Undergraduate loan payback in medical school

[sthealth_wealth]

Happy weekend everyone,

Trying to create a plan for my UG loan payback in the coming years.

Starting medical school in a few months, and although I may have some income, I'm assuming none as a conservative estimate. Requesting forbearance now to aggressive pay off cc debt from applying to medical schools.

Current 12k in ug loans:
4k subsidized loan at 5%
8k perkins loan at 5%

I have a few ideas in mind. Please tell me which of these might be best, or if there is an alternative:

1) Request forbearance until residency start. Continue to let interest accrue at 5%, then refinance and pay off.
2) Request forbearance until med school start. Take out additional 12k in med school loans first year. Pay off ug loan. (Possibility that med school loan(s) will not accrue interest until graduation)
3) Refinance to lower interest rate now and request forbearance until residency (is this even possible?)

Thanks for any advice.

 

[DMFA]

Your loans go into student deferral while in school. No payments due. You *can* pay on them, though, but since the interest doesn't compound, it's not that helpful, and $1 is worth way more to you in med school and residency than it is as an attending.

Wait...twelve thousand, right? As in 1.2 * 10^4? Oh boy. That's gonna be a drop in the bucket when you finish med school.

Leave your subsidized loan alone. That accrues no interest until repayment. The Perkins, meh, might consolidate that into a Direct Loan from med school when it gets closer to repayment time since they're not eligible for some income-driven programs.

...don't split hairs over this small-ish sum. Yes, it does matter, but focus on minimizing the additional debt you might incur and spend only enough to meet your needs and stay sane in med school.

[Dreamgiver]

Assume no earned income while in med school as a real estimate. You have one and only job, focus on doing well in school. Even giving it 100% will keep you barely above water. A few grand a year in med school mean absolutely nothing for your future.

[sthealth_wealth]

Dreamgiver wrote:

You have one and only job, focus on doing well in school. Even giving it 100% will keep you barely above water.

Click to expand...

I hear this sentiment a lot but I'm not sure how true it is. At most of the pass fail schools I interviewed, there were many students who said the most serious grind was only around step 1 and 2. Yale is P/F for even clerkship shelf exams; students raved about all the netflix they were watching. Non-sequitur to original post and my $0.02 but thought it was worth mentioning.

@DMFA thank you, I didn't know I could go into deferment in graduate school. Both loans are already in repayment because I am a non-traditional applicant (2 years out of college), but I think I can request to return to deferment once school begins again. You're right; I'll have a higher financial return on energy spent minimizing additional debt and living within means (while staying sane).

[Dreamgiver]

You shall find out how true it is ;-)

[q-school]

sthealth_wealth wrote:

Dreamgiver wrote:

You have one and only job, focus on doing well in school. Even giving it 100% will keep you barely above water. 

Click to expand…

I hear this sentiment a lot but I’m not sure how true it is. At most of the pass fail schools I interviewed, there were many students who said the most serious grind was only around step 1 and 2. Yale is P/F for even clerkship shelf exams; students raved about all the netflix they were watching. Non-sequitur to original post and my $0.02 but thought it was worth mentioning.

@dmfa thank you, I didn’t know I could go into deferment in graduate school. Both loans are already in repayment because I am a non-traditional applicant (2 years out of college), but I think I can request to return to deferment once school begins again. You’re right; I’ll have a higher financial return on energy spent minimizing additional debt and living within means (while staying sane).

Click to expand...

i vividly remember the first day of medical school.  i guess they were trying to rein in competitive behaviors from previous years.  students would hide books in the library and stuff like that.  they wanted to encourage collaboration.  they announced over and over again it is totally pass fail.  no advantage to doing well.  at the start of every class.   work with classmates, not against them.   i was stupid and raised by wolves so i naively believed them.  somewhere around third year there was this aoa thing announced.

i'm like, what's that?

honor society.  recognition for the advanced students.

well how do they know who is advanced, i asked.

from your grades.

thought it was pass fail.

it is, but still keep track.

----

i was really offended.  i mean if you are going to do pass fail, then do it.  no need for honor society.  of course, those things help them get students into selective training programs so i get the need, but then don't lie to my face about it.

people can do whatever they want with their time.  if they want to watch netflix, they are the ones who will pay the price later.  it's a wonderful time to learn things, but someday reality comes crashing hard.  there is a ton of material to learn, more than there ever was.  if they have so much free time and they can learn all the material, then medical school is either doing something really right or really wrong.

i can't tell how many times i watched fellow students cry and scream and break down from the stress of trying to learn all the material when i was a student.  admittedly i was an economics major so i had a harder road perhaps than a phd biochem student the first two years.  i don't recall anyone bragging about how much free time they had.  people were still trying to get a leg up through research or volunteering or whatever.  maybe they fixed medical school now though and it's easier.  for sure there's a ton of stuff that's not practical for most practicing physicians.  but it's the kind of thing where you don't know what you don't know, until you need it.

if everyone's watching a lot of netflix, then i take back any concerns i had over student loans.  they can work and cut back the loan burden.



 

for the OP, i agree with what's already been well stated.

the doors to the future are based on step 1 scores.  save the money for boards prep material, interview expenses.  if possible, a vacation of some form during summer between first and second years.  trying to reduce loan burden that you have is really losing sight of the big picture.  jmo, ymmv

 

 

[Dreamgiver]

q-school wrote:

sthealth_wealth wrote:

Dreamgiver wrote:

You have one and only job, focus on doing well in school. Even giving it 100% will keep you barely above water. 

