Loan decisions start as soon as an aspiring doctor receives their acceptance to medical school. After the wave of excitement passes, assuming you don’t have a trust fund, the next question is invariably: how am I going to pay for this education? Navigating loan options is complex and confusing – having first hand experience (well, via my spouse), I’m here to help!
This is going to be a multi-part series focusing on different phases in the progression of loan acquisition, spending, and eventual payoff or forgiveness.
Med School Loans: A Series
- Med-School Acceptance – Evaluating
- During Medical School – Managing Debt and Living
- Residency & Fellowship – Loan Consolidation, Management, and More
- Attending Time!
With the rising cost of medical school – even for state schools, it definitely is important to evaluate payment options and consider your residency and speciality wisely. Each of these decisions will have an impact on your future finances, from the type of loans you choose to your income as an attending. The length of residency and potential fellowship you choose will also affect which loan forgiveness and payment plans you will qualify for if you have federal loans.
We’re going to start at the beginning, right after you accept an offer to attend medical school. From there, each segment will focus on a different phase of the medical education and training process, culminating in graduation from residency and fellowship.
Along the way, we’ll look at different ways to manage student loans for medical school. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for this series – let me know in the comments!
-SurgeonJourney
A very important subject that many do not talk about it. Looking forward to reading more!