<p>Nah, it’s not about being harassed… It’s about wanting to find a whole new environment with people who think like me. I can’t stand being surrounded by conservatives… I can be friends with anyone, but on the inside I feel like a fish out of water.</p>
<p>Honestly, I’m happy going to OU’s med school. It really wouldn’t matter where I went, because I’ll be pretty absorbed in studying. I picked the schools I did because I’m hoping to be socially active and involved in activities on campus, getting to explore who I am, while still maintaining a high GPA. Since the social aspect is far more important these next two years (before going into not-having-a-life mode until I’m 30), and since all med schools are equal in my eyes, going OOS might still be what I decide…</p>
<p>I think the decision will really be made when I start getting letters from the universities. I guess now I won’t be disappointed when I get offered no incentives to transfer…</p>
<p>joh…I agree with “the moms!” U (ur sibs) should fill out FAFSA and see if you can qualify for some aid.<br>
Fill out the FAFSA, wait to hear back, and then, go and speak w/a FA officer.
Good Luck!!</p>
<p>Stay Calm and Look for other alternatives. I am sure there will be many other ways and do keep an eye on different private scholarships on the net, the best thing to do is to ask the college for financial aid (as a general rule, you don’t get aid in the following years if you don’t get it in freshman year) or apply to some other generous college. If still there is no other way then take the loan and pay it back when you start earning but DON’T GIVE UP EDUCATION. BEST OF LUCK!</p>
<p>Nah, it’s not about being harassed… It’s about wanting to find a whole new environment with people who think like me. I can’t stand being surrounded by conservatives… I can be friends with anyone, but on the inside I feel like a fish out of water.
Honestly, I’m happy going to OU’s med school. It really wouldn’t matter where I went, because I’ll be pretty absorbed in studying.</p>
<p>gotakun… First of all, I hope that you realize that doctors can tend to be rather a conservative group (they’re not lawyers - LOL). So, you’re going into a profession that will not be loaded with liberals. </p>
<p>But, that said, I think that you’re being too stereotyping in your thinking. Conservatives have beloved gay family members and friends, too (note: Dick Cheney and his daughter). Times have changed. I think that you are rejecting people because you’re assuming that they would reject you first. </p>
<p>Now…how much does OU medical school cost? Don’t just look at tuition, there are often HUGE lab fees that aren’t listed with tuition. Does OU med school have a COA page? We found out about the high lab fees when looking for our son. In-state med school tuition is low, but the lab fees and other costs make the COA over $50k per year for an in-state student! This surprised us, since the tuition is like $18k per year for in-state.</p>
<p>BTW…you’ll also be very busy studying for those 300/400 level classes too. Those aren’t cakewalks. :)</p>
<p>Haha… I don’t think you understand. Not a single district was blue in Oklahoma on election day. I can’t believe anyone in today’s age would feel any prejudice towards gays, yet I’m surrounded by people who genuinely don’t think they should even have equal rights (or who just don’t care).</p>
<p>Why am I looking at the cost of med school? I’m having trouble finding info on OU’s, beyond tuition. But I asked med students before, and I’m not sure what this means, but I was told by one that he takes the “full Stafford” and gets ~$16k back.</p>
<p>The reason that I mentioned looking at OU med school costs (even though you’re going to be a transfer student for undergrad), is so you can have the “big picture” for what all you might need to borrow to become a doctor. Because, if you’ll need to borrow - say - $200k+ for med school, are you really comfortable borrowing another $80-100k for undergrad? I’m not even sure if you’d be allowed to borrow that much. </p>
<p>Either way, the monthly payments for $300k in student loans would be about $3400 per month! I’m sure you’ll become an awesome doc, but that kind of repayment during the early years would be a strangehold on your life.</p>
<p>BTW…I think that med student means that he is borrowing the max Stafford. And the max a med student can take from Stafford is $224k **total<a href=“so%20about%20$56k%20per%20year”>/B</a> [url=<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/loans/studentloan.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/loans/studentloan.phtml]FinAid</a> | Loans | Student Loans<a href=“see%20Aggregate%20Loan%20Limits%20-%20Stafford%20Loans”>/url</a>…So, he could be spending $40k per year for med school/lab fees, and has $16k left to pay for his apartment & food.</p>
<p>BTW…where did you find OU med school tuition on its website?</p>
<p>I honestly don’t remember where I found it lol. I did digging before, so I knew what to google search for (and was unsuccessful at retracing my steps today).
