<p>I'm a high school senior, and while I understand that obviously loans have to be repaid with interest, I was wondering if some of you could enlighten me about the logistics of this. </p>
<p>I am going to be premed, and while I know there is room to change my mind, I want to understand how going to med school would affect my life financially before becoming committed to premed and all of the activities that go along with it. </p>
<p>I will not have financial assistance from my parents for medical school. As far as undergrad goes, they are willing to pay 15k/year. I live in CA, so this leaves me with 18k and rising to go to a UC. My estimated COA after aid at ivies/similar schools is 29-30k, so about the same as a UC. If I go to a UC or a meets need school, after subtracting 5k/year in wages from working, I will graduate with about 50k in debt (parents are willing and able to cosign). </p>
<p>I have been accepted to Bama as a NMSF and will receive the NM money. I do not want to go to Bama, but would if it was absolutely necessary. Another option is community college. In addition to UCs and meets need schools, I am applying to a few schools that offer competitive scholarships for science students (Colorado College, WUSTL) but these are obviously a long shot.</p>
<p>So, if I graduate undergrad with about 50k in debt, then med school with 200-250k, how will repayment work? I understand that my undergrad loan payments will be deferred throughout med school. Will they collect interest during this time? Then after med school, I will be sitting on about 300k in debt. Do undergrad and med school payments defer during residency? Will my loans collect interest during this time?</p>
<p>Is going to med school and graduating with 200-250k in debt, even without undergrad debt, a really stupid thing to do? To be honest, I can't see myself doing any other job, but I know that I also want to be realistic and don't want to financially ruin myself by the time I am 30.</p>
<p>If this is helpful, basic stats: 35 ACT, NMSF, CA resident, Hispanic, top 1% of competitive public school, two summers of science research (one summer at a program with ~5% acceptance rate), range of commitment to ECs.</p>