<p>It’s not a matter of chickening out… half premeds don’t get into any med school. And a large percentage of students who thought they’d be premed turn out not to make it past the premed requirements, so this half of premed applicants are already a pretty select bunch.
Can’t your parents contribute? Taking on more than $5,500 in loans your first year, and more than $27k for all 4 years is dangerous.
Yes, anything like 80k in debt is crushing and totally insane. In fact, it’s not even guaranteed you’ll be allowed to borrow this much as an undergrad - it happens every year, the student is denied for a further loan and is stuck.
Are you in-state for California publics? How can UCD, UCSD, and Cal Poly be so expensive?
Remember that “average salary” typically means “after 10-15 years”, not “right when you start”. And you cannot count on becoming a surgeon, because the odds are roughly the same as winning the lottery. For a premed, just getting into med school, right now your odds are 25% at best and probably closer to 10-15%. Odds that you’ll get to choose your specialty are minuscule.</p>