@WayOutWestMom does this option still exist…and is it guaranteed that a doctor can do this?
And please please don’t consider the military unless you want to serve in the military. This should not be used simply as a means to pay for college.
And I’m pretty sure @tsbna44 means PSLF, not PLSG**. That’s the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. This program ONLY applies to federally funded college loans…which are limited now to $200,000 per student including undergrad for those attending professional school. It does NOT include any private loans you or your family might take. If medical school costs $100,000 a year, and is four years long…you will need some private loans to help fund…and those cannot be forgiven by the PSLF program.
At this particular point in time, there is some discussion regarding the future of PSLF. There has been for years, but it is really ramping up. I would be hesitant about it being available for doctors in the future. It very well may be, but it is not a given.
My D has a friend who joined the army in order to get med school paid for. It worked out extremely well for her. After her OB/GYN residency, she worked at a local VA hospital. Then she was stationed in Japan. It might not be for everyone (D has another friend who went to med school with the one who was in the military, and she chose not to do the military route) - but it is awesome if you don’t mind the military requirements.
Its very good if your parents can pay for Rutgers as a commuter (I suppose they’ll cover tuition, not room&board?).
So, do you think they’re understanding that loans aren’t the way to go?
It certainly was a difficult conversation to have, kudos to you
It’s really too bad none of the “free tuition guaranteed if family income=$X” colleges work out, I figured they’d be in the 15k range BUT they were always going to be high reaches anyway.
Don’t neglect the other NJ publics&apply to all the honors&special programs there in case one offers you big merit. Some even have housing stipends in addition to honors scholarships.
I am glad you figured out a plan for Rutgers. Hopefully the plan works for your siblings as well, if/when they go to college. I also hope that your parents are not jeopardizing their own finances. I would consider the CC option as a good backup….just in case.
As far as medical school, I would put that on the back burner for now. Somebody needs to take out loans for this; government loans are capped at $200,000.
How do you know that you can work at a non profit that can pay it off? What if those programs end one day? Those programs do not apply to private loans.
I am not suggesting that you forget about medical school. I AM suggesting that you focus on undergrad with as little debt as possible. If you figured out Rutgers, that’s great. Once you are set with undergrad, you can then decide if medical school is realistic. As noted, there are less costly options for careers in healthcare.
This is your problem, @Kingo You can only borrow $200K in federal student loans over a lifetime and you can only borrow a maximum of $50K/year during professional school Many med schools already cost nearly $100K year.
At best federal student loans will pay for 1/2 of your medical education. You will need to take out private loans for the the rest. Private loans are not eligible for PSLF (assuming it still is available in the future).
Right now if you work for a non-profit the Dept of HHS can exclude it from the PSLF program basically at will if it offer services that conflict with the Administration’s directives (pregnancy termination services, healthcare for transgendered individuals, healthcare for undocumented people….) This is endangering the PSLF eligibility of many academic and community hospitals. There is a lawsuit working its way through the courts on this issue, but I wouldn’t count on it being decided in the medical community’s favor.
IOW, don’t count on PSLF.
Also be aware than all scholarship for service programs like NHSC only repay federal loans, not private loans, and only at rate of $40K/year. (BTW, funding for NHSC has been drastically cut and the scholarships have become incredibly competitive to get.) Even the HPSP has a upper limit on the amount of scholarship funds a recipient can get and it your med school costs exceed this you will need to take out private loans.
So plan on taking out significant private loans to attend med school. That sucks, but many, many med students are in the same position right now.
Please note that PSLF doesn’t apply to private loans, which will have their own terms and repayment requirements.
I’m not trying to discourage you from trying for med school, but you need to be aware that it will be expensive and that you need to conserve as much money for med school as you can during undergrad.
Ok, so 10k or so per year?
Hopefully your job at the pharmacy and the 5.5k federal loans will cover the rest (btw your federal loans might be divided into subsidized and unsubsidized, and you’re perfectly allowed to take the subsidized part only, or if it’s all unsubsidized -more likely- to just borrow some of what you’ve been granted and not the whole thing. Or you can borrow the whole thing and only sur a part, “banking it” for later.)
Your SAT score is quite high - not high enough for Princeton but still roughly in the top ~3% nationally. Don’t discount it, you did very well
Once you’re done with NJ publics (including any Honors& special program), you can try your chance at these colleges that have both merit&FA in case they end up cheaper than Rutgers - unlikely but not impossible and their apps are on CommonApp so you can use 2-3 slots to roll the dice. Their EA deadline is Dec 1 and they’re supportive for premeds/pre health students (Juniata has a strong record of getting B+/A- HS students into med school, for instance. Drew is in NJ. Sewanee may be the most prestigious of the bunch. Your current test scores WOULD be competitive at all of them.)
