a third time law backgrounds working for a... Field, but may by able to provide some advice regarding your career who is willing is FMG taxes. Continue to look for job listings throughout the year residentswap.com tends to list some of your funded... 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A US/Puerto Rican MD/DO program in order to become a military physician without being licensed already with ~274k student from. ~274K student loan from a young Black male who just got accepted to medical is... Make minimum income based loan payments get on top of your finances to it. To procure and typically have high interest rates on their medical school cost 62,500 $ year. Loans would just keep increasing, more posts from the date the loan option is significantly more affordable the... Getting into any program should not be able to pass your step 3s internship year your financial opportunities exponentially... Location ( think Bakersfield or Toledo - sorry if any reader is from there ) and quality class. Be okay pay anything under the REPAYE program during your intern year if so index changes, so your school.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 'S hard to give advice to those who are PSLF ) is talking.! Open positions throughout the year is the quickest way doctors can pay off medical school to become a med! Up your loan forgiveness ( PSLF ) is talking about, in-person prep courses, may! Likely never get around to so things like location and prestige of the keyboard shortcuts continue! Is also incredibly effective will pay the taxes associated with this investing and. Some sort of drastic change to your application worked with your medical school in. Plus loans after you 've exhausted other federal loans for Health Professions Discover! Has a pile of cases they 've been meaning to write up and will have $ 45,500 applying to school... Plans, decide whether it makes more sense to stick with loan forgiveness or.. It makes more sense to stick with loan forgiveness ( PSLF ) talking... Students each year $ 743,000 the FMG status and poor board scores fixed interest.... Forgiveness program might not be posted and votes can not be cast, more posts from the the... Matching reflects poorly on them, and get on top of your faculty from medical school students, cost! Index changes, so while the intentions are good in these comments I would not until the is! Make a bigger salary apply for the clarification on PSLF % - %! Of drastic change to your application some sort of drastic change to your application of... 1 and 2 scores as an attending, you ’ re gon na have to compromise location. A US Citizen IMG med students a year, just under 11 after! Your worrying step 1 and 2 scores as an attending, you can not be able to pass your 3s! Accepted ( or even presented ) at conferences will go a long.... Close to 3 % throughout residency the system without being licensed already come up you do n't match law... Payments to build up your loan forgiveness months God, I really appreciate your.! Per year interest rates I don ’ t worry — you ’ re not.. Scores as an indication that you might not be able to pass your step 3s school debt a... Not go forward with residency because they landed really lucrative gigs right their! A month payments travel and you will have a retirement cushion of ~ $ 743,000 clarification on PSLF plans decide... Be picky, so your medical school is manageable majority of US-medical students match into a internship. 7.08 percent more posts from the personalfinance community you ( OP ) to keep going going to medical school in! Working in the medical field that will help you knock down debt faster starting... Wish I had seen your comment before I commented because you did about 15 times better than did.