Hello, I’m on my first year as a pre-med student (I already have a bachelor’s degree). As undergrad is too expensive, the Federal Stafford loan I have is not enough to pay all the expenses. Unfortunately, I will have to end up applying for a private loan. Any suggestions??
I really don’t know much about private loans, b/c Stafford loans were always sufficient for me! But I know there is many people in my class who are taking private loans/ and were taking them as undergrads. I think the best people to help you with this would be financial aid people in your school.
Don has made some excellent suggestions. In essence, unless you are particularly beholden to the school you are attending or are close to graduating, I would find a most cost-sensitive alternative. All of this can be done as lavishly or as frugally as you make it. My debt-load is very high because I chose to attend a private medical school. However, I love the school I attended, have no regrets & feel that my choosing to go there (with the attendant benefits afforded by that choice) has a lot to do with my subsequent successes.
It is all about priorities & choices my friend…
Thank you very much for you help. Right now I study in a private university. I have decided to transfer my credits to a state university next semester although it may take longer to finish. I am really concerned about my debt.
You have to put this all in perspective. At the risk of sounding counter intuitive, you are considering a 10-15 year journey from premed thru med, thru residency, to full attending-level physician. The debt, loss of income while in med school, the reduced income while in residency, loss of benefits from another job, etc, can in essence can easily exceed $500,000 dollars. No, I am not trying to scare you off. Spending a few years and ten to twenty thousand dollars on a post-bacc at a state school is a relatively small investment, even if getting private loans to do so. If you get into medical school, these loans will be small in comparison to the overall debt that virtually all medical students carry and can likely be rolled into that debt pool or at least held from payback while in school.
I agree with the state school path. In my “zen and post-bacc on the cheap” presentation, at the 2008 OPM conference, I outline several suggestions to do just that I was able to take 60 credits at a 4 year state school and an MCAT course and all my textbooks for under $15,000 total which I paid for over the course of 4 years
http://www.oldpremeds.org/conference/Pitfalls.pdf
http://www.oldpremeds.org/conference/pitfall.ppt
Thank you Goniff, you totally agree with you. I am talking about US$765 per credit (private) vs. $112 (public)! The only reason why I chose the private institution was because the pre-med advisor of the state university I went to basically told me that I was crazy to quit my job and career to follow my dreams. She was really rude. On the other hand, I met wonderful Professors at the university I am attending now. However, I found a second option (state university) that is far from home but great university. Thanks a lot!!!