<a href=“OUHSC Financial Services”>OUHSC Financial Services;
<p>Also, I’ve been applying for scholarships, but most of them feel pretty bogus. I’ll keep at it, though. And I’ll do some research and find out how much average debt doctors are in after med school and how well they handle it.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids - I just want to take a moment to thank you for the invaluable advice you are consistently dispensing on this and related financial threads. I really hope both current and future readers will heed your advice because, IMHO, you are absolutely correct.</p>
<p>No, that’s not it. The * after the per credit hour means:
** The hourly rate for Professional program classes is applicable ONLY for those designated
as part-time students within that program, and graduate or undergraduate students taking
professional program courses.*</p>
<p>Those numbers are just tuition (per semester). A couple pages down, there may be the list of fees, but it’s impossible to know what applies to med students without asking.</p>
<p>Okay, for OU, I got an estimate of $20k fees+tuition/year, and $20-30k cost of living. And I haven’t seen a single dissenting opinion about entering med school with $100k of debt yet. I’m also told:
<p>Obviously, none of the people who have replied so far are experts, or are even out of medical school, so feel free to correct them for me :P. And thanks a lot for all of your help so far! Unfortunately, I’m still very lost… (But at least now I know I’m lost!)</p>
<p>I’ll look at that info… I still think graduating from med school with $300k in debt is too much. I can understand $200k, but even that’s a lot! (figures in 2009 dollars)</p>
<p>**Hey, did you see the annual cost of BOOKS and supplies? **</p>
<p>Is that true? No wonder I couldn’t figure out the costs on the website of my son’s #1 pick (a different school). I had no idea books/supplies cost that much for med school each year. I guess that’s why docs have sooooo many books in their offices. LOL</p>
<p>I took out $31k, went to school for economics, and I expected to be making about $45k out of school. </p>
<p>With interest and everything my loans are up to $38k, and the interest rate is ~3.6% (lucky). I’m not making nearly what I thought I’d be making though, but I guess I’m fortunate that I at least found a job. </p>
<p>I’m trying to figure out if I should pay these off as soon as possible, since I’m still living at home and my only bills are cell phone and car insurance. </p>
<p>Any advice?</p>
<p>I’d love to be saving up for a house right now, but I suppose that won’t be happening. I am also fortunate that I have $15k in a MMF</p>
<p>mom2collegekids:
I appreciate it! This is all I have to go by, since I have NO adviser to help me. The advisers at my community college had even less information than me and couldn’t even point me in the direction of someone who COULD help.</p>
<p>I did account for the books :). And my $45k estimate was smack dab in the middle of the $40-50k figure given by the OU med student ;).</p>
<p>I have 5 friends graduated May 2009 with BA and started paying loans 6 months after graduation. 1 is a computer programmer so has a job/freelance only, the rest are interviewing all the time, 1 finally accepted a cashier job at target to pay bills.</p>
<p>Since those links in your earlier post don’t include statements from newish doctors who are paying their loans back, their info doesn’t really tell us anything. We have no idea if those people will find it hard to repay their debts when they first begin their practices. :(</p>
<p>*mom2collegekids:
I appreciate it! This is all I have to go by, since I have NO adviser to help me. The advisers at my community college had even less information than me and couldn’t even point me in the direction of someone who COULD help.</p>
<p>I did account for the books . And my $45k estimate was smack dab in the middle of the $40-50k figure given by the OU med student . *</p>
<p>You do need some advising, so this is what I recommend. Even if you won’t likely be going to OU or another Oklahoma undergrad school, I think that you should do this…</p>
<p>You should make an appt with pre-med advisors at some nearby academically strong campuses as a prospective student (It doesn’t matter if you think you’d never go there.)</p>
<p>Listen to what these pre-med advisors have to say because whatever they say will likely apply to any school that you’ll end up at. If you speak to the pre-med advisors of at least 2 GOOD schools, you’ll get a good idea of what to expect anywhere. Ask questions. Take notes. Ask about their required classes and what various med schools are expecting to see. </p>
First of all, I hope that you realize that doctors can tend to be rather a conservative group (they’re not lawyers - LOL). So, you’re going into a profession that will not be loaded with liberals. </p>
</p>