How is it financially possible as a non-traditional?

[bipolardoc]

Ok, say you got rent/mortgage, car payment, etc... How do you go from that and an income if you have one at that time, to wanting to go to med school? How do you afford cost of living, health insurance, other loans, etc... while following your dream. Give the fact that you dont have a husband/wife for second income, or parents to stay with...
Thanks.

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[gman33]

A ton of loans...
If you go to a formal post-bacc they probably have funding for living expenses as well. Some enroll as a degree seeking student (with no intention of getting a 2nd degree) just to qualify for extra aid.

In med school, most people don't work. They live off loans, grants, etc.

In the premed phase, you can take it slow and continue working if needed. Might take an extra year or two, but many do it that way.

 

[RLTW75]

It's a real pain!!!! I actually had to move to another state because I was able to find a job that had "flexble hours" so that I could work and go to school......I have actually worked full time (40+) hours a week and taken all the necessary coursework and labs in a about a year.

Needless to say, if I were/am to do it again, I would cut back on classes and only take one or two per smemester. Last fall I took Chemistry w/ lab; Calculus; and Biology w/ Lab and worked. It was a complete pain. I have car payments, rent, etc to cover so it was the only way to do it.

I also moved because I didn't want to incur a med schools worth of debt before ever setting foot inside a med school either. It takes a lot of determination and creativity to try and make it work for those of us who are ot independently wealthy. Hopefully that tenacity will be a positive attribute when it comes to the adcomms.

Good luck

 

[BacardiGirl]

Ok, say you got rent/mortgage, car payment, etc... How do you go from that and an income if you have one at that time, to wanting to go to med school? How do you afford cost of living, health insurance, other loans, etc... while following your dream. Give the fact that you dont have a husband/wife for second income, or parents to stay with...
Thanks.

I am working 50 hours a week while taking pre-reqs 1-2 classes a semester at a time. Once (if) I get accepted into professional school...well, I have the same dilemma as you (rent, car, insurance, BILLS), but I imagine I will have to take out a lot of loans to live off of, while (hopefully) my boyfriend waives my rent for that time!
Trust me, I think/worry about this EVERY SINGLE DAY.

 

[Travisgee]

I second that, I stress about this as well. The most effecient thing you can do is to sit down with a blank sheet, and list out options and make a budget. This way you can see a viable plan of attack.
I've planned in this way, so for myself its all going in phases. Consider laying things out accordingly; Premed now, pay down superfluous debts to prepare for future loans, where to for in state tuition, where do friends and family live, etc. Im a very visual person, so listing the information helps me to see progress and where i need to go next.

 

[BacardiGirl]

I have been trying to pay for my pre-reqs out of pocket, but its getting harder and harder to do so when each semester costs $1900+...is it dumb to take out student loans for this amount each semester?

 

[Scottish Chap]

Ok, say you got rent/mortgage, car payment, etc... How do you go from that and an income if you have one at that time, to wanting to go to med school? How do you afford cost of living, health insurance, other loans, etc... while following your dream. Give the fact that you dont have a husband/wife for second income, or parents to stay with...
Thanks.

One word: loans.

Earning a medical degree is one task. Paying for it is another. A strategy I took was to stay away from expensive private schools. I was fortunate to have a (limited) choice. All medical schools in the U.S. teach the same stuff and you'll get out of it what you put into it. I am delighted by the education I have received and I feel very confident that I'll fair well when I'm an intern next year. If you go to a cheaper school (like I did), you can borrow more money for mortgage, kids, etc. and still come out with less debt than a single student attending an insanely expensive private school with fancy auditoriums and a marble floor in the main foyer.

Keep in mind that living expenses, average rent and health insurance all all budgeted into your financial aid package. They are the essentials.

My school determined that my wife had great earning potential based on the nice job she had in a big city where we once lived. As we predicted, she was not able to find employment in the same field when we moved to a smaller city for medical school. In effect, I killed her career. My financial aid guy was sympathetic, but it meant that I had to take a part-time job teaching during MS1 and I worked my shorts off all summer. We just made it to the next FA check in MS2 (which was more reasonable). Did I complain? Was it fair? No, but I did what needed to be done.

 

[AliveNkickin]

I'm starting by selling my car.. It's rediculous how much money goes away each month for payment, insurance, gasoline and parking. Not to mention maintenance and registration, or the liability of possible accidents etc. I took on a good friend as a roommate to help with the rent and bills. I think I can keep my expenses down to 1500 a month this way. With a small EC-related part time job it should be feasible. My standard of living is going from upper-middle class to poverty level, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

 

[BacardiGirl]

I'm starting by selling my car.. It's rediculous how much money goes away each month for payment, insurance, gasoline and parking. Not to mention maintenance and registration, or the liability of possible accidents etc. I took on a good friend as a roommate to help with the rent and bills. I think I can keep my expenses down to 1500 a month this way. With a small EC-related part time job it should be feasible. My standard of living is going from upper-middle class to poverty level, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

The car thing is a good idea. My boyfriend and I have talked about getting rid of one of our cars and only having one (since rightnow we live and work together)..then when I am in fulltime school, I could take him to work on my way to class and pick him up after. Our auto leases are not due until 2010, so that's a ways off, but if its feasible, I'd be all in for that option.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

Another poster in a different thread had stated that, during med school, they could obtain 28,000 of federal type (non-private) loans in addition to the cost of school. Private loans are available on top of that, depending on how much one is OK going into debt for. "sorry, I can't afford to be a FP doctor due to student loans?"

If one is in med school in a major city (I know Chicago & think NYC), it's very doable to go without a car at all, the subway goes everywhere and runs all night. Just rent a car on a per-day basis if absolutely needed.

for me, the stress is definitely there. Have to try hard not to answer the interview question of "how can we tell you're committed to medicine" with "because I left my profession and gave up well over $100,000 of potential income and costs of post-bacc school over the past 2 years to get to this point".

We're all feeling the pain I believe..

 

[QofQuimica]

Ok, say you got rent/mortgage, car payment, etc... How do you go from that and an income if you have one at that time, to wanting to go to med school? How do you afford cost of living, health insurance, other loans, etc... while following your dream. Give the fact that you dont have a husband/wife for second income, or parents to stay with...
Thanks.

Like others have said, you must cut out any expenses that are not absolutely essential, because you will not have an income during medical school. You will have enough loan money to cover your housing, books, food, transportation, and insurance. You will *not* get money to cover purchasing a car or to pay off credit card debt. So you need to get those things paid off *before* you begin medical school. Most people's biggest expenses during med school are housing and transportation. Those are the areas where you must cut costs. To cut housing costs, you can get a roommate to help you pay your mortgage or rent. If you have an expensive car with a hefty monthly payment, consider selling it and get a cheaper one, or use public transportation if it's available. You can probably at least get through your preclinical years without a car, though many schools will require you to have one for the last two years so that you can get to all of your clinical rotation sites.

Medical school is not the time to live like you're a physician, or even a research tech. One financial aid officer at one of my med school interviews told us that every dollar you borrow will, on average, cost you $2-$3 to pay back when you add up all the interest over all the years. So if you borrow $250k, you can count on paying back somewhere between half a million and $750k. Even a person who only borrows $100k (pretty modest by med school standards) can count on paying about a quarter of a million back. That's a pretty sobering stat, enough so that it made me very proactive about minimizing loans for med school!

 

[Nasem]

Im your classical non-trad... however my situation is much easier than others... I am single (just turned 27), work as a software engineer, and pretty much have no life.... here is what I do for "fun":

Weekdays
1) work
2) go to school
3) come back from school and either (a) work out (b) study
4) sleep ~ next day the same cycle starts again

Weekends
1) study
2) ride my bike whenever I have free time (excersice is so important when your always so stressed out)
3) volunteer at hospital / habitate for humanity (about 16 hrs total every month)
4) rest of the time I sit reading science articles to improve my verbal or watch some TV, hang out with few friends here and there

Finally, as you can see, I have no life, no girlfriend, I either work to make a living, or work toward getting into med school

 

[QofQuimica]

Finally, as you can see, I have no life, no girlfriend, I either work to make a living, or work toward getting into med school

Look on the bright side--you have a great head start on adapting to the med school life.

 

[skocica]

I am thinking about this just about every day (and getting the guilty feeling). On one hand, my husband makes good money so I think we'll be ok, but on the other hand that will also hurt me when applying for loans. So, since med school is 2-3 years away, I have already started making changes to my budget. I have never been the one to just spend everything I earn, I always bring my lunch to work, car-pool to work whenever possible, look for coupons for food, only buy clothes on "super" sale....whatever possible. My husband is also very concious about money, which helps when it comes to savings. I paid my car off and even though I really wanted a bigger one as we now have a small baby, I decided to hold off until I am nice and done, so now I can save the amount I would otherwise use for payments. It will be impossible for me to save the entire amount I'll need for medical school but at least we'll have something to cover unexpected expenses or just help carry us over on some months.

 

[Luxian]

Loans!
I'm in your position -- not married, too old to depend on parents, etc. It's not pretty but I'm taking tuition in loans AND living expenses. I've cut back a lot (eat at home pretty often) and med school keeps me busy. You'd be surprised how easily your lifestyle changes when all your peers are also being cheap.

The only difficulty is in applying for financial aid. They may expect that you save a good portion of your income from the previous year, which of course I spent on med school interviews and applications rather than saving! In that case, it's more loans (Grad PLUS).

Long story short: it CAN be done. Don't let money stand in the way.

 

[reiterin]

Now, as a non-trad premed student, I'm taking out loans to pay for childcare. My husband is military and makes very little money, so we'll be taking out a lot of loans come time for med school, childcare being a big cost.

 

[Nasem]

Look on the bright side--you have a great head start on adapting to the med school life.

haha, I am "adapting" to 4 years of hell (oh wait, and THEN starts residency)

 

[jaypea65]

I must be in a unique situation. I have been able to save money during the bulk of my working life. If I get accepted to dental school, I should be able to realize a 70,000 dollar capital gain from the sale of my home plus I will also have a moderate nest egg to use if needed. It should be enough to replace my current net annual wage for 4 years. However, I still plan on applying for as much financial aid as possible to live on. I figure I will need my savings to start a practice. Does this make financial sense to anyone?

 

[sindadel]

If you own a house, you could take housemates and use the rent to pay the mortgage and utilities. Then your loan package would be significantly smaller. Or you could sell the house and invest the proceeds to live off (if you are moving). With interest rates and a long payment term, it makes sense to use all your financial resources to lower your debt amount, IMO.