Private med schools cost about $70k-80k per year. Publics run about $50k per year. Either way, you’re looking at $200k - 300k for med school.
Even if you were to borrow the undergrad money from parents, do they realize HOW LONG it would be before you could even start to pay that back?? 4 years of undergrad, 4 years of med school, and then 3-5 years of specialty training. Your retirement-age parents wouldn’t see the first payment for 15 years. A lot can happen within 15 years…that money could be needed long before then.
There is no one answer to all these “is it worth it…” questions. Each person has to compare it to their realistic earning potential. If you could earn a salary of $500,000 first year out of training, it’s pretty obvious that the kinds of numbers which have been bandied about here would be very workable.
And then there is the question of what it’s worth to you, personally. I happen to believe education is extremely important, but that’s obviously not shared by the majority of folks.
I’m not sure if those of us who say, “No way, don’t take that debt, especially when you have other great options,” are part of the “majority of folks” that JustOneDad is referring to, but if so, I beg to differ.
I’m betting everybody on this thread thinks that education is extremely important. Nobody’s saying the OP shouldn’t go to college, just that that s/he shouldn’t go take on that much debt, particularly when (1) the OP hopes to attend medical school, and (2) the OP has plenty of great options that don’t include big debt.
There are people who think that an education with a giant sticker price equals a significantly better education, and those of us who think that a great education can be found at a whole range of prices, especially when one takes scholarships into account. I’m a firm believer that paying a big ol’ honkin’ price for school does not buy you a proportionately better education.
". . . . . .from my absolute dream school, Duke University, I received…nothing. Nada, zilch, zero.
I visited Duke before I knew of our financial situation, and I fell in love.
Picking a dream school can set students up for heartbreak, I know, but Duke is it for me.
Here’s your answer^^^^. You received NOTHING from Duke, your “ABSOLUTE DREAM SCHOOL”
Move on from the dream and deal with reality. Neither you nor your parents can afford that school.
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If you could earn a salary of $500,000 first year out of training, it’s pretty obvious that the kinds of numbers which have been bandied about here would be very workable
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Not only is that not likely, but at this point, no one knows if:
he’s even going to end up at med school.
he’ll like/choose a specialty that makes that kind of money eventually (not right out of the first year)
It’s the only school that admitted you that you can get a great education at. [NO]
It’s the only school that admitted you that you can get into medical school from. [NO]
It’s the only school that offers your desired major or program of study. [NO]
You know for certain you can immediately get great work that you could not get with a degree from any other school, and thus could definitely pay back the debt quickly. [NO]
Your dreams should trump reality. [NO]
Sarcasm aside, I have yet to see anyone suggest a single reason why taking on the debt to go to Duke could maybe, possibly make sense for you. Not one. We are disinterested parties; you should take our feedback seriously.
I didn’t claim it was likely. However, some people do know where they are going and what they want to do and they are accustomed to achieving their goals. It would be quite reasonable for them to make a decision to take on debt if it was necessary to meet their goals.
And, BTW, that kind of money is being offered to warm bodies right out of training.
^^
Ok, but you have to talk specialties here. Only CERTAIN specialties would get sort of money right away. And, there’s no way to know if this student would A) have an interest in those specialties, or B) get a residency in those specialties.
And, I suspect that those specialties may be the ones that require more than just a residency. My son’s orthopedic surgeon did his residency at Duke, but then had to do some kind of extra training (don’t remember if it was called a fellowship or what) at the Mayo Clinic. He was well into his 30s by the time he started working. BTW…he went to FIU for his undergrad, yet did amazingly well.
I don’t think it matters if we know. The point is that the student knows. No one asking these kinds of questions are going to be on that kind of a successful track anyway.
Your orthopedic surgeon chose to do a fellowship. It certainly is not required.
college - 4 years
medical school - 4 years
Internship and residency - 5 years
Of course, if the medical student graduates with huge debt, that will restrict his/her choice of medical specialty, since huge debt will pressure him/her to seek the highest paid specialty, even if s/he prefers a lower paid one.
You have some interesting theories, JOD. It’s almost like you don’t live out here with the rest of us. My dad “knew where (he) was going” and did very well right up until he lost both his vision and his ability to hold his well paying job. People become disabled, or ill, or die all the time. You’re encouraging making a decision based on a best case scenario, but you have no way of knowing that those are the cards this student will get. There’s a student on cc right now whose family took on debt they believed they could afford until a family member became ill and now requires expensive medical treatment. That student has high 5-figure debt, is nowhere close to done with a useable degree, and his parents can no longer afford to help him with college. There’s also a single mom in her 50’s being encouraged to take on Plus loans that she can’t afford as an investment in her daughter so the young woman can attend an expensive private school (with the assumption that the daughter will repay her). If, Heaven forbid, anything happens to that young woman, the mom’s retirement will be gone.
It’s a mistake to encourage kids to gamble with debt that you’re not paying because life doesn’t always turn out how you plan.
And how easy is it to start paying back 8 years of loans when your are working in a residency for 5 years? How much are they making during those years?
Even orthopedic surgeons don’t make $500,000 in their first years out of residency. The salaries in the Medscape chart are not only all lower than $500,000, they are for physicians at all levels of their career. A wildly successful mid-career surgeon could maybe make $500,000, but the reality is that most doctors are not going to touch $500,000 a year.
In fact, I don’t think there’s any career in which someone can expect to make $500,000 early in it. And even if they could, given that
college freshmen - especially pre-meds! - change their minds all the time about what they want to do, and
The OP has some excellent alternatives (full ride at Bama and Oklahoma and substantial scholarships at Rice and Tulane)
it’s not a good idea for them to take on that debt.
@mom2collegekids, I think @JustOneDad is saying that the student knows if he/she (from your post #31) “would A) have an interest in those specialties, or B) get a residency in those specialties.”
Which is silly. The student definitely doesn’t know if he or she can get a residency in those specialties. And sometimes it takes time to know if one will have an interest in those specialties! So, JOD is being … I’ll use the word silly.
It would be so interesting to see how many incoming freshmen with really strong stats who think they want to have a particular specialty in medicine, or even that they want to go to med school actually go through UG and get accepted into med school. A huge percentage change their major and realize they either don’t want to complete that much school or they don’t have the aptitude and interest in continuing. Many, many students do change their majors within the first couple of years of college.
A key thing is to keep debt low in UG, and also go to a school that provides enough opportunities - big enough if one wants to change majors, big enough to offer programs through their honors college, etc.
For some students, they need to have faith based opportunities - some schools have good area church programs to serve the students.
Sometimes this incoming student is the oldest child in the family, so there is a lot of ‘unknowns’. Try to listen to credible sources of information, and weigh out from those that have successfully navigated the college path - from parents and students.
