Advice needed on student loans
I'm about half way through "Debt-Free U" which Infinity suggested reading in his money making and finance discussion a while back. This book has really got me thinking about the severity of student loans, and I'm trying to figure out the finances now so I don't have to suffer later.
I am enrolled in a Physician Assistant program which is 6 years of schooling. After help from family I will most likely have between 70-90k in student loans, possibly 100k at the most. PA gruduates in my area are making 90-110k right out of college. And i'm assuming I won't be making over 10 k a year while in school. This doesn't appear to be a big enough gap to live comfortably. According to "Deb-Free U" it is defintely not.
At the school i'm attending 100% of the students are passing their PANCE certification. All students are placed in clinical internships and most of them are offered jobs before they graduate so I'm not concerned about job placement, but of course things are always subject to change.
"Debt-Free U" advises students to save money by only attending public schools, but thats not really an option for me because my major was so competitive I was limited on options. I may be able to transfer to a public achool, but only for the graduate phase. I may be able to work for company in a low income area that does loan forgiveness, but that could be a thing of the past in 6 years depending on the economy.
This is truly a career I want to persue and could see myself doing for a very long time, but this shit scares me.
Does anybody have any advice or feedback regarding student loans?
Through my schooling I can become an EMT or ER tech after my freshman year which make only $13 an hour on average probably only $10 for newcomers, and I just don't see how this would be enough cash to really help out.
The last thing I want to do is get a bachelors in something I don't like to save money.
Wish I knew more about financials to help you out man. But 80K+ sounds like a DAUNTING amount, and I don't know if that is ever justifiable unless you can guarantee a high paying position... Which you almost never can in this economy.
Don't sacrifice your educational dreams because of some fucking scare tactics. Do NOT do it. Everyone's got college debt.. deal with it.
I go in and I'm crisp, clean and my vocals are fucking coming out like music. - Anonymous MW student
- Autismus Terminus Finis (Root Cause/Cure of Autism Epidemic)
- Called Off My Wedding & Other Turn Tail Signs Of The American Male
https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/2l0kjd/how_to_pay_off_about_1_million_in_student_loans/
What a retard. And how is he only making 105k being an Endodontist
Don't sacrifice your educational dreams because of some fucking scare tactics. Do NOT do it. Everyone's got college debt.. deal with it.
Yes, I'm always willling to hustle to make ends meet if I enjoy and am invested in what I'm doing. It is a job I can be proud of, that is valuable to others, and has its constant challenges.
There are a lot of questions surrounding your situation, but the quick answer is go and actively figure out how you can make it happen. Provided you are relentless and due your due diligence, it should work itself out.
80k-100k debt sounds like a monthly student loan payment of around 1k if I'm not mistaken. But that really ain't shit if you're pulling around 100k/year and living alone.
Some quick math: Lets assume you make 100k out of school. Lets also assume that you lose 25% (I pulled this number out of my ass) to taxes. That's 75k that you keep.
75,000 / 12 = 6,250.
So take away 1k from that and you have $5,250. Lets assume you get a nice place for 2k per month, and I'll bundle utilities in there too. MW has a nice house in the 'hood' for like $800 if I remember correctly, so this is assuming you live in some expensive ass neighborhood. You have $3,250 left.
Want a nice car? We'll call that $500 a month. So you have $2,750 per month left for gas, food, insurance, work benefits, fun, training, gym, etc.
My numbers are probably off, but even so, you'll still be pretty damn well off.
80k-100k debt sounds like a monthly student loan payment of around 1k if I'm not mistaken. But that really ain't shit if you're pulling around 100k/year and living alone.Some quick math: Lets assume you make 100k out of school. Lets also assume that you lose 25% (I pulled this number out of my ass) to taxes. That's 75k that you keep.
75,000 / 12 = 6,250.
So take away 1k from that and you have $5,250. Lets assume you get a nice place for 2k per month, and I'll bundle utilities in there too. MW has a nice house in the 'hood' for like $800 if I remember correctly, so this is assuming you live in some expensive ass neighborhood. You have $3,250 left.
Want a nice car? We'll call that $500 a month. So you have $2,750 per month left for gas, food, insurance, work benefits, fun, training, gym, etc.
My numbers are probably off, but even so, you'll still be pretty damn well off.
lol thank you. I have been running some numbers like this and things are looking all good. I just need to figure out how the loans payments are spread out.
I'm fairly close to NYC and Boston so I could always work in a ghetto area and utilize public transportation for a few years to save money as well.
Lets assume you make 100k out of school.