Click to expand…

I hear this sentiment a lot but I’m not sure how true it is. At most of the pass fail schools I interviewed, there were many students who said the most serious grind was only around step 1 and 2. Yale is P/F for even clerkship shelf exams; students raved about all the netflix they were watching. Non-sequitur to original post and my $0.02 but thought it was worth mentioning.

@dmfa thank you, I didn’t know I could go into deferment in graduate school. Both loans are already in repayment because I am a non-traditional applicant (2 years out of college), but I think I can request to return to deferment once school begins again. You’re right; I’ll have a higher financial return on energy spent minimizing additional debt and living within means (while staying sane).

Click to expand…

i vividly remember the first day of medical school.  i guess they were trying to rein in competitive behaviors from previous years.  students would hide books in the library and stuff like that.  they wanted to encourage collaboration.  they announced over and over again it is totally pass fail.  no advantage to doing well.  at the start of every class.   work with classmates, not against them.   i was stupid and raised by wolves so i naively believed them.  somewhere around third year there was this aoa thing announced.

i’m like, what’s that?

honor society.  recognition for the advanced students.

well how do they know who is advanced, i asked.

from your grades.

thought it was pass fail.

it is, but still keep track.

—-

i was really offended.  i mean if you are going to do pass fail, then do it.  no need for honor society.  of course, those things help them get students into selective training programs so i get the need, but then don’t lie to my face about it.

people can do whatever they want with their time.  if they want to watch netflix, they are the ones who will pay the price later.  it’s a wonderful time to learn things, but someday reality comes crashing hard.  there is a ton of material to learn, more than there ever was.  if they have so much free time and they can learn all the material, then medical school is either doing something really right or really wrong.

i can’t tell how many times i watched fellow students cry and scream and break down from the stress of trying to learn all the material when i was a student.  admittedly i was an economics major so i had a harder road perhaps than a phd biochem student the first two years.  i don’t recall anyone bragging about how much free time they had.  people were still trying to get a leg up through research or volunteering or whatever.  maybe they fixed medical school now though and it’s easier.  for sure there’s a ton of stuff that’s not practical for most practicing physicians.  but it’s the kind of thing where you don’t know what you don’t know, until you need it.

if everyone’s watching a lot of netflix, then i take back any concerns i had over student loans.  they can work and cut back the loan burden.



 

for the OP, i agree with what’s already been well stated.

the doors to the future are based on step 1 scores.  save the money for boards prep material, interview expenses.  if possible, a vacation of some form during summer between first and second years.  trying to reduce loan burden that you have is really losing sight of the big picture.  jmo, ymmv

 

 

Click to expand...

Could not agree more. I am also going to add, if you want a competitive specialty, forget summer between 1st and 2nd year. You better hit the lab every day that summer.

[sthealth_wealth]

Sheesh... I didn't get that vibe at all visiting schools, but one thing I've learned is that a lot of times, when a bunch of smart people with experience say the same thing, it is usually right.

Not too concerned about these loans anymore. Deferment while in school, and prioritizing academics/minimizing additional loans.

[Zaphod]

sthealth_wealth wrote:

Sheesh… I didn’t get that vibe at all visiting schools, but one thing I’ve learned is that a lot of times, when a bunch of smart people with experience say the same thing, it is usually right.

Not too concerned about these loans anymore. Deferment while in school, and prioritizing academics/minimizing additional loans.

Click to expand...

It isnt that bad, there will always be gunners but it really is pass/fail and more collaborative. Step 1 is the most important thing. Since many schools are pass/fail now that part is almost disregarded. I echo q-school about the bs way AOA happens, I think we werent told til mid 4th year and there was nothing you could do if you focused on wrong stuff. Its all individual as well, which seems dumb. Some people would be AOA at one school and not at another, which is beyond stupid.

That rant said, I dont think its that difficult in med school once you learn how to study and whats important (step 1). I didnt go to class as it was inefficient use of time. I'd go to the library, read the weeks lectures, do the same subjects in review books, and do sample questions. I did each six week block in about 3 weeks of not full days at the library (was just a nice quiet place). I never 'studied' with a group either, sure I did a couple of those but those are always social and not good for actual learning.

Ive never had so much free time and fun as I did in med school. It was amazing. It didnt happen at first, took time to learn how to study efficiently. You literally do not have enough time to learn the volume of information available. You have to learn how to toss away stuff that isnt pertinent. This means most text books and lectures, far too slow information assimilation and too much filler. I'd read class notes and review books, questions/answers are great, and use the textbooks to clarify things that the other sources didnt for you. Basically you'll be studying/prepping for step 1 from the get go and should pay off.

I remember all kinds of people who I'd hear were in the library 12-14 hours a day, group studying and giving the appearance of crushing it. Remember you can only get so much in at once, more time isnt necessarily better. If youre having to re read the same paragraph several times take a break. Work smarter not harder. Sure, you'll appear to be a slacker, but then your grades will be better so it wont matter.

[Hatton]

I guess I should not admit it but I was AOA 3rd and 4th year.  I know that is what allowed me to go from southern state school to southern ivy.  It is the cheapest way to get a good residency.  No schools were pass fail at the time.  I really did not study longer than others but I was a standout test taker.

[adventure]

sthealth_wealth wrote:

cc debt from applying to medical schools.

Click to expand...

Ummmm. this first.

Then study.