DD announced she wants to be a dr

[Anonymous]

Let's start by saying that DD is in Kindy. I would say there is a 95% likelihood that by the time she graduates college, she will not want to be a dr. But let's say that she does.....

I see lots of posts on here about drs coming out of school in debt. I want to do what I can for my children for college and we are putting away money for college. How much more would she need for med school? Is it only the additional 4 years of school that has to be paid for? Once a dr graduates med school, when do they start making a salary? I'm sorry, I'm really not familiar with med school, intern, residency, post doc, fellowship, etc. I know the words, but not how it works.

[Anonymous]

You need 4 more years of med school (costs range if private or public school) and then they're a resident making around 50k a year. After residency (3-7 yrs) they'll make more money, depending on their specialty.

Med school is very expensive but it is not something I would ever expect a parent to pay for. The point is that you're kid is going to be making money when they're a doctor and they can afford some debt at the beginning. Personally, I would plan to pay for part/all of undergrad and then let them pay for what comes next. There are loan-forgiveness programs they can apply for that will pay for med school if you give some years of service (military and otherwise). In fact, we're probably going to have kiddos pay for part of college themselves because I think they will value it much more if they're expected to contribute summer earnings/campus job earnings or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Did she also specify which school she wants? Harvard or Stanford? The costs are bit different.

[Anonymous]

You should encourage your daughter to go to a great public university, for both undergrad and grad school.

You should encourage her to work while she is in school. It's hard work to keep a job and to study- but it absolutely can be done. She will learn the value of money and responsibility, time management, balance, etc.

You should also tell her to get a degree in something that will be profitable. Today, that would be something in the sciences or technology and not English. I don't know what the labor force will look like in 15-20 years. If she wants to study English, she should double major in computer science. She can do anything she sets her mind to, and you can push her to be self aware, responsible, and make good decisions.

She can join the military and pay off her med school loans in that manner- or work on a Native American reservation, etc. I know a lot of parents on here want to throw $$ at whatever difficulty their kids have, but I think supporting her, encouraging her, and showing her a range of smart options will make your daughter independent, and hard working.

[Anonymous]

My DS wants to be Spider-Man when he grows up. But I'm not going to waste time now worrying about his sky-high insurance premiums. (Swinging from buildings is definitely a high-risk occupation.)

Save what you can, teach your daughter to be a good and careful student, and let the chips fall where they may. Call me crazy, but I don't necessarily think parents owe their kids a debt-free education from start to finish. Nice work if you can get it, of course, but there's also a lot of benefit and value in your kid having some skin in the game at some point.

[Anonymous]

My daughter said she wants to be a grownup. I DONT HAVE TO SAVE SHIT FOR THAT!

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine just sent her daughter oversea to med. school last Fall because:
Her daughter got her undergrad here, tried to apply 4 years and couldn't get into ANY US base med school.

Now, she is also paying for plan tickets during winter, spring, and summer breaks.

Well, Asian parents.

[Anonymous]

Pop the bubbly!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS wants to be Spider-Man when he grows up. But I'm not going to waste time now worrying about his sky-high insurance premiums. (Swinging from buildings is definitely a high-risk occupation.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter said she wants to be a grownup. I DONT HAVE TO SAVE SHIT FOR THAT!

Sad but true!

[Anonymous]

My kindergarten son doesn't want to go to college or ever move out. So no use saving for his college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did she also specify which school she wants? Harvard or Stanford? The costs are bit different.

How are her MCATS? She should really narrow her schools down now, so she can tailor her resume to them.

[Anonymous]

Don't worry about med school until you have fully funded the saving for college, and your own retirement. If you have all those funded, then sure, look at the tuition for Harvard Med and save that too.

[Anonymous]

just want to add: residency of 3-6 years, then optional fellowship of 1 to 3 years.
Salary varies quite a bit by location and can range from ~33K to ~near 50K, increasing slightly per year, and higher than your last year for fellows.

So: undergraduate 4 yrs, then med school 4 yrs, then residency 3 to 6 yrs, the possibly fellowship 1 to 3 yrs, then: DONE!

Anonymous wrote:You need 4 more years of med school (costs range if private or public school) and then they're a resident making around 50k a year. After residency (3-7 yrs) they'll make more money, depending on their specialty.

Med school is very expensive but it is not something I would ever expect a parent to pay for. The point is that you're kid is going to be making money when they're a doctor and they can afford some debt at the beginning. Personally, I would plan to pay for part/all of undergrad and then let them pay for what comes next. There are loan-forgiveness programs they can apply for that will pay for med school if you give some years of service (military and otherwise). In fact, we're probably going to have kiddos pay for part of college themselves because I think they will value it much more if they're expected to contribute summer earnings/campus job earnings or whatever.

[Anonymous]

HUMBLEBRAG ALERT!!!