How do middle class kids afford med school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As our Doctors get into extreme debt levels for the opportunity to work for free for a chance at becoming a doctor, this is probably another corruption based "complex" do get the doctors to shut up and play the game of mass prescribing of drugs. That's bc our country is a corrupt shtshw owned and ran by billionaires who want to get everyone addicted to drugs from the youngest toddler to the oldest geriatric. America as a nation of junk food, druggie, pill popping, idiots explains so much as to why we do what we do.

Our doctors go into extreme dept because they are stupid with money and spend inappropriately when in med school and residency.

That’s over generalization. Doctors are known to be terrible with money, but med school tuition is crippling. My child went to undergrad for free and her 529 will still fall short of paying for med school.

It isn’t that “doctors” are terrible with money, it’s the middle class and upper middle class young adults are terrible with money. Many do not know how to live frugally with minimal expenses. They are used to take out, vacations, restaurants, parties, etc. The living expend up being a big part of their overall med school dept- then add in they decide to get married in residency (worse, to another resident in a lot of debt) and have ids shortly after. Now they have a lot more expenses, need to buy a house, etc. If need to take out loans in med school, you need to live as frugally as possible through med school, residency, and the few years following- and not get married and have kids until you are well on your way to paying it all off.

I still disagree with you. Tuition costs are so high no amount of “frugal living” is going to make it easy to pay back quickly.
I am also married to a physician. He finished residency at 33 (which will be earlier than his daughters because of gap years now). How long do you suggest putting off having children?

You can have kids during residency, or even during med school if your partner works.

Remember that $80k is an above-average salary.

Did you even read the post I was responding to? It said you shouldn’t have kids until you’re well on your way to paying debt off and I said “I disagree”.
Waiting until your 40s to have kids is also not the solution for me.

If you can’t figure this out, don’t have kids. They won’t be able to survive with this type of intelligence.

[Anonymous]

Several U.S. medical schools offer tuition-free education to all or qualifying students to reduce debt, including
NYU Grossman, Albert Einstein, Kaiser Permanente, and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. Top programs often cover tuition, while some also cover fees or living expenses for students with demonstrated financial need.
Top Tuition-Free or Nearly Free Medical Schools

NYU Grossman School of Medicine: Offers full-tuition scholarships to all current and future students in its MD program, regardless of merit or financial need.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Provides free tuition for all students (effective 2024) due to a major donation.
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine:
Covers tuition and fees for students who enroll through fall 2026.
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine: Offers full tuition to all students, typically requiring a five-year program focused on research.
Uniformed Services University (USUHS): Fully funded education where students are paid as military officers while attending.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine: Offers free tuition for families earning under
per year, with additional living expense coverage for lower incomes.

Schools with Significant Financial Aid/Debt-Free Programs

Washington University in St. Louis: Offers full and partial tuition awards.
UCLA (David Geffen School of Medicine): Provides funding for a portion of the student body based on merit.
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons: Offers debt-free programs based on financial need.

Key Considerations

Tuition vs. Total Cost: Often, "free tuition" does not cover living expenses, books, or insurance.

[Anonymous]

I’m guessing all the need based programs take into account parents income, and the cutoff is probably not that high. Just because parents make $300k combined and live in a house that has appreciated to $900k does not mean they can afford $360k of med school tuition on top of paying for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m guessing all the need based programs take into account parents income, and the cutoff is probably not that high. Just because parents make $300k combined and live in a house that has appreciated to $900k does not mean they can afford $360k of med school tuition on top of paying for college.

That's not school's problem to figure it out. That's yours.

[Anonymous]

Prior to Trump, one route was a phd/md. Hard to get but government would pay tuition plus a stipend. Just another thing ruined by Trump.

[Anonymous]

Uniformed Services University for the Health Sciences is in Bethesda and free. There is a term slimited service obligation after - either with the US Public Health Service or a military service -- working as a physician/surgeon.

[Anonymous]

Google found a Forbes article with several different ways to pay for it:

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/d/student-loans-cap-medical-school/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the 1980s, many paid for medical school with massive student loans. It is not a new issue.

These loans are now capped.
We are using what’s left in 529 for housing/tests/fees and paying tuition only with loan. Applying for financial aid, but most schools only offer after 1st year. Will do work study to offset tuition.

Even decades ago, there were caps on Federal student loans. It was not unusual for a medical student to also have some non-Federal loans in addition to Federal loans. Medical students who survive the first year (and most will survive) are a good credit risk.

Again, this is not a new problem.

[Anonymous]

Why do billionaires put all there money into solving wars and living humble lives...lol...jk..it's an absurd question and it happens super dooper rarely. We live in a country that does not value education as it makes lazy rich people feel inferior when people are not idiots.

[Anonymous]

OP, the UK has a better system that will save you/your daughter a lot of money:

In the UK you start directly in medical school, rather than getting a BA in something else first like in the US. It's still about 5 years total, but then you start foundation training and actually get paid while you do it, and then specialist training, which is also paid.

Source: my husband is a UK-trained doctor, and my son is a veterinarian who also went to the UK for university/training (vet school system in UK vs US is similar to med school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, the UK has a better system that will save you/your daughter a lot of money:

In the UK you start directly in medical school, rather than getting a BA in something else first like in the US. It's still about 5 years total, but then you start foundation training and actually get paid while you do it, and then specialist training, which is also paid.

Source: my husband is a UK-trained doctor, and my son is a veterinarian who also went to the UK for university/training (vet school system in UK vs US is similar to med school).

Oh, and I forgot to add that the 5 years of uni you have to pay for in the UK as part of her medical training cost significantly less than a uni in the US. So pay much less for the initial 5 years, then she actually starts getting paid for the next phases of her medical training, rather than having to pay/take out loans.

You could spend what you have saved now to get her through in the UK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do middle class kids afford med school?

My daughter is a HS Senior and wants to be a doctor. We have about $180k in 529..This should cover her undergrad.

How the hell is she going to afford med school? We are behind on retirement saving and starting to focus more on that now. So we can't even co-sign loans for her when she gets there.

.

Join the military. Have med school paid by the US govt. Alternatively, work as a doctor in poor areas for several years after med school graduation and have your loans dismissed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m guessing all the need based programs take into account parents income, and the cutoff is probably not that high. Just because parents make $300k combined and live in a house that has appreciated to $900k does not mean they can afford $360k of med school tuition on top of paying for college.

That's not school's problem to figure it out. That's yours.

90% of programs don’t offer any aid or scholarships at all, especially for first year students. There is now a lifetime cap on stafford loans, so it is nearly impossible to afford.
My kid was told to do FAFSA as an independent by the med school, my income not taken into account. Kid only 20. I’m not sure if they all do that to level playing field?

[Anonymous]

Our strategy was to get a full ride to undergrad so there was money in 529 for grad or law or med school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:middle class kids are going to be pushed out of med school soon. they borrow $300- 400000. residents repayments are deferred ( or they were - not sure about the new rules)

Many won’t have the financial freedom to volunteer for three summers to get lab experience.