Cost vs. Comfort

[luchthept]

I'm currently having a dilemma right now where I'm trying to decide if having minimal loans is worth it if it means sacrificing my comfort and happiness. I only applied to one PT school so far, which is in a rural area. I went to my interview a few days ago and did a tour and just didn't feel at home at all. I grew up in the suburbs and go to a college in the city. The only reason I applied to this school was because the tuition was so cheap. But I'm starting to reconsider. There are other schools that I feel I would be more comfortable and happy at, but their tuition is a lot higher than the school I applied to ($45k versus upwards of $130k). Is the high cost in loans worth it? I see many PT's with over 100k in debt and I just want to know if a lot of loans really affects peoples' lives. 3 years is a long time to be in a place where I'm unhappy. I have no loans from undergrad. Any guidance would be appreciated!

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[truthseeker]

live like a college student when you are a college student so you don't have to once you graduate. It is a small sacrifice to not necessarily have a Panera within walking distance for three years in order to save almost $100k. that's just my opinion.

 

[kdubz7w7]

I'm currently having a dilemma right now where I'm trying to decide if having minimal loans is worth it if it means sacrificing my comfort and happiness. I only applied to one PT school so far, which is in a rural area. I went to my interview a few days ago and did a tour and just didn't feel at home at all. I grew up in the suburbs and go to a college in the city. The only reason I applied to this school was because the tuition was so cheap. But I'm starting to reconsider. There are other schools that I feel I would be more comfortable and happy at, but their tuition is a lot higher than the school I applied to ($45k versus upwards of $130k). Is the high cost in loans worth it? I see many PT's with over 100k in debt and I just want to know if a lot of loans really affects peoples' lives. 3 years is a long time to be in a place where I'm unhappy. I have no loans from undergrad. Any guidance would be appreciated!

"Sacrificing your comfort and happiness" are really strong words. You don't know that you'll be unhappy, and honestly if you move there with that attitude, you'll likely end up making yourself hate it. You may grow to love, or at least not mind, the area. You'll likely make friends within your cohort and that will make a huge difference. You're also going to be so busy that a lot of times it won't matter if you're in NYC or on the moon. Yes, loans greatly affect your life. Paying $80k more because you don't like the area is not a smart idea. Be open-minded, do what you need to do for 3 years and get out of there. It won't kill you.
If it were a difference of like 10k I could see being on the fence but $45k sounds magical, I'm jealous.

 

[topher031888]

First, $45k vs $130k is HUGE. Like making or breaking your next 30 years huge. Don't be fooled by income based repayment plans, most people don't understand how they work so that difference is incredibly important. You are looking at monthly payments between $250 a month for loans minimum to $1300. Good luck retiring or having any kind of life outside of work with that kind of debt. You could sign up for income based repayment but when you calculate what you will saving for the taxes you would likely be paying you will only be marginally better off than just being on a 20 year repayment program.

I doubt you will be unhappy for 3 years. Yes, there will be an adjustment period for you as it sounds like you haven't been away from the city much. After a few months, if you keep a good attitude you will be fine. I have lived in big cities, developing countries, rural areas and whether or not you are "happy" is more about your attitude than where you actually are. Embrace the culture and just enjoy yourself. You really won't have money to do much in the city anyway, not if you are being smart financially or have someone else paying for all of it.

 

[DPT5466]

Hello! So most people will say go with the cheapest route, but I have a different opinion and experience. Everything just depends. For example, I’m the type of person where the environment makes a huge difference. 3 years is A LONG TIME yes, it goes by fast and yes, u will find a way to adjust (to the place u don’t like) BUT it’s a lot of stress esp on those who care about where they are. I moved across the country from my home for PT school and it sucked. I made it through, and I learned how to deal with it (barley)but it took me a long ass time and I still wasn’t happy. It messed with me mentally and made my life more stressful on top of the stress from school. Stress ruins everything and why put yourself if that position unless u really have to.

I know a lot of PTs that are in 130+ debt but they are fine and happy (traveling too!). The debt just befomes part of your life and as long as u are on a payment plan it’s going to be fine. U will have good income and that’s all that matters. Might have to save money as much as u can for the first few years but u can still travel and enjoy life if you are smart about it.

If you are a huge materialist person or want to have extremely fancy car and multiple homes right out of school then ya take the cheapest route.

If u think of debt like this big scary thing then it’s going to stress u out everyday but there’s ways to work around it. You will have income and therefore u can pay for it just be smart about your expenses.

Now, obviously 45k is a huge difference to 130K and if it’s between those 2 then I would def take the 45k. BUT what about looking at other programs that are around 100k tuition (that’s the average)?

 

[ya1]

You are not going to have much outside of school social life during PT school (unless you are a geek). So a boring area may actually be better: less distractions. You will have fun for the rest of your life after graduation.

