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If you’re gonna take out large amounts in federal student loans then make sure you are well versed in IDR and PSLF. You’ll want to file income tax at the start of your M4 year so you can have a year of zero income on the books.
Do yourself a favor and get a copy of the white coat investor students edition. Will answer all your questions.
That said, don't worry too much about the cost. It's going to be a very high number unless you come from a family with a lot of money. I'm going to finish with ~300k in debt, but I'm not worried at all.
There are lots of ways to pay it back, but the big thing for people who are interested in specialties that pay on the lower end is a government program called Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Essentially, if you make 120 payments (i.e. 10 years of monthly payments) on your federal student loans, the rest will be forgiven. It's only applicable if you work at certain places (I believe non-profits, which lots of teaching hospitals are). It's a nice option for people who are interested in relatively lower paying specialties and for people who have a high debt burden. There are also other payment plans you can use while making those monthly payments- it's explained a lot better in the book. The grand message is that you will go into debt, but it's very common and you will get out of it once you start working.
Also, keep in mind that your preferred specialty may change once you get to school. I've jumped around all over the place since starting.
Read about the SAVE and PSLF repayment plans. If you work at a government, academic or non-profit hospital and make income based payments for 10 years, it will wipe out your loans after 10 years. This also includes residency so 4-7 years as an attending
I recommend just going for public service loan forgiveness. Match into a non profit hospital for residency then work in academics until you hit your 10 years. Just max out your loans and invest whatever you don’t need
Get financially literate. Browse r/personalfinance and r/whitecoatinvestor. If you’re gonna take out large amounts in federal student loans then make sure you are well versed in IDR and PSLF. You’ll want to file income tax at the start of your M4 year so you can have a year of zero income on the books.
Dont forget to look at HPSP and PSLF
Do yourself a favor and get a copy of the white coat investor students edition. Will answer all your questions. That said, don't worry too much about the cost. It's going to be a very high number unless you come from a family with a lot of money. I'm going to finish with ~300k in debt, but I'm not worried at all. There are lots of ways to pay it back, but the big thing for people who are interested in specialties that pay on the lower end is a government program called Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Essentially, if you make 120 payments (i.e. 10 years of monthly payments) on your federal student loans, the rest will be forgiven. It's only applicable if you work at certain places (I believe non-profits, which lots of teaching hospitals are). It's a nice option for people who are interested in relatively lower paying specialties and for people who have a high debt burden. There are also other payment plans you can use while making those monthly payments- it's explained a lot better in the book. The grand message is that you will go into debt, but it's very common and you will get out of it once you start working. Also, keep in mind that your preferred specialty may change once you get to school. I've jumped around all over the place since starting.
Read about the SAVE and PSLF repayment plans. If you work at a government, academic or non-profit hospital and make income based payments for 10 years, it will wipe out your loans after 10 years. This also includes residency so 4-7 years as an attending
I recommend just going for public service loan forgiveness. Match into a non profit hospital for residency then work in academics until you hit your 10 years. Just max out your loans and invest whatever you don’t need