BlueDevilMike - Question About Paying off loans

<p>Shraf,</p>

<p>May I ask, how you were able to only take out ~50K of debt to finish med school? As far as this mentality of going into substantial debt being a this generation thing... I don't believe past generations ever had to pay the ridiculous tuition rates that we are seeing today.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Shraf,</p>

<p>May I ask, how you were able to only take out ~50K of debt to finish med school? As far as this mentality of going into substantial debt being a this generation thing... I don't believe past generations ever had to pay the ridiculous tuition rates that we are seeing today.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>i am predicting that that'll be all i will need to take out ...just need to make sure we are on the same page with our tenses. also that includes the 17k of debt i already have from grad school. i am starting med school later this year.</p>

<p>and here's how i hope to do it:
1. i will be attending a state school...tuition and fees are ~23k a year. obviously this doesn't really help you given that you've already stated that in MI the tuition is much higher. however, one thing you could do is find a job in a state with lower in state tuition and you can claim state residency after one or two years (it is 1 year here in NY)
2. my parents will cover the remaining ~$15k/year of tuition after i max out subsidized loans....statements like this: </p>

<p>
[quote]
i've gotten my dad to promise me that he wont pay my tuition..

[/quote]
</p>

<p>are extremely naive and immature. i am very thankful that i am lucky enough that my parents can afford ~$60k over the next four years and i will take full advantage of their generosity. if your family has the money now use it ...if you really want to, why don't you just pay the $1000 a month that you would give to the bankers who give you your loan to your parents instead after you graduate med school...at least your parents won't charge you absurd interest rates while you're still in school and jack up the rate later on so that your debt balloons. it is true that i do not intend on "paying back" my parents...in fact i think if i even suggested such a thing they would be extremely insulted....but we're family and if they ever need anything in the future, monetary or otherwise, they'll get it. </p>

<ol>
<li>savings. after undergrad i moved back in with my parents and have been working very hard during grad school....thanks to having actual marketable skills as a result of being an engineering major.....i hope to have saved up $55-60k in two years before starting med school and i foresee being able to earn another ~$8-10k the summer after first year of med school so that amount of money should get me through four years of living expenses (i predict, with the help of my future med school's cost of attendance calculations) </li>
</ol>

<p>...i think this is a pretty realistic and well thought out plan...even if there is no way that #2 could apply to you you can still come out with < $100k in med school debt if you can do #1 and 3</p>

<p>Well Shraf, call me naive, but my parents have offered to help pay for half but I do refuse. First, they are in their 50s and it would require my dad to work longer past when he planned to retire. I could never be selfish enough to do that to him. He came from nothing and raised himself since he was 14, got himself into college and made a great career. It took blood sweat and tears and years of 12 hrs/day 7 days/week type schedule to put me and my sister through school and now finally he is in an executive position where he can finally put away for his retirement. He has been planning on his retirement and I will be damned if I delay it and force him to work to support his 26 year old son.</p>

<p>I'm not criticizing you and obviously I'm sure your parents are in a different situation and by all means take any resource you have. But please refrain from calling me naive and immature for putting my father, who payed for my undergraduate degree, above my own selfish needs.</p>

<p>first i wasn't referring to you...the quote i used was from vickpick's post and that rant was directed at him....he made it sound like he didn't want his parents to pay so he can feel independent or some other BS like that. that's also the silly justification that alot of people on SDN use for taking out tons of loans while their parents have a million dollars in the bank. i did however say: </p>

<p>
[quote]
if your family has the money now use it

[/quote]
</p>

<p>...but from what you say your family doesn't have the money now or it would be extremely hard for them to come up with it now...and i dont think you should take money from them that they need. my dad is already retired and over a decade older than your parents so it is alot easier to gauge the financial situation and determine what can and cannot be afforded. </p>

<p>bottom line though is that the naive comment was not at all directed at you or people in your situation...if your parents can't afford it then that paragraph doesn't apply to you but rather this one does: </p>

<p>
[quote]
even if there is no way that #2 could apply to you you can still come out with < $100k in med school debt if you can do #1 and 3

[/quote]
</p>

<p>sorry for the confusion</p>

<p>Shraf, yea, i see ur point, I can take my parents money and then pay em back, so I wont have to pay interest- that makes sense...
i guess thats what my dad was trying to explain me but I wasnt getting the point..lol..</p>

<p>But I was thinking the loans were interest free... but now i know thats not true..</p>

<p>I have to disagree. Physicians are in high demand and with the population getting older, it will be even in more demand. My brother is a doctor. Neuro-radiologist. Makes around $500,000 a year. His best friend is a neuro-surgeon. Makes around $1,000,000 a year. They live in towns of about 250,000 population in midwest. Cheap living! Plastic surgery is on the rise and they make extremely good money. The money sounds like a lot now, but 10 years down the road it won't be. My brother was in Med school when it was $20,000 a year. of course undergrad was only $4,000 a year then. It sounded like a ton of money. He could retire now, but he is still young.</p>