 

[topher031888]

Hello! So most people will say go with the cheapest route, but I have a different opinion and experience. Everything just depends. For example, I’m the type of person where the environment makes a huge difference. 3 years is A LONG TIME yes, it goes by fast and yes, u will find a way to adjust (to the place u don’t like) BUT it’s a lot of stress esp on those who care about where they are. I moved across the country from my home for PT school and it sucked. I made it through, and I learned how to deal with it (barley)but it took me a long ass time and I still wasn’t happy. It messed with me mentally and made my life more stressful on top of the stress from school. Stress ruins everything and why put yourself if that position unless u really have to.

I know a lot of PTs that are in 130+ debt but they are fine and happy (traveling too!). The debt just befomes part of your life and as long as u are on a payment plan it’s going to be fine. U will have good income and that’s all that matters. Might have to save money as much as u can for the first few years but u can still travel and enjoy life if you are smart about it.

If you are a huge materialist person or want to have extremely fancy car and multiple homes right out of school then ya take the cheapest route.

If u think of debt like this big scary thing then it’s going to stress u out everyday but there’s ways to work around it. You will have income and therefore u can pay for it just be smart about your expenses.

Now, obviously 45k is a huge difference to 130K and if it’s between those 2 then I would def take the 45k. BUT what about looking at other programs that are around 100k tuition (that’s the average)?

I know a lot of PTs with a 130+ in debt and they certainly manage (I would say at least half of the PTs I know are in this situation) but a lot of them don't understand their financial situation, often aren't saving for retirement, and a select few are working for non profits hoping things don't change in the next 7-10 years or that they are grandfathered in. Remember under current income based repayment programs the forgiven amount is taxable income, that is the piece that many are not prepared for. The majority of them I know are obligated to work in places or settings they don't enjoy because they lack flexibility due to the debt they are in. I do have some colleagues that have taken the approach of just don't think about it and keep making your minimum payments and it will probably be ok in the long run. I would not recommend this.

Now if you are a single 20 something year old and you get out of school you could handle the debt with a few sacrifices, but if you want to own a home, have kids, etc, it gets tough. I am married with 3 kids and even 60k makes things difficult but thankfully we can manage. My wife has the option to work or be at home, we have flexibility in that regard. On the flipside I have a couple of classmates that were over 200k and will have it gone within 4 years with the help of a spouse and moving to a high paying/low cost of living area When you go 130k in dept you give up a lot of flexibility. It is literally tens of thousands of dollars you could use for all kinds of other stuff.

 

[DPT5466]

I know a lot of PTs with a 130+ in debt and they certainly manage (I would say at least half of the PTs I know are in this situation) but a lot of them don't understand their financial situation, often aren't saving for retirement, and a select few are working for non profits hoping things don't change in the next 7-10 years or that they are grandfathered in. Remember under current income based repayment programs the forgiven amount is taxable income, that is the piece that many are not prepared for. The majority of them I know are obligated to work in places or settings they don't enjoy because they lack flexibility due to the debt they are in. I do have some colleagues that have taken the approach of just don't think about it and keep making your minimum payments and it will probably be ok in the long run. I would not recommend this.

Now if you are a single 20 something year old and you get out of school you could handle the debt with a few sacrifices, but if you want to own a home, have kids, etc, it gets tough. I am married with 3 kids and even 60k makes things difficult but thankfully we can manage. My wife has the option to work or be at home, we have flexibility in that regard. On the flipside I have a couple of classmates that were over 200k and will have it gone within 4 years with the help of a spouse and moving to a high paying/low cost of living area When you go 130k in dept you give up a lot of flexibility. It is literally tens of thousands of dollars you could use for all kinds of other stuff.

Everything you said makes sense and I agree! Like I said though, it just depends on the person. If you have 2-3 kids, heck even 1 kid and let’s say you don’t have much support financially then yes I would take the cheaper route even if I hate the area. but not everyone has that issue and there are ways to work around it IF you have other options, help etc. financially

 

[Fiveoboy11]

I'm currently having a dilemma right now where I'm trying to decide if having minimal loans is worth it if it means sacrificing my comfort and happiness. I only applied to one PT school so far, which is in a rural area. I went to my interview a few days ago and did a tour and just didn't feel at home at all. I grew up in the suburbs and go to a college in the city. The only reason I applied to this school was because the tuition was so cheap. But I'm starting to reconsider. There are other schools that I feel I would be more comfortable and happy at, but their tuition is a lot higher than the school I applied to ($45k versus upwards of $130k). Is the high cost in loans worth it? I see many PT's with over 100k in debt and I just want to know if a lot of loans really affects peoples' lives. 3 years is a long time to be in a place where I'm unhappy. I have no loans from undergrad. Any guidance would be appreciated!

Go to the cheaper school. You'll be a lot happier in the long run that you did. Take it from boneheads like me that spent way too much and are finally ALMOST fully out of debt 11 years later.