Hendrix
Allegheny
Drew
Juniata
Washington, MD
Sewanee
I was planning to borrow whatever I have left from the federal student loans (around 150k probably) and was hoping the rest would be private loans (which my parents would cosign)
I know its not ideal, since the program can be gone any time, but I was hoping that if do finish that and residency, I could just pay of the rest. I would do that by just living on half my salary or something.
10k- around there, or less, either way they’re paying for half.
I’ll take a look at those schools, but I don’t think anything will beat Rutgers.
@tsbna44 also suggested Troy, Uni of Alabama, or Missouri- but i don’t think those will beat the price for Rutgers.
He also suggested that I shouldn’t live at home if I go to college, I should instead dorm. But I’m not sure if the cost would justify that. Either way, I’m only 15 mins away from Rutgers.
I don’t know if this has already been mentioned, but NJClass loans are a state supplemental loan program worth considering if loans are the route you’re taking. They are available for both undergrad and grad students.
With Troy, they offer free tuition - but you have to apply. Alabama A&M has the same but full ride.
UAH I noted will be cheaper than Bama. Same price S Rutgers but you’d have a 4 year experience vs living at home. Central Michigan similarly.
Miss State is $42.5k tuition room and board. You would get $24k off.
UAH, Central Mich and Miss State are auto merit. Yes you have to get there and you may not love the where. But you can do 4 years of living. Bama is a bit more (low 20s with $/8k off but you can apply to McCullough Pre Med Scholars. Fill in their scholarship app and you could get more than $28k.
I’m not a fan of living home if you don’t have to. And if it’s school cost and you are paying half, you don’t need to.
Living home isn’t going to college. I’d go to CC if that were my option. Save the $$ for the last two years.
Also look at Providence. It’s a Hail Mary but the Roddy is for pre med - it’s a full ride.
To me, college is about growth. You’re not growing when it’s high school 2.0.
Just my opinion - so even as a Pakistani - I’d venture out. After all, if you become a Dr you will be with a varied crowd - not a NJ crowd or Pakistani one.
As for private loans, will anyone lend to them - do they have credit? They have 3 other kids.
And unless you are living home at 30, you won’t be saving half your resident salary. Kids struggle today on $70k, especially in HCOL areas. Or $50k in non high cost areas. And it’s not like you get to choose where you’ll be.
It explain the most financially savvy ways for doctors to pay off student loans.
Be aware that private loans may require immediate repayment starting from the moment you sign them. And repayment options will be limited.
As a resident you’re not making much money–especially if your residency is in a HCOL area. (BTW, you don’t get pick where you do residency. A computer program picks for you.) Don’t plan on being able to start repaying your loans during residency. Your will expenses will be higher than you expect and include things you probably haven’t thought about–mandatory health insurance through your residency site, disability insurance, personal liability insurance, auto and renter’s insurance, employment-based retirement saving account (typically a 403B).
Residency lasts a minimum of 3 years. (Pediatrics, FM, IM and certain EM programs, though EM is trending toward requiring 4 years). Every other specialty will be longer. And fellowship will add another 1-3 years on top of residency. So figure on at least 3 years of residency and as as many as 12+.
I’ll consider it (probably leaning to Troy), but my parents don’t like it since it would probably be expensive if I consider other stuff (food, everyday items). However, budgeting would be on me.
Their credit score is in the 750s if that’s what you are asking.
I know that my resident salary will be bad. I would try to save as much from that to pay toward loans.
This can be a very cost-effective way to attend med school. But you and your parents need to be aware that there are risks involved.
Only about 60% of foreign educated US citizens medical grads who apply to the NRMP Match are placed into US residencies each year.
Foreign medical schools, particularly those that are not specifically designed to train physicians for the US medical system, do not teach the materials needed to pass the USMLE exams. You will need to do a lot of self-study.
Medical students trained at foreign medical schools need to do at least a few US-based clinical rotations in order to obtain US clinical experience and US LORs for residency. Make sure medical school will allow this. You will be on your own to make the arrangements. Without USCE and LORs, getting interviews during The Match is much harder even if your USMLE scores are high.
For the most part, as an IMG you will be limited to only a few specialties–pediatrics, IM, FM, EM. Maybe pathology or neurology.
To read about the process of getting approved for the US NRMP Match, please check out this website.
The ECFMG is the clearinghouse for all international med graduates who applying for residencies in countries other than where they studied. The ECFMG must approve you before you can apply to the NRMP for residency.
