Hello my friends!
First of all, Thank You for having this forum and a place to bounce ideas off of.
So here is the quick version of my life in a snapshot with as little drama as possible to try and help you help me figure out how I should proceed.
I am 30 years old, working in Radiology as a technologist for the past 7 years. I have a dream and a desire to go to Med School.
I was a pharmacy major back in 2000-2003 at a local community college. I didn’t care about anything back then, as a result my UGPA is a sad 2.7.
I did some of the pre-med prereq’s but I need to take them again anyway (and I have a great desire to do so!).
I will have my general Associate of Arts from this local CC in one more math class. So, my goal is to transfer to the local University and take the pre-req’s there.
Current Situation:
Separated, headed to divorce. 30 years of age. 2 minor children. Children are living with the mother.
30k in student loans from previous schooling plus private school for X-ray.
The job market for X-ray is hugely saturated. Unfortunately I see no easy way to work in my field and go to school outside of maybe working weekends somewhere…maybe. Even then it’s a bit of a long shot…there are just so many freshly graduated X-ray tech’s looking for jobs…there are zero jobs in my current area.
30K in student loans. My credit is poor.
I am willing to be poor and go to school full time at University and work as much as possible to survive and pay support for the kids. My concern is, with expensive as Education is and Med School education, and 30k already in loans, will I be able to even get enough loans to survive? Should I live on campus? off campus?
I have no family nearby nor friends who are likely to let me stay with them.
I do not want to keep this dream on the backburner any longer…time is wasting…and my job is dead end.
Any suggestions? I am all ears…
Thank You!
Read the post titled “Medical Schools with the Most debts and States with Loan Forgiveness Prog.” In general, if you are interested in family medicine and don’t mind working in a rural area far a few years, you can go to school for free and get a monthly stipend on top of that.
There are also some great programs with the military(HPSP, HSCP, USUHS) if you are willing and able to go that route.
I think you should work on repairing your credit. I am in the same predicament as you with bad credit, 34 y/o and a dead end job. I wanted to start a post bacc this January but couldnt because my credit prevented me from getting private loans. Most creditors will settle with you for a lower amount. You will need your borrowing power for medical school. In the meantime, finish your Bachelor’s, I got mine in English which was a terrible idea. I cant find a job. Do a major that can be your fall back. I would have done IT or Business if I knew what I know now. The government allows you to take borrow up to $57500 from them. Try to do as much as you can at CC to save money. Good Luck!
Does the “lifetime max” on studentloans apply to MedSchool loans?
I heard somewhere that different rules apply.