That's... quite an assumption.
woberdor wrote:
Lets assume you make 100k out of school.That's... quite an assumption.
Yeah, I'm trusting that Meow's right about what he'll make. But tbh he could still have a kickass financial life relative to most people with less than 100k.
The point of my post was perspective. I was scared shitless of debt before I went to college. No one really told me how it worked out in the math.
What are your numbers in terms of financial aid and scholarships? This school costs what per year?
I go in and I'm crisp, clean and my vocals are fucking coming out like music. - Anonymous MW student
- Autismus Terminus Finis (Root Cause/Cure of Autism Epidemic)
- Called Off My Wedding & Other Turn Tail Signs Of The American Male
What are your numbers in terms of financial aid and scholarships? This school costs what per year?
For undergraduate its 33k for tution and around 7k for room and board. Their website says tution, board, and indirect expenses will equal around 45 k. I have a $14,900 merit scholarships for 4 years. No finacial aid. For undergrad the maximum amount of stafford loans that can be taken out are currently 31k.
In terms of the numbers for graduate school i'm still very unsure. I'm guessing its per credit and merit scholarships don't exist. The schools in the hood so I defintely would be living in cheap off campus housing to save money on living expenses. There is a possbility my major may be developed at a local public school thats cheap as fuck, but the thing about the school i'm already enrolled in is that I don't have to reapply to shit i'm automatically a grad student if I maintain the gpa requirements which is unheard of.
And it's a 6 yr program? What's unheard of? Maintaining the gpa requirements?
I go in and I'm crisp, clean and my vocals are fucking coming out like music. - Anonymous MW student
- Autismus Terminus Finis (Root Cause/Cure of Autism Epidemic)
- Called Off My Wedding & Other Turn Tail Signs Of The American Male
And it's a 6 yr program? What's unheard of? Maintaining the gpa requirements?
yes 6 years.
No, i'm sorry that was confusing. What is unheard of is that I do not have to reapply into graduate school which is extremely competitive. The GPA requirement is 3.0 while most undergraduates that do end up applying to graduate PA school have well over a 3.5. It totally sounds like a money making tactic, which it kinda is, but my major has 38 kids in it out of a school of 3,500 so they already narrowed down who they want in the program from start to finish.
So you go to school for 6 yrs THEN go into the graduate program?
I go in and I'm crisp, clean and my vocals are fucking coming out like music. - Anonymous MW student
- Autismus Terminus Finis (Root Cause/Cure of Autism Epidemic)
- Called Off My Wedding & Other Turn Tail Signs Of The American Male
So you go to school for 6 yrs THEN go into the graduate program?
The tradition route would be 4 years of undergrad in bio/chem/etc. and 2 years of PA graduate school.
I am doing 3.5 years of undergrad in "health science/pre-PA" and 2.5 years of graduate school. 6 total. I'm out of school at 25.
Ok what are your options for "traditional" route to become a P.A.?
I go in and I'm crisp, clean and my vocals are fucking coming out like music. - Anonymous MW student
- Autismus Terminus Finis (Root Cause/Cure of Autism Epidemic)
- Called Off My Wedding & Other Turn Tail Signs Of The American Male
It could be done at any school with an undergrad degree in something science related. From what I've read, most tradition PA graduate programs will only take 5 students out of every 100 applicants. On top of that, most of these applicants have 3-5 years of hands on medical experience such as nursing, EMT, etc. Therefore, the average age for these applicants is 27. ALSO, it is becoming a popular fall back for MD school applicants.
For the reasons above, I am pretty confident that the track I am taking is a lot more efficient. It is financially more challenging, but I can reach my goal and do what I want to do much quicker. I will not have to deal with another admission process just mantain a very doable 3.0 gpa and I will be immersed in the career by the time i'm 25.
The traditional route is a headache and very uncertain in my opinion. I have a clear path set out for me right now, but I do pay for it (literally). I'd rather save myself the confusion and go through the process as quick as I can and figure out the money as it goes.
Ok so you've obviously thought the whole thing out. I say go for it. How challenging is the program? First year? What's the drop-out rate?
I go in and I'm crisp, clean and my vocals are fucking coming out like music. - Anonymous MW student
- Autismus Terminus Finis (Root Cause/Cure of Autism Epidemic)
- Called Off My Wedding & Other Turn Tail Signs Of The American Male
It's challenging but nothing I can't handle. The professors said that all students admitted to the program have the ability to finish it.
The undergrad class of 2015 had 3 kids out of 40 that didn't make it to the graduate phase.