Hi all, I am a premed nontrad and have been worried about this recently. I am applying to schools this cycle and it just got me thinking about this…. I know I have had to really buckle down and cut down my costs so that I could afford any future interviews (maybe can only go to three out of state at most right now…), applications, and just living and breathing. But in medical school, if I do or don’t have scholarships and would need to take out a loan, I also need to pay for my own living and breathing costs (apartment, transportation, medical insurance, books, exams, etc…) while not working full time. I just want to see if there is anyone that has been in my situation and survived to the other side of things or has some advice financially or resources I am look to. I wish I was rich but that is surely not the case…
I am not in medical school but my experience with law school is similar since the two cost roughly the same and students come out with very similar debt. The federal loans you request will cover everything you are worried about and then some. They are called Direct Plus loans. Those loans plus how ever much the school gives students for cost of living (on a need base I believe) will help you. The worry isn’t necessarily how students are going to pay for school it’s more of how much debt they are going to come out with in the end. In law school, many of my friends took out the bare minimum in loans so they wouldn’t graduate with as much debt as other students who took out the full loan amount to live more comfortably. Don’t worry as much about HOW you will pay (because loans will cover it) but I’d worry more about how MUCH you want to pull out so you don’t carry as much debt in the end. Just remember to budget. My law school had us fill out budget sheets before asking for cost of living money from the school each year.