Thank you! Could you please explain why the undergrad costs would be low, as I’m out of state? Will definitely check out Rhodes and W&L!
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Beside private loans there are several federal scholarship for service programs where 100% of the cost your med school + living expenses are paid in return for a period of medical service after residency.
Many states also offer a their own scholarship for service program for state residents.
There are 4 or 5 loan forgiveness programs, especially if you are willing to go into a primary care field. (Primary care is a non-hospital based clinical practice that provides non-acute care to patients. Pediatrics, general internal medicine, geriatrics, family medicine.) A few loan forgiveness program now include psychiatry and Ob/GYN as well as primary care.
PSLF still exists, though right now it’s been in a state of suspended animation until the court case about is decided.
I would assume that in the future physicians will no longer be allowed to participate in the program. When the program was originally set up–physicians were excluded from eligibility.
Besides, federal and state options, some medical hospitals and clinics, especially those in small towns and more rural areas, may pay a “signing bonus” to physicians who will agree to work in their areas. Bonus are typically in the tens of thousands of $$ range.
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@WayOutWestMom can you please explain the scholarships this kid would likely get at University of New Mexico…that would bring undergrad costs down to a reasonable amount?
Oh thank you!! So in theory, my parents would be able to take out 65k for federal loans, bringing the total to 265k?
Oh, ok thank you!! Will definitely look into Sallie Mae if federal loans aren’t enough
Thank you! Probably won’t go to into primary care, I am looking to become either an oncologist or a radiologist (so a more specialized field). I was thinking that if I went to an academic/government-funded institution for residency I could begin the loan forgiveness there. Do the 4/5 loan forgiveness programs you mentioned get forgiven after 10 years?
Your parents can take out a max of $65K in undergrad parent plus loans. So IF that makes sense for your family, they could do that and bank that money for med school. That IF is a big qualifier…parent plus loans are expensive, and your parents may be able to get a less costly loan from a private provider, like a bank or credit union, etc. By less costly I mean a lower interest rate and lower origination fees. Generally, I don’t recommend parents take out educational debt for their kids.
Here is info on parent plus loans for undergrad. They are not available for med school.
https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/plus/parent
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Thank you! Probably won’t try and take out Parent Plus then. My parents also have to pay for my brother (4 yrs younger than me) so don’t want them to accumulate too many laons
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UNM offers three scholarships that you’d qualify for.
Amigo Scholarship–which will give you instate tuition plus $200/year stipend. It’s an automatic scholarship for GPA/SAT or ACT.
Costs after scholarship for tuition, fees, room, board is about $26K/year. Summer tuition is at in-state rates.
WUE+ (Assuming you’re from CA or a western state) and LUE+ (If you from anywhere else)-- gives you in-state tuition rates based upon GPA + SAT/ACT. Automatic scholarship.
Regent Scholarship-- competitive scholarship. 10 awarded each year. True full ride. Covers 100% tuition, fees, room, board. Requires a separate application and has an application deadline of December 1.
Beside the scholarship, there are other perks. Special seminars to allow you to bypass some freshman core requirements. Faculty one-on-one mentoring. Early opportunities to get into research. Special housing.
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One other consideration-- if you graduate from UNM, you will be considered on the same footing as a state resident when it comes to admission to UNM’s med school. (UNM generally does not accept OOS applicants.) UNM is among the 5 least expensive medical schools in the country.
And the state of New Mexico now offers physicians who work in medically underserved areas up to $500,000 in loan forgiveness.
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It depends on the program. Some are 10 years; some are 20.
But you need to making full amount, on-time payments. You can’t defer repayment during residency or fellowship or you won’t qualify.
Loan forgiveness programs cannot be used with private loans; only federal loan are eligible.
(One exception–the Indian Health Service’s loan repayment program will allow you to apply the repayments you earn toward private educational loans. The IHS employs specialists, including radiologist and oncologists.)
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I know a veterinarian (the required pre-vet classes are the same as the required premed classes) who once said, back when she was an undergraduate student, that organic chemistry was “the most difficult B- that I ever had in my life”. This is a famously difficult class. I am pretty sure that both daughters postponed taking it until they were juniors in university, at which point they were better prepared than they would have been in high school (both had majors that required it). Be very cautious about jumping so far ahead. If you run into any trouble with the class, then talk to advisors about dropping it as long as you still can (I have no idea what the drop date is for summer classes at UCB extension).
Actually your SAT results suggest you might have a lot in common with students at these schools (eg, your 800 on the math SAT is a common score for students headed to either of these two schools). Your 4.0 unweighted GPA says the same thing. However, that does not mean that they either school would be the most likely or easiest way to earn a medical-school-worthy GPA, nor the way to get an affordable bachelor’s degree on the way to medical school.
Looking at your stats, test scores, and ECs, to me it looks like you are a competitive applicant to any school on your list, and could be a good student at any school on your list. However, from what you said it also looks like you are very serious about becoming a doctor, and have both the drive and desire and the academic ability to pull this off. Thus pretty much everything that I posted above is with the goal of focusing on helping you get to this goal, while avoiding taking on too much overwhelming debt or failing for some other reason.
I think that sometimes very academically strong high school students are focused on “grades, get to more advanced classes, get into highly ranked universities, …”. At some point in life we pivot to “this is the goal, what is the best way to get there?”. The goal at this point is to graduate from a very good medical school with an MD and not too much debt.
Very often premed students adjust their goal at some point. For example, it is not unheard of for the goal to change from “medical school” to “biomedical PhD with research in some very specific field”. However, at this point looking for a very good affordable but not necessarily super-highly-ranked undergraduate university is compatible with either sticking with premed and then medical school or pivoting to a rather wide range of other goals, whether biomedical-related or not. Also the financial constraints placed by the cost of medical school are about as tight as any long term career goal, so if you find a path that fits this budget constraint, and change to a different career goal, you are likely to still be fine.
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PSLF is in suspended animation until the court cases surrounding it are resolved.
PSLF has be authorized by Congress every year so I would not count on its availability in the future, especially for those in high income professions like medicine.
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BTW, it’s not as easy as you think to work for a qualifying non-profit post residency & fellowship. Many medical groups (even many/most of those at non-profit, academic hospitals) are now owned by corporate management groups who then contract the services of physicians back to the hospital. (Almost universally happening in EM, radiology, pathology/clinical lab services and anesthesia. But all sorts of medical practices are being bought out by CMGs–neurology, surgery, ID, Ob/GYN, primary care, critical care, hospitalists, etc.)
Because the physician is not a direct W-2 employee of the hospital, they are not eligible for PSLF. It’s subtle distinction but one that trips up a lot of young doctors trying to use PSLF
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Very quickly on the tech schools, I think they often have different grading norms than Arts and Sciences sorts of institutions, and I am not sure med school admissions always fully compensates, or even comes very close.
So I wouldn’t typically recommend them for a HS kid who knows they want to do med school. Of course if you go there for engineering or physics or quant trading or whatever and then discover an interest in medicine, and have the grades, then cool.
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- $200k is the max including undergrad.
- Your perspective may vary but not only is $300k not doable but it’s not necessary. If you are truly going to be a Dr, your undergrad name is rather meaningless.
It may sound easy to cover $300k which means private, expensive loans btw, but while it may sound easy it will pretty much run your life decision wise vs you running it .
And if you pivot to another health area, you’ll likely only be able to access $100k in loans, including undergrad.
In federally funded student loans. As noted above, there are some private, not predatory lenders who have stepped up.
@pumpkinpie19 I’m sending you a message. Look for the green envelope in the upper corner of your screen.
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They are but those programs, if you are lucky enough to get, go to a scintilla of top kids. And they are extra work galore. Applying to one or two is fine but many have extra essays etc. You’ll get more bang for your full ride boat at schools like Providence and the Roddy, W&L Johnson, UNCC Levine, E Carolina Brinkley Lane. Yes, someone will win the full tuition at schools you mentioned but it’s unlikely to be you, if you even get in your best odds are where you crush the student body, not where you are one of many.
You are hung up on I’ve worked hard so I want a big name but those big names can very well preclude you from even being able to afford medical school. Even the UCs are pricey relative to others.
Let your hard work pay by allowing other schools, yes less prestigious in your mind, drive down their cost so you can take on scant debt for med school.
That’s the part you and so many miss. You can’t do in life what you can’t afford. And even if you can afford, do you really want the financial strain that can come with it ? Living in a smaller home, not driving as nice a car, maybe having to forgo vacations or nice meals out etc.
As a very high stat student, you are in the driver’s seat. Schools need you more than you need them.
Stop spreading misinformation. $200k is the max in federal loans for professional school. It does not include undergrad federal loans.
See here:
And here:
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Reminder that this is not the cafe and debating is not permitted. If you’ve made your point once, that is enough.
Posts hidden and deleted.
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Perhaps a little easier.
UMD’s full ride scholarships are extremely competitive, and they’re awarded holistically, so you can’t compare based on stats alone.
But if the school is otherwise affordable, yes, explore it further - it has a strong reputation.
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