I will be doing PAYE, if I can qualify. I've looked into the HPSP scholarship, but that's just not me. WesternU offers scholarships, so apply for those. Do research over the summer and get a grant to help with costs. I'm hoping my boyfriend will become my spouse and help with costs. Don't forget that your interest doesn't capitalize while you're in school or if you do IBR/PAYE. You can also do PSLF, although that's not an option for me personally. I'm working over every break I get: Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break, summer.
WesternU is not the most expensive school out there, when you factor in cost of living and everything else. I went to the pre-vet symposium at UF last year and some guy was giving out a great breakdown of all those costs and I was pleasantly surprised to not find WesternU at the top
The fact is that the loan to salary ratio is ridiculous no matter what school you go to and you have to ask yourself whether or not all the hassle is worth it. Part of the high debt they quote you for WesternU is because of your fourth year. Third and fourth year are your clinical years and you can go pretty much anywhere you want, except for some core rotations. Third year it's more strict, and they pay for housing and transport. Fourth year, it's up to you, if you can get it approved, and they don't pay for housing or transport. A lot of people use that time to travel everywhere, but I will be doing is rotating where I want to get a job and hopefully living with my parents or friends in the area to keep my